International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers President Robert Martinez Jr. argues in this op-ed that it’s time for Congress to ditch any F-35 cuts to preserve American jobs while ensuring national security.

Pentagon acquisition of space systems needs to be “faster and leaner,” stressed Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who is expected to chair the House strategic forces subcommittee next year.

The Heritage Foundation’s Thomas Spoehr has seven tips for lawmakers as they consider how to shape the final NDAA.

“The defense industrial base right now is strained. And a lot of that has to do with the workforce, as we recover from COVID,” said Adm. Michael Gilday.

“We learned in 2016 that recovering from artificial cuts is more expensive than getting it right in the first place,” David Norquist, NDIA’s president and CEO, told Breaking Defense.

“You always have to be careful when we streamline a process,” David Norquist, recently installed as president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association, told Breaking Defense.

The cuts suggested by the committee will set back progress made by the Army on its network and radio modernization efforts, a service official told Breaking Defense.

The figure is well beyond the $773 billion requested by the White House, as senators say they’re battling inflation and accounting for troop pay raise and competition from Russia and China.

An Army official recently said the service hasn’t finished analyzing the results from a critical IVAS test, still assessing best path forward for enhanced soldier vision.

The Senate Armed Services Committee in its report justified the move by saying Snakehead could be “an important capability” once fielded.

The bill, which boosts defense spending by $45 billion over the president’s request, now heads to the Senate floor.

If the Biden administration wants to ensure America’s security while protecting non-defense spending, it needs to start working on a budget deal before November’s election, says John Ferrari of AEI.

“Russia is watching us. China is watching us. Our allies are watching us — and they all want to see how seriously America is taking security in this destabilized world,” writes Rep. Rob Wittman in a new op-ed.

Responding to sharp criticism of his former service — in print in a Breaking Defense op-ed and implied in new legislation — retired Adm. James Foggo says the Navy needs support, not more onerous oversight.

HASC “believes that directed energy technology has matured to the point where it may be successfully deployed against current rocket, artillery, mortar, and cruise missile threats,” read one NDAA amendment.