By Jack MacLennan, Modern War Institute: "Liberal internationalism has hallmarked the US strategic vision since the end of the Cold War. After a new, unipolar order took shape in the early 1990s, American strategic and operational planners were asked to support a world, according to G. John Ikenberry, defined by “open markets, international institutions, cooperative security, democratic community, progressive change, collective problem solving, and the rule of law.”"
By Bradley Bowman & John Hardie, Defense News: "The U.S. combatant command responsible for the Indo-Pacific region warned in a report last month that it lacks the resources and capabilities necessary to implement the National Defense Strategy. This mismatch between ends and means endangers American interests and invites Beijing to pursue opportunistic aggression.”
Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the largest committee in Congress, has long pressed for changes his colleagues didn’t yet see as necessary. I’ve covered him for a long, long time and remember when he pressed hard with then-Sen. Dan Coats to make the services fight and train much more closely together. Their vision resulted…
Mackenzie Eaglen | Reagan Foundation
While the 2018 National Defense Strategy charts a more honest and realistic priority set of threats and challenges for the US military, it is still purely additive.
China’s Unique Special Missions Aircraft
By Mike Yeo, Defence Review Asia: "A lot less attention has, however, been paid to the ongoing improvement in China's airborne support forces."
By William R. Hawkins, Proceedings: The 1899 Hague Peace Conference was the first international gathering of major powers to discuss arms control. It was also notable for bringing together two of the era's greatest naval thinkers, both serving on the delegations of their respective countries: Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan for the United States and Admiral Sir John Fisher for Great Britain. Each took a dim view of the conference, believing that deterrence based on strength was a better guarantee of peace than disarmament. Admiral Fisher made this explicit in the assembly's most dramatic presentation ..."
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: “President Trump has been criticized for highlighting the Chinese origins of the current coronavirus crisis. Whether such comments are constructive or not, the crisis has provoked a broader debate about the role that China plays in the American economy."
By Ben Wolfgang, The Washington Times: "Officials say the smaller force will be designed to operate, survive and thrive inside an enemy’s “weapons engagement zone,” the area vulnerable to an adversary’s long-range precision fire capabilities."
By Shawn Snow, Marine Corps Times: “The top Marine told reporters Wednesday that current layout and organization of the Corps’ Light Armored Reconnaissance units were better equipped to handle another conflict in the Middle East instead of rising near-peer rivals."
Indo-Pacom Chief’s Bold $20 Billion Plan
By Paul McLeary, Breaking Defense: “The bold new Pacific plan "is designed to persuade potential adversaries that any preemptive military action will be extremely costly and likely fail," ADM Philip Davidson writes."
U.S. Deploys Patriot Missiles in Iraq As Tensions With Iran Rise
By Chad Garland, Stars and Stripes: "The U.S. has deployed Patriot missile batteries in Iraq as the coalition battling the Islamic State group in the country draws down and a war of words between Washington and Tehran ramps up."
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: “Friday, April 3, marks the first day of share trading for the merged enterprise of Raytheon and United Technologies, to be known as Raytheon Technologies."
By Patrick M. Cronin & Ryan D. Neuhard, The Diplomat: "China’s military and paramilitary forces have been employing lasers with increasing frequency since at least 2018."
Danielle Pletka | The Dispatch
This coronavirus pause is an opportunity to think over the Western world’s long game against the Chinese Communist Party in all of its forms and to move quickly.
The bold new Pacific plan “is designed to persuade potential adversaries that any preemptive military action will be extremely costly and likely fail,” Adm. Philip Davidson writes.
Developing Missiles As Bargaining Chips
By Luke Griffith, RealClearDefense: "If President Donald Trump is serious about arms control talks with the People’s Republic of China, U.S. officials could consider building a new generation of ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles to trade for reductions in the thousands of Chinese dual-capable, intermediate-range missiles."
By Samuel Arlington Page, The National Interest: "Our military is faced with a conflicting dichotomy. On one hand, we tout that we are the most technologically advanced military force on the planet. On the other, the Pentagon states that we need to upgrade our defenses to keep up with the looming threats."
Will Commandant Berger’s New Marine Corps Be a High-Tech Forlorn Hope?
By Dan Gouré, RealClearDefense: "The Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General David Berger, has just released his long-anticipated Force Design 2030. It proposes a transformation of the Corps' force structure, types of ships, the mix of platforms and weapons systems, and operational concepts to address the demands of deterrence and warfighting in an era of great power competition."
By Christopher L. Harold, Proceedings: "Naval strength is often determined by kinetic employment and the service's ability to wage war."