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18 June 21. Ben Wallace is first ever UK Defence Secretary to visit Serbia. Mr Wallace’s visit marks a development in the UK-Serbia defence relationship as the two countries agreed to expand defence engagement. The UK and Serbia will enhance their cooperation on defence and security issues, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed.
In the first ever official visit of a UK Defence Secretary to the country, Mr Wallace met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović to discuss how our two countries’ militaries can cooperate further and support shared efforts to protect security in the Western Balkans.
The recently published Defence Command Paper outlined that in an age of global and systemic competition, our Armed Forces would be persistently globally engaged with partners around the world.
Our growing defence relationship was demonstrated to both Mr Wallace and Mr Stefanović on a visit to Exercise Platinum Wolf, a Serbia-hosted multinational exercise of 11 countries to which the UK is this year’s largest contributor.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said, “Our open societies are witnessing a rising tide of threats that cross borders and often occur below the threshold of conflict. As our recently-published Defence Command Paper made clear, developing close partnerships is crucial to building the resilience needed to counter such threats and that’s why I’m delighted we’re expanding our defence cooperation with Serbia.”
Following meetings in Belgrade, the Defence Secretary and his counterpart signed a bilateral document which will expand the ambition of our two nations’ defence engagement and open up new opportunities for joint training. Mr Wallace also reaffirmed the UK’s enduring commitment to European security, as set out in the recently published Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper, which includes a commitment to working closely with Western Balkans partners to maintain and promote regional and international peace and security.
That ambition was demonstrated on Exercise Platinum Wolf, where a UK company consisting of 70 troops from 3 SCOTS, 2 RIFLES and 8 RIFLES is the largest contribution to the international exercise that also features forces from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and the United States of America.
While in Serbia the Defence Secretary also opened a memorial to the successful evacuation of the UK Special Operations Executive personnel and Allied Airmen from behind enemy lines in what was then Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Alongside local troops and villagers, British personnel directed the construction of an airfield under the Nazis’ noses. The airfield was used to evacuate 2,400 Allied Airmen, 11,000 wounded Partisans and 400 wounded civilians between May 1944 and June 1945. The memorial unveiled by the Defence Secretary was made by metalsmiths from 4th Armoured Close Support Battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers with the support of 22nd Engineer Regiment and brought over from the United Kingdom. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
18 June 21. German defense ministry seeks $5.3bn for next FCAS research phase. The German defense ministry has forwarded a request to lawmakers seeking approval for almost 4,5bn euros, or $5.3bn, that would pay for the country’s contributions to the next stage of the Future Combat Air System.
Lawmakers on the Bundestag’s Budget and Defense committees are scheduled to consider the request next week. It covers a collection of research and technology-development activities, collectively dubbed phases 1B and 2, between 2021 and 2027. During that time, officials want to begin regular test flights with a demonstrator, constructed under the auspices of France’s Dassault Aviation.
The spending request comes after France “categorically rejected” an intermediate “bridging phase” in the German-Franco-Spanish program, according to the justification package forwarded by the Finance Ministry. Berlin had floated such a scenario given that the coronavirus pandemic has delayed completion of a joint concept study as well as the ongoing development, known as phase 1A.
Germany’s share in research expenditures on the program’s seven “pillars” and the development of an initial demonstrator amounts to 3.3bn euros. In addition, Berlin is on the hook for 450m euros to cover government-furnished equipment, which officials have previously said could include access to aircraft engines and airfield time.
Notably, the defense ministry wants to create a separate pot of 750 m euros dedicated solely to national developments. The amount is meant to ensure German industry’s “eye-level participation” vis-a-vis their counterparts from France and Spain.
The FCAS national lead companies are Dassault for France, Airbus Defence and Space for Germany, and Indra for Spain.
The program includes a next-generation fighter aircraft to be supported by various types of drones and connected through a sophisticated communications infrastructure.
Defense officials describe Germany’s envisioned national spending plan as a necessity, given that the trinational program alone would fail to yield a usable weapon for any of the partner nations. The “product-heavy” fighter development, for example, includes too little consideration for satellite communications and multi-layered sensor integration, leading Germany to set up its own developments on those areas.
The same logic underlies plans for an avionics test bed, according to the written spending request to lawmakers. “Avionics technologies are a core sub-system for further development and risk mitigation of the operational product,” officials wrote, adding that those aspects are outside the scope of the trinational program
German officials also want to offset nationally what they consider insufficient attention to the fields of electronic warfare, mission planning, weapons interfaces, and the secure distribution of sensor data, according to the document.
The government here admits that the future budget for FCAS is anything but certain at this point. A fallback fund of 4,3bn euros is in the works in the event that the defense budget alone is too small to carry the program in the years ahead. (Source: Defense News)
18 June 21. Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the Treaty on Open Skies. We deeply regret the notification by Russia of its decision to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, an important legally binding instrument which contributes to transparency, security and stability, and mutual confidence in the Euro-Atlantic area.
Russia has for many years refused to fully comply with its obligations under the Treaty on Open Skies, by, inter alia, imposing non-compliant flight restrictions over the Kaliningrad region, and near its border with Georgia.
We have repeatedly called on Russia to return to full compliance with the Treaty and have taken multiple steps, including during the 4th Review Conference of the Treaty on Open Skies, to constructively resolve outstanding issues of compliance. Russia has instead failed to engage constructively, and has not taken steps towards returning to full compliance. The United States cited Russia’s refusal to fully comply as a significant factor in its decision to withdraw from the Treaty in November 2020, in accordance with its provisions. We share the concerns the United States referred to in its decision.
We remain committed to conventional arms control as a key element of Euro-Atlantic security. We reiterate our full commitment to reduce military risk, prevent misperceptions and conflicts, build trust and confidence and, thereby, contribute to peace and security.
We continue to aspire to a constructive relationship with Russia, when Russia’s actions make that possible. We urge Russia to use the remaining six months before its withdrawal takes effect to reconsider its decision and return to full compliance with the Treaty on Open Skies.
(Source: NATO)
15 June 21. NATO Stands Together as Biden Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the NATO-Russia relationship, “is at its lowest point since the Cold War, and Moscow’s aggressive actions are a threat to our security.”
The alliance leader said this at the end of the NATO Summit in Brussels, where leaders charted the course of the most successful defensive pact in history for the years ahead.
President Joe Biden attended the summit and said America’s commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance is unshakeable. He said the U.S. regards Article 5 of the NATO treaty — which states an attack on one country is an attack on all — as “a sacred commitment.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III accompanied the president to the summit.
Biden spoke to the press after the first day’s meeting at NATO headquarters. He noted that in addition to facing the worldwide pandemic, “the democratic values that undergird our alliance are under increasing pressure both internally and externally.
Russia and China are both seeking to drive a wedge in our trans-Atlantic solidarity, and we’re seeing an increase in malicious cyber activity.”
The president emphasized what the treaty alliance brings to the world — solidarity in the face of challenges. He also noted that while the United States had stepped back from its leadership in world affairs, “everyone in that room today understood the shared appreciation … that America is back,” he said.
During a news conference at headquarters, Stoltenberg said alliance leaders reconfirmed the dual-track approach of defense and dialogue with Russia and China. “We will keep our defenses strong, while remaining ready to talk to make our positions clear, avoid misunderstanding and prevent escalation,” he said during a rare in-person press conference.
The allied leaders fully support the decision to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and welcome news arms control talks. “We stand in solidarity with our valued partners Ukraine and Georgia, and we will continue to support their reforms, bringing them closer to NATO,” he said.
China is on the other side of the world from the North Atlantic, but NATO leaders had to address the Pacific nation. “There is a strong convergence of views among allies, based on our interests, we see opportunities to engage on issues such as arms control and climate change,” the secretary general said. “But China’s growing influence and international policies present challenges to alliance security. Leaders agreed that we need to address such challenges together as an alliance, and that we need to engage with China to defend our security interests.”
NATO leaders are concerned by China’s coercive policies which stand in contrast to the fundamental values enshrined in the Washington Treaty that established the alliance in 1949, Stoltenberg said. “China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal with more warheads and a larger number of sophisticated delivery systems,” he said. “It is opaque in implementing its military modernization. It is cooperating militarily with Russia, including through exercises in the Euro-Atlantic area.”
NATO leaders called on China to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system, including in space, cyber and maritime domains, in keeping with its role as a major power.
President Biden left Brussels on Tuesday and travelled to Geneva where he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Source: US DoD)
15 June 21. UK underlines commitment to Western Balkans with extension of troops in Kosovo. UK troops will continue to contribute to the NATO Mission in Kosovo (KFOR) until at least 2023.
The continuing presence of British Army personnel in the NATO force, which for over two decades has helped maintain peace and stability in Kosovo, signals the UK’s ongoing commitment to the wider Western Balkans region’s security, stability and prosperity.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said, “NATO is the bedrock of UK security and it is because our Armed Forces step forward to protect peace alongside our partners that it remains so. The extension of our commitment to KFOR underlines our unwavering commitment to the Western Balkans region, where NATO has helped to bring stability for over two decades. The UK has been a key contributor to the UN-mandated NATO force, known as KFOR, since it first entered Kosovo in 1999 as a peacekeeping force to bring peace and stability following the conflict of the 1990s.”
UK forces have since worked to enhance KFOR’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capability, significantly increasing the mission commanders’ situational awareness – ensuring the operation can provide a safe and secure environment for the entire population. KFOR acts as one of the main security providers in Kosovo, with troops contributed by some 30 nations including Italy, Turkey, Poland and the US, as well as the UK. The UK’s contribution includes a battalion-sized high readiness Strategic Reserved Force based in the UK, ready to deploy at short notice.
As set out in the recently-published Integrated Review into security, defence, development and foreign policy and Defence Command Paper, the UK remains committed to NATO which remains the bedrock of our security.
It comes after the Prime Minister announced in November an increase in Defence funding of over £24bn across the next four years, enabling our Armed Forces to adapt to meet future threats. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
14 June 21. McCain Institute Statement on the President Biden’s NATO Summit. Since its founding, NATO has served as the largest bulwark against tyranny in world history. We are pleased to see President Joe Biden travel to Brussels, Belgium to reaffirm America’s commitment to the world’s most successful alliance on his first foreign trip.
During a 2016 visit to Estonia, Senator John McCain said, “The best way to prevent Russian misbehavior is by having a credible, strong military and a strong NATO alliance.”
Today in Brussels, we hope to hear about concrete plans for NATO to continue and expand its mission and purpose for the future. They include:
- NATO has to improve its military capacity, readiness and mobility. We need plug-and-play interoperability among all Allied rapid response formations.
- Keep an open door to Georgia and Ukraine. Russia has no right to a “sphere of influence” outside of its internationally recognized borders.
- Strengthen NATO’s ability to fund, recruit and continue to train staff on the newest cyber defense measures.
- Improve Alliance intelligence sharing capabilities on Chinese malign activities. We should create a new multilateral consultative network with our partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Vladimir Putin has proven to be just as ruthless and reckless an operator outside of Russia’s borders as he is inside of them. We have seen this through his wars of aggression and the inhumane treatment of Alexei Navalny and other political activists.
NATO was created to defend Europe. In order for NATO to uphold this responsibility, its member-states must recognize the significant threat that Russia poses to European security.
Now more than ever, America and the world need a united and forward-looking NATO that is capable of defending the alliance in cyberspace, the Baltics, the Black Sea and everywhere in between. As the world contends with a rise of authoritarianism and a more aggressive China and Russia, America’s commitment to NATO must never waver.
13 June 21. Defence Secretary Backs Theresa May As Future NATO Chief. Ben Wallace told Italian media Mrs May would be an “excellent candidate” to lead NATO after Jens Stoltenberg steps down.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has given his support to former prime minister Theresa May as the next head of NATO. Mr Wallace told Italian media that Mrs May would be an “excellent candidate” to lead the transatlantic defence alliance after its current chief Jens Stoltenberg steps down next year.
“Theresa May was a fantastic prime minister in really tough times,” Mr Wallace, who was a senior member of Mrs May’s cabinet, told the political magazine Formiche.
“I worked with her as the security minister. She would be an excellent candidate.”
Mr Wallace said the UK Government had yet to propose a candidate to possibly replace Mr Stoltenberg, adding: “We have a lot of work to do, like in Afghanistan, before we think about this.”
While stressing the process to select a new leader, who must be acceptable to all 30 NATO member nations, was at an early stage, Mr Wallace said the UK would always want to play a “vital role” in the alliance.
“The UK is one of the main contributors to NATO, the country in Europe that spends the most,” he said.
“Of course, we always want to play a vital role in the alliance. But there are many other nations and what is important for NATO is to work unanimously,” he told the magazine.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph has reported that former Tory leader William Hague, ex-cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill and Mr Wallace himself are also being discussed as potential British candidates for the role.
(Source: forces.net)
14 June 21. Nato warns China’s military ambitions threaten international order. Stark expression of deteriorating relationship as alliance also steps up efforts in cyber space, outer space and AI. Nato leaders have warned that China poses “systemic challenges” to the rules-based international order, in a sign of growing western unease over Beijing’s military ambitions. Members of the transatlantic alliance convening in Brussels on Monday cited activities such as disinformation, Chinese military co-operation with Russia and the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal as part of the threat, according to a Nato communiqué. The strength of the statement shows how far relations between the west and Beijing have deteriorated in the 18 months since Nato countries last met. Then they had issued a cautious statement about the “opportunities and challenges” presented by China. The tougher language at US president Joe Biden’s first Nato summit comes as members of the 72-year-old cold war-era military pact vowed to widen co-operation in new theatres of conflict from cyber space to outer space. The Nato communiqué followed a tougher line from the weekend’s G7 meeting, when the club of rich democracies criticised China over human rights, trade and a lack of transparency over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary-general, insisted Beijing was “not an adversary” but said the alliance needed to “engage with China to defend our security interests”. “There is a strong convergence of views among allies,” he said, adding that Nato was primarily concerned about Beijing’s activities in the group’s Euro-Atlantic sphere of operation. “China’s growing influence and international policies present challenges to alliance security.” China’s “stated ambitions and assertive behaviour” posed “systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security”, said the summit communiqué, approved by the leaders of the 30 Nato member states. “We call on China to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains, in keeping with its role as a major power.” The communiqué pointed to China’s “coercive policies”, its accumulation of nuclear warheads and sophisticated delivery systems, and its participation in Russian military exercises in Atlantic region waters. Another trend troubling Nato allies is the involvement of Chinese companies in critical infrastructure in Europe, such as ports and via telecommunications company Huawei. Nato said it would aim for “constructive dialogue” with Beijing “where possible”, including on climate change, in a sign of more nuanced views held by some of the alliance’s members. Recommended Europe Express Biden launches new era at Nato but familiar concerns loom large The Nato broadside reflects an attempt by the Biden administration to use his first European trip to mobilise allies to push back against China. Beijing hit back at criticism by the G7 club of rich democracies this weekend, accusing the group of “sinister intentions” and “artificially creating confrontation and friction”. The Nato leaders also pressed ahead with efforts to modernise a grouping originally set up as bulwark to the Soviet Union. Nato is now pulling back from an era of “expeditionary” international missions, with its forces preparing to leave Afghanistan along with US troops after almost two decades. The Nato heads of state and government approved a cyber defence strategy and extended existing powers to invoke the alliance’s “Article 5” principle of collective defence, in cases of co-ordinated cyber attacks. “[This] will upgrade the defence, political and intelligence dimensions of cyber across the alliance,” Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said before the meeting. UK prime minister Boris Johnson had also called for more investment in cyber defences in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, when hostile states were accused of carrying out cyber attacks on allies’ health systems. Nato leaders also pushed through measures to strengthen their collective response to attacks on satellites, and to build capabilities in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Members of the alliance have become increasingly preoccupied with potential military uses of AI and with the growing activities of China and Russia in outer space. As well as confronting external threats, Nato faces some chronic internal divisions, notably between Turkey and some member states such as France in the eastern Mediterranean. (Source: FT.com)
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16 June 21. ‘At the Limits of What I Can Do:’ Marine Corps Commandant Makes Plea for Funding.
Arguing for full funding of the Marine Corps’ fiscal 2022 budget request, Commandant Gen. David Berger said his service has shed all waste and needs support to focus on potential adversaries like China and Russia.
Making his case before the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday for the Marine Corps’ $47.86 billion budget request, Berger said he has reduced headquarters staffing by 15%, cut legacy systems and end strength, and has nothing left to draw from to fund programs and projects.
“We have wrung just about everything we can out of the Marine Corps internally,” Berger said. “We’re at the limits of what I can do.”
The Marine Corps’ budget request represents a 6.2% increase from fiscal 2021, even as the service plans to reduce the size of the active-duty force by 2,700, to 178,500 Marines. The service ultimately wants to reach 174,000 by 2030 — roughly the size it was in fiscal 2002.
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Berger is using the money he has saved by reorganizing the Marine Corps and shedding capabilities such as tanks and artillery to invest in new technologies and platforms.
Among the systems included in the fiscal 2022 budget is development of the Ground/based Anti-Ship Missile/Remotely Operated Ground Unit Expeditionary Fires Vehicle. The Marine Corps had requested funding for this program but the budget was cut, and the Corps also received no funding for long-range fires.
“It set us back in time, and for combatant commanders, this equals risk,” Berger said during the hearing.
The service also plans to invest in its new amphibious combat vehicle, buying 92 per year. It also plans to buy eight Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, or GATOR, systems for $300 million.
As part of the planned cuts, the service will divest itself of some or all of its Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles as well as the M88A2 Hercules Recovery Vehicle and the vehicle-mounted Training Counter Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device-Electronic Warfare (CREW) system, “since it no longer meets training objectives,” according to budget documents.
The Marine Corps submitted a $3 billion list of its unfunded priorities to Congress this year, items that Berger said are needed to counter the “pacing threat” of China, which is rapidly building up its strategic forces.
The top wishes on the list include two types of anti-ship missiles, including 35 anti-ship Naval Strike Missiles for $57.8 million, and 48 Tactical Tomahawk long-range anti-ship and strike missiles for $96 million.
The list also includes two KC-130J aircraft for $197.7 million — replacements for aircraft that were lost in 2018 in Japan and last year in California.
Funding for items on the list would help the Marine Corps’ “counter the pacing threat of China in the near term,” Berger said.
“We are self-funding our modernization. The items on the unfunded priority list would help us move faster.”
(Source: Military.com)
16 June 21. Official Details DOD Missile Defense Strategy. Missile defense plays a key role in U.S. national security. However, as missile technology matures and proliferates among potential adversaries China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, the threat to the U.S., deployed forces, allies and partners is increasing, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear and missile defense policy said.
Leonor Tomero provided testimony at a House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing regarding the fiscal year 2022 budget request for missile defense and missile defeat programs.
To address these evolving challenges, the Defense Department will review its missile defense policies, strategies and capabilities to ensure the U.S. has effective missile defenses, Tomero said.
Spotlight: FY 2022 Defense Budget
The review will contribute to the department’s approach on integrated deterrence, she said, noting that the review is expected to be completed in January.
The department recently initiated development of the Next Generation Interceptor, she said, adding that the NGI will increase the reliability and capability of the United States’ missile defense.
“The department will continue to ensure that we bring a more integrated approach to air and missile defense to address various types of ballistic missile threats and enable defense against cruise missiles and unmanned aerial systems,” she said.
Additionally, the department will enhance its global network of integrated space-based and land-based sensors used in a variety of capabilities, such as detection, tracking and targeting through all phases of flight for incoming missiles, Tomero said, mentioning that U.S. commercial innovation is already transforming this field.
In fiscal year 2022, the department will continue to develop the prototype hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor that will allow the tracking of hypersonic threats and add resiliency to the sensor architecture, she said.
The department’s approach for regional hypersonic defense will first focus on defense in the terminal phase, she said, meaning the final phase of a missile’s trajectory.
Information superiority is critical to future battlefields and is necessary to enable rapid planning and employment in a joint operating environment. To that end, the department is developing multi cyber-hardened, advanced, all-domain awareness for command and control architecture that will enable timely and accurate decision making to address emerging threats, she said.
“The department is engaging and working with our allies and partners to enhance our collective missile defense efforts,” she said, mentioning Japan, South Korea, Australia and our NATO allies, along with Israel and Gulf Cooperation Council nations.
Spotlight: NATO
Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command; Navy Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency; Army Lt. Gen. Daniel L. Karbler, commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command; and Space Force Lt. Gen. John E. Shaw, deputy commander of U.S. Space Command, also testified. (Source: US DoD)
15 June 21. Proposed modernization increases show Army sees joint operations as ‘top priority.’ While the Army slashed its overall budget request $5bn, the service asked for an increase of about $1.8bn for modernization efforts, a priority that it noted will “enable our forces to effectively fight and win in Joint All Domain Operations.”
In the midst of cuts, the team upgrading the service’s tactical network would receive a $537m boost to build the backbone of resilient battlefield data transfer.
The boosts represent significant emphasis on the battlefield of the future as the service pivots to fights where war-fighting systems are interconnected via the tactical network, a concept the service tests at its annual Project Convergence event. According to a top acquisition official, the increase signals how the Army views its network as critical to Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
“Clearly, to the Army [and] to senior leaders, the network and all it can potentially provide is still a top priority,” said Doug Bush, acting assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology.
Analysts, such as Andrew Hunter, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed the Army’s budget plan shows it is taking JADC2 seriously.
“The Army in general put real money into networking in its budget request for FY22. Given that overall money for R&D and procurement is down, it’s notable that they’re prioritizing investing in command and control and networking,” Hunter said.
The Army contributes to the joint war-fighting concept through Project Convergence, an annual event in the Yuma, Ariz., desert where the service tries to connect sensors from air, land and on orbit with emerging networks. The goal is to process data with artificial intelligence to automatically target potential threats and fire from beyond line-of-sight at blazing speeds.
The event, which doesn’t have a dedicated budget line, incorporates work from the Army’s eight cross-functional teams dedicated to updating the service.
In a late May budget preview, Army officials told reporters it wants $106.8m for its Project Convergence demonstration, including $33.7m for operations and maintenance and $73.1m dedicated to research, development testing and evaluation.
The RDT&E proposal showed the Army wants to spend millions on AI-enabled target recognition, data management, SATCOM and autonomy, among other futuristic technologies.
The service’s investment in the Network CFT is important because it touches all the systems under development in other modernization areas. Without it, new systems for soldiers couldn’t communicate with each other.
“One of the key things that the Network CFT’s going to do over time, is how we integrate these capabilities across all the modernization efforts because there’s not one that’s not interdependent of the network,” Col. Rob Ryan, acting director of the Network CFT, said at recent event.
Hunter said the proposed investment will benefit Army JADC2 contributions.
“Overall, they’ve [the Army] clearly prioritized investing in the network, and that’s going to likely be a very good thing for the development of an Army contribution to JADC2 down the road,” Hunter said.
(Source: Defense News)
15 June 21. Classified Navy JADC2 budget plan has a few spending hints Experts picked up signs in the Navy’s budget about its joint war-fighting priorities despite a lack of details because most related spending lines are classified.
Notably, they pointed to investments in enterprise networking, command and control, and cybersecurity to support the service’s Project Overmatch.
The Navy has provided few specifics about its effort to better connect ships, aircraft and unmanned systems for Joint All-Domain Command and Control. Experts said fleets’ interconnected network structures make them susceptible to devastating interference and could explain the secrecy.
At a late May budget briefing, the Navy said classified research and development budget requests went up. “Project Overmatch with funding in the budget of FY22 has the three R&D lines that also happen to be classified. But those values do increase,” said Rear Adm. John Gumbleton, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for budget.
Following the top item in the Navy’s unfunded priority list for a guided-missile destroyer, the service listed requests for two networking-related items critical for JADC2: $53.9m to accelerate naval tactical grid development and $87m for resilient communications and position, navigation and timing for combat logistics fleets.
“What we did see was there was $50 some million that was second highest unfunded requirement that the Navy was willing to put forth to Congress, which does say a lot,” said Rob Carey, president of Cloudera Government Solutions, vice president of Cloudera Public Sector and former Navy CIO and DoD principal deputy CIO.
The broader Navy budget plan pointed to investments in information warfare systems that will support Project Overmatch to seamlessly connect network sensors, manned and unmanned platforms, and weapons to help forces make better battlefield decisions than adversaries.
In this category, the Navy would spend $5.8bn for FY22 procurement. That would include satellite communications, enterprise networks, command and control systems, ISR sensors and processor development, resilient precision, navigation and timing systems, electronic warfare systems, counter C4ISR systems, tactical data link systems and cyber, among others. By far the largest chunk of the lot is $1.19bn requested for enterprise networks.
To really gauge the Navy’s true investments in this space, observers will need to check the Future Years Defense Program projections, Carey said, adding that funding will probably ramp up over the next five years. However, the Biden administration did not release those numbers for this budget request.
The Navy is spending on the right mission areas, said Juliana Vida, chief strategy adviser at Splunk and former Navy deputy CIO.
“It’s actually, I think, very encouraging to see that language that supports the JADC2 concept and Project Overmatch concept are now making their way into budgets with large dollars attached to them,” she said. “We all know that you follow the money in the Department of Defense and where there is funding placed, that is a very strong signal of senior leadership’s dedication to making sure that these capabilities get put into the hands of our sailors and Marines.”
Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute, said he saw Navy investments in the budget falling into three broad buckets:
- Alignment of communications systems to the right bandwidth or to reduce latency to support operations and decision-making in real time.
- Interoperability to build platforms on the backbone of three existing network or sensing architectures.
- A reduced communications signature footprint for greater resiliency on the electromagnetic spectrum.
Beyond these three, he said the details stray into the classified realm.
The Navy might have classified much of its funding plan because it views itself as more susceptible to C4ISR disruption than its service counterparts.
Calling Project Overmatch the Navy’s crown jewel and the most important capability the service is pursuing, Clark explained that an adversary could in one fell swoop disrupt the communications chain to cripple the entire fleet, which is much harder to do to an Army unit or an air sortie.
A Navy force is too slow to quickly recompose and doesn’t have the terrain in which to hide itself and regroup, he said.
As a result, the service might be trying to protect its “secret sauce” from adversary eyes, Clark said.
Carey was pleased the Navy decided to classify these items because a war would likely begin with a network attack, and Project Overmatch is all about network architectures.
“War fighting is a pretty sensitive art. This is the network side of war fighting, which you don’t want to reveal because the next war, the first parts of it will not be kinetic, they will be nonkinetic. I think the Navy smartly has classified this,” he said. Adversaries “can exploit the information that’s put out there and then figure out ways to now stymie that development because this is about accelerating war-fighting decisions by providing access to information in disparate places, running AI.” (Source: Defense News)
15 June 21. Congress dealt ABMS a blow, but experts see progress. The Pentagon’s new budget plan provided a first look at how the military is building investment in its signature future war-fighting strategy, pumping money into linking networks and processing data for a connected force.
On one hand, experts said the fiscal 2022 proposal is a marker for Joint All-Domain Command and Control that shows shifting priorities and encouraging signs after 18 months of spending on the plan for U.S. superiority against highly capable adversaries such as China or Russia.
But the budget left many details murky, with chunks of classified spending, no top-line figures and much of the funding mixed in larger programs, raising questions with insiders on issues including whether command and control will get enough money or how the services will combine separate efforts.
By one conservative estimate, a national security expert expects the Pentagon to spend more than $1bin on JADC2 next year. Observers predict funding will ramp up in budgets to come, with the Joint Chiefs of Staff already asking Congress for future JADC2-specific modernization money and the project’s top leader proclaiming “delivery time” has arrived now that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed a formal strategy.
“It’s great to see money going toward better networking, resilient communications and more adaptable communications. Those are critical things for the DoD, but they are not, in and of themselves, command and control,” said Eli Niewood, vice president for intelligence and cross-cutting capabilities at Mitre, which runs federally funded research centers for government technology development. “What we think really needs to happen for JADC2 is better capabilities within decision-making [and] within sense-making. It’s much harder to find that money than it is to find the money going into networks and radios.”
Under the Defense Department’s JADC2 vision, the military could take data collected from anywhere, process it with artificial intelligence to target potential threats, and push that information to the relevant weapon system or war fighter over emerging networks in near real time.
Experts expect future budget projections, when they’re eventually released, will provide a stronger picture of how the investments might change and grow. Air Force and Army demonstrations, which will take place again later this year, have shown progress at the ground level to link sensors and shooters at unprecedented speed. Still, accountability is hard to gauge because the services do not outline clear milestones and timetables for those events.
Some of what’s unknown about JADC2 investment stems from the fact that the money is spread across many programs that feed the services’ so-far disconnected individual efforts: the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System, the Army’s Project Convergence and the Navy’s classified Project Overmatch. Further muddying the waters, only ABMS has a budget line as the sole program of record in the bunch.
Additionally, billions for service modernization efforts contribute indirectly.
But some spending insights can be found. A conservative estimate from Travis Sharp, a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, is that the Defense Department is requesting at least $1.2bn in FY22 for programs that directly support JADC2. That number could underestimate the total “perhaps significantly,” he said.
Sharp searched for JADC2-specific terms, such as “Project Overmatch” or “fully networked command and control,” and he didn’t include programs that only partially support the concept. The bulk of the $1.2bn is in requests from the Office of Secretary of Defense, which runs several joint command and control research programs, and for the Space Development Agency, which is developing a new space-based mesh network to connect sensors and shooters all over the world via satellite.
The challenge in estimating a total price tag is “due to the difficulty of assigning dollar values to programs that indirectly support JADC2,” Sharp said.
For example, the Navy noted that a broad proposed information warfare increase would help Project Overmatch.
After the services listed several JADC2-enabling programs on their unfunded priority wish lists to Congress, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall, the chief information officer/J6 of the Joint Chiefs, tried to assuage any concerns that the services won’t have enough money for JADC2. “I firmly believe we are adequately resourced to get done with the experimentation phase we’re talking about,” Crall said at an early June press conference.
At an Army event that same week, Brig. Gen. Robert Parker, head of the JADC2 Joint Cross-Functional Team, said military leaders have had “encouraging” conversations with lawmakers about adding JADC2-specific funds to incentivize modernization and adopt promising prototypes.
“The critical thing is what is being invested in terms of a JADC2 capability versus what the services are investing in to modernize their force and to close some critical gaps within the force,” said Scott Lee, cross-cutting priority lead for JADC2 at Mitre.
The lack of clarity reflects broader issues with the JADC2 development structure. While the services have taken steps toward collaboration, it’s not clear how the independent efforts fit together. The Joint Chiefs are working toward a top-down plan, but for now each service has a unique approach with varying levels of transparency.
“Regarding JADC2, the issues go beyond funding. It’s much more important that the services are aligned, that the ‘J’ in JADC2 truly be ‘joint.’ The services aren’t there yet, but they’re working to find a mutual path forward. Once that is in place, they can look at funding with a more keen eye,” said Mark Lewis, executive director of the Emerging Technologies Institute of the National Defense Industrial Association. (Source: Defense News)
10 June 21. The Five Surprises In Pentagon’s 2022 Budget. Most observers had expected an increase in the Navy’s shipbuilding accounts with this budget, especially after the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said that, even as an Army general, he would support budget increases for the Navy and Air Force in light of the Chinese threat. But this budget decommissions 12 ships and buys relatively few replacements.
Many elements of the Biden Administration’s first defense budget had been signaled ahead of time: focus on climate, cuts to “legacy” platforms, and an emphasis on developing future technologies.
What were the surprises? Unchanged Army end strength, a strong nuclear modernization program, the absence of new unmanned systems, a resilient F-35 program, and a shrinking Navy.
The Shrinking Navy!
Most observers had expected an increase in the Navy’s shipbuilding accounts with this budget, especially after the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said that, even as an Army general, he would support budget increases for the Navy and Air Force in light of the Chinese threat.
But this budget decommissions 12 ships early (seven cruisers, five previously planned plus two additional, an LPD amphibious ship, and four LCSs) and buys relatively few replacements. Some of the ship decommissionings, especially the cruisers and amphib, had been expected since the Navy has fought with Congress about extending their service lives. However, the LCSs had only been in service four to nine years out of a potential 30-year lifespan. The budget proposes buying only eight battle force ships, of which four are combatants (one DDG 51, one frigate, and two Virginia-class submarines). Assuming a 30-year service life, that implies a fleet of only 240 ships.
The Obama administration had set the fleet size at 308 ships. The Trump administration increased that to 355 ships, which Congress codified into law. Mark Esper, just before he resigned as Defense Secretary, proposed a fleet of “500+” ships that included a large number of unmanned vessels. Although congressional members have expressed skepticism about such a high target, many Democrats, particularly those from shipbuilding districts, have endorsed some naval expansion.
In the past, the Navy accelerated the deactivation of ships to save money, for example, in the early 1970s and in the 1990s. However, after the declines, it has never been able to build the numbers back up to where they were. Thus, the Navy is likely to be headed for a smaller fleet (290 manned ships?), though one that is younger and more capable.
Unchanged Army End Strength.
Most observers expected the Army’s troop- numbers would shrink to help pay both for Army internal programs and for Navy and Air Force programs designed to counter China. The Army’s budget was, indeed, cut by $3.6 bn (though some of that reflects reduced operations in Afghanistan), but the end strength cut did not happen, at least not yet.
The budget proposes an Army end strength of 485,000, essentially its level today. The Army was quite upfront that its priorities were end strength, readiness, and modernization, so it protected end strength at the cost of other elements. Historically, the Army has prioritized personnel and end strength, seeing them as its institutional core.
Further, the Army had been on a strategic communications campaign to argue that its size needed to be sustained. The Army points to its major role in the Pacific with ballistic missile defense, long-range precision fires, and theater-wide logistics. It also argues that its extensive day-to-day deployments put a floor on its size. These efforts seem to have paid off, at least in the short term.
The Army remains in a precarious position. Strategists see it as a bill payer for other priorities, particularly naval and air. Many elements of its program will decline in FY 2022―readiness, training, and modernization―as Tom Spoehr at Heritage Foundation notes. The bottom line: the Army will need more money if it wants to hold onto its people.
Vibrant Nuclear Modernization.
Arms-control advocates have been hammering the Biden administration about curbing nuclear modernization, arguing that the effort is “unnecessary and costly.” The Democratic Party’s platform denounced “the reckless embrace of a new arms race.”
But the Biden Administration’s first budget strongly supports all three legs of the triad. The three major nuclear modernization programs all would receive funding increases and large budgets: B-21 (+$30m, to nearly $3bn), Columbia class ballistic missile submarine (+$509m to $5 bn), and the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD, +$1bn, to $2.6bn).
This nuclear budget did not come out of thin air. The Obama administration developed a nuclear modernization package in 2010 as a complement to New START. The United States would reduce its nuclear forces but modernize the remainder. Although Democrats have been expected to continue with the Obama program (and many Biden administration officials served in the Obama administration), some programs are vulnerable. The long-range standoff missile (LRSO), a nuclear-tipped cruise missile, had been part of the Obama program, but the arms-control community opposed it strongly. Still, the program’s proposed funding increased by $224m, to $609m. GBSD had always been controversial with arms-control advocates for reasons of both cost and vulnerability, but the Biden budget sustained it.
Funding the nuclear modernization programs may be, in part, a negotiating tactic for expected arms-control negotiations with Russia, and, conceivably, China. There is no point in giving away bargaining chips before the negotiation even begins. Further, the administration will conduct a nuclear posture review that might set a different path. Nevertheless, it would be hard to back away from the FY 2022 commitment to these programs without strong justification.
Few Drones Requested
Repeated statements about the need for new technologies, new operating concepts, and the importance of innovation would have led one to believe that unmanned systems would receive a large boost. In fact, they are just sputtering along. Indeed, the Pentagon will divest itself of a range of large drones if the budget is approved. The Air Force plans to divest MQ-4 block 30 Global Hawks; the Navy to divest its remaining four BAMS-D, and the Marine Corps to divest the disappointing RQ-21s.
The services plan to buy few unmanned aircraft. The Army, for its part, plans to 60 manned aircraft and no major unmanned systems. The Air Force buys 91 manned aircraft, no unmanned systems. The Department of the Navy buys 101 manned aircraft and six unmanned aircraft. The Navy buys no MQ-4C Tritons, continuing a multiyear “pause” for additional development and continues development of the MQ-25 as a refueling aircraft (but no procurement yet). The Marine Corps buys six “Medium Altitude Long Endurance-Tactical (MALE-T) Unmanned Aerial Systems,” which is odd budget nomenclature, lacking a name and designation. Budget details indicate that MALE-T is actually the MQ-9A Extended Range. (Note to Marine Corps: if your budget presentation is unclear about what you are asking for, that will be a red flag to Congress.)
Overall, this Air Force and Navy funding balance between manned and unmanned does not indicate a change in approach. Indeed, it constitutes a resounding endorsement of manned over unmanned systems.
The Persistence Of The F-35.
One year ago, the F 35 program seemed to be stable, having reached a steady production level and established control over its schedule and cost (though not quite over its operational tests and performance). Then, Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, denounced the program: “I want to stop throwing money down that particular rat hole.” The Joint Staff planned a review of tactical aviation programs with an expectation of changing the mix. Gen. Brown, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, promised a clean sheet design of Air Force tactical aviation. The vultures seemed to be circling.
But the 2022 budget request gives no indication of serious trouble. Total program spending is down slightly but remains greater than $12bn a year. The budget proposes buying 85 aircraft in 2022, down from 96 in FY 2021 but more than what had been requested in FY 2021 (79) before congressional adds. The Air Force requests 48 aircraft, the same level as requested in 2021 and about the the same level the Air Force has requested for several years.
The Marine Corps had signaled concerns about the F-35. Gen. David Burger had said in his commandant’s planning guidance: “It is unlikely that exquisite manned platforms represent a complete answer to our needs in future warfare… This means a significant increase in unmanned systems.” Yet, the Corps buys 22 F-35s, more than the 15 for the Navy.
When the administration completes all its strategic reviews, the hammer may still fall on the F-35, but it escaped the blow in this budget.
Of course, the 2022 budget is only an interim product since the Biden administration’s only had a few months to consider it. The administration could change course on these five items when the department completes its various strategic reviews. Those results will be published with the 2023 budget, the first week in February or perhaps, as the Trump administration did, a few weeks earlier. Nevertheless, the choices in FY 2022 establish facts on the ground…at least until Congress gets its say. (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
11 June 21. Australia-Germany to boost Indo-Pacific co-operation. The second Australia and Germany 2+2 Security Policy Consultations between Foreign and Defence Ministries addressed key security and regional challenges faced by both countries.
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne and Minister for Defence Peter Dutton held the meeting virtually with Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Minister of Defence Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
Ministers committed to intensifying their co-operation in the Indo-Pacific, in support of an open, inclusive and resilient region with Australia welcoming the deployment of a German frigate in the Indo-Pacific in the second half of 2021.
Germany’s focus on implementing its new “Policy Guidelines for the Indo-Pacific” to step up its engagement provided a significant opportunity for strengthening co-operation in the region.
The ministers discussed the situation in the South China Sea and underlined the centrality of UNCLOS. The discussion reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight and that the 2016 South China Sea arbitration is final and binding on the parties.
The ministers discussed the importance of co-operating on countering cyber and hybrid threats, as well as disinformation. Ministers also exchanged their views regarding matters related to Iran, North Korea, Russia and China.
Following the meeting, Minister Payne and Minister Maas signed a new Australia-Germany Enhanced Strategic Partnership.
The 2+2 consultations highlighted the close and trustful relations between Berlin and Canberra. The new partnership lifts the bilateral relationship to a new level and commits Australia and Germany to a broader strategic alignment and joint support for the multilateral system and its institutions. (Source: Defence Connect)
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