Defense One

Welcome to this Monday edition of The D Brief, a newsletter dedicated to developments affecting the future of U.S. national security, brought to you by Ben Watson with Bradley Peniston. On this day in 1783, the United States disbanded the Continental Army, one day after Gen. George Washington delivered his farewell to the troops.

The current administration and its predecessor have brought sustained attention to the urgent strategic problem of American shipbuilding, but a prospective deal for icebreakers could place this essential work in jeopardy. Hunter Stires has more at: https://lnkd.in/dUXMaPB6.

Jon Wolfsthal covers what ‘A House of Dynamite’ gets right and wrong about nuclear command and control in: https://lnkd.in/gZsxETKN.

Speed. Persistence. Capabilities “designed and built to enable operations inside the weapons engagement zone.” The commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet wants it all. And he wants it now. Jennifer Hlad has more about the PacFleet's push for new capabilities: https://lnkd.in/d24zk2eS.

An ambitious Air Force plan to acquire hundreds more advanced fighter jets for homeland defense over the next decade would require a blank check from Congress and expanding the tactical aircraft counted in their inventory, an official confirmed last Thursday. Thomas Novelly has more about the Air Force's request at: https://lnkd.in/eaF5wsqH

Two senators raised concerns on Tuesday about a new Pentagon policy that could bar defense personnel and military commanders from communicating with lawmakers without prior approval. The mid-October memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would “throttle” communication between the committee and the Pentagon, said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces panel. Lauren C. Williams has more about the memo at: https://lnkd.in/ddez79ky.

House Armed Services committee members are begging Boeing leaders to negotiate with 3,200 union workers and end a nearly-three-month strike at the company’s fighter jet and munitions factories in St. Louis. Thomas Novelly has more about the letter at: https://lnkd.in/dzWHrijr.

A new report to Congress pitching the Air Force’s 10-year fighter jet plan is missing key details and explanations, raising questions and concerns among defense experts. Thomas Novelly has more about the Air Force's new 10-year plan at: https://lnkd.in/d7Kyyyni.

The White House’s pick to field new technologies across the military faster says most U.S. companies want to sell to the Pentagon, but they don’t understand what the military needs. Lauren C. Williams has more from Jim Caggy's testimony at: https://lnkd.in/dxPGAM-k.

The morning after President Donald Trump vowed to “start testing our Nuclear Weapons,” his pick to lead U.S. Strategic Command fielded questions from senators who wondered what the president meant and what the nominee planned to do about it. “If confirmed in the role of the STRATCOM commander, my role would be to provide military advice, and I would look forward to working with the committee and policy members to inform the way ahead with respect to any testing, whether that's testing of our missile systems, or maturity associated with surety” of nuclear weapons, said Vice Adm. Richard Correll, a submariner and STRATCOM’s deputy commander. That was the gist of Correll’s testimony during his confirmation hearing Thursday as lawmakers tried to parse exactly what Trump meant when he called for immediate nuclear weapons testing “on an equal basis” via social media late on Wednesday. No one was quite sure what the president meant, but it’s been 33 years since the United States exploded a nuclear weapon. Lauren C. Williams has from Correll's testimony at: https://lnkd.in/diyQTnwq.