The Trump administration is signaling it will end support for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The so-called fiscal year (FY) 2026 “skinny” budget, released on May 2, 2025, called for an end to the SLS after three launches, noting that the program is 140 percent over budget. The […]
The Alternate Engine is a Settled Issue
There should be no third bite at the taxpayers’ money for the twice-killed alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). In 2011, following years of opposition from multiple presidential administrations and the Department of Defense (DOD), along with a coalition of taxpayer organizations, the first attempt to provide an alternate engine for the […]
GAO: Pentagon at High Risk for Fraud
The Department of Defense (DOD) has far from a sterling reputation for financial discipline. It remains the sole federal agency to have not passed a clean audit under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990. The Marine Corps is the only one of the five DOD branches that has passed an audit, which it accomplished […]
M10 Booker: A Guide to Irrational Aquisition
The M10 Booker embodies fundamental failures of with Department of Defense acquisition, including the lack of critical analysis and when to stop wasting the taxpayer’s money. Start with what the Army first envisioned in 2013: A light tank to replace the retired M551 Sheridan that could support infantry with two of them airdropping from a […]
Executive Order Expedites Defense Procurement and Increases Reliance on Private Sector
A Trump administration executive order would streamline defense procurement and prioritize existing private sector products.
Multiple Options for DOGE at the DOD
The Department of Government Efficiency would have many opportunities to trim waste at the Department of Defense.
Adopting Shared Services Would Drive Efficiency
Switching to a shared services model at the federal level would reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Joint Strike Fighter Limited by Inadequate Software
The F-35’s software development is plagued by underperformance and delays, raising serious concerns about the JSF’s reliability.
Navy and Congress Share Blame for Ship Modernization Waste
The Navy wasted nearly half of the money spent on modernizing seven cruisers; members of Congress are also to blame.
Pentagon Is Now 0-7 In Passing a Clean Audit
For the seventh straight year, the Pentagon failed its financial review.