Procurement

Department of Defense

F-35: Blade Bummer

The news that the Pentagon’s fleet of 51 F-35 fighters has been grounded because of a half-inch crack in one of its engine’s …

Ages in which the dominant weapon is expensive or difficult to make will tend to be ages of despotism, whereas when the dominant weapon is cheap and simple, the common people have a chance. Thus, for example, tanks, battleships and bombing planes are inherently tyrannical weapons, while rifles, muskets, long-bows and hand-grenades are inherently democratic weapons. A complex weapon makes the strong stronger, while a simple weapon--so long as there is no answer to it--gives claws to the weak.
— George Orwell, 1945

The Picasso of Procurement

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel – and occasional Battleland contributor – Dan Ward not only has a way with words. He is, according to his new The Comic Guide to Improving Defense Acquisitions, also the Picasso of …

Kinder, Gentler War

In the Pentagon’s continuing quest to destroy without hurting, Boeing announced this week that its CHAMP microwave-burst weapon successfully rendered electronic targets useless without wounding anyone.

“We turned science …

Exploding Budgets

The government is set to spend $640 billion on nuclear weapons and related programs over the next ten years.

If you didn’t know that, you are not alone. No one has put together a reliable estimate of these future budgets – …

Sky-High WiFi

If civilian passengers can now get the Internet on airplanes, shouldn’t troops be able to get it on the battlefield?

The Air Force has just awarded Northrop Grumman a $20 million contract to do just that, by adding new …

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