The Ukraine and Russian forces have been building drones for less than three thousand dollars and the "Affordable Mass"  efforts in the US had an original floor price of three hundred thousand dollars because that is the way the American "defense" acquisition system rolls. Quantity does have a quality all of its own but the US is way behind the power curve. The future is drones in peer combat in the 21st century. The future is missiles in peer combat in the 21st century. The future is salvo competition in peer combat in the 21st century. The future is a war of leakers in peer combat in the...

Comfort is a thief.   Life is hard.   Do more and suck less.   Class dismissed.

As I have mentioned, the US Navy can't catch a break from the cavalcade of calamities that is Navy shipbuilding for two generations. First they removed the 155mm gun when it was disclosed it was 800 thousand dollars a round Advanced Gun System (AGS) then it took five years (!) to launch its first missile from the Vertical Launch System (VLS) on deck. They were going to build 32 of these floating dumpsters but have only built three. Instead of blowing the $22.4 billion on researching and developing the Zumwalts, the money would have been better spent by not being spent. The Zumwalts were...

This is the first US Navy decision I can get behind in years. The US Navy just cancelled its Constellation class frigate program because it is absolutely incapable of building hulls and ships that work. They have not launched a successful surface ship since 1991 with the Arleigh Burke class. Total appropriated: $7.6 billion for the initial six ships and the amount spent so far with delivery of two incomplete ships: around $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Canceling the Constellation-class is a major red flag over the US Navy’s eroding naval shipbuilding foundations. The challenge now is reviving...

Responsible Statecraft tends to have a more common sense approach to the profligate spending on the part of the American defense establishment. The retirement of the entire ICBM arm and cancellation of the Sentinel successor would save enormous amounts of money wasted on very vulnerable strategic assets. It's time to consider a complete reappraisal of the three arms of the nuclear response in IRBMs and ICBMs and reduce them over time to zero and then to decide on the disposition of the bomber launched gravity bombs and nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. The drone technology emerging now and the...