2023-US-budget-defense

By Steve Trimble
Three test failures in one year first earned a demotion for the hypersonic Lockheed Martin AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, and then they invited a death sentence.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Navy has released the first detailed plans in the fiscal 2023 budget request for a fast-tracked acquisition of a new hypersonic missile for carrier-based fighters.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Navy has revealed plans to divest five squadrons of Boeing EA-18Gs over the next three years, retiring the portion of the electronic attack fleet of tactical jets dedicated to supporting land-based forces.
Sensors & Electronic Warfare

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force plans to cut F-35A orders for a second year beyond the previously announced fiscal 2023 budget request, then start ramping up
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force’s surprise plan to cut to its buy of Sikorsky HH-60W helicopters comes as the service is conducting an internal, wargames-based review of what the future of the combat search and rescue mission will become.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
As the service looks to cut KC-10s and KC-135s, it is expressing more confidence in the KC-46 despite continued deficiencies in its development.
Aircraft & Propulsion

By Steven Grundman
The ulterior aim of critics’ inflation focus is not economics but the strategic choices the Pentagon’s budget request implements.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force faces a fight on Capitol Hill as it looks to get rid of dozens more of its aircraft while readily acknowledging that comes with instant risk.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Air Force has confirmed the fiscal 2023 budget request includes funding for multiple Northrop Grumman B-21 bombers in the first annual lot of low-rate initial production.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
For lawmakers, journalists and others expecting a price tag in the $500-600 million range, a $1.6 billion price tag for the first B-21, if confirmed, may come as a shock.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Space Force needs to transform how it can serve what Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall says is a “no-fail” mission in light of recent tests by both China and Russia.
Space Symposium

By Steve Trimble
The “Modular Advanced Missile” program appears for the first time in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2023 budget request documents.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
Two different types of air-launched hypersonic missiles appear to be heading in opposite directions.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
$194 billion budget proposes deep divestments to free up funding for research and development.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force says its next-generation combat search-and-rescue helicopter has begun initial operational test and evaluation, just days after the service announced it intends to reduce the overall fleet of the aircraft.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
U.S. defense officials have selected a unique pairing of Navy and Army systems to defend Guam from a theorized barrage of Chinese ballistic and cruise missiles, the head of the Missile Defense Agency says.
Missile Defense & Weapons

By Steve Trimble
The U.S. Navy plans to ramp up spending for the classified Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems over the next six years, a U.S. Navy official said March 28.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
A struggling U.S. Air Force hypersonic weapons program faces a potentially significant funding cut in fiscal 2023, adding to the long-term pressure on the program.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The Biden administration is requesting $813.3 billion for national defense, including a $773 billion total for the Pentagon, in an increase of defense spending aimed at more research and development of future systems at the cost of more divestments.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Steve Trimble
The $16.8 billion fiscal 2023 budget request for the U.S. Navy’s aviation branch taps the brakes on procurement ramp-ups for several fixed-wing aircraft programs.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The possibility of a “bridge tanker” competition to cover the gap between the end of the current KC-46 program and a future U.S. Air Force refueler is looking less likely as the service continues to refine its requirements for the future fleet.
Multi-Mission Aircraft

By Steve Trimble
Lockheed Martin F-35s being delivered today are cheaper to acquire than they’ve ever been—and even cost less than some competitors that are in some ways less capable.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2023 budget request released, March 28, is the first time the U.S. Space Force has been able to plan spending as its own independent service, and the result is a big investment in research and development aimed at making key services in orbit more protected from emerging threats.
Space Symposium

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force plans to start cutting its Lockheed Martin F-22 fleet quickly, retiring 33 of the least-capable Raptors in fiscal 2023 as it looks to invest more in its next-generation fighter.
Budget, Policy & Operations

By Brian Everstine
The U.S. Air Force is planning to cut its purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35As in the short term, looking to buy more Boeing F-15EXs as the Joint Strike Fighter continues to struggle with the development of needed upgrades.
Budget, Policy & Operations