Mackenzie Eaglen

Senior fellow for natsec @AEI
Co-Chair Future of @USNavy Commission
Frmr @US_AWC Board of Visitors & @USArmy Science Board
@MasonNatSec & @hamiltonsoc

[AEI Foreign Policy @AEIfdp]

The US is facing a maritime crisis. @MEaglen and Benjamin Jensen lay out seven key initiatives to reshape the relationship between economic power and sea power. Read more here:
https://t.co/fJLZB74JVh

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

I call it “The paradox of scarcity in a defense budget of largesse.”

[ABC News @ABC]

The Army has canceled dozens of medical training courses as the service moves to manage a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall that is rippling across the force, according to multiple U.S. officials and internal documents reviewed by ABC News. https://t.co/gICukLx73f

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

https://t.co/T5tauyLBm5

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

Navy's new shipbuilding plan starts w/necessary honesty.

More Pentagon documents should include Uncle Sam's (partial? majority?) ownership of the problem

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

The U.S. military must get more counter-drone systems quickly and put more critical assets
-underground,
-beneath hardened shelters, or
-in space.

https://t.co/3Pg08mPOfk

[Michael “In A Move Likely To Anger China” Mazza @mike_mazza]

Must-read from my former @AEI colleague @MEaglen for @thedispatch https://t.co/2tnrWP7Fvg

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

Always pay attention to @AaronBMacLean & @JonahDispatch 💡

[Aaron MacLean @AaronBMacLean]

Always read @MEaglen…

[American Enterprise Institute @AEI]

While the U.S. military has a plentiful supply of legacy munitions—older, unguided artillery rounds and conventional bombs—it is alarmingly bare on exquisite weapons, writes AEI’s @MEaglen https://t.co/zI5uuxjNQ4

[Robert Doar @RobertDoar]

The United States should urgently revitalize its maritime industrial base and forge a modernized naval strategy.

A great letter in The Wall Street Journal from AEI’s @MEaglen and Filemón Vela Jr. on how we can fix the US Navy. https://t.co/JWEbTPJqNX

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

10 Secretaries of the U.S. Navy in 10 years

[National Commission on the Future of the Navy @FutureNavyComm]

https://t.co/HewjuXNuOo
The @USNavy challenges span decades. Underinvestment has strained readiness, shipbuilding, & munitions. Fixes within reach:

⚓️Fast autonomous systems
⚓️Scalable weapons
⚓️Strong industrial base
⚓️Modern maritime strategy

Bipartisan action is essential.

[cdrsalamander @cdrsalamander]

Paparo; Heinrichs; Eaglan; Salamander — fully aligned, just discussing how many more is adequate.

The gauntlet.

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

Noting that Admiral Paparo @INDOPACOM favors buying 200 B-21 bombers, @SenatorRounds asks whether the Pentagon should revisit the requirement of 100 Raiders to match the global threat?

Sec. Hegseth tells the Senate the U.S. military will require a "lot more" B-21s, definitely "over 100."

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

Not a secret.

AEI has calculated at least $5 billion in damages to U.S. military bases in the Gulf hit in retaliation to Operation Epic Fury — whether the Pentagon rebuilds fully, partially, or not at all.

https://t.co/8jR68JOQCP

[Adil Haque @AdHaque110]

"One of the sources said the real cost estimate is closer to $40-50 billion when accounting for the costs of rebuilding US military installations and replacing destroyed assets."

[Jeff Blehar is *BOX OFFICE POISON* @EsotericCD]

This is big news that will go underdiscussed: https://t.co/zwFQbT3xTp

[Jim LaPorta @JimLaPorta]

Hat tip to @NBCNews - I’ve been chasing this news of the Iranian F-5 for the last few weeks. Had a hard time pinning down exactly what date it occurred. https://t.co/L4ghP2vZvV

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

Epic Fury will require a $$ supplemental — even if U.S. military force posture changes, or is reduced, in the Middle East after the war

https://t.co/wfFMi253fT

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

A pleasure to hear and learn from @SenatorWicker @RobWittman @RepJoeCourtney & @RepTrentKelly—followed by a great panel of experts covering the waterfront from acquisition to private capital partners to the shipyards and skilled trade workers of America. Onward!

[Connor O'Brien @connorobrienNH]

NEW: The Future of the Navy Commission holds its first hearing this morning. It’s been a long road to this point — Congress created the panel at the end of 2022.

More in @morningdefense about what to expect from the commission studying the fleet’s problems:

[Mackenzie Eaglen @MEaglen]

“The U.S. military expended 1/4 of its entire THAAD interceptor inventory in last summer’s 12-day war.”

Me & @ToddHarrisonDC

September 25, 2025

https://t.co/IpuJjtEaxP

[Emerald Robinson ✝️ @EmeraldRobinson]

There was only one Natsec analyst in the world who told us our THAAD stockpiles were insufficient to sustain a war against Iran for more than 10 days.

That was @WeTheBrandon.

And he said that BEFORE the war started.