FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – With the many national security and intelligence topics that American Defense News (ADN) cannot adequately cover every day – in collaboration with the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS) – we are providing our readers a PDB:

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – Paul’s Daily Briefing.

Today’s PDB includes a variety of critical issues such as –Legacy weapons are eroding the military’s edge. Indian navy to spend $6 billion for six submarines. Pentagon faces tense fight over Pacific pivot. Turkey wraps up ‘largest-ever’ version of Denizkurdu naval drill. 

Impending closure of US base at Bagram spurs Afghan army recruiting to hold the airfield. 

Plus, US Navy, Boeing conduct first-ever aerial refueling with unmanned tanker. 

MC-130J Commando II simulated launching a pallet of cruise missiles during a mock strike mission.

And MORE…

TODAY’S PDB:

Pentagon ‘Woke Watch’

Navy spells out new transgender policies. The Navy has unveiled new guidance to help ensure transgender individuals may openly join and serve in the Navy.

National Security

The simple reason why the US Navy could lose a war to Russia or China. In addition to losing numerical superiority, a very serious danger is that the U.S. fleet couldn’t be properly repaired and losses couldn’t be replaced quickly.

Legacy weapons are eroding the military’s edge. The U.S. spends far too much on aging weapons systems. Congress and the Pentagon should find projects that have outlived their usefulness, and end them.

Pentagon faces tense fight over Pacific pivot. The Defense Department is in an internal tug of war over the practicality of putting more U.S. troops in the range of Chinese missiles.

Supreme Court won’t review men-only draft registration law. The Supreme Court said Monday that for now it’ll be up to Congress, not the court, to decide whether to change the requirement that only men must register for the draft. It’s one of the few areas of federal law where men and women are still treated differently.

Afghanistan

Afghan soldiers gird for Taliban to attack cities after the US leaves. Losing U.S. air support will cost government troops a crucial edge against the militants, who are poised outside several provincial capitals.

Impending closure of US base at Bagram spurs Afghan army recruiting to hold the airfield. The Afghan army has launched a recruitment drive to maintain Bagram Airfield as coalition troops prepare to depart the sprawling base in the coming weeks.

International 

F35s from four nations integrate in Italian exercise. F-35s from four nations are coming together in a large-scale exercise in Italy, during which the fifth-generation fighters will fly alongside several fourth-generation jets.

Indian navy to spend $6 billion for six submarines. India’s government has approved the launch of a $6.14 billion program for the construction of six conventional submarines under Project 75-I.

Turkey wraps up ‘largest-ever’ version of Denizkurdu naval drill. The Turkish Navy has completed the “largest-ever” iteration of exercise Denizkurdu, involving 132 surface vessels, 10 submarines, 43 winged aircraft, 28 helicopters and 14 drones.

Military

US Navy, Boeing conduct first-ever aerial refueling with unmanned tanker. The U.S. Navy conducted its first-ever aerial refueling between a manned aircraft and an unmanned tanker on June 4, with a Boeing-owned MQ-25 Stingray test vehicle performing its first midair tanking mission with a Navy F/A-18E-F Super Hornet.

MC-130J Commando II simulated launching a pallet of cruise missiles during a mock strike mission. A U.S. Air Force MC-130J Commando II special operations aerial refueler and transport plane simulated the launch of a pallet of AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, or JASSMs, during a major exercise earlier this year.

END of PDB

Paul Crespo

Paul Crespo is the Managing Editor of American Defense News. A defense and national security expert, he served as a Marine Corps officer and as a military attaché with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) at US embassies worldwide. Paul holds degrees from Georgetown, London, and Cambridge Universities. He is also CEO of SPECTRE Global Risk, a security advisory firm, and President of the Center for American Defense Studies, a national security think tank.