DefenseNews

House bill would allow Navy to retire cruisers early, adds funds to build second destroyer

July 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — One panel of lawmakers is coming around to letting the Navy decommission its aging cruisers and reinvest the money into new ship construction, even as its Senate counterpart took the opposite approach, setting up a debate that puts at stake billions of dollars in spending. The House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee announced Tuesday that…
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DefenseNews

The imperative to field a cutting-edge Air Force

July 26, 2021
Thirty years ago, the Air Force teamed with our Navy, Army, Marine Corps and coalition partners during Operation Desert Storm to sweep the skies of Iraqi MiG fighters, destroy Iraq’s war-fighting infrastructure and decimate its fielded forces. In 1991, America’s Combat…
DefenseNews

Premier: Iraq Doesn't Need US Combat Troops

July 25, 2021
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi poses in his office during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed) BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister says his country no longer requires American combat troops to fight the Islamic State group, but a formal time frame for their redeployment will depend on the outcome of talks with…
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DefenseNews

Senate authorizers want to fund the Army’s entire wish list

July 24, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee would fund the U.S. Army’s entire list of unfunded requirements — also called a wish list — consisting of things the service wanted, but couldn’t pay for within the limitations of its top line fiscal 2022 budget…
DefenseNews

Senate policy bill rejects Air Force request to send some A-10s in the boneyard

July 24, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee’s fiscal 2022 defense policy bill slapped down some of the U.S. Air Force’s plans to retire legacy aircraft, mandating that the service retain the venerable A-10 Warthog. The bill, approved by the committee on Wednesday, did permit some aircraft divestments. Most notably, it would allow for the retirement of 18 KC-135 aircraft and 12 KC-10…
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DefenseNews

US Army National Guard to get first UH-60Vs this month

July 23, 2021
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Army National Guard unit is set to get the first Victor-model Black Hawks this month, Brig. Gen. Robert Barrie, the program executive officer for Army aviation, said in a July 21 press event at the Army Aviation Center of Excellence’s industry day at…
DefenseNews

To afford next-gen combat aircraft, the US Air Force will make cuts to ISR inventory

July 22, 2021
WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force restructures its aircraft inventory to compete with China, the service is taking calculated risks in its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft portfolio, a top general said Wednesday. In its fiscal 2022 budget request, the Air Force proposed mothballing four of its 16 E-8 JSTARS aircraft, which are used for ground surveillance and targeting…
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