Weekly News Update: Mar 15, 2024

9 - 15 Mar 2024

Beware the ides of March!

The Pentagon released its budget request this week for 2025. Of course, Congress still hasn’t funded the 2024 budget except through the continued use of continuing resolutions. Yes, something is broken in DC, and there’s no plans for it to get better in the next year. The Army is continuing to cut out programs that cost too much and don’t deliver… a lesson that the Air Force has refused to learn, much to Lockheed Martin’s delight (talking about the F-35, in case it wasn’t clear).

NATO-Russian relations continue to sour as Putin deploys Russian forces to NATO borders, threatens nuclear war (again), and will be reelected for a fifth term as president of Russia with 115% of the popular vote, this weekend. For NATO’s part, France has emerged as the leading hardliner suggesting that certain scenarios could see deployments of NATO forces to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron has been backed up in this claim by leaders in the Baltics. Meanwhile, Germany c…