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16 Mar 23. General Outlines Transcom’s Mission, Challenges. Providing global logistics to sustain the force and provide humanitarian aid over air, land and sea is a capability the Defense Department enjoys, unmatched by any other nation, said Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, who spoke yesterday at a McAleese-sponsored event in Washington, D.C.
“Mission success depends on the nation’s capacity and capability to transport and supply its forces,” she said.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Transcom has delivered large quantities of munitions and weaponry to Ukraine from the U.S., allies and partners, she said.
“The entire enterprise proudly continues to enable Ukraine’s national defense, and that in turn delivers success for our allies and partners,” she said.
Despite the significant demands of the European theater, Transcom continues to execute its global mission in support of joint and combined exercises with geographic combatant commands, she said.
Global power projection relies on accessible basing and overflights overseas, she said, requiring diplomatic alignment with allies and partners.
Within the United States, mobilization and logistical movement depends on a good network of highways, railways and pipelines, she said.
“The combination of our organic logistics and commercial capabilities must continue to present a credible deterrent for delivering,” she added.
Achieving this requires proactive effort, she said. “In 10 years, more than 50% of the U.S. government’s sealift ships will reach the end of service life. For this reason, Transcom supports the Navy’s strategy to recapitalize the fleet by acquiring used sealift vessels on the commercial market, and to provide the secretary of defense discretionary authority to purchase new ships.”
Joint force global projection also relies on air refueling as the backbone of rapid global mobility, she said. To meet this requirement, Transcom supports modernization of the tanker fleet, along with upgrades to existing aircraft.
Transcom is also embracing secure artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to accelerate decision making in the transportation space, she said.
Van Ovost noted that the Indo-Pacific region is the most challenging theater, with vast ocean distances to be crossed and a scarcity of logistics hubs. (Source: US DoD)
16 Mar 23. Official Discusses Research, Engineering Endeavors. The Defense Department enjoys a technological advantage over potential adversaries, said Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, who spoke yesterday at a McAleese-sponsored event in Washington, D.C.
However, the wide variety of commercial product that could be used by China and other adversaries for military applications, combined with a lax sense of urgency in the U.S., could challenge DOD’s supremacy in the future, she said.
R&E, working closely with the joint staff and services, looks at the most critical capabilities needed to fight in a high-end war, she said.
Also, R&E looks to industry to see if there are commercial applications that DOD can utilize, she said.
Spotlight: Science & Tech
“We’re focusing on things like resilience, communication, joint command and control,” she said. Modeling and simulation inform these efforts and speeds things along.
Collaboration in this endeavor with allies and partners, as well as non-traditional companies is also important, she added.
“Literally, a big chunk of my time is focused on international engagement, what we can do to help each other … to co-develop capability or accelerate delivery of systems,” she said.
The department is collaborating across innovation centers such as AFWERX, which is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory; NavalX, which delivers solutions to the Navy and Marine Corps; and SOFWERX, an innovation factory of U.S. Special Operations Command, along with others.
Regional laboratories, she said, are focused on such things as microelectronics, space-adaptive communications and laser communications.
Growing the science and technology workforce is another priority, she said. The department is funding science, technology, engineering and math scholarships from the four-year to PhD levels, with a stipulation to serve once the degree is bestowed.
Programs for high school STEM camps are also in place, she added, with tens of thousands of students enrolled. (Source: US DoD)
16 Mar 23. Official Says Just-In-Time Deliveries Fail in High-End Competition. Fostering a resilient and robust industrial base is a priority for the Defense Department’s acquisition and sustainment community, said William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for A&S, who spoke yesterday at a McAleese-sponsored event in Washington, D.C.
To meet the pacing challenge of China, there needs to be a shift away from the just-in-time mindset as it relates to sustainment and procurement, he said.
Just-in-time inventory management is a system such that raw materials arrive as production is scheduled to begin, but no sooner as a way to cut warehousing costs and increase efficiency.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought into sharp focus, the importance of being able to surge production rapidly, as well as current challenges in doing so, he said.
“Over time, the industrial base has prioritized efficiency over resiliency,” he said. “We’ve allowed production lines to go cold, watched as parts became obsolete, and seen sub-tier suppliers consolidate or go out of business entirely,” LaPlante said.
These were conscious decisions jointly made by the department and the Congress, in the face of competing priorities, he said. “No one anticipated the prolonged high-volume conflict we’re seeing in Ukraine.”
Spotlight: Support for Ukraine
Weapons being shipped to Ukraine, such as Javelins, Stingers and GMLRS munitions used in High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems can take two or three years to produce, he said.
“Their complex production lines simply can’t be turned on or off based on the requirements of the day. Industry rightfully remains reluctant to build additional capacity at risk, until they have a clear, consistent demand signal or business case from the DOD,” he said.
Industry needs to see some degree of confidence that if they invest, there’s a good chance they will get something for their investment, he said.
Multiyear procurement for critical munitions is being enacted, thanks to congressional authority, he said.
At the start of the conflict in Ukraine, A&S stood up a team of specialized munitions experts called the Munitions Industrial Base Deep Dive. They analyzed production status and capacity for key weapons systems, identified parts obsolescence, supply chain constraints and recommended quick paths to mitigate them, he said. “This team worked hard days, nights and weekends are still doing incredible work.”
This team helped accelerate production of munitions in partnership with the services and industry, he said. “They have been so impactful, we’re now institutionalizing that effort in a permanent production accelerator.”
A&S is also partnering with industry on such things as advanced manufacturing techniques to produce metal parts in smaller batches quickly when needed.
“We can be much more agile, flexible, including collapsing design and manufacturing together as we moved into this digital engineering phase. By leveraging this kind of innovation which enables flexibility, we can stabilize the industrial base and build it for the future and ensure we’re delivering the capabilities we need,” he said.
Allies and partners, along with their own industrial bases, should be encouraged to integrate with the DOD’s efforts as well, he said.
“We have to keep the momentum and maintain the sense of urgency. All American industries, small businesses, traditional defense prime suppliers, nontraditional startups, commercial firms have a role to play in developing, delivering and sustaining the capabilities described under the National Defense Strategy. I remain inspired by the industry’s ability to respond in the face of any crisis,” he said. (Source: US DoD)
16 Mar 23. Pentagon accelerator cell to expand weapons production. With an eye on China and replenishing weapons sent to Ukraine, the Pentagon is launching a cell within its acquisition office to spearhead expand weapons production lines.
The Joint Production Accelerator Cell would serve as a new organization for the team of defense officials who helped ramp up production of aid sent to Ukraine ― including Javelins, Stingers and 155mm artillery rounds ― and broaden it to other weapons.
“We are institutionalizing that effort into a permanent production accelerator, instead of it be reactive and standing up in a crisis,” Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante said at the McAleese & Associates conference Wednesday. “The question we are now posing to this new team is how do we ramp production up and down more flexibly and cheaply in the future.”
The organization, to be led by Pentagon industrial-base policy adviser Erin Simpson, stems from the Munitions Industrial Deep Dive team, which helped channel more than $2 billion in Ukraine-related appropriations and mitigate workforce and supply chain issues. One focus, LaPlante said, will be the potential use of advanced manufacturing techniques.
The move comes as the Pentagon aims to restock billions of dollars in munitions and other equipment sent to Ukraine ― and as its budget proposal offers $30.6 billion for missiles and munitions and an initiative to max out several munitions production lines.
According to a March 10 memo from LaPlante, the organization will develop actionable recommendations to build production capacity for specific systems. The systems “may evolve with the threat environment” and would be selected by the acquisition office “based on periodic deliberate processes with senior Department leaders,” the memo reads.
On Wednesday, LaPlante linked long lead times for weapons to a post-Cold War efficiency drive that shut down many excess production lines in the defense industry. At the same time, he said, the industry cannot easily stop and start complex production lines and is justifiably reluctant to invest in expanding capacity “until they have a clear, consistent demand signal or business case from the DoD.”
“While I’m confident we will manage our way out of this current crisis, we cannot stop managing this once fighting in Ukraine ends, we need to change,” he said. “To ensure we pace the threat posed by China throughout the Indo-Pacific, we cannot return to the feast or famine behavior which is typically employed as the crisis comes and goes.” (Source: Defense News)
15 Mar 23. US Army chief wants three multidomain task force units in the Pacific. The U.S. Army chief would like to see three multidomain task force units in the Pacific region, he said Wednesday at the McAleese & Associates conference.
“I can see three in the Pacific and then one other one. We have one in Europe and then one probably in a contingency-type place where it can go wherever it needs. So I think that’s how those five are going to play out,” Gen. James McConville said.
The service’s first MDTF was experimental, but since then the Army has operationalized its existing units and determined it will grow at least four more. The Army established that initial one at Joint Base Lewis-McChord around 2018. Indo-Pacific Command theater exercises helped inform the Army’s Multi-Domain Operations warfighting concept, which has now evolved into doctrine.
The Army then established another MDTF in Europe in 2021, and another last year in Hawaii.
The units are designed to operate across all domains — land, air, sea, space and cyberspace — and are equipped with the Army’s growing capabilities, including long-range precision fires.
The new unit is in high demand, and there is a lot of interest in where these task forces will go, McConville said. But the Army hasn’t committed to a location or a timeline for deploying its fourth MDTF, he added..
Having the majority of MDTF units in the Pacific aligns with the Army’s pivot to the region, as it has identified China as the country that poses the most enduring strategic challenge and is likely to reach military parity with U.S. forces by 2040, according to a whitepaper the chief published in 2021.
In recent years, the Army has placed less emphasis on a permanent MDTF in Alaska, after directly stating it wanted to do so in its strategy for the Arctic published in 2021.
“The Army’s decision to place an MDTF in Alaska is the first step in setting the conditions for success,” the strategy stated. “Multidomain formations, particularly those with extended ranges such as the [MDTF], have clear potential in the Arctic — an area of operations characterized by vast distances and where air and naval avenues of approach are critical.”
MDTFs will be agile and highly capable, McConville stressed at the conference. “We can move them very, very quickly to be at the point of need.” (Source: Defense News)
15 Mar 23. Emphasis in DOD 2024 Budget Includes Munitions. The Defense Department fiscal year 2024 budget request is still focused on the National Defense Strategy, said Michael J. McCord, under secretary of defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer, who spoke today at a McAleese-sponsored event in Washington, D.C.
As such, there are not a lot of surprises in this budget, he said.
An emphasis in this budget of note is munitions, he said.
“Ukraine has certainly informed us of the lack of flexibility in our industrial base … We are going to up our game,” he said, adding that DOD and the industrial base need to be a little better and more agile.
A solution being put into place is multiyear procurement for munitions, which is similar to the procurement process for ships and aircraft, he said, meaning it will keep the assembly lines running and employees working, along with cost efficiencies.
These are not Ukraine, ground-centric type munitions. They are Indo-Pacific-centric munitions, McCord said, meaning procurance adhering to the NDS which speaks to China as the pacing threat.
The FY24 budget for munitions is $30.6bn, an increase of $5.8bn above the FY23 request, he said.
To The munitions procurement, he said, includes:
- $5.6bn for ammunition
- $17.3bn for tactical missiles
- $7.3bn for strategic missiles
- $0.6bn for technology development
McCord said modernizing the nuclear triad, space program, research and development, and science and technologies are among some of the other priorities.
Lastly, McCord said it’s not all about the programs, weapons or platform. A priority is also taking care of the people.
This includes a 5.2% pay raise, informed by the rate of the private sector wage increases last year, he said.
Some other things include making relocations easier for families, and a continued commitment to ensuring contract prices is below public sector prices, he said.
Also, incentivizing more people to work at childcare centers, he added. (Source: US DoD)
15 Mar 23. Space Force Focuses on Partnerships, Spirit, Combat Readiness.
The U.S. Space Force’s $30bn budget request for Fiscal Year 2024 is about $3.9bn over what was enacted for the service in FY2023. More than 60% of the Space Force budget, about $19.2bn worth, is aimed at research, development, testing and evaluation.
Testifying yesterday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman explained the challenges he sees in a contested space domain and how the Space Force aims to ready itself to meet those challenges.
“When describing space threats, it is important to account for two kinds: first, threats from space assets and second, threats to space assets,” Saltzman said.
Threats from space, the general said, include both China’s and Russia’s robust space-based capabilities which allow them to find, target, and attack U.S. military forces on land, at sea and in the air.
The U.S. also has assets in space — satellites that it relies on for communications and navigation, for instance — that are put at risk by the nation’s adversaries.
“Both China and Russia continue to develop, field and deploy a range of weapons aimed at U.S. space capabilities,” the general said. “The spectrum of threats to U.S. space capabilities includes cyber warfare activities, electronic attack platforms, directed energy lasers designed to blind or damage satellite sensors, ground-to-orbit missiles to destroy satellites and space-to-space orbital engagement systems that can attack U.S. satellites in space.”
To meet the challenges posed by adversaries, Saltzman told lawmakers that Space Force efforts in FY2024 will focus on fielding combat-ready forces, amplifying the Guardian spirit and strengthening the partnerships the Space Force relies on to accomplish its mission.
“My first priority is to build resilient, ready, combat-credible space forces,” Saltzman told lawmakers. “To do this, we are accelerating the pivot towards resilient satellite constellations, ground stations, networks and data links.”
The general said the Space Development Agency’s “Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture,” or PWSA — previously called the “National Defense Space Architecture” — is a prime example of that effort.
The PWSA includes hundreds of satellites, delivered in “tranches” every two years, with each tranche providing more capability than the last. That total system involves a “mesh network” of hundreds of optically interconnected satellites in orbit that make up its “transport” layer. The PWSA also includes six additional layers: tracking, custody, deterrence, navigation, battle management and support.
Also part of building a resilient, ready and combat-credible force, Saltzman said, is emphasizing cybersecurity and preparing Space Force Guardians to detect and defeat cyber-attacks against networks, systems, ground stations, datalinks and satellites.
The U.S. Space Force stood up in December 2019, just over 3 years ago. Developing talent to staff the new service is a priority, Saltzman said.
“My second priority is to amplify the Guardian spirit by embracing a modern talent management process that recruits the best talent, develops and retains an elite workforce and empowers Guardians to succeed,” he said.
An example of that is the service’s constructive service credit program which allows experienced professionals from key fields to directly commission into the Space Force at ranks appropriate to their civilian experience.
“Over the last year we have also deployed space-centric curriculum for basic military training, Reserve Officer Training Corps and Officer Training School,” the general said.
The Space Force is also looking to a concept that allows personnel to more easily move between full-time and part-time military service — without causing damage to their careers — so that they can pursue enriching opportunities outside full-time military service. This concept is something Congress can help the service accomplish, Saltzman said.
Since taking over as chief of space operations, just four months ago, Saltzman said he has visited multiple combatant commands and also met with space chiefs in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
“U.S. allies and international partners are eager for expanded collaboration with the Space Force, especially in areas that strengthen the effectiveness of coalition space operations and reinforce norms of responsible behavior,” Saltzman said.
Strengthen partnerships, he said, is the third priority for Space Force, Saltzman said.
“The Space Force will strive to eliminate barriers to collaboration, including overclassification, so we can build enduring advantages with our partners,” he said. “To date, personnel from over 50 countries have participated in training, education and exercise events hosted by the Space Force. We are also leveraging allies and partners to expand our warfighting capability.”
Saltzman also said that commercial partners and the technologies developed there, such as advanced power and propulsion, artificial intelligence and machine learning and in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing, are also a focus for increased partnerships for Space Force.
“The Space Force is the preeminent military space organization in the world,” Saltzman told senators. “Our adversaries seek to surpass the United States and challenge our advantage. We cannot and will not allow this to happen. Our Guardians will out work, out innovate and out compete our adversaries to ensure that we succeed.” (Source: US DoD)
13 Mar 23. US Department of Defense Releases the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Budget.
Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the President’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget.
“The FY 2024 budget is the most strategy-driven request we’ve ever produced from the Department of Defense. And as our National Defense Strategy makes clear, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is our pacing challenge. This budget seeks to meet this critical challenge today, tomorrow, and into the future by providing the resources today to continue to implement our National Defense Strategy and keep our nation safe while delivering a combat credible Joint Force that is the most lethal, resilient, agile, and responsive in the world.
As the PRC races to modernize its military, this budget will sharpen our edge by making critical investments across all timeframes, theaters, and domains. Among numerous important actions that bolster our combat credibility in the short term, this budget makes the Department’s largest-ever investments in readiness and procurement – and our largest investment in research and development.
To sustain our military advantage over China, it makes major investments in integrated air and missile defenses and operational energy efficiency, as well as in our air dominance, our maritime dominance, and in munitions, including hypersonics. This budget includes the largest ever request for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which we are using to invest in advanced capabilities, new operational concepts, and more resilient force posture in the Indo-Pacific region. It also enables groundbreaking posture initiatives in Guam, Mariana Islands, the Philippines, Japan, and Australia.
We are also investing in resiliency in key parts of the defense supply chain to ensure stability in the industrial base’s ability to produce what the Joint Force needs. That includes working closely with Congress to secure multi-year procurement authorities—and allow us to meet the needs of tomorrow. And this year’s budget also increases funding to continue modernizing all three legs of our nuclear triad to maintain a safe, secure, and effective strategic deterrent against advanced and persistent threats around the world.
The United States has the strongest military in the world because we have the best team in the world. And we owe it to the brave men and women who serve to take care of our people and their families. So this budget includes the largest military and civilian pay raise in decades, and it builds on progress we’ve already made to make life a little easier by lowering every day costs, including by reducing the cost of goods in the commissary and making childcare more accessible and affordable.
As the Secretary of Defense, my priority will always be to ensure that our forces are ready and resilient, and that our military remains the world’s preeminent fighting force, today, tomorrow, and for generations to come. I look forward to working with Congress to support the President’s request.”
On March 9, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration submitted to Congress a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget request of $842bn for the Department of Defense (DoD), an increase of $26bn over FY 2023 levels and $100bn more than FY 2022. The FY 2024 Defense Budget is driven by strategy and provides us with the capabilities and investments to advance the Secretary’s three key priorities: defending the nation, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork.
To achieve these priorities, this budget request links strategy to resources to continue executing our 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS), which aligns with the President’s National Security Strategy. These guiding documents determine the vision and direction of the Department of Defense in what the President has called the “decisive decade.” The NDS outlines the Department’s defense and security priorities:
- Defending the homeland, paced to the growing multi-domain threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
- Deterring strategic attacks against the United States, our allies, and our partners.
- Deterring aggression, while being prepared to prevail in conflict when necessary – prioritizing the PRC challenge in the Indo-Pacific region, then the Russia challenge in Europe.
- Building a resilient joint force and defense ecosystem.
The NDS positions the U.S. military to meet growing threats through integrated deterrence, campaigning, and taking actions that build enduring advantages. The FY 2024 DoD budget request of $842bn enables the Department to successfully advance these defense and security goals by purposefully aligning resources to best position our warfighters, allies, and partners for success.
Integrated Deterrence
The FY 2024 President’s Budget allows the DoD to invest in capabilities that will ensure we maintain a ready, lethal, and combat-credible joint force with a laser focus on China as the Department’s pacing challenge and addressing the acute threat posed by Russia. The budget makes critical investments to revitalize the defense industrial base, drive innovation, and take care of our people. The FY 2024 budget request once again includes a record investment in research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) of $145bn. This budget also funds $170 bn for procurement, the largest in history. Combined, these investments will ensure combat-credible forces across all domains.
Secretary Austin has called deterrence the “cornerstone of defense.” In FY 2024, the DoD supports the concept of Integrated Deterrence by ensuring combat-credible forces and a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent. Investments across all domains include:
- $61.1bn for air power to continue developing, modernizing, and procuring lethal air forces, including a focus on fighters, including F-22, F-35, F-15EX; the B-21 bomber, mobility aircraft, including KC-46A; specialized support aircraft; and unmanned aircraft systems.
- $48.1bn for sea power including new construction of nine battle force fleet ships and continued funding for the incremental construction of Ford class nuclear powered aircraft carriers and Columbia ballistic missile submarines.
- $13.9bn for land power supporting modernization of Army and Marine Corps combat equipment: Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, Amphibious Combat Vehicle, and Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle.
- $37.7bn for Nuclear Enterprise Modernization, including:
o Continued development and procurement of the B-21 program – $5.3bn.
o Production of the second Columbia ballistic missile submarine – $6.2bn.
o First year advance procurement funding for the LGM-35A Sentinel program.
o Development efforts supporting nuclear command, control, and communications systems.
- $29.8bn to enhance Missile Defeat and Defense, including:
o Development of the Next Generation Interceptor for Ground-Based Midcourse Defense, and extending the service life of the current interceptor fleet.
o Increased investments in regional missile defense network with Patriot Missiles, a Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, additional Short-Range Air Defense Battalions, and hypersonic weaponry and defenses.
o Development of a resilient overhead persistent infrared capability in low earth orbit and medium earth orbit, and continuing to field the Next Generation Polar program.
o Integration of the THAAD Battery capability into the Army’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System planning process, and continuing development of the eighth THAAD Battery.
o Advanced innovation technologies and demonstrations, including those involving cyber operations and hypersonic strike capabilities.
o Defense of Guam against the missile threat from China – $1.5bn.
- $11.0bn to deliver a mix of highly lethal precision weapons. Investments include:
o Continued development, testing, and procurement of hypersonic missiles and other long-range fires.
o Extensive hypersonic prototyping efforts.
o Procurement of 24 hypersonic missiles.
o Maximizing Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, and Standard Missile 6 capacity through multi-year procurements.
- $33.3bn in vital space capabilities, resilient architectures, and enhanced space command and control. Investments include:
o Development of new proliferated resilient missile warning / missile tracking architectures, Next-Gen Overhead Persistent Infrared space and associated ground architectures – $5.0bn.
o Position, navigation, and timing for GPS III Follow-On satellite support and Next-Generation Operational Control System development – $1.3bn.
o 15 launch vehicles and launch range upgrades – $3.0bn.
o Protected Tactical, Wideband, and Narrowband robust secure/survivable/jam-resistant capabilities, and Space Development Agency proliferated Low Earth Orbit Transport Layer development – $4.7bn.
Campaigning
The budget prioritizes ongoing force readiness, ensuring the urgent competing demands of the present are carefully balanced with preparing for the future. The Department’s FY 2024 budget continues to prioritize joint force readiness, investing $146.0bn to strategically build and maintain warfighting forces and capabilities. Investments to fund a high level of force readiness include:
- Army readiness – $28.8bn.
- Navy readiness – $52.8bn.
- Marine Corps readiness – $4.4bn.
- Air Force readiness – $39.9bn.
- Space Force readiness – $3.3bn.
- U.S. Special Operations Command readiness – $9.7bn.
- Joint Capabilities – $7.1bn.
The FY 2024 budget includes $9.1bn in support of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI), a 40 percent increase from FY 2023. The effort includes resilient and distributed air basing, new missile warning and tracking architecture, construction to enable enhanced posture, funding for defense of Guam and Hawaii, and multinational information sharing, training, and experimentation.
In Europe, the FY 2024 budget allows the Department to continue to counter Russian aggression against NATO allies and partners. Investments include:
- European Deterrence Initiative – $3.6bn.
- NATO Military Contribution – $601.0m.
- NATO Security Investment Program – $293.0m.
- Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative – $300.0m.
Building Enduring Advantages
As highlighted in both the NSS and NDS, the Department’s people are its most valuable asset. The DoD aims to support its all-volunteer military and civilian workforce by focusing on economic stabilization and supporting families. Investments to Take Care of People include:
- 5.2 percent pay increase for military and civilian personnel, the highest pay raise in over 20 years for our military and over 40 years for our civilians.
- $193.0m to ease military moves, through enhancements for lodging expenses and dislocation allowances.
- Over $212.0m in additional funding for commissaries to ensure our service members have food savings of over 25 percent compared to the local marketplace.
- $33.0m to standardize a 50 percent childcare employee discount for the first child of our child development program direct-care workers.
- $90.4m to expand full-day pre-kindergarten at DoD Education Activity schools for eligible dependents.
- $1.9bn to support family housing to provide safe and quality residences to service members and their families.
- $209m to provide full spectrum support for suicide prevention, including counseling services for at-risk Service members as well as efforts to reduce stigma and barriers to “seeking help.”
o Currently assessing over 120 recommendations made by the Suicide Prevention & Response Independent Review Committee
- The Department is investing in Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, including $637m for the continued implementation of the 82 recommendations made by the Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military as approved and funding for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Education and Training Center of Excellence.
The FY 2024 budget continues the DoD’s progress to modernize and innovate, including $145.0bn in RDT&E, a 4.0 percent increase over the FY 2023 enacted level. Investments include:
- Science and Technology – $17.8bn.
- Artificial Intelligence – $1.8bn.
- Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve – $687.0m.
- Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) – $1.4bn to transform warfighting capability by delivering information advantage at the speed of relevance across all domains and partners.
- Office of Strategic Capital, established to enable the Department to attract and scale private capital in our most critical technologies – $115.0m.
The FY 2024 budget request includes $30.6bn for munitions, an increase of $5.8bn above last year’s request, for both conventional ammunition and Precision Guided Munitions, including:
- Ammunition – $5.6bn.
- Tactical Missiles – $17.3bn.
- Strategic Missiles – $7.3bn.
- Technology Development – $600.0m.
- Munitions Industrial Base over $1.0bn.
This budget leverages unprecedented use of multi-year procurement (MYP) authorities provided by Congress to deliver critical munitions affordably, while bolstering our inventories and providing a more predictable demand signal to the industry. This strategy will facilitate industrial production efficiencies because the industry would be incentivized to organize in a more cost-effective manner. MYPs in the FY 2024 budget request include:
- Naval Strike Missile.
- RIM-174 Standard Missile.
- Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile.
- Long Range Anti-Ship Missile.
- Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range.
The FY 2024 budget request invests $5.1bn to increase resilience of military bases and the critical capabilities housed there against threats like extreme weather and cyber-attacks. Also, the budget invests in improving the fuel efficiency of DoD operational platforms, enhancing capability, mitigating logistics risk, and making our forces more agile, and survivable in this complex and changing environment. Some investments include:
- $3.7bn for Installation Resilience and Adaptation, including cyber-secure microgrids with backup power and battery storage, and electrical transmission and distribution improvements.
- $271m for Army to modernize next-generation combat vehicles with silent watch and mobility, increased operational duration and more on-board electrical power.
- $84m for prototyping new platforms like blended wing body aircraft that targets a 30% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency to increase range and payload.
Continuing to build on prior investments, the FY 2024 budget includes $19.2bn for Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization and $16.7bn in Construction and Family Housing programs supporting our people, enhancing deterrence, and improving critical operational infrastructure. Investments include:
- Facilities that support readiness improvements – $4.6bn.
- Projects advancing the European Deterrence Initiative, Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program – $2.4bn.
- Critical naval infrastructure improvements through the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program – $2.3bn.
- Family housing – $1.9bn.
- Construction of quality-of-life and medical facilities – $1.5bn.
The Department is committed to acting as responsible stewards of taxpayer funds. In October 2022, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks established and initiated implementation of the Defense Management Performance Improvement (PI) Framework to define, identify, track and report on measures critical to realize the DoD’s Strategic Management Plan. These efforts enable the Department to modernize capabilities and better meet NDS priorities. Key areas of the PI include:
- Enabling Future Capabilities Transition – Strategically divesting vulnerable platforms and systems that can no longer be affordably modernized or maintained to enable the transition to a more modern and capable force.
- Continuous Process Improvements – Enhancing management practices, streamlining processes, and adjusting systems within the Components’ organizational levels.
- Reforms – Larger-scale and time-bounded efforts designed to remediate structural and/or process gaps within the DoD’s existing business model.
- Transformation – Altering the DoD’s business model—often through reorganization, the creation of new entities/capabilities, and innovative management practices—to fundamentally improve how the Department functions and delivers services.
The FY 2024 Defense Budget will help position the Department to best support its people and Allies through this “decisive decade” and ensure the United States is prepared to meet the challenges of today, tomorrow and into the future.
The entire budget proposal and additional materials are available at: https://www.defense.gov/cj(Source: US DoD)
10 Mar 23. OFAC Targets Iran’s International UAV Procurement Network. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated a network of five companies and one individual for supporting Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) procurement efforts. Hangzhou Fuyang Koto Machinery Co., Ltd (Koto Machinery), a China-based company, allegedly used its business infrastructure to facilitate the sale and shipment of aerospace components, including light aircraft engines applicable for Iran’s Shahed series UAVs, to HESA in Iran. To obscure its activity, Koto Machinery allegedly used Hong Kong-based front company, Raven International Trade Limited (Raven), to facilitate transactions worth ms of dollars for aerospace components. China-based Guilin Alpha Rubber & Plastics Technology Co., Ltd (Guilin Alpha) has allegedly facilitated the sale and shipment of thousands of aerospace components worth over a m dollars to HESA in Iran. China-based S&C Trade PTY Co., Ltd (S&C Trade), its China-based employee Yun Xia Yuan, and China-based Shenzhen Caspro Technology Co., Ltd (Caspro), have allegedly facilitated the sale and shipment of thousands of aerospace components worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for fixed-wing, rotorcraft, and UAV applications to HESA in Iran. This People’s Republic of China-based network is allegedly responsible for the sale and shipment of thousands of aerospace components, including components that can be used for UAV applications, to the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA). HESA has been involved in the production of the Shahed-136 UAV model that Iran has used to attack oil tankers and has exported to Russia. HESA was designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382 on September 17, 2008, for being owned or controlled by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and for having provided support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). These actions are taken pursuant to E.O. 13382, which targets weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters. Since September 2022, the United States has issued six rounds of designations of individuals and entities involved in the production and transfer of Iranian UAVs. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the individual and entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons are prohibited. In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the designated individual or entities may themselves be exposed to sanctions. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for any of the individuals or entities designated today pursuant to E.O. 13382 could be subject to U.S. sanctions. Click here for further identifying information on the designated individual and entities. (Source: glstrade.com)
10 Mar 23. China is advancing rapidly, and the US private sector must contain them. The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence met to discuss the state of the security climate and it was agreed that the private sector is the key for the US to maintain the advantage in a wide range of areas. There is a consensus among the US intelligence community that partnerships with the private sector are the key for the US to maintain the advantage against near-peer and peer rivals in the current security climate.
While the private sector provides militaries with the means to battle for territorial interests with platforms, the edge is given to the power with the most advanced cyber, space and nuclear capabilities that are also informed, maintained, and advanced by industry.
The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence met on 8 March to discuss the threats posed – predominantly from China, as well as from Russia, Iran, and North Korea – and the approach the US must take to squander their efforts and ambitions.
The private sector is the source that feeds the US arsenal with the latest innovative technologies and architectures. So much so that the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William J. Burns, has stated that “the revolution in technology is not only the main arena for competition with the People’s Republic of China [PRC], it’s also the main determinant of our future as an intelligence service”.
This leads us to question the dynamics of the military-industrial complex today. The director Lieutenant General Scott D. Berrier of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) claimed that formerly “the West owned the technology”, with which “we won the Cold War”, but had “then we took our eye off that ball” in the period since
“So now it’s about how we apply this asymmetric advantage that we have” among the intelligence community, Berrier continued.
Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), asserted that the US must “engage” the private sector, adding that “they are essential… we need to keep doubling down on that… if you look at things the Chinese are trying to steal, that’s where it is”.
The DIA director emphasised the problem that “the Chinese are advancing very, very rapidly in every fighting domain”.
The chair of the committee, Mark Warner, issued similar sentiments, saying that the US must “aggressively invest in talents, tools, and research to lead in tomorrow’s technology”.
Procurement comparison
GlobalData insight provides signals towards the beginning of such an arms race as described by the US intelligence community.
Over 2023–27, it is forecast that Chinese defence expenditure will register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% to value $318.6bn in 2027.
Territorial claims in the South China Sea and the increasing strength and assertiveness of the US have spurred the Chinese government to enhance its military capabilities.
In order to achieve this, the Chinese government has approved a military modernisation programme, under which the Chinese Department of National Defence is expected to spend $1.4 trbn over 2023–27 on the procurement of military hardware and the modernisation of its armed forces.
The US is determined to outperform China’s efforts. The acquisition budget of the US remains high at 35.7% of the total budget ($264.6bn). The proportion of the total budget has also risen from 34.9% in 2018 and is forecast to be 36.5% by 2027 ($314.4bn).
This substantial acquisition budget is comprised of procurement and research and development spending which allows the US to procure commercial off-the-shelf and modified off-the-shelf platforms whilst upholding its research and development of new and emerging technologies. GlobalData states that this helps the US keep its position as the world’s leading military power.
On top of that, by 2027, the total defence budget is forecast to reach $861.4bn, a positive compound annual growth rate of 3.9%. The 2023 National Defence Authorisation Act sets out further funds for aid to Ukraine and the support of Taiwan.
The China strategy
In the committee meeting, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines identified the current Chinese strategy.
The President of China, Xi Jinping “wants a period of relative calm to give China what it needs to address growing domestic difficulties. Xi’s principal focus is on domestic economic development, which is not assured”, according to Haines
“In fact, the [intelligence community] assesses China’s long-term economic growth will continue to decelerate because China’s era of rapid catch-up growth is ending and structural issues such as debt, demographics, inequality, over reliance on investment, suppressed consumption remain,” Haines added.
US foreign policy has already begun to contribute to China’s deceleration, with the Biden administration’s hopeful chip war. Organising a structure among the so-called “chip 4 alliance”, with the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea will help to put a stop to China’s AI development as China starts to eat into their two year stockpiles of microchips. (Source: army-technology.com)
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