Internal documents by the Air Force’s future war-fighting cell indicated a plan to curb F-35 orders at 1,050 jets and Will Roper, the Air Force’s acquisition executive called for F-35 purchases to be capped at about 800 units. The old plan was to get 1,763 F-35As. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown is …
The The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) was named the number one think tank in the United States as well as the defense and national security center of excellence for 2016-2018 by the University of Pennsylvania’s annual think tank report. The Global Go To Think Tank Index, from the Think Tanks and Civil …
Satellite images taken by Planet and analyzed by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (CNS/MIIS) show that China is significantly expanding the number of silos for its arsenal of intercontinental range-ballistic missiles. 120 silos under construction near Yumen were identified by Decker Eveleth, a former …
The U.S. military launched air strikes targeting three operational and weapons storage facilities — two in Syria and one in Iraq. The US said that drone strikes were being launched from these locations at US interests in Iraq. The US used F-15 and F-16 jets for the airstrikes. There were five drone attacks over the …
The Whitehouse and about ten senate Democrat and Republican members have announced support for bipartisan $1.2 trillion compromise infrastructure bill. This bill still has to pass the House and Senate and then get signed into law. The bill has the following spending. Repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change …
Colonial Pipeline has had a cyberattack involving ransomeware from an Eastern European-based criminal gang called DarkSide. Colonial Pipeline has temporarily shutdown 2.5 million barrels per day of pipelines. This is about 12-15% of US oil capacity. On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. We have since …
The provisional number of births for the United States in 2020 was 3,605,201, down 4% from 2019. This was the lowest number of babies born since 1979. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in 2020 was again below replacement level. Replacement level is 2,100 births per 1,000 women and in 2020 the US TFR was 1,637.5 …
The 2020 US Department of Defense reports that China’s Navy has more vessels than the US Navy. The PRC has the largest navy in the world, with an overall battle force of approximately 350 ships and submarines including over 130 major surface combatants. In comparison, the U.S. Navy’s battle force is approximately 293 ships as …
The Whitehouse has a statement on the American’s Jobs Plan (aka the multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill.) * In total, the plan will invest about $2 trillion this decade. * $621 billion in transportation infrastructure and resilience. * invest $80 billion to address Amtrak’s repair backlog * a targeted investment tax credit that incentivizes the buildout …
In the first half of 2020, life expectancy at birth for the total U.S. population was 77.8 years, declining by 1.0 year from 78.8 in 2019 according to the CDC. There has not been a full-year drop in life expectancy in the US since WW2. The pandemic still continues so there has been a continuing …
US GDP at the end of 2020 is estimated at $21.48 trillion and China (with Hong Kong and Macua) is estimated at $16.03 trillion. China reported 2020 GDP at 101.6 trillion yuan. The USD to Chinese Yuan exchange rate is 6.46. China’s GDP is US$15.73 Trillion. If Hong Kong and Macau GDP is added, then …
