
A Tomahawk Costs $2 Million. Here’s Who Gets Paid to Replace It.
Estimates from Anadolu news agency put the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury at approximately $779 million. That number dominated the headlines. The number that…
Defense procurement is how the government buys weapons, ships, aircraft, technology, and services for the military. Contractors, from large manufacturers to small businesses, compete for and carry out the work under contracts written to federal rules. The Department of Defense, Congress, and the contracting companies are the main players.
People usually ask how contracts are awarded, what kinds of contracts exist, how small businesses get involved, why major programs cost what they do and take so long, and how advances in technology reach the military.
An independent team explaining how government works

Estimates from Anadolu news agency put the first 24 hours of Operation Epic Fury at approximately $779 million. That number dominated the headlines. The number that…

The United States Navy, the preeminent maritime force of the modern era, is trapped in a logistical and economic paradox. Despite a shipbuilding budget that has…

More than a year ago, the Commission on the National Defense Strategy issued a report with a stark conclusion: the United States faces the most challenging…

The United States possesses the world's most powerful navy, yet it faces a profound industrial crisis. The domestic shipbuilding capacity that forged its fleet is faltering,…
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, a menacing black triangle gliding silently through the upper atmosphere, is one of the most recognizable and potent symbols…
The Pentagon buys weapons and equipment from private companies but it also partners with them in ways most Americans never see. These collaborations shape…
The U.S. military is betting everything on a radical transformation that could either save American dominance or create the world's most expensive vulnerability.
The U.S. Department of Defense is racing to rebuild itself for a new kind of warfare. Guided by the stark reality that China and…
The U.S. military is undergoing its most fundamental transformation since the nuclear age—not by building bigger ships or faster jets, but by completely rewiring…
The American military is undergoing its most radical transformation since World War II. After two decades focused on counterinsurgency and fighting terrorists in the…
A century after the first radio-controlled "aerial torpedo" took flight, unmanned systems have become the backbone of American military power. What started as experimental…
The United States sells billions in military equipment to foreign countries each year through a complex government program few Americans understand. Yet these sales…
The Department of Defense (DoD) represents the largest customer in the world, spending hundreds of billions of dollars annually on goods, services, research, and…
U.S. defense contracts are legally binding agreements established between the Department of Defense (DoD) and a contractor. These agreements facilitate the procurement of goods,…