Defense
The Pentagon, reacting to news that the White House wants to keep 10,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 after combat formally ends, said no decisions have been made on either the drawdown to come or the force laydown to occur beyond the war’s end. – The E-Ring
The Senate will not have full-blown floor debate on the 2013 defense authorization bill unless an agreement is reached this week on how to handle amendments, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday as Congress returned from a Thanksgiving break. – Military Times
As Indiana Jones knows, the Pentagon has top men working on things like its budget year round. Top men. But as the White House and congressional leaders enter into negotiations to avoid the fiscal cliff and sequestration, budget teams inside the Pentagon eager to avoid enormous and automatic cuts are busily working on…nothing. – The E-Ring
As the U.S. Defense Department digs deeper in its efforts to trim the fat in lean fiscal times, acquisition reform is confronting a structural problem that cannot be addressed by sequestration: an inexperienced acquisition workforce confronting increasing demands for complex decision-making that champions the bottom line. – Defense News
Marines who go through Hawaii’s Infantry Immersion Trainer will see significant changes to match the Corps’ new focus on the Asia-Pacific region. – Defense News
Body armor plates used by special operations forces in combat are being recalled after a manufacturing defect was found in what the military says is a small percentage of the Generation III ballistic armor plates. – CNN’s Security Clearance
Fifty years after the U.S. Air Force first began to recognize the true challenges of air-breathing hypersonic flight for weapons and aircraft, a cohesive plan is emerging that finally may enable those long-held goals to be achieved. – Aviation Week
As our national leaders seek to negotiate a compromise to avert sequestration and the looming fiscal cliff, it is imperative that lawmakers and policymakers work with the White House to at least preserve current levels of defense spending. Failing to do so would strain our current force structure, place the U.S. military on an accelerated path of steep decline, and severely constrict America’s capacity to respond to threats abroad. – US News and World Report’s World Report
There may be concern that having only one carrier — even temporarily — in the Gulf weakens the United States ability to influence events and strike if necessary, but that fear is misplaced. The assets of the U.S. Air Force, as a crucial part of a joint operating force, ensure that America can respond to any contingency. – AOL Defense
NATO
NATO surface-to-air missiles due to be stationed near Turkey’s border with Syria will only be used to protect Turkish territory and not to establish a no-fly zone within Syria, the Turkish military said on Monday. – Reuters
Foreign Armies East
China’s UAVs have grown more teeth, according to the evidence on hand at this year’s Zhuhai airshow, an event that has expanded exponentially since its debut in 1996. – Defense News
Syrian fighter jets on Monday strafed a rebel-held area near the Turkish border that is home to thousands of internally displaced refugees, in what appeared to be a warning shot as NATO prepares to deploy surface-to-air missiles along the frontier. – Washington Post
Iran is “finding ways to resupply Hamas” with long range rockets and other weapons even after the intense fighting between Hamas and Israel that ended in a cease-fire last week, a senior U.S. official told CNN. – CNN’s Security Clearance
North Korea has stepped up what could be preparations to launch a new rocket from its northwestern launch station in defiance of a United Nations ban, the satellite operator DigitalGlobe said on Tuesday, citing recent satellite imagery of the facility. – New York Times
India is considering giving helicopters to Myanmar as part of an effort to build defense ties with its northeastern neighbor. The head of the Indian Air Force, Chief Air Marshal N.A.K. Browne, is likely to discuss the possibility during his Nov. 26-29 visit to Myanmar, sources in the Indian defense forces said. – Defense News
Southeast Asia’s top diplomat has warned that the South China Sea disputes risk becoming “Asia’s Palestine”, deteriorating into a violent conflict that draws sharp dividing lines between nations and destabilises the whole region. – Financial Times
Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, faces growing opposition within his own regime after former intelligence chief Major General Salah Abdallah Gosh was arrested over an alleged coup. – Financial Times
