 | 4/19/2018 | Morning Recon
Good Thursday morning and welcome to MORNING RECON. On this day in 1942, in Burma, General Alexander confers with his field commanders (British Brigadier General Slim and American Lieutenant General Stilwell). Meanwhile, the Japanese strike at the weak and poorly led Chinese 55th Division, which the Japanese find idly sitting in its bivouacs. The Chinese are attacked from three directions at once and the division disintegrates. Soldiers flee into the hills. The 93rd Chinese Division moves in to help, sees the chaos, and retreats without fighting.
RealClearDefense Today's Exclusive Stories: BaseFEST 2018 BaseFEST Powered by USAA will take place on four (4) military installations in 2018 Today's Top Stories
NATIONAL Congress Seeks to Exert More Control Over Middle East Wars
By Bryant Harris, Al-Monitor: "While many lawmakers of both parties agree that the commander in chief has broad authority to engage in such short-term actions, they are under growing pressure to play a more forceful oversight role."
USS Zumwalt to Fire Its First Missile Next Year
By Kris Osborn, Warrior Maven: "The U.S. Navy's stealthy destroyer will fire an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile and SM-2 in 2019 from its Mk 57 Vertical Launch Systems, marking the first time the new ship will fire weapons as part of its ongoing combat activation process."
Air Force Announces Nearly $1B Hypersonic Weapons Contract
By Paul McCleary, Breaking Defense: "The $928 million contract will cover the "design, development, engineering, systems integration, test, logistics planning, and aircraft integration support of all the elements of a hypersonic, conventional, air-launched, stand-off weapon," according to information released by the Air Force."
Navy Creates Permanent Readiness Command
By Ben Werner, USNI News: ""Rebuilding readiness is my top priority," Vice. Adm. Rich Brown, the commander of Naval Surface Force U.S. Pacific Fleet said in a release. "CNSG WP is one critical step in the process.""
Boeing Bows Out of GPS III Competition
By Sandra Erwin, SpaceNews: "Boeing built earlier versions of GPS satellites but Lockheed has been the only producer of the GPS 3 version and is now under contract to build 10 satellites."
Marines In the Hunt for a Mortar Round That Can Fire Up to 12 Miles
By Hope Hodge Seck, Kit Up!: "On the Marine Corps' current wishlist is an 81mm mortar round that can fire up to almost four times further than its existing high-explosive round."
Lockheed Resists $119 Million in Fixes for Its $406 Billion F-35
By Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg: "The dispute over poor workmanship that resulted in corrosion damage last year on some of the fighter jets illustrates the disputes that arise from time to time between the Pentagon and its biggest contractor over its costliest weapons program."
Managing Space Domain with Policy, Space Fence Technology
By Stew Magnuson, National Defense Magazine: "The number of objects the Air Force will be able to track is expected to increase fivefold next year when the long-awaited Space Fence is fully operational."
'Nerves of Steel': Former Fighter Pilots Calmly Landed Southwest Flight
By Samantha Schmidt, The Washington Post: ""Southwest 1380, we're single engine," said Capt. Tammie Jo Shults, a former fighter pilot with the U.S. Navy. "We have part of the aircraft missing, so we're going to need to slow down a bit.""
What Wright-Patterson AFB Means for the Economy of Ohio
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: "Contrary to the belief of many analysts, the United States has an industrial policy that often puts government in the position of picking winners and losers. It's called the defense budget, and it has a big impact on the national economy."
INTERNATIONAL KOREN PENINSULA:
South Korea's Moon Says North Seeking 'Complete Denuclearization'
From Reuters: "North Korea has expressed its desire for "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula and is not seeking conditions such as U.S. troops withdrawing from the South first, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday."
UNITED KINGDOM: The Royal Navy's Type 26 Frigate
By George Allison, UK Defence Journal: "The Type 26 Frigate, or 'City class', represents one of the most capable warships the Royal Navy has owned in decades, albeit one of the most costly."
COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS
A Call for the ESSM-ER
By Jason Blackstone, RealClearDefense: "The ESSM-ER would also be extremely useful for both the Burke and Ticonderoga classes. If used in conjunction with the SM-6 to replace the SM-2, a large number of VLS cells could be freed up for more offensive missiles or to simply dramatically increase the number of defensive missiles."
Defense Spending Gets a Reprieve From Austerity Politics…for Now
By Matt Vallone, War on the Rocks: "Deficit politics have reared their head in almost every past presidential administration. It is unlikely this time will be different and the defense industry should plan accordingly."
Where Have All the Warriors Gone?
By Richard Macke, Proceedings Magazine: "Where have all the Navy's warriors gone? Where are the officers who have faced an enemy on the field of battle and shown throughout their careers the ability to outthink, outmaneuver, and outfight an armed foe? Where are those who have tasted the fear and thrill of combat and proven their martial skills?"
Losing U.S. Air Superiority Risks Ground Forces
By Keith Zuegel, Defense News: "The asymmetric advantage that the U.S. military possesses ― and that has prevented enemy aircraft attacks on American ground forces since April 15, 1953 ― is eroding."
The {Cyber} Guns of August
By Michael Senft, Small Wars Journal: ""Why did the lessons of Stuxnet, Wannacry, Heartbleed and Shamoon go unheeded?" asked the inquisitive student to the doleful professor, whose withered, prematurely-aged face bore witness to the shattering of a hyperconnected world."
Debating CIA Nominee Haspel
By Todd Rosenblum & Michael Hayden, The Cipher Brief: "The nomination hearing of Gina Haspel to lead the agency is shaping up to be a bruising interrogation over Haspel's role in the destruction of evidence regarding the CIA's now-defunct enhanced interrogation techniques program."
What Austria Can Teach the U.S. About Civil-Military Relations
By Franz-Stefan Gady, Defense One: "I was raised in a culture in which soldiering is seen as just another dangerous profession."
One-Off Strikes Accomplish Nothing. Assad Must Go.
By Emile Nakhleh, The Cipher Brief: "It was a "one-shot" strike to punish the "Butcher of Damascus" for a one-time heinous act, which the regime has withstood. Despite Trump's "Mission Accomplished" bravado, Assad was more belligerent the morning after the strikes than ever."
Trump Should Follow His Instincts and Get Out of Syria
By Jerrod A. Laber, RealClearDefense: "The case for exiting Syria is straightforward. ISIS is largely defeated, and there is very little that America can do to ensure a good outcome in the Syrian Civil War."
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