With its new QDR, the Pentagon keeps in place the 2001 defense strategy of “assure, dissuade, deter, and defeat.” What has changed, officials say, is the way DOD plans to “operationalize” the strategy. According to Ryan Henry, the Pentagon’s QDR point man, this requires two major changes. First, the services need to de-emphasize “traditional” combat—that is, against conventional militaries—and get ginned up for “irregular,” “catastrophic,” and “disruptive” threats. Second, according to Henry, “we need to be able to do more things horizontally.” What does that mean? It means, according to Henry, “We need to move from a service-centric, systems-oriented approach to one that looks at joint warfare capabilities across the portfolio.” Translation: Jointness, good; the military services, bad.
B-21 Raider First Flight Now Postponed to 2023
May 20, 2022
The Air Force says the B-21 Raider won't make its first flight until 2023; about a six-month delay from the last official estimates. No reason was given for the delay. While other programs have recently chalked up schedule slips to supply chain and labor shortages, the Air Force has said…