Daily Report

Feb. 24, 2016

More Escalation in the South China Sea

China continues to deploy military equipment to disputed islands in the South China Sea, adding long-range radars on the Cuarteron Reef in the Spratly Islands in addition to surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracel Islands. Adm....

Rev Up the Rebalance

The Pacific rebalance can’t happen fast enough, US Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. “There is more work to do, and we must not lose the momentum,” he said, noting that China,...

Building Cyber Capabilities in the Pacific

Cyberspace is “the new frontier” and “the new threat vector,” the commander of US Pacific Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Adm. Harry Harris said PACOM has an organization called CyberPAC that deals with cybersecurity threats. It...

Obama Releases Plan to Close Gitmo

The Pentagon on Tuesday released its plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to create a new facility in the United States to house the most dangerous detainees. President Obama said the plan, officially submitted to...

GOP Blasts Gitmo Plan

GOP lawmakers immediately blasted the President’s plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying it neglects to provide enough details on where to transfer detainees inside the United States. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain...

RD-180s OK For Now

The Pentagon is waiting on a formal opinion from the Treasury Department, but right now, “sanctions do not affect our ability to buy the RD-180,” Unders?ecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Frank Kendall said Tuesday at a Washington...

Russia Goes Digital

Russia has filed plans to conduct a surveillance over flight of the continental United States as part of the Open Skies Treaty, a standard move under the agreement. However, this time Russia wants to use digital equipment for surveillance instead...

Canadian Lightning IIs Back on the Table

The Canadian government resurrected the possibility of buying F-35 Lightning IIs to replace its long-serving CF-18 Hornet fleet, apparently reversing the government’s vow to abandon F-35, Canada’s The Star reported. Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the government will not...

Target Production on a Sub Scale

The Air Force awarded Kratos an $18.6 million contract to deliver additional BQM-167A Air Force subscale aerial targets to Tyndall AFB, Fla., the company announced. The Lot 12 production contract option covers a total of 21 AFSATs to support Combat...