Zitat:Aerospace industry scrambles to deal with fallout from huge US factory fire [...]

Boeing and other top aerospace firms are scouring their supply chains to determine their exposure to a major fire last week at a Philadelphia-area parts factory that has set off alarm bells across the industry, people familiar with the matter said.

The days-long fire at SPS Technologies' century-old factory could put pressure on the industry's already strapped supply chain. GE Aerospace and others are now trying to figure out who can replace the factory's lost production and also identify who has spare parts, the people said. Both Boeing and France's Safran contacted suppliers asking about the potential effects, according to letters seen by Reuters. [...]

The fire, which caused no fatalities, is the latest in a string of supply setbacks in aerospace. This stadium-sized facility was crucial to the production of key parts, and some analysts warned that its loss could further strain the industry's ability to boost output. SPS products include titanium fasteners of the kind used to assemble carbon-fiber jets like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. [...] A Boeing spokesperson said it is "working with suppliers to assess impacts and ... taking steps to manage any impacts.” CEO Kelly Ortberg said last week in brief comments that he expected some disruption from the fire.

French engine and landing gear maker Safran also contacted suppliers to see if they purchase directly from SPS, according to letters seen by Reuters and two suppliers.

Zitat:The new name is starting to gain traction. During his confirmation hearing for the position of deputy defense secretary earlier today, Stephen Feinberg was asked by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) if he supported the creation of the “Iron Dome missile defense shield for America, I think some people called it the Golden Dome…”
Feinberg answered in the affirmative.

(22.03.2025, 02:06)Diogenes schrieb: Ich verstehe nicht, wie das alles mit den geplanten Etat Kürzungen zusammenpasst, aber ich bin auch kein Genie wie Donald "Krasnow" Trump.

Zitat:Entlassungswelle im Pentagon: Stabschef Hegseths abgesetzt

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Das Pentagon hat die Entscheidung getroffen, Joe Kasper, den Stabschef des US-Verteidigungsministers Pete Hegseth, zu entlassen.

Laut Politico wird Kasper eine neue Funktion in derselben Abteilung übernehmen. Sein Abgang erfolgt, nachdem mehrere enge Mitarbeiter von Hegseth, darunter der Berater Dan Caldwell, der stellvertretende Stabschef Darin Selnick und der Stabschef des stellvertretenden Verteidigungsministers Colin Carroll, entlassen wurden.

Infolge der Veränderungen bleibt Hegseth ohne Stabschef, dessen Stellvertreter und älteren Berater.

"Komplettes Chaos"
- Im Gebäude herrscht komplettes Chaos, und das wird sich wirklich auf die Führung auswirken - sagte ein hochrangiger Pentagon-Beamter gegenüber Politico. - Pete Hegseth hat sich mit Menschen umgeben, die seine Interessen nicht im Herzen haben - fügte er hinzu.
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Zitat:...
Durch diese Veränderungen fehlen Hegseth nun ein Stabschef, ein stellvertretender Stabschef und ein leitender Berater in seinem Büro. „Im Gebäude herrscht völlige Kernschmelze, und das wirft ein schlechtes Licht auf die Führung des Ministers“, äußerte ein hochrangiger Verteidigungsbeamter.

....
Ein ranghoher Beamter des Verteidigungsministeriums hatte laut ZON vor Journalisten erklärt, dass dort etwa 50.000 bis 60.000 Stellen abgebaut werden sollen. „Es wird wahrscheinlich noch mehr Chaos geben“, sagte ein weiterer Verteidigungsbeamter zu Politico. „Das verstärkt sicherlich den Angstfaktor und das Bewusstsein, dass niemandes Arbeitsplatz sicher ist.“

Zitat:- Reduce and restructure manned attack helicopter formations and augment with inexpensive drone swarms capable of overwhelming adversaries

- Alex Miller, the Army Chief’s Chief Technology Officer, explained that the Army also plans to divest from its fleet of AH-64D aircraft, but it is not yet clear if the service will opt to replace them with the newer AH-64E models

- Also on the chopping block, is the “obsolete” Gray Eagle drone, produced by General Atomics

- An Army official today confirmed that the service will stop producing Humvees and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.

- General Dynamics Land Systems will be told to stop producing its brand new light tank, the M10 Booker.

- the service’s ground vehicle portfolio is facing even deeper cuts, which could see modernization programs like the Robotic Combat Vehicle and ongoing Bradley replacement competition be halted, or legacy programs like the Stryker be hit

- Divest outdated formations, including select armor and aviation units across the Total Army

- Army headquarters will divest around 1,000 staff positions, though it’s unclear if those are civilian or uniformed

- Army Futures Command and TRADOC will be merged into one organization, while Forces Command will transform into Western Hemisphere Command and consolidate Army North and Army South into one group.

- trim general office positions to streamline command structures

- Breaking Defense previously reported that the Army was considering a plan that would leave only the Chief and Vice-Chief of the Army as four-stars among internal service positions

Zitat:- To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems

- deliver critical warfighting capabilities, optimize our force structure, and eliminate waste and obsolete programs

- Increase Army forward presence in the Indo-Pacific by expanding pre-positioned stocks, rotational deployments, and exercises with allies and partners to enhance strategic access, basing, and overflight

- A future Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) variant with a seeker to hit moving targets on land and at sea, ready by 2027. Miller subsequently told reporters that this is a new initiative to “double the range” of the weapon and it could potentially be produced by a new vendor

- Achieve electromagnetic and air-littoral dominance by 2027

- Fielding new launched effects in every division by the end of 2026 for soldiers to use from the ground or air

- Improve counter-UAS mobility and affordability, while also integrating those capabilities into maneuver platoons by 2026 and maneuver companies by 2027

- Extending advanced manufacturing, including 3D printing, to operational units by 2026

- Enable AI-driven command and control at Theater, Corps, and Division headquarters by 2027

Zitat:Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to slash the number of senior military leaders across the services would cut more than 120 high-ranking officer jobs in the active duty and National Guard, including as many as nine top general slots.

Based on the percentages outlined by Hegseth and his senior staff, 20% of the 44 authorized top active duty general and admiral jobs would be eliminated, along with 10% of the more than 800 one-, two- and three-star positions, according to numbers compiled by The Associated Press.

The cuts — about nine positions among four-star generals and 80 jobs across the other leadership levels — would affect dozens of active duty officers scattered across the five services as well as those who are in joint command jobs, such as those overseeing Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The changes would eliminate 33 senior National Guard positions.

Zitat:“More generals and admirals does not equal more success,” Hegseth said in a video describing his plan. “This is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers. Nothing could be further from the truth. This has been a deliberative process.”

Calling it the “Less Generals, More GIs” plan, he said the department will make “prudent reductions.”

Zitat:US military vulnerabilities threaten Trump's 'peace-through-strength' strategy [...]

President Donald Trump is the first president since Ronald Reagan to run and get elected on a peace through strength platform. To date, the president has executed this vision by leveraging America’s forward presence across the Middle East and Asia — aircraft carriers, fighters and bombers, and a global network of American military installations — to project power and restore deterrence. The next challenge in realizing a peace through strength program is more fundamental: it will require addressing critical military vulnerabilities, including an overextended force, an industrial base at capacity, and severe readiness challenges. [...]

Now comes the harder part — addressing that trifecta of fundamental pressure points facing the military. [...] The shortage reveals a larger issue: transferring munitions gives up existing capability in Asia that won’t be replenished for years given the state of the industrial base.

Industrial challenges affect every munition from JASSM-ERs to 155mm shells. For example, in 2023 the Pentagon bought 55 Tomahawk missiles, yet 68% of that annual purchase was expended in one single day against the Houthis. Each new Tomahawk faces a two-year lead time, underscoring the urgent need for industrial expansion. [...]

Unfortunately, there are signs that techno-optimism may be interfering with prudent budgeting: the administration requested a $893 billion base defense budget for FY26, well below the $1 trillion budget the administration promised which does not keep pace with inflation.

As a percentage of GDP, the president’s budget would be the lowest since the Clinton years, when the U.S. cashed a peace dividend at the end of the Cold War. The administration will find it challenging to implement a peace through strength program with a shrinking defense budget that would fall short of providing the necessary resources to sustain a forward presence that provides the president with military options and negotiating leverage over adversaries. [...]

With the right budget and right focus, he has a historic opportunity to fulfill that promise and cement himself as a peace-through-strength president. As the president confronts an ascending axis of China, Russia and Iran, he can move beyond employing the tools of strength to rebuilding that strength and delivering a lasting peace.

(28.05.2025, 13:41)Schneemann schrieb: Der republikanische Haus-und-Hof-Sender äußert, wenngleich auch sehr vorsichtig und zwischen Lobgesängen versteckt, Kritik an der Einsatzbereitschaft bzw. der Fiskalplanung der US-Streitkräfte (und damit auch an dem teils wirren Sparkurs):
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Schneemann

Zitat:In line with all this, today’s drone policy changes push immense new authority down to O-6 level commanders – colonels in the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Air Force, and captains in the U.S. Navy – when it comes to Group 1 and 2 drones. They will now be able to directly “grant authority to operate (ATO)” small drones (that is to say who can be a drone operator) and “procure, test, and train with small UAS that are compliant with statutory limitations, from laboratory prototypes to commercial products to molds fabricated by members of the U.S. Armed Forces using compliant critical components,” according to the attachment to the memo.