| F-35 TAKING FLAK: Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), a longtime critic of the Pentagon's expensive F-35 fighter jet program, is fuming that his amendment to pause a plan to increase the number of new planes purchased next fiscal year won't be debated by the House. Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) ranking member on the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, issued a joint statement expressing frustration that an amendment to the annual appropriations bill that would temporarily reduce the number of F-35s purchased has been ruled out of order and blocked from debate. "At a projected total lifecycle cost of over $2 trillion, the F-35 is the largest program in DOD history despite routinely not meeting cost, schedule, and performance metrics. In July 2023, the DOD stopped accepting F-35 aircraft deliveries until the enterprise could successfully deliver, test, and field the next version of the Operational Flight Program," the two congressmen wrote. "Now, 11 months later, DOD is still not accepting delivery of aircraft. This is unacceptable program execution, and Congress should not reward this behavior by buying additional aircraft above the president's budget request." "The amendment was offered to reduce the number of F-35s purchased in the next fiscal year and instead invest that money in getting the program back on track to deliver the aircraft we need," Smith and Norcross argued. "It is the duty of Congress to support the long-term viability of the F-35 program and ensure the vast sums of taxpayer money footing the bill are spent where they can ensure program success." MONEY DOWN A 'RAT HOLE': Smith has been skeptical of the F-35 program for years. When Democrats controlled the House, and he was the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, he famously mused about whether there was any way to "stop throwing money down that particular rat hole." "What does the F-35 give us? Is there a way to cut our losses? Is there a way to not keep spending so much money for such a low capability, because the sustainment costs are brutal," Smith said at a Brookings forum in 2021. "What I'm going to try to do is figure out how we can get a mix of fighter attack aircraft that's the most cost-effective. Bottom line. And I'm telling you right now that a big part of that is finding something that doesn't make us rely on the F-35 for the next 35 years." Three years later, facing budget restraints and recognizing dramatic advances in drone technology, the Air Force is contemplating the future of air warfare. During a roundtable with reporters, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin hinted that plans for the next generation of fighter jet, designed to replace the F-22, may have to be reassessed. "The deliberations are still underway, there's been no decision made," Allvin said when asked about the NGAD [Next Generation Air Dominance] program. "We're looking at a lot of very difficult options that we have to consider." IT'S NOT THE STICKER PRICE, IT'S THE MAINTENANCE: "U.S. warplanes have gotten so expensive and take so long to develop that there's little chance for real competition," said Mark Thompson, a veteran defense reporter who now writes The Bunker newsletter for the Project on Government Oversight. "The U.S. military has only three companies it can rely on to build jet fighters: Boeing, Lockheed, and Northrop," Thompson wrote in yesterday's edition. "And because of their jewel-like nature and cost … the U.S. military needs to keep them flying for a long time. But irritatingly, the older a plane gets, the more costly it is to keep flying." "While the Pentagon's new F-35 fighter is slated to cost $442 billion, keeping it flying will cost $1.58 trillion — 79% of the program's total price tag. And building a plane to fly that long bakes in obsolescence," Thompson notes. "The F-35, which flew for the first time in 2006, is slated to remain airborne until 2088 — 82 years. Whether you're a plane or a person, it's tough to stay state-of-the-art for that long." That helps explain why the Air Force may be having second thoughts about the NGAD, which is rumored to cost upwards of $300 million per plane, according to Thompson. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Stacey Dec. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE HAPPENING TODAY: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face off on a stage in Atlanta, Georgia, tonight in a debate that host CNN has hyped all week as the most consequential event of election season, where the stakes "couldn't be higher." The reality may be that the 90-minute performance, which features no audience, no notes, no fact-checking, and muted mics to prevent constant interruptions, may do little to move the needle for voters who know both candidates well. A political cartoon by Mike Smith of the Las Vegas Sun captured the dynamic succinctly, showing a couple on a couch sporting Biden and Trump t-shirts, each thinking their candidate was best. Biden has been holed up at Camp David all week, conducting mock debates and preparing to confront Trump's freewheeling styles. POLICIES BIDEN DOES AND DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT AT DEBATE UKRAINE, NATO, CHINA, KOREA, BORDER SECURITY: With just 90 minutes, it is not clear how many hot-button issues will be addressed. However, with Trump expected to argue Americans were much better off when he was in charge, the economy and border security should take up a major portion of the debate. Biden could attack Trump's claim that he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, arguing his peace plan would be tantamount to total surrender to Vladimir Putin. Trump is likely to repeat his counterfactual claim that Putin would never have invaded Ukraine had he still been in office, and blame Biden's "weakness" for emboldening Putin. If the subject came up, Biden would likely counter that he united a coalition of 50 nations to supply Ukraine with the military aid it needed to continue defending its territory. He's expected to portray Trump as a threat to democracy. It comes as a recent poll of key voters in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin found that Trump is more trusted than Biden on the question of threats to democracy. "I believe that Biden will start and finish with Jan. 6 and link foreign policy to Jan. 6," Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told the Washington Examiner's Mike Brest. "Pollsters always tell us that foreign policy doesn't matter that much to voters on an issue-by-issue basis unless we're at war, and that may be true, but I think that pollsters and political analysts sometimes miss that foreign policy can be a way in which you paint a broader picture of the person, not just of the policy agenda, but of the character and the dependability of the person that you're thinking of voting into the Oval Office," O'Hanlon said. FOREIGN POLICY TOPICS THAT COULD BE DISCUSSED DURING FIRST BIDEN-TRUMP DEBATE PENCE: 'A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE': WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in his homeland of Australia, a free man, after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with the Biden administration Justice Department. The end of the drawn-out legal saga is not sitting well with some Republicans. "Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," former Vice President Mike Pence said in a post on X. "The Biden administration's plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families." "There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever," Pence said. "We know that Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS in Iraq actively monitored leaks across news organizations with English-speaking operatives to look for leaks. And we know they went out when they went after our sources and our people that were helping American troops," Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), a former Green Beret, said on CNN. "What he released put people's lives in danger. He served five years. I think he should have served longer. But you know, at the end of the day, we can't lose sight of, it was the government employee Chelsea Manning who did the leaking." REPUBLICANS SPLIT ON ASSANGE PLEA DEAL THE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: Foreign policy topics that could be discussed during first Biden-Trump debate Washington Examiner: Policies Biden does and doesn't want to talk about at debate Washington Examiner: NATO appoints 'Trump whisperer' Mark Rutte as next secretary general Washington Examiner: Impeached Mayorkas touts 40% drop in migrant arrests since Biden executive order Washington Examiner: DHS tracking down 400 migrants smuggled into US by ISIS-linked network Washington Examiner: Migrant crime grows as campaign issue — but is there an actual spike? Washington Examiner: Fetterman thanked for ‘courageous’ support by Netanyahu Washington Examiner: Bolivian armed forces fail to overthrow socialist government Washington Examiner: Republicans split on Assange plea deal Washington Examiner: Opinion: Biden's Gaza pier is an abject failure Washington Examiner: Opinion: On Russia's growing suggestion it might down US drone over Black Sea Washington Examiner: Opinion: China set to assume EU presidency via its Hungarian puppet Washington Examiner: Opinion: The Iranian regime is desperate. Biden must not give in Washington Examiner: Biden gifts Assange and Russia a very big win New York Times: NATO Will Offer Ukraine a 'Bridge' to Membership, Hoping That's Enough Washington Post: Amid War Setbacks And Complaints, Ukraine Replaces Another Top General AP: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Visits Front-Line Troops Under Pressure From Russia’s Onslaught In Eastern Areas Politico: Putin Would Use North Korean Troops as 'Cannon Fodder,' US Claims The War Zone: European Air Power Teams Up for Pacific Mega Deployment Business Insider: Houthi Rebels Say They’ve Fired A New ‘Homemade Hypersonic Missile,’ Posting Footage Of Its Launch At A Civilian Ship AP: How tensions in Bolivia fueled an attempt to oust President Arce from power AP: Analysis: No matter who wins Iran's presidential election, much may hinge on the 'Great Satan' US Defense News: Pentagon to Identify Next Replicator Capability Set This Summer Yonhap: S. Korea, U.S., Japan Hold 1st Trilateral ‘Freedom Edge’ Exercise SpaceNews: China's 'Worst-Case Thinking' Could Spark Space Crisis, Study Finds Air & Space Forces Magazine: SPACECOM Boss Wants Satellites That Can Maneuver to and from New Orbits Breaking Defense: ULA Now Plans September Launch to Qualify Vulcan for Space Force Missions Defense One: Attacks Against Defense Industrial Base Increasing, NSA Chief Warns Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-52s Take Off from US Base with JASSM Cruise Missiles for 'Unique' Exercise Air & Space Forces Magazine: New DOD Security Clearance Czar Wants to End Years of Mismanagement Miliary.com: Survey Finds a Decline in Well-Being Among Military Families Amid Stress and Loneliness Air & Space Forces Magazine: Col. Kenneth Cordier, Fighter Pilot and Vietnam POW, Dies at 87 Inside Defense: Boeing to Expand Air Dominance Production While NGAD Sits in Limbo Defense News: Opinion: Why the US Air Force Should Keep Next-Generation Air Dominance Alive National Security Journal: Opinion: An Unthinkable War Between Israel And Hezbollah | | | | "I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine." | | Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, in response to a report North Korea is planning to send an engineering unit to Ukraine to support Russian forces in the field. |
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