making

The Pentagon, which buys and sells hundreds of billions of dollars worth of weapons every year, is changing how it conducts business. And this time, such a claim being made does seem different than many false starts in the past. The changes come amid a backdrop of growing threats and depleted arsenals, which have magnified the chronic issues of delays and cost overruns for a lot of military hardware, and long waiting lists for foreign customers.

The War Department’s revamping of how it procures and transfers weapons follows executive orders signed by President Donald Trump, who has frequently expressed his displeasure with the defense industry’s long timetables and lack of risk taking without the department footing the bill. 

In January, Trump imposed new restrictions on executive compensation and threatened to cancel contracts with RTX [Raytheon] if it did not step up and invest in “plants and equipment.”

“I have been informed by the Department of War that Defense Contractor, Raytheon, has been the least responsive to the needs of the Department of War, the slowest in increasing their volume, and the most aggressive spending on their Shareholders rather than the needs and demands of the United States Military,” Trump said in a separate post on Truth Social.

Earlier this month, Trump instituted the “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” aimed at ensuring “that future arms sales prioritize American interests by using foreign purchases and capital to build American production and capacity.”

Acting on the first of these executive orders, the Pentagon last week “warned defense contractors to brace for sweeping performance reviews that will identify companies it says aren’t fulfilling their contracts,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a message sent to the defense industry.

“We have completed initial reviews to assess company performance as part of this executive order and will now undergo an extended period of review in which we will make noncompliance determinations,” Michael Duffey, the undersecretary of defense in charge of weapons buying, wrote in a Feb. 6 email to executives reviewed by the publication. “Following the upcoming decision period, we will be in touch with identified companies to begin remediation plans.”

Since the executive order was announced, defense companies “have been walking a tightrope trying to satisfy both Trump and their shareholders,” the Journal added. “During quarterly earnings calls late last month, executives from RTX, General Dynamics and other contractors boasted about billions of dollars in capital investments their companies have made to expand weapons manufacturing and defended dividend payouts.”

The Pentagon has also reached agreements with Lockheed Martin and RTX to expand production of munitions, the newspaper noted. It also made a $1 billion investment in L3Harris Technologies to accelerate missile production.

When it comes to selling materiel to foreign customers, Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday announced he was merging two Pentagon agencies into one to speed up deliveries while bolstering American arms makers.

“Everybody wanted weapons, but we couldn’t get them to them fast enough,” Hegseth said in a video posted on X. “And today, as a demonstration of our progress on these issues, I’m proud to share that we’ve completed the realignment of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DCSA) and the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) within our Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) team.”

DCSA is largely responsible for facilitating the sale of U.S. weapons to partners and allies. It is also tasked with developing and planning the long-term partnerships and training opportunities that accompany those sales. DTSA identifies and mitigates risks associated with transferring technology to partners and allies. 

Foreign Military Sales 101

“This realignment has created a single, coherent defense sales enterprise within the department, one that moves at the speed of war, but with the purpose of deterring aggression,” Duffey said in the X video. “Coupled with this new executive order, we’re now positioned to leverage the total aggregated global demand for U.S. weapons.”

The goal, Duffey added, is “to grow our nation’s industrial might, while maintaining the American warfighters’ technological edge” and “we’ll proactively target sales that unlock foreign investment to help power critical production lines, fueling companies to invest in new manufacturing plants, hire more engineers and create thousands of well-paying American jobs, all while better equipping our partners to share the burden of our their own conventional defense.”

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have placed tremendous pressure on the U.S. defense industry, which is struggling badly to keep up with the demands for both domestic and foreign customers. These wars have consumed large amounts of stockpiled weapons. Many of these munitions take years to produce, a problem exacerbated by global supply chain and procurement decisions. Those worries are exacerbated by China’s increasing belligerence and Russia’s resurgence, which has spurred a massive demand for weapons from foreign customers. An already lugubrious situation will only become exponentially worse should Washington and Beijing tangle kinetically. This would consume advanced munitions and other materiel at an extreme rate.

Amid all these challenges, the pressure is rising on the U.S. defense industry to step up its game even as it suffers ongoing cost overruns and delays. The Pentagon wants to put more of the cost-sharing burden on them to drastically increase production rates. Meanwhile, large prime contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and others are facing competition from startups like Anduril who are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons development and infrastructure costs, as well as wholly self-funding development of some systems.

This is also manifesting in the Pentagon moving away from a weapon system’s original manufacturer ‘owning’ the program for its lifecycle. This situation, referred to as ‘vendor lock’ makes it impossible to compete sustainment and major upgrade contracts, for instance. Instead, the Pentagon will own the rights to the system and be able to have other companies bid on various aspects of its sustainment and upgrade throughout its service life.

“We will enable third-party integration without prime contractor bottlenecks. Success will be measured by the ability of qualified vendors to independently develop, test and integrate replaceable — excuse me, replacement modules at the component level throughout the system life cycle,” Hegseth said in November. “There’s no more complacency and no more monopolies.”

Still, though Trump and the Pentagon have taken aim at defense contractors, the War Secretary said many of these problems are also at least partially self-inflicted.

“We look at ourselves first, the way we do business,” he said in an interview following his visit to the Bath Iron Works in Maine. “We’ve been impossible to deal with – a bad customer who…year after year, changes our mind about what we want or what we don’t want, and then we make little, small technological changes, which makes it more difficult for them to produce what they need to produce on time.”

“So we have to fix our own house first, provide clarity, simplify the system, allow more people to access it [and] give that steady demand signal…”

The buying and selling of weapons is one of the greatest drivers of the U.S. economy and a critical factor in national security. Changing how the Pentagon conducts its business is a huge and fraught endeavor. How it could reshape the military industrial complex, if it succeeds at all, is yet to be fully understood. As is what exactly will happen to companies that end up on the administration’s ‘naughty’ contractor list.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

Crime drama fans are being urged to watch the show if they haven’t already

Crime drama fans have highly recommended a “disturbing series” that made them feel physically sick, and it is available to stream.

Spanning across four seasons, True Detective has become a firm favourite amongst fans of police drama, with many branding it the “best show ever” and a binge worthy instalment.

Season 4 was released back in 2024, first premiering in the US on HBO and Sky Atlantic in the UK, with the series bringing in its highest viewing since it first debuted.

And it is streaming on Now TV and Sky as fans of crime drama are being urged to add it to their watch list if they haven’t already. Each season follows new detectives as they get to grips with a disturbing investigation.

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TV lovers can now get Sky TV, Netflix and Discovery+ for £15 per month with the new Essential TV bundle.

This delivers live and on-demand TV without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like The Last of Us and Squid Game.

Now TV teased: “The lives of police detectives as they chase criminals, using unconventional methods. The officers struggle to gain control of their own personal demons as they attack different cases.”

Despite news of a fifth season being given the green light by HBO, some viewers are only just tuning in to the show for the first time.

In a TikTok video, one fan had not realised a previous season had been released as they said Night Country was worth a watch, adding: “Honestly you need to watch it.”

They continued: “They are all really good, and i mean they are good.”

Admitting they were now “glued” to their televisions screen, the TV fan added: “I’m glued now that’s me for the day, I’ll be on this all day now.

“If you’ve not seen it and you’re looking for something good to watch, I’d highly recommend this because it really is good..”

One person replied: “The first ever true detective is the best by far.” Another wrote: “It’s brilliant but disturbing, it takes a lot to churn my stomach but this did.”

A third added: “First series totally unbelievably good.” A fourth commented: “The first series is unbelievable, one of my most favourite shows ever.”

With an impressive score on 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences praised the “masterpiece” anthology series. One person wrote: “Outstanding. Really love Jodi and hope she keeps coming back to give us more. Rare talent!£

Another said: “I thought this season was possibly the best one yet, very spooky but also plenty of mystery and suspense and big coverups and murders to uncover.”

A third echoed: “It’s crime-horror-supernatural, but grounded in the realities and particular social circumstances of this small Alaskan mining town. Probably my favourite crime drama I’ve seen in a long time.”

A fourth penned: “One of the few things shows hooked me to the point where I “binge watched” the whole thing.”

The True Detective is available to stream on Now TV in the UK.

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

The U.S. Navy has shown no signs of reversing course on major changes to its pipeline for new naval aviators in its latest draft requirements for a replacement for its T-45 Goshawk jet trainers. The Navy has already axed carrier qualifications from the syllabus for prospective tactical jet pilots and has plans to significantly alter how other training is done at bases ashore. These decisions have prompted concerns and criticism, but the service argues that advances in virtualized training and automated carrier landing capabilities have fundamentally changed the training ecosystem.

Aviation Week was first to report on the recent release of the latest draft requirements for what the Navy is currently calling the Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS). The service is looking to acquire 216 new jet trainers to replace the just under 200 T-45s it has in inventory today. The Navy has been pursuing a successor to the T-45 Goshawk for years now, and the UJTS effort has been delayed multiple times. The goal now is to kick off a formal competition relatively soon, ahead of a final contract award in mid-2027.

A number of companies have already lined up to compete for UJTS. This includes Boeing with a navalized version of its T-7 Red Hawk, the TF-50N from Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the M-346N offered by Textron and Leonardo (and now branded as a Beechcraft product), and the Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Freedom jet.

The newest UJTS draft request for proposals reinforces the aforementioned changes to the carrier qualification and so-called Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) training requirements. Though conducted at bases on land, FCLP landings have historically been structured in a way that “simulates, as near as practicable, the conditions encountered during carrier landing operations,” according to the Navy.

The Navy’s plan now is to eliminate the actual touch-and-go component of FCLP training, also known as FCLP to touchdown, at least for students flying in the future UJTS jet trainer. Instead, the syllabus will include what is described as FCLP to wave off, where student pilots in those aircraft will fly a profile in line with being waved off from a landing attempt on an actual carrier prior to touchdown.

F-18 Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP). Touch-and-Go Landing.

“The Naval Aviation Enterprise has determined that the UJTS air vehicle will conduct FCLP [field carrier landing practice] to wave off,” a Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) spokesperson explained to Aviation Week. “However, FCLP to touchdown will be trained via other means in the UJTS system of systems.”

TWZ has reached out to NAVAIR for more information about the other elements of the planned “UJTS system of systems” that will be used to support continued FCLP to touchdown training requirements.

As noted, the Navy has already cut the carrier landing qualification requirement from the pipeline for individuals training to fly F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35C fighters, as well as EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft. At least as of last August, carrier qualifications were still part of the syllabus for student aviators in line to fly E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, as well as for all international students.

“Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) landings ashore are still required for graduation,” a Navy spokesperson also told TWZ in August 2025, but did not specify whether or not this meant “to touchdown.”

TWZ has reached out to the office of the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) for more information on current and future planned naval aviation training requirements.

All of this has major ramifications for the forthcoming UJTS jet trainer competition. Not even having to perform FLCPs to touchdown, let alone actual carrier qualifications, fundamentally changes the aircraft designs that can be considered to replace the carrier-capable T-45s. Carrier landings and takeoffs stress airframes, especially landing gear, in completely different ways compared to typical operations from airbases on land.

US Navy T-45 Goshawk carrier qualifications on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)

As it stands now, only SNC’s clean sheet Freedom offering is explicitly designed for touch-and-goes on carriers and FCLP-to-touchdown landings ashore, and the company has been putting heavy emphasis on the continued importance of those capabilities. The other competitors that have emerged so far have presented variations on existing land-based jet trainer designs.

Freedom Family of Training Systems (FoTS)

“The strategic decision of moving carrier qualifications from the training syllabus to their fleet replacement squadrons was driven by increased technological capabilities in the fleet, as well as the need to reduce training pipeline times, enabling the fleet to receive qualified pilots faster,” the aforementioned Navy spokesperson also told TWZ last August. “After earning their initial qualifications after graduation, naval aviators in the strike pipeline are required to complete touch-and-goes and carrier landings at sea during their assignment at the Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS).”

FRSs provide initial training on specific types of aircraft before individuals move on to operational units. What this all means, in functional terms, is that the Navy is planning for a future where tactical jet pilots will not make a full FCLP landing, let alone touch down on a carrier, until after they are winged and flying a front-line aircraft.

Though not explicitly mentioned, the “increased technological capabilities” referred to here include the Navy’s substantial investments in virtualized training and automated carrier landing capabilities, such as Magic Carpet, in recent years.

Flight Ready: Magic Carpet

Flight Ready: Live, Virtual, Constructive

There is also a cost benefit arguement to be made. Eliminating the need for features required for carrier-based operations could help keep down the price tag of any future T-45 replacement, as well as reduce developmental risk. The overall changes to the training syllabus will have their own cost impacts with the cut down in time and resources required for a student pilot to get their wings.

At the same time, concerns and criticism have been voiced about the possible downstream impacts of cutting elements long considered critical to naval aviation training. What can be done in virtualized aviation training environments, in particular, has become very impressive in recent years, but they still cannot fully recreate the experience of live training events.

“Carrier qualification is more than catching the wire. It is the exposure to the carrier environment and how an individual deals with it,” an experienced U.S. Navy strike fighter pilot told TWZ back in 2020. “The pattern, the communications, the nuance, the stress. The ability to master this is one of our competitive advantages.”

The Navy does still has yet to issue a final set of requirements for the UJTS jet trainer. However, signs only continue to grow that the service is committed to its new vision for training future naval aviators.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

The wait is over.

After nearly six years and four failed semi-finals, Arsenal‘s 4-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final has put them back into a major final.

It will be their first under Mikel Arteta since he guided them to FA Cup victory in 2020 – and just their second in his time at the club.

It was tight, it was tense and it was pretty dull at times but, as Kai Havertz rolled in an injury-time goal to confirm their place at Wembley, the euphoria from fans and players alike at Emirates left you in no doubt about the significance.

In a match that saw both sides only manage two shots on target each, the Gunners rarely looked troubled as they showed all the qualities that have made them so hard to beat.

The result means Arsenal will compete in a ninth EFL Cup final when they take on either Manchester City or Newcastle on Sunday, 22 March in the tournament’s showpiece match.

Should they face City, it will be a repeat of the 2018 final, won by the Manchester club, when Arteta was part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff.

However, aside from it being an opportunity for Arsenal to gain a measure of revenge for that loss and winning their first League Cup for 33 years, it would also be a step towards changing a few perceptions.

Arsenal manager Arteta said: “There was a special atmosphere inside our stadium. It makes such a difference. We’ve been waiting a few years to get into this position and we’re certainly going to enjoy it [the final].

“It’s the best vitamins that we can put in our bodies because we’re playing every three days. But the fact that you worked so hard to achieve those moments and to have these moments together is just magical.

“You can see the joy, the smile, the energy and everything that works at the club.”

Midfielder Declan Rice, added: “We deserve it. The last three or four years we’ve been at the top of the Premier League, competing and got really close but haven’t been good enough.

“That’s why this season we have that extra desire and fire in our bellies to go one step further in every competition. There’s a long way to go but to be in a cup final with this club is amazing.”

For the last few years, Arteta’s Arsenal reign has been a story of near-misses, both in cup competitions and in the Premier League.

Now, just one game away from ending their trophy drought, are the Premier League leaders about to silence accusations of being the ‘nearly men’ for good?

Ex-Arsenal defender Matt Upson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It has been a few years in the making and there has been a steady build-up to this point for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has been laying the foundations, building the ethos, and togetherness of the team.”