The US Department of Defense: what it does, who heads, where

Everyone has heard about the power and invincibility of the US armed forces. The US Department of Defense is engaged in ensuring the political and territorial security of the country, as well as coordinating political decisions and managing the work of all departments of the government of the United States of America.

History of Education

A year before the end of World War II, the US Congress proposed the establishment of a body coordinating the actions of the armed forces. A year later, at the meeting of the US Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a plan was developed to create such a structure. Throughout the second quarter of the 20th century, until 1949, amendments were made to the implementation of the project for the formation of a single body of the US Department of Defense. Many opposed, arguing their protest that it is too dangerous to concentrate the commanders-in-chief of various military forces in one ministry. Initially, it was called the "National Military Department", but later it was renamed the US Department of Defense.

This agency is called DOD, which stands for Defense of Department. In the Soviet Union, it unites land, air, amphibious and Navy troops. The Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency are also subordinated to the Ministry.

DOD's headquarters are located in the Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia. It is not far from Washington, on the right side of the Potomac River.

Pentagon System

To date, the head of the Pentagon is General James Mattis named "Mad Dog". It was he who was nominated for this post by Donald Trump.

At the present time, the Pentagon's system contains the following components:

• The central office of the Minister of Defense;
• Three ministries of military forces;
• The Chiefs of Staff Committee and its joint headquarters;
• 18 offices of central subordination;
• 9 services and institutions;
• 9 united commands of the US Armed Forces.

In addition, all the organizations operating under the leadership or full control of the above-mentioned military command agencies are present in the system of the Ministry of Defense.

Budget

For 2011, the budget of the Ministry of Defense was about 708 billion dollars, this is about 4.7% of US GDP. According to recent reports, the financial activities of the US military department has serious violations.

In 2016, the basic budget of the US Department of Defense was 534 billion. According to the adopted document, for the needs of the Navy will take about 161 billion, and for the Air Force will allocate 153 billion. For the ground forces - 126.5 billion. All these figures on average exceed the values for 2015 by 10 billion.

178 billion dollars, which is 20 billion less than last year, was spent on various research and supply of the army. Another part of the budget, which is called secret, is not published.

Since at present the theaters of military operations with the presence of the United States exist, an "appendage" of 51 billion (for 2016) was envisaged. Since 2001, the lowest bar of such an "appendage" has been recorded. All this money went to conduct antiterrorist operations in Afghanistan. With the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, the US reduced military spending. But, despite this, most of the funds going to conduct foreign operations are written off just in Afghanistan.

Achievements of the US Department of Defense

The development of military aircraft, which will be able to transport drones, release and take them back on board, has moved to the second stage. The Ministry of Defense has signed contracts with two well-known American aircraft manufacturing companies. It was decided to call such aircraft "heavenly aircraft carriers."

At the first stage, design was developed and aircraft capabilities were designed. At the second stage, it is planned to test the models. The third assumes the use of two models of the latest development.

According to the idea, with the help of this type of weapon, the US Air Force will be able to effectively combat enemy air defenses, destroy ground targets and conduct reconnaissance.

Not long ago, the US Department of Defense acknowledged that the country's aerospace industry is heavily influenced by Russia. The fact is that without the purchases of Russian RD-180 rocket engines, as US authorities have officially stated, military satellites will simply not have anything to launch into orbit.

Senator John McClain, an ardent supporter of sanctions against Russia, demands that Russian missile engines be abandoned so that the country's national security is not dependent on Russia. McClain's supporters hold the view that the supply of Russian engines serves as an obstacle to competition among American firms. At the same time, Senator Richard Shelby in 2009 amended the document, which referred to the "independence of the choice of countries producing rocket engines used on the carrier." This was the reason that the Pentagon invested in the creation of American rocket engines.

At the moment, there is no precise data on progress in the field of rocketry in the United States.

Military development

In 2008, the United States was almost impossible. With the help of the US Department of Defense and military technology, the US-193 orbiting spy satellite was shot down.

To understand how this is difficult, let us give an example. Shoot down a satellite in a near-earth orbit is equivalent to hitting one tennis ball in another, which flies at a speed of 7.3 km / s and constantly changes the trajectory. For such a point strike, a warhead is required, capable of coordinating the flight trajectory in a matter of seconds.

About 200 specialists worked on this operation. In total, 3 modified SM-3 missiles were prepared. If the first attempt failed, then there was the possibility of launching the next two warheads. One such missile cost $ 10 million.

Recently, similar technology was demonstrated by China.

Secret materials

There is information that the US Department of Defense is engaged in secret developments. A complex of "electronic and cybernetic systems using artificial intelligence" is called in this context. This was stated by the deputy head of the Pentagon, Robert Wark. While the Russians and the Chinese are improving their nuclear weapons, Americans are talking about the advantages of a "non-nuclear" war.

Back in 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced the launch of a long-term program called the Strategic Defense Initiative. This program implied deployment of defense and strike complexes in space that would deprive potential enemies of the possibility of striking across North America.

It was stated that military developers are engaged in some combat space lasers, neutral particle emitters and orbital mirrors. At the moment there is no technical model that would implement the project. As there is no agency of the US Department of Defense responsible for these projects.