RAND Corp: Forces, Geography, and the Evolving Balance of Power, 1996–2017
U.S. and Chinese Air Superiority Capabilities
A RAND Project AIR FORCE report assesses trends in the relative capabilities of U.S. and Chinese forces in diverse operational areas, and at varying distances from the Chinese mainland, between …
Summer Study on Autonomy
Defense Science Board
CRS – Army and Marine Corps Active Protection System (APS) Efforts
Active Protection Systems (APSs) are subsystems integrated into or installed on a combat vehicle to automatically acquire, track, and respond with hard or soft kill capabilities to a variety of …
GAO – Technology Readiness Assessment Guide
Managing these complex acquisitions has been a long-standing challenge for federal agencies.
Improving Acquisition From Within: Suggestions From Our PEOs
FROM THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION, TECHNOLOGY, AND LOGISTICS
U.S. Air Force (USAF) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Vector
Vision and Enabling Concepts: 2013–2038
DoD Law of War Manual
June 2015, Updated May 2016
Inflation in the Costs of Building Aircraft Carriers
In 2013, the Navy raised by $3.4 billion the cap, set in 2006, on the amount it could spend on a Ford class carrier.
GAO – COAST GUARD: Agency Could Better Assess Its Impact on Arctic Capability Gaps and Is Exploring Icebreaker Acquisition Options
GAO reported in June 2016 that the U.S. Coast Guard, within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), had assessed its Arctic capabilities and worked with its Arctic partners—such as other …
China’s Blueprint for Sea Power
The Jamestown Foundation
Achieving DoD Acquisition Goals by Being a Better Buyer and a Better Customer
Scott Chandler’s Speech at Lexington Institute.
GAO – Defense Weather Satellites: DOD Faces Acquisition Challenges for Addressing Capability Needs
GAO found in March 2016 that the Department of Defense (DOD), in conducting a requirements review and Analysis of Alternatives (AOA) from 2012 to 2014, generally performed a thorough review …
Fifth Generation Air Combat: Maintaining the Joint Force Advantage
The authors lay out the characteristics and requirements of fifth generation aircraft systems, and describe how these assets are leveraged in present and future joint and combined warfare.
F-22 Versus F-35 Comparison
Air Force Association – May 31, 2011 slideshow
GAO – ELECTRONIC WASTE: DOD Is Recovering Materials, but Several Factors May Hinder Near-Term Expansion of These Efforts
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) processes tens of millions of pounds of Department of Defense (DOD) electronic waste annually and recovers some materials from this waste.
DOD: STRATEGY FOR OPERATIONS IN THE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT
Although the term information environment (IE) is relatively new, the concept of an “information battlefield” is not.
U.S. DoD Third Offset Standard Market Taxonomy
.govini Analyst Report
“Hack the Pentagon” Fact Sheet
Through this innovative effort, hackers were provided legal consent to perform specific hacking techniques against Department of Defense (DoD) websites, receiving financial awards for successfully submitting vulnerability reports.
GAO – MILITARY TRAINING: DOD Met Annual Reporting Requirements in Its 2016 Sustainable Ranges Report
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) 2016 Sustainable Ranges Report met the annual statutory reporting requirements to describe DOD’s progress in implementing its plan to sustain training ranges and any additional …
GAO – Defense Inventory: Further Analysis and Enhanced Metrics Could Improve Service Supply and Depot Operations
The military services have, to varying degrees, transferred retail supply, storage, and distribution functions at their depot-level industrial sites to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and achieved some efficiencies.
GAO – Littoral Combat Ship: Need to Address Fundamental Weaknesses in LCS and Frigate Acquisition Strategies
The Navy’s task force studied a number of options to improve upon known shortfalls in Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) lethality and survivability.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 – Summary
Summary from Senate Armed Services Committee.
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Complete bill, S.2943.
CRS – Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress
The planned size of the Navy, the rate of Navy ship procurement, and the prospective affordability of the Navy’s shipbuilding plans have been matters of concern for the congressional defense …
CRS – Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate Program: Background and Issues for Congress, April 18, 2016
The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)/Frigate program is a program to procure a large number of LCSs and modified LCSs.
GAO – MILITARY READINESS: DOD Needs to Incorporate Elements of a Strategic Management Planning Framework into Retrograde and Reset Guidance
In its response to the requirements of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014, instead of developing new policies for retrograde and reset of operating forces used …
GAO – FORCE STRUCTURE: Performance Measures Needed to Better Implement the Recommendations of the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force
As of February 2016, the Air Force had made limited progress in implementing the commission’s recommendations—it had closed 6 recommendations and had taken action to revise its approach for managing …
Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2016
DoD Annual Report to Congress
China’s Expanding Ability to Conduct Conventional Missile Strikes on Guam
Report by U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
GAO – MILITARY READINESS: Progress and Challenges in Implementing the Navy’s Optimized Fleet Response Plan
GAO found that the majority of maintenance availabilities—or scheduled periods of ship maintenance and modernization—that were completed from fiscal years 2011 to 2014, prior to the implementation of OFRP, took …
IARPA-Wide Research Broad Agency Announcement
IARPA-BAA-16-07
12 Months In – 8 Months Left: An Update on Secretary Carter’s Innovation Agenda
Report from Center for a New American Security
2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength
Heritage Foundation
CRS – Air Force B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber
The Department of Defense is developing a new long-range bomber aircraft, the B-21 (previously known as LRS-B), and proposes to acquire 100 of them.
GAO – Prepositioned Stocks: DOD Has Addressed Required Reporting Elements but Needs to Develop a Department-wide Policy and Joint Service Approach
The Department of Defense (DOD), in its fiscal year 2014 annual report on prepositioned stocks, explicitly addressed all of the 12 reporting elements enumerated in section 2229a of Title 10.
GAO – F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Continued Oversight Needed as Program Plans to Begin Development of New Capabilities
Although the estimated F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) program acquisition costs have decreased since 2014, the program continues to face significant affordability challenges.
GAO – F-35 Sustainment: DOD Needs a Plan to Address Risks Related to Its Central Logistics System
The Department of Defense (DOD) is aware of risks that could affect the F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), but does not have a plan to ensure that ALIS is …
GAO – Presidential Helicopter: Program Progressing Largely as Planned
Since 2014, the VH-92A presidential helicopter program has generally progressed as planned. Through November 2015, the contractor accomplished approximately $239.0 million (22 percent) in development work—leaving about $863.9 million (78 …