i'm vago muradian. the u.s. army is increasingly relying on soldierings to shape what it buys and we'll get an update on the latest network integration evaluation. but, first, the joint strike fighter program is under more scrutiny than ever, facing budget pressure and tough questions from nearly all of the program's nine partner nations, conceived nearly two decades ago as a stealthy super sonic jet, available in three versions and packed with unprecedented sensors, jsf was going to feature groundbreaking technology at an affordable price, thanks to vast production quantities spread across many nations. but development has slipped, four years behind schedule, costs have soared and top pentagon officials dialed back on the initial production quantities and have threatened to eliminate the marine corps straight takeoff and vertical landing version unless performance improves over the coming year. despite the criticism, jsf appears to be delivering. the planeperformed admirably in recent flight tests, including th

i'm vago muradian.can watch this program online at defensenewstv.com or you can e-mail me at vago@defensenewstv.com. i'll be back next week at the >>> from washington, "the mclaughlin group," the american original. for over two decades, the sharpest minds, best sources, hardest talk.

secret war against terrorists in africa, the ceo >>> welcome to "this week in defense news," i'm vago muradian. what's next for defense spending and can european companies break into a shrinking u.s. defense market? we'll talk to sean o'keefe, a former pentagon comptroller and nasa add administrator who now heads the north american arm of e.a.d.s. plus we'll talk to the chief of army programs about the hard budget choices he faces as defense spending drops. but, first, a glimpse inside america's secret war against al- qaida in the horn of africa. after a six-month investigation, army times senior writer shawn nailer has pieced together a fascinating portrait of the battle against al-qaida leaders who took refuge in africa after being forced from afghanistan and pakistan. this secret war which has included unmanned u.s. aircraft to track and kill terrorists predates by years president obama's public noinsment last month that he had deployed 100 troops to uganda to root out a terrorist leader there. shawn's multi-part series can be found in all of military times newspapers as well as defense new

i'm vago muradian. i hope everyone had a great thanksgiving weekend. when congress failed to craft a deficit reduction deal last week, the clock began tick engine a high stakes political battle over how much and how fast defense spending will be cut. the budget control act of 2011 calls for an automatic cut of close to $600 billion. but the cuts aren't required until ganch 2013. what happens between now and then portends major changes to force structure, strategy and future programs, whether or not the mandatory cuts come to fruition, all this as the pentagon works its 2013 budget request that is to be submit to congress in february. can dod afford to lose $600 billion on top of $450 billion in cuts, already ordered by the president? can deeper defense cuts be averted? if not, what tradeoffs must be made and what programs could be threaten? here to discuss these questions and more is rick maze, the congressional editor of the military times newspapers, david bettertoe of the center of international studies, todd harrison of the center for strategic and