June 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Key debate on military protest response, budget priorities set to happen behind closed doors on Capitol Hill

The biggest defense news on Capitol Hill this week will be taking place behind the scenes rather than in public view, as lawmakers grapple with the military's response to recent nationwide protests and their own plans for next year's Pentagon budget.

On Monday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville and District of Columbia National Guard Commander Maj. Gen. William Walker will brief members of the House Armed Services Committee in a non-public meeting.

The session was originally scheduled for late last week, amid concerns that guardsmen may have overstepped their roles as security support for D.C. police responding to some of the massive racial equality demonstrations outside the White House in recent days.

The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a black man prosecutors say was murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer.

Since then, Pentagon officials appear to have tamped down President Donald Trump's suggestions that active-duty troops should be brought in to help handle the work, creating a massive show of force to “dominate” the streets of major cities across the country.

But House Armed Services Committee members have said they still have lingering questions about how those discussions progressed, and whether guardsmen were put in an uncomfortable political role instead of their traditional support response.

Democratic members are also sparring with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, after committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., vowed to bring the Pentagon leaders to Capitol Hill for a full public hearing on the issues this week.

Esper and Milley have thus far refused, although Pentagon officials said they are negotiating scheduling issues for a possible future appearance.

“The DoD legislative affairs team remains in discussion with the HASC on this request," Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Pentagon spokesman, said last week. "In the meantime, DoD has committed to provide Army Secretary McCarthy, Army Chief of Staff Gen. McConville, and D.C. National Guard Commanding General Maj. Gen. Walker to brief the committee next week on the presence of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., this past week.”

Smith and 30 other Democratic committee members called Esper's refusal to appear this week “unacceptable.”

Several members of the committee have vowed to include the issue in the annual defense authorization bill. Subcommittee mark-ups of the massive military budget policy measure are scheduled to begin on June 22.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is beginning its mark-up of the authorization bill this week, with the first two subcommittee section votes scheduled for Monday afternoon. The full committee mark-up will take place starting on Wednesday.

Unlike their House counterparts, however, nearly all of that work will be done behind closed doors. Senate committee officials have said in the past that they can more quickly and efficiently navigate the hundreds of legislative issues within the bill if they keep the work out of public view, to allow seamless transition between classified and non-classified topics.

The only portion of the Senate authorization bill work to be made public will be the personnel subcommittee mark-up, set for Tuesday at 2 p.m. The hearing will be streamed through the committee's web site, as restrictions on public access to the Capitol complex remain in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The House Armed Services Committee will have a public hearing on a separate topic later this week: Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, will testify on Wednesday about the impact of the ongoing pandemic on the defense industrial base.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/06/08/key-debate-on-military-protest-response-budget-priorities-set-to-happen-behind-closed-doors-on-capitol-hill/

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February 16, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

Canada rejoins NATO Airborne Warning and Control System program
News Release From National Defence February 14, 2018, Brussels, Belgium — National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces The Government is committed to both the security and safety of Canadians and the protection of their rights and freedoms. Canada is playing a strong and constructive role in the world by making concrete contributions to international peace and security – including at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO is a cornerstone of Canada's international security policy and today the Government announced its intention to rejoin to the Alliance's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) program. Programs such as AWACS, and the joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance it provides, are increasingly relevant in today's security environment. In response to the challenges posed by that environment, NATO has significantly increased the use of its AWACS operations, including in areas like Central and Eastern Europe where Canada is leading a multinational NATO battlegroup based in Latvia. Canada decided to withdraw from the AWACS program in 2011 following the Department of National Defence's 2010 Strategic Review. Quotes “NATO is a cornerstone of Canada's international security policy, and is one of our most important multilateral relationships. In that spirit, Canada has decided to rejoin NATO's Airborne Warning and Control System. AWACS is a key NATO capability that we will support by contributing to its operations and support budget. We have committed to keeping Canada engaged in the world, and continuing to commit ourselves to NATO and its missions are important steps toward that goal.” Harjit S. Sajjan, Defence Minister Quick Facts The Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) was established in 1978 and consists of a fleet of NATO-owned aircraft giving the Alliance abilities to conduct long-range aerial surveillance, and to command and control forces from the air. Part of Canada's commitment to NATO, as outlined in Strong, Secure, Engaged, includes: Leading and/or contributing forces to NATO and coalition efforts to deter and defeat potential adversaries, including terrorists, to support global stability; Leading and/or contributing to international peace operations and stabilization missions with the United Nations, NATO, and other multilateral partners. The NATO Airborne Warning and Control System has sixteen E-3A aircraft. These modified Boeing 707s are easily identifiable from the distinctive radar dome mounted on the fuselage. The E-3A usually operates at an altitude of around 10 km. From this altitude a single E-3A can constantly monitor the airspace within a radius of more than 400 km and can exchange information – via digital data links – with ground-based, sea-based and airborne commanders. By using pulse Doppler radar, an E-3A flying within NATO airspace can distinguish between targets and ground reflections and is therefore able to give early warning of low- or high-flying aircraft operating over the territory of a potential aggressor. Contacts Byrne Furlong Press Secretary Office of the Minister of National Defence Phone: 613-996-3100 Email: byrne.furlong@forces.gc.ca Media Relations Department of National Defence Phone: 613-996-2353 Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2018/02/canada_rejoins_natoairbornewarningandcontrolsystemprogram.html
November 15, 2022 | International, Other Defence

Europe must steer more military spending to joint projects -EU defence agency
EU members are set to boost military budgets by up to 70 billion euros ($72.2 billion) by 2025 but a lack of project cooperation and purchases outside the bloc risk undermining efforts to create coherent forces, the European Defence Agency said.
January 25, 2021 | International, Aerospace

La Grèce va signer un méga contrat de 2,5 milliards d'euros pour 18 Rafale ce lundi
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