TRUMP WALKS: Instead of announcing an agreement outlining the next steps in the process of North Korea denuking, President Trump is on Air Force One en route back to Washington, no deal in hand. The talks between Trump and his “good friend” Kim Jong Un collapsed over Kim’s demand for sanctions relief in return for shuttering some, but not all, of his nuclear sites.

INDIA-PAKISTAN TENSIONS: Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is said to be focused on “de-escalating tensions” between India and Pakistan, as part of an interagency effort that includes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, national security adviser John Bolton, Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. Phil Davidson, and U.S. Central commander Gen. Joseph Votel, according to a Pentagon statement.

“Acting Secretary Shanahan’s focus is on de-escalating tensions and urging both of the nations to avoid further military action,” the statement said.

Before leaving Vietnam, Trump said, “We have, I think, reasonably attractive news from Pakistan and India. They’ve been going at it, and we’ve been involved in trying to have them stop, and we have some reasonably decent news, I think. Hopefully that’s going to be coming to an end.”

After Pakistan shot down two Indian warplanes and captured a pilot Wednesday, the two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged gunfire overnight and into this morning along the so-called Line of Control in Kashmir, forcing villagers to flee their homes, according to the AP.

In a televised address, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan called for talks, saying: “Considering the nature of the weapons that both of us have, can we afford any miscalculation?”

Meanwhile, members of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party called for more military action. Modi himself warned that “India’s enemies are conspiring to create instability in the country through terror attacks.”

FIREWORKS ON THE HILL: Testy doesn’t quite capture the tenor of the exchange between Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, and Robert McMahon, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary of defense for sustainment.

The contentious subject, of course, was the Pentagon’s plan to take $3.6 billion from money that Congress authorized for current construction projects and under orders from the president spend it instead on border barriers that Congress has refused to fund.

McMahon testified that under the current plan no current military projects would be cancelled, but some would be delayed and new money requested in the next budget cycle. “For all of the projects that have currently been appropriated and authorized, none of those projects will be canceled,” McMahon said. “Some may be deferred, and if in fact they are deferred, funds for those will be included in the president’s budget for 2020.”

That didn’t sit well with Wasserman Schultz. “I understand that we’re dealing in verbal gymnastics here,” she responded. “If you’re suggesting that none of them will be canceled but perhaps deferred and then backfilled, which is what you’re saying by coming back to Congress in F.Y. ’20 and asking for those projects to be replaced, essentially what you’re doing is circumventing Congress.”

“Congresswoman, the president has identified a national emergency,” protested McMahon.

“Aren’t you just backdooring trying to get the funding for the wall by deferring the expenditures of those projects, spending that money on the wall and then asking for the money to be replaced last when you couldn’t get that done during the conference process?” pressed Wasserman Schultz.

“Congresswoman, what I think we’re doing is executing the president as commander in chief’s direction to us to be able to fund a portion of the border wall in fiscal year ’19,” McMahon replied.

That was too much for Wasserman Schultz. “Mr. Secretary, you’re fooling no one, really. I mean, I’m not sure what kind of chumps you think my colleagues and I are, but canceling, deferring, coming back in F.Y. ’20 to replace all leads to the same thing. You are taking money from vital projects that military previously said were essential and spending that money on a wall and then asking for the money to be backfilled later in the next fiscal year when we already had that debate and the president’s proposal was rejected and we had a bicameral, bipartisan agreement.”

AID GETTING THROUGH: President Trump says that U.S. aid supplies have gotten into Venezuela, despite the country’s authoritarian leader publicly refusing to allow shipments.

“We’re sending supplies, supplies are getting through a little bit more. It’s not easy,” Trump said during his Hanoi press conference.

It’s unclear to what degree supplies actually have reached Venezuela. Trump administration officials have complained about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro refusing to allow the import of supplies. Vice President Mike Pence visited neighboring Colombia this week, in part to push for aid acceptance.

DoD IG FINDS PRICE GOUGING: An audit just released by the Pentagon’s internal watchdog has which found evidence of price gouging by private defense contractor TransDigm, a company that designs, produces, and supplies specialized parts for aircraft and airframes.

Following a request from several members of Congress, the DoD inspector general reviewed 113 TransDigm contracts, finding that the company’s profit margins were between 17 percent and 4,451 percent on 46 out of 47 parts it sold to the Pentagon, margins that produced a total of $16.1 million in excess profits. Profits above 15 percent were considered excessive.

“We’re pleased that the DoD Inspector General acted on our request. The audit’s findings clearly show that egregiously excessive profit was the norm on virtually all of TransDigm’s contracts and parts,” said a joint statement issued by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Tim Ryan, D-Ohio.

HIGH-TECH HELMET: The Army is planning a special ceremony for next week at Ft. Belvoir, Va. Army Staff Sgt. Steven McQueen will be presented the “Enhanced Combat Helmet” that saved his life when he was shot in the head while on a mission in Afghanistan.

The Army has dubbed the Monday event a “Personal Protective Equipment return ceremony,” which will be presided over by a one-star general and attended by members of McQueen’s family as well as members of the Army acquisition team that helped come up with the advanced helmet design.

“Due to the technology contained in his Personal Protective Equipment, Staff Sgt. McQueen was able to survive his injuries and return to duty,” said an Army statement. “This ceremony and presentation is part of PEO Soldier’s ongoing effort to highlight the effectiveness and technology of the personal protective equipment it fields to America’s Warfighters as well as the professionalism and courage of the Soldiers wearing it.”

LCS CHRISTENED: The Navy will commission its newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship, the future USS Charleston, this Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina. The ship will be eventually homeported in San Diego, Calif.

The LCS class of ships are designed for operation in near-shore environments while also being capable of open-ocean operation. They are designed to defeat asymmetric “anti-access” threats such as mines, quiet diesel submarines, and fast surface craft.

“The LCS class consists of two variants, the Freedom variant and the Independence variant, designed and built by two industry teams,” said a Pentagon statement. The Freedom-variant team is led by Lockheed Martin. The Independence-variant team is led by Austal USA, Mobile, Ala.

THE RUNDOWN

Breaking Defense: Pentagon To Retire USS Truman Early, Shrinking Carrier Fleet To 10

Reuters: Melting Missiles: Just One Problem With F-35s Stopping N Korea Rockets

AP: In a summit first, Kim Jong Un takes US media questions

Washington Examiner: Trump warns reporters to ‘not raise your voice’ when asking Kim questions

New York Times: Russia May Block Action On Venezuela

The Hill: Majority now sees Russian military power as ‘critical threat’: poll

USNI News: First Marine F-35B Combat Deployment Hints at New Roles for Amphibious Ready Group

Washington Examiner: Trump’s border wall prototypes come tumbling down: WATCH

Military Times: Northern Border Along Arctic, Not Southern, Is What Worries NORAD Leaders

Air Force Magazine: Senators Float $1.1 Billion for Air Force in Disaster-Relief Bill

Military Times: Service Chiefs To Face Tough Questions On Military Housing Failures

New York Times: White Supremacism in the U.S. Military, Explained

Breaking Defense: The Future is Now: The RAAF & Boeing Australia Build F-35’s Unmanned Wingman

Janes: U.S. Navy Highlights Post-Collision Surface-Fleet Reforms

Military.com: STRATCOM Will Get a Piece of Space Force Mission, General Says

Seapower Magazine: Navy Picks BAE Systems To Develop Cyber Defenses

The Washington Post: Sully the service dog tackles new mission after George HW Bush’s death