New Capabilities, New Constraints Call For New Concepts of Operation

01/09/2013
2013-01-09 by Lt. General (Retired) David Deptula Whatever happens with sequestration, Pentagon planners are now struggling to fit the services’ myriad programs under a reduced budget topline. Advocates point to their particular project or personnel as vital to US warfighting capacity.  Technologists point to new capabilities that will allow us…

Defending South Korea: The Challenge of North Korean Missiles

12/23/2012
2012-12-23 by Richard Weitz Ballistic missile defenses (BMD) are an urgent acquisition and development capability for South Korea.  North Korea’s Artillery Guidance Bureau controlling some 800 mobile ballistic missiles poses a direct threat to the country. South Korea’s independent system for intercepting short- to medium-range ballistic missile, consisting of Patriot PAC-3…

Moving Forward with Japan-US Defense Cooperation

12/19/2012
2012-12-19 By Richard Weitz The change in government in Japan offers an opportunity to move forward in re-shaping the US-Japanese Alliance. The Alliance has now a long history, but re-shaping the Alliance will be crucial in the period ahead, notably with the challenges from North Korea, the PRC and new regions…

Meeting the Challenge of Dealing with Counterfeit Parts in the Defense Supply Chain

12/18/2012
2012-12-24 In a discussion with Denton Clark of Lockheed Martin, the focus was upon how to meet the challenge of counterfeit parts in the supply chain. Denton Clark, an AIT Manager, is the Automated Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) Integrated Process Team (IPT) lead, for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this…