Defense
With lawmakers focused on the impact to the Pentagon from impending automatic cuts, a top State Department official warned Tuesday that sequestration would also devastate that department’s ongoing national security missions. – DEFCON Hill
Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett is not exactly toeing the party line when it comes to this winter’s threat of looming, across-the-board restrictions in military spending. A senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, Bartlett said the uproar among his GOP colleagues over the potential cuts amounts to what some would describe “as a hysteria parade.” – Politico
The U.S. Navy is looking at buying more submarines in the coming years, but the most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the service’s shipbuilding plan says more boats will be needed to address fleet shortfalls. – Aviation Week
As the Army institutionalizes robotic systems that began as ad hoc expedients for Iraq and Afghanistan, the Chief of Staff wants drones in every combat aviation brigade and every division — even at the price of spreading them thinner across the force. – AOL Defense
A new CATO Institute study says deep cuts to planned national defense spending are unlikely to have a crippling effect on the broader U.S. economy because the sector accounts for only a small slice of economic output. – DOTMIL
The problems facing the Air Force are but a harbinger of what will soon confront the other services. The Navy is dealing with a historically small fleet, while the Marine Corps and Army must reset after a decade of combat operations with precious little funding in sight. Addressing these problems demands responsible requirements-driven resourcing, not reckless cuts. It is important to realize that these resources represent an investment in the nation’s future survival and success. – AOL Defense
Cybersecurity
The Obama administration is weighing plans to use its executive power to press U.S. businesses to better protect critical industries from potentially crippling computer attacks, after Congress failed to pass such legislation last week. – Associated Press
The War
A senior al Qaeda leader who trained militants in Afghanistan and who has close ties to other top members of the group has been designated by the State Department as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” – CNN’s Security Clearance
Missile Defense
The 44th administration’s nomination last week of an admiral to head the U.S. Missile Defense Agency has issue observers wondering if new leadership could lead to new operational focuses for the organization – Global Security Newswire
Nuclear Weapons
The commander of the U.S. Strategic Command on Wednesday rejected a call by a former Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman to cut U.S. nuclear warheads to as few as 300 deployed weapons. – Washington Free Beacon
