On October 15, 2019, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced that foreign arm sales for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 totaled $55.4 billion. This amount nearly matches the total from FY 2018 of $55.7 billion, continuing the significant increase in foreign arm sales under the Trump Administration and potentially signaling that the enormous 33 percent … Continue Reading
The aerospace and defense industry, including those in the defense trade press, have since late evening of November 6, 2018 been wrestling with the implications of the midterm elections for U.S. defense policy and spending over the next two years. Quite frankly, it is too early to say with certainty. As Leo Rosten, the famous … Continue Reading
Budget challenges, a shrinking military force, and unrestrained growth in personnel and operations has plunged the Pentagon into a state of crisis. This comes at the same time that the United States is facing unprecedented challenges to our national security. These were the themes of my presentation during a panel discussion at the Center for … Continue Reading
Defense trade with India has long been the holy grail for the U.S. defense sector. With U.S. defense budgets declining and defense firms increasingly looking overseas to ramp up sales, one would think that India — a democracy in Asia with one of that largest militaries in the world in desperate need of modernization — … Continue Reading
When the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act last week, one of the unanswered questions hovering over the measure was how much money the Pentagon would need for the war in Afghanistan. At the time the bill passed, the Administration had not decided whether U.S. forces would remain in Afghanistan after 2014. … Continue Reading
The House of Representatives is now considering the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) reported out the $513 billion measure on May 7th rejecting many of the Administration’s requests including reduction in military pay raise, authority for the base closures, as well as cancellation of older weapon … Continue Reading
