Breaking Defense's Monday Morning Briefing

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead It's Impossible to Get the Full Picture. Until it's Not. Presented by Northrop Grumman We provide powerful, scalable networks and capabilities that enable warfighters to act as a joint force across every domain, service and mission.  Learn more. Industry Says 'Meh' To DoD Cislunar Space Push By Theresa Hitchens; Friday, August 28, 2020 4:17 PM At the moment, industry sources say, there is no money to be had for developing systems for DoD's cislunar operations.   'If It Floats, It Fights:' Navy's New Small Ship Strategy By Paul McLeary; Friday, August 28, 2020 2:06 PM Existing amphibious ships might be the "Swiss Army Knife of the fleet," but the Navy and Marines want an enemy who "jumps on it in the opening gambit…they're gonna have the shock of their life."   Lessons for the Pacific From The European Deterrence Initiative By Bradley Bowman; Friday, August 28, 2020 10:57 AM         In the last week, China has fired an array of missiles near the Paracel Islands, clearly intended to shape the attitudes and actions of the United States and our fellow Pacific friends and allies. The U.S Commerce Department has slapped sanctions on two dozen companies involved in China's illegal destruction of…   US Condemns PRC For Paracel Missile Shots By Colin Clark; Thursday, August 27, 2020 6:32 PM The missile firings, DoD says, "further destabilize the situation in the South China Sea. Such exercises also violate PRC commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to avoid activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability, and call into question its motivations with ongoing negotiations for a Code of Conduct between China and ASEAN."   DoD War Games Predict 'Extremely Destabilizing' Chinese Military Parity By Paul McLeary; Thursday, August 27, 2020 6:29 PM "If we do come to blows with China, it's gonna be very confused for the first 30 or 45 days, and then we must fight in a distributed fashion," said Maj. Gen. Tracy King, Marine Corps' director of Expeditionary Warfare   DoD Needs New Policies, Ethics For Brain-Computer Links (Jacked-In Troops?) By Theresa Hitchens; Thursday, August 27, 2020 6:19 PM "BCI is not just science fiction; it has viable practical applications, but there is much more work that needs to be completed before it becomes mainstream and commercial," RAND's Tim Marler says.   Navy Turns To AI To Save Billions In Fight Against Rust By Kelsey Atherton; Thursday, August 27, 2020 9:21 AM "The AI technology behind this enabled the US Navy to quickly and seamlessly examine tens of thousands of images to prioritize the needs to be repaired immediately and or later on," Mike Daniels, VP of Google Cloud's Global Public Sector.   Exclusive: Milley To OK New Unified Command Plan; Defines SPACECOM's Roles By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, August 26, 2020 5:06 PM "They're cleaning up a bit of 'the who's in charge' of deciding which mode is a particular sensor going to be in on any given time of the day," one Pentagon expert said of the UCP's changes to SPACECOM's roles.   No US Icebreakers Working As USCGC Healy Limps Home By Paul McLeary; Wednesday, August 26, 2020 4:16 PM With one icebreaker down, the US has one left in port — with no new ships scheduled to arrive for years.   Israel Juggles Arms Exports As UAE Opening Ripples Across Mideast By Arie Egozi; Wednesday, August 26, 2020 3:12 PM   TEL AVIV: The diplomatic opening between Israel and the UAE has had two contradictory effects. On the one hand, Israel sees the emirates as a potential customer for Israeli-developed weapon systems. On the other, Jerusalem is pressing Washington to keep Israel's Qualitative Military Edge (QME), Meanwhile, the U.S is mediating diplomatic normalization agreements with…   The Fuzzy Outlines Of Biden's National Security Policies By Mark Cancian; Wednesday, August 26, 2020 7:01 AM The first outlines of what a Biden administration's national security policy and defense budget are coming clear. The good news is that nothing signals a major change in strategy, so deep cuts and radical restructuring are unlikely. The bad news is that the administration's overwhelming emphasis would be on domestic affairs and there appears to…   More Ambitious ABMS Demo Uses 5G: Roper By Theresa Hitchens; Tuesday, August 25, 2020 5:56 PM "ABMS is about taking the concept of the OODA Loop and transcending it from something that people do to something that machines do," says Will Roper, AF acquisition czar.   New START's Demise Could Cost DoD $439B, Or Nothing: CBO By Theresa Hitchens; Tuesday, August 25, 2020 5:49 PM The study finds that 1 B-21, with 10 Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise missiles and eight nuclear warheads, would cost $500 million, and $40 million a year (in 2020 dollars) to maintain.   Navy Plans For Wartime Ship Surge; Looks To Small Commercial Yards By Paul McLeary; Tuesday, August 25, 2020 4:37 PM "We don't have enough capacity for peacetime" repairs, said Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage. "We can't get ships delivered on time with the predictability we need today."   Navy Gets Break As Bath Iron Works Strike Finally Ends By Paul McLeary; Monday, August 24, 2020 5:47 PM As thousands of workers go back on the job at the Maine shipyard, the Navy has a deep readiness hole to dig itself out of.   Breaking Defense 611 Broadway • New York, New York • 10012 unsubscribe