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iran so far away

Pentagon: We won't reveal proof Iran is behind recent Middle East attacks, but have we ever been wrong before?

Analysis
(Associated Press/Elise Amendola)

The Pentagon is producing precisely diddly-squat in terms of proof that Iran is behind recent attacks in the Middle East, requiring more U.S. troops be sent to the region.

Adm. Michael Gilday, director of the Joint Staff, said on Friday that the U.S. military is extending the deployment of about 600 troops with four Patriot missile batteries already in the region and sending close to 1,000 other service members to the Middle East in response to an Iranian "campaign" against U.S. forces.

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the wall

The F-35 of walls: $1.57 billion spent for just 1.7 miles of fence on the US-Mexico border

Analysis

The F-35 Joint Strike Program may be the most expensive weapons program in modern military history, but it looks as though the new border wall is giving the beleaguered aircraft a run for its money.

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opinion

Video Review: The M320 grenade launcher is bulky garbage

Analysis

The M320 Grenade launcher, a replacement for the M203, is starting to get rolled out to Marines. But former soldier Chris Capelluto thinks it's well, bulky garbage.

The pistol grip loves getting caught on everything as a nice added bonus, and its laser system is a nearly 4 pound attachment to the end of your rifle. But at least it still blows things up.

m203 grenade launcher m320 grenade launcher gear & tech marine corps video chris capelluto gear review m320 gear review opinion
little crappy ship

The Navy's 'Little Crappy Ship' is officially a complete failure

Military Tech

The U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship was supposed to be cheap, fast, flexible and easy to build.

But after spending $30 billion over a period of around two decades, the U.S. Navy has managed to acquire just 35 of the 3,000-ton-displacement vessels.

Sixteen were in service as of late 2018. Of those 16, four are test ships. Six are training ships. In 2019 just six LCSs, in theory, are deployable.

While that number should increase as the remaining ships in the class finally commission into service, the LCS's low readiness rate calls into question the wisdom of the Navy's investment in the type.

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The Pentagon keeps pissing away money on weapons programs and getting little in return

Analysis
content.jwplatform.com

If the Pentagon had to take Consumer Math class in high school, they'd flunk.

The U.S. military—correction, the U.S. taxpayer—is spending more money to buy fewer weapons. The reason? Poor acquisition practices, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

"DOD's 2018 portfolio of major weapon programs has grown in cost by $8 billion, but contains four fewer systems than last year," GAO found.

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our robot overlords

Why the most important use of robotic warships has nothing to do with surface warfare, according to a former Navy officer

Analysis
content.jwplatform.com

The U.S. Navy is moving quickly to develop robotic warships that could hunt submarines and other ships, screen aircraft carriers and convoys from air attack and sweep away enemy mines.

But there's another mission the Navy should consider assigning to unmanned surface vessels, Neil Zerbe, a retired Navy officer, argued for the Center for International Maritime Security: shuttling supplies from ship to shore in the aftermath of an amphibious assault by U.S. Marines.

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