Breaking Defense's Monday Morning Briefing

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead _________________________________________________________________________

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead It's Impossible To Connect The Joint Force As One. Until It's Not. Presented by Northrop Grumman We provide powerful, scalable networks and capabilities that enable the joint force as one across every domain, service and mission. Learn more. IDEX 2021: First COVID-Era Defense Show Kicks Off By Chyrine Mezher; Sunday, February 21, 2021 3:56 PM On opening day, the UAE armed forces signed 19 defense contracts, with the larger part going to domestic companies. "Worth $1.37 billion, 22% of the deals were signed with seven international firms while 78% went to 12 local companies," Staff Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al Hassani, official spokesman for IDEX and NAVDEX, said in a press briefing.   Engagement vs. Estrangement: Arms Sales Strengthen Key Alliances And Keep Partners Close To Washington By Nicola "Niki" Johnson, Vice President for Government Affairs, Strategic Communications and Marketing General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.; Sunday, February 21, 2021 8:36 AM [Sponsored] Rebuilding relationships with partners and allies is a core goal of the new U.S. administration. A robust program of foreign military sales (FMS) and direct commercial sales (DCS) can strengthen ties abroad while empowering countries to both defend themselves and contribute to collective security efforts.   DoD Budget 'Bloodletting' Inches Closer To Reality By Paul McLeary; Friday, February 19, 2021 3:49 PM The Pentagon is at an "inflection point" in terms of how to split the military budget between the services, Rep. Joe Courtney said, a growing recognition that the budget calculus is about to change.   Israel, US Unveil Arrow 4, Missile Defense With Eye On Hypersonic Threats By Arie Egozi; Friday, February 19, 2021 2:51 PM TEL AVIV: Israel and the U.S have begun development of the Arrow 4 ballistic missile interceptor to deal largely with new Iranian long-range ballistic missile threats. A key design feature for the new Arrow will be winglets, helping it to intercept threats inside the atmosphere, in particular hypersonic missiles. "Israel needs to plan its missiles…   EXCLUSIVE: Army Airpower To Strike Deep In EDGE21 War-game By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Friday, February 19, 2021 12:42 PM New drones – launched by helicopters in flight and built by the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office – will reach out "hundreds of kilometers." Marine F-35s, 82nd Airborne troops, and Special Ops will also participate in exercise EDGE21.   Who's Who in Defense: Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary Of Defense By jvislocky; Friday, February 19, 2021 7:35 AM Part of a special Breaking Defense reference series profiling key defense decision-makers in the new administration and Congress.   Army Chief To Navy, Air Force: We've Got 'Speed & Range' By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Thursday, February 18, 2021 4:50 PM "The future is all about range and speed," Gen. McConville declared, and longtime Army watchers perked up. With the other services circling for a prophesied budgetary "bloodletting", the Army really needs a clear and catchy argument for its modernization program.   Biden Pledged New Missile Defenses, His Pentagon May Be About To Deliver By Paul McLeary; Thursday, February 18, 2021 4:02 PM There have been questions about the Biden Administration's missile defense plan; some of those may be answered in coming weeks   Roles & Missions Scrub Needed For All Domain Ops: CSAF Brown By Theresa Hitchens; Thursday, February 18, 2021 3:16 PM The Pentagon needs to look at "seams, gaps and overlaps" as they implement the new strategy for All Domain Ops, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown says.   Arab Gulf States Bolster Land Forces With New Battle Management Systems By Riad Kahwaji; Thursday, February 18, 2021 9:25 AM [Sponsored] As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enhances the situational awareness capabilities of its army, other Arab Gulf States are also seeking to provide their land forces with state-of-the-art systems to keep their troops well informed of their operating environment and increase their lethality on the battlefield.   'Clean Sheet' F-16 Replacement In The Cards: CSAF Brown By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, February 17, 2021 6:12 PM "In the budget for FY 23, that's where I see that we'll really make some key decisions" about the tactical air fleet, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown says.   DARPA Builds AI To Avoid Army, AF Fratricide By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, February 17, 2021 3:40 PM "ASTARTE helps solve the problem how to decide where physically to move [air assets] to conduct operations … even when it is an incredibly complex battlespace," says Tim Grayson, head of DARPA's Strategic Technologies Office.   Army Tests New Active Protection For Abrams, Bradley, AMPV & Stryker By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Wednesday, February 17, 2021 2:44 PM The Army's already installed off-the-shelf Israeli anti-missile systems on its M1 Abrams and tried similar tech on Bradley and Stryker. But what it really wants is a standardized yet customizable Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) it can install on a wide range of vehicles.   AFSOC Pitches New Light Attack Plane To Congress By Paul McLeary; Wednesday, February 17, 2021 2:07 PM "The whole reason we're doing this is because the National Defense Strategy talks about the need to do cost effective [counter-terrorism] operations, cost effective irregular warfare," AFSOC commander Gen. Slife said.   Austin Starts With New 'Tone' For NATO; Hard Stuff Comes Next By Paul McLeary; Tuesday, February 16, 2021 5:20 PM On the eve of a major meeting with NATO defense ministers, US officials say SecDef Lloyd Austin will bring a public change in the US attitude about NATO.   Breaking Defense 611 Broadway • New York, New York • 10012 unsubscribe