US conducts live-fire bombing runs in a message to North Korea

The display comes after Pyongyang fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan on Friday. The missile flew 2,300 miles, putting Guam in range if pointed in that direction.

Today’s show of force featured two B1-B Lancer bombers flown from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam; four F-35B joint strike fighters from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan; four South Korean F-15K fighters; and four Japanese F-2 fighters.

According to U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. and Korean aircraft released live ordnance over the Pilsung Range training area. The U.S. and Japanese aircraft also flew over waters near Kyushu, Japan, and practiced flying in formation.

“U.S. Pacific Command maintains the ability to respond to any threat at the Indo-Asia-Pacific theater at a moment’s notice,” the PACOM statement said.

TRUMP TO THE U.N.: President Trump will make his United Nations General Assembly debut today amid uncertainty over how his administration will handle rising North Korean aggression, a looming deadline to decide the future of the Iran nuclear deal and the U.S. position on withdrawing from or staying in the Paris climate accords.

Trump will focus much of his attention at the summit on reforming the U.N. itself, headlining a meeting on Monday with dozens of world leaders who signed onto his 10-point pledge to clean up an organization he once described as “a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.” But the president will also face pressure to provide clearer answers to questions plaguing the international community and to affirm his commitment to the U.N., as he did with NATO earlier in this year.

“At first glance, you’d think that this would be sort of a train wreck or a potential major confrontation,” said Stewart Patrick, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. “He’s going into, in a sense, the belly of the beast in terms of globalism.”

The day after his U.N. reform meeting, however, Trump will face the more high-profile task of addressing leaders from all 193 member states in the General Assembly. His speech will likely be widely scrutinized for hints of his administration’s plans for North Korea and Iran, among other issues.

NORTH KOREA’S PRONOUNCEMENT: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, is making speeches of his own, saying his country is ready to complete its nuclear program — bringing it near its goal of “equilibrium” with the United States’ military.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim was very happy with the launch, saying it confirmed the missile’s “combat efficiency and reliability.” The report also quoted the regime’s leader as vowing to complete his country’s nuclear program despite continuing international sanctions.

“As recognized by the whole world, we have made all these achievements despite the U.N. sanctions that have lasted for decades,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying, adding that the goal is “is to establish the equilibrium of real force with the U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military option for the DPRK.”

NO EMPTY THREAT: Administration officials hit the Sunday shows to frame the president’s U.N. visit and send warnings to North Korea.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said Trump’s decision to not strike at North Korea after making his “fire and fury” comment — seemingly a red line warning North Korea not to continue testing weapons that could threaten the United States — was responsible. “It was not an empty threat. What we were doing is being responsible,” she said. “Where North Korea was being irresponsible and reckless, we were using every diplomatic possibility that we could possibly do. We have pretty much exhausted everything we can do at the Security Council at this point.”

Haley said she’s “perfectly happy” to stop trying to use diplomatic means to get North Korea to fall in line and instead allow the military to step in and deal with the hermit kingdom.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster, meanwhile, said the U.S. needs to move quickly to address the threat posed by North Korea as the rogue regime continues with nuclear and missile tests. “We really have to move with a great deal of urgency, on sanctions, on diplomacy, and on preparing, if necessary, a military option,” McMaster told “Fox News Sunday.”

The national security adviser criticized the previous approach to dealing with North Korea, which involved entering into “long, drawn-out negotiations” that then delivered an “unsatisfactory agreement.” An agreement like those, McMaster said, often “locks in the status quo as the new normal.”

NAVY FIRINGS: The Navy has fired an admiral and captain as the service reels from two separate collisions involving the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain in the Western Pacific, USNI News reports.

“The commander of the Navy’s largest operational battle force and his subordinate in charge of the attached destroyer squadron have been removed from their positions as a result of ongoing investigations into a string of incidents this year that resulted in the death of 17 sailors and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages,” the site said.

“U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Philip Sawyer removed Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Combined Task Force 70, and Capt. Jeffery Bennett, commodore of Destroyer Squadron 15, from their positions on Monday (Tuesday local time) due to a loss of confidence in their ability to command, two Navy officials confirmed to USNI News.”

The firings come one day before Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, are scheduled to testify about the collisions before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense. Jamie is on vacation this week and next, but don’t worry, National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24) have you covered. Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense.

TODAY: NDAA VOTE: The Senate is set to take a final vote at 5:30 p.m. on the National Defense Authorization Act, almost assuredly passing the $700 billion annual policy bill and sending it off to conference negotiations with the House. Sen. John McCain, the Armed Services chairman, said the chamber may still include another package of non-controversial amendments to the NDAA beforehand, following two motions last week that added 104 total. But senators were unable to reach consensus on debating and voting on more divisive amendments, thereby scuttling a variety of amendments including one by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Susan Collins to block Trump’s transgender military service ban.

With the amendment all but dead, McCain and the top Armed Services Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, made the surprise move of cosponsoring a stand-alone bill Friday with Gillibrand and Collins that would prohibit the Pentagon from deciding whether anyone can serve based on gender. “Any member of the military who meets the medical and readiness standards should be allowed to serve — including those who are transgender,” McCain said. It was yet another swipe at Trump, who has set about dismantling the Obama administration policy of allowing open transgender service, saying it never adequately proved the move would be good for warfighting. After the failed amendment, the “bill gives Congress another chance to protect the military’s proud record in which service members, once welcomed and deemed fit to serve, are not cast aside for political reasons,” said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center.

RE-ENLISTMENT ALLOWED: The same day as McCain’s surprise announcement, the Pentagon released new guidance making it clear that any transgender troops currently in the military can re-enlist in the next several months.

In a memo to top military leaders, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said a high-level panel will determine how to implement Trump’s ban on transgender individuals in the military. Trump directed the military to indefinitely extend the ban on transgender individuals enlisting in the service, but he left it up to Mattis to decide if those currently serving should be allowed to stay.

In his memo released Friday, Mattis said the deputy defense secretary and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs will lead a panel that will determine how the department will implement the ban. Outside experts may be included to provide additional advice. The interim guidance laid out in the memo will stay in effect until Feb. 21, when the Pentagon must complete its final plan on how and when transgender individuals may serve in the military.

AFTER SEQUESTER MISS, TRUMP CHIMES IN: The divisions in the Senate that blocked NDAA floor debate last week revolved around an amendment by Sen. Tom Cotton that would have eliminated sequestration, the legislative mechanism that has enforced defense budget caps since 2013. McCain and Republicans wanted a vote hoping it would clear the way for increases in military spending for 2018 but could not make it happen due to Democratic opposition. On Friday, Trump again hammered on lawmakers to get rid of it. “That is why I am calling on Congress to end the defense sequester once and for all and to give our military the tools, training, equipment and resources that our brave men and women in uniform so richly deserve, and that is happening,” he said during a speech to the Air Force at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Trump said relief is needed because the service has dramatically cut its troop numbers and fighter aircraft since the 1990s and the military as a whole has spent years deployed in combat.

TRADE SHOW WEEK: Two major trade shows for the Air Force and Marine Corps will be held this week.

— The Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber conference takes place this week at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, Md. This morning at 10:30, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson kicks things off with a State of the Air Force address. Wilson will later join Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright, and their spouses for a town hall meeting at 1 p.m. The association conference runs through Wednesday, when it features a morning keynote address by Mattis. More here.

— On Tuesday, the Modern Day Marine expo gets underway for three days at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. Check out their agenda here.

DEBATE OVER READINESS: At all of the service-specific hearings and events this week, expect plenty of talk around the issue of readiness as leaders draw a line between budget cuts and recent deadly accidents and other problems across the services.

In this week’s Washington Examiner magazine, we take a look at the mixed message between leaders who say the military is the best-trained, best-equipped, most-capable fighting force in the world, while also saying it’s undermanned, over-stretched, undertrained, overworked, and underfunded.

That message underscores the tension between those who believe Congress is shortchanging the military with harmful budget caps, and those who believe the Pentagon has failed to adapt to the new realities of modern warfare. Read our story here.

LEAVING CUBA? Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. is evaluating whether to close the American embassy in Cuba after diplomats have come down with mysterious illnesses at the building. “We have it under evaluation and it’s a very serious issue with respect to the harm some individuals have suffered,” Tillerson said Sunday on “Face The Nation.”

“We have brought some of those individuals home and it’s under review,” Tillerson said, in a statement that could shake up relations between Cuba and the United States.

A NEW NICKNAME: As Trump prepares for his big diplomatic debut in New York this week, he rolled out a less-than-diplomatic name for North Korea’s Kim on Twitter.

“I spoke with President Moon [Jae-in] of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!” Trump tweeted.

The White House later released a readout of the call, saying in a statement the two leaders talked about the launch. “The two leaders noted that North Korea continues to defy the international community, even after the United Nations strongly condemned North Korea’s repeated provocations twice in the past week,” the statement read.

“President Trump and President Moon committed to continuing to take steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities and to maximize economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea.”

THE RUNDOWN

Wall Street Journal: Northrop Grumman nears deal to buy Orbital ATK

Defense News: T-X, F-35 among programs potentially afflicted by long-term continuing resolution

New York Times: A potent fuel flows to North Korea. It may be too late to halt it.

Washington Post: In wake of airstrike, U.S. military moves to establish closer communication with Russian forces in Syria

Military.com: Navy’s most advanced subs will soon use Xbox controllers

Wall Street Journal: In Libya, Islamic State pursues revival in gateway to Europe

New York Times: U.S. expands Kabul security zone, digging in for next decade

War on the Rocks: Facts about the Vietnam war, part V: Bad strategy, bad leadership doomed South Vietnam as much as the curtailing of U.S. aid

Air Force Times: Air Force secretary: ‘We are a service that is too small’

Defense One: Can the U.S. military re-invent the microchip for the AI era?

Calendar

MONDAY | SEPT. 18

7 a.m. 201 Waterfront St. Air Space Cyber Conference with Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. afa.org

1:30 p.m 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. “Inside the Battle of Algiers” book discussion about the memories of Algeria’s freedom struggle. wilsoncenter.org

2 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. The impact of the Trump administration on U.S.-Taiwan relations. stimson.org

3 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. U.S. policy toward Lebanon and what comes next. heritage.org

4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Mobilizing the Russian nation: Patriotism and citizenship during World War I with historian Melissa K. Stockdale. wilsoncenter.org

4 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. China’s Arctic and Antarctic ambitions. wilsoncenter.org

TUESDAY | SEPT. 19

7 a.m. 201 Waterfront St. Air Space Cyber Conference with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. afa.org

8 a.m. 2401 M St. NW. Defense Writers Group breakfast with Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau. defensewriters.gwu.edu

8 a.m. Marine Corps Base Quantico. Modern Day Marine conference with Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, head of Marine Corps combat development, and Brig. Gen. Joseph Shrader, head of Marine Corps systems command. marinemilitaryexpos.com

9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Hearing on recent United States Navy incidents at sea with Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, and John Pendleton, director of defense force structure and readiness issues at the Government Accountability Office. armed-services.senate.gov

10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Consideration of the nomination of Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., to be the U.S. ambassador to Russia, and the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act of 2017. foreign.senate.gov

2 p.m. 529 14th St. NW. Sasakawa USA media roundtable on North Korea and the U.S.-Japan alliance. press.org

2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. U.S.-Canadian defense industrial cooperation with Frank Kendall, former under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, and Martin Zablocki, CEO of Canadian Commercial Corporation. csis.org

3 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. The roller coaster of Turkey-Russia relations. brookings.edu

WEDNESDAY | SEPT. 20

6:30 a.m. 1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Special topic breakfast with Rear Adm. Ronald Boxall, director of Navy surface warfare. navyleague.org

7 a.m. 201 Waterfront St. Air Space Cyber Conference with a keynote speech by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. afa.org

8 a.m. Marine Corps Base Quantico. Modern Day Marine conference with Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller. marinemilitaryexpos.com

4:45 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. A conversation with Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, prime minister of Pakistan. cfr.org

THURSDAY | SEPT. 21

8 a.m. Marine Corps Base Quantico. Modern Day Marine conference. marinemilitaryexpos.com

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Lessons from developing Afghanistan’s security forces with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. csis.org

3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Book talk on “Melting the Ice Curtain: The Extraordinary Story of Citizen Diplomacy on the Russia-Alaska Frontier” with author David Ramseur. wilsoncenter.org

FRIDAY | SEPT. 22

10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Meeting U.S. deterrence requirements with Madelyn R. Creedon, former principal deputy administrator at the National Nuclear Security Administration, and Walter Slocombe, former undersecretary of defense for policy. brookings.edu

10 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A debate on whether the U.S. should arm Ukraine. atlanticcouncil.org

3:30 p.m. 1777 F St. NW. A perspective from the League of Arab States on restoring stability in a turbulent Middle East with Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab League secretary general. cfr.org

MONDAY | SEPT. 25

10 a.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. National security oversight: Congressional case studies and reform prospects. cato.org

12 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. How Europe and Iran’s neighbors view the nuclear deal future with French ambassador Gérard Araud, British ambassador Sir Kim Darroch, European Union ambassador David O’Sullivan, and German ambassador Peter Wittig. atlanticcouncil.org

3:30 p.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Consequences of the German election for the European Union and trans-Atlantic relations. wilsoncenter.org