A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report shows how the Defense Department has had to change its mindset to operate in Iraq and also details the expected rise in operations costs in the country. The operations there don't come cheaply, especially with a "surge," according to the July 15 report.
ISR UAV AWARD: The Pentagon announced late July 20 that Marine Corps Systems Command awarded Boeing a competitively procured award that could reach $381.5 million for unmanned aircraft-based ISR services for global counter-terrorism and Iraq and Afghanistan operations. Contracted work will be performed in Iraq first in support of Marine Expeditionary Forces I and II. The initial $10.5 million allotment of the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract will run out in December, but contract options could carry the award through December 2010.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is conducting exercises July 23-24 across the National Capital Region (NCR) to gauge the capabilities of NORAD's intercept and identification operations and the region's visual warning system. Training flights are to be held in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, the NCR Region Command Center, the Joint Air Defense Operations Center (JADOC), Civil Air Patrol and NORAD's Northeast Air Defense Sector.
Just as the panic about Iranian nuclear bomb development was beginning to be eclipsed by other world crises, satellite photos have revealed new construction - in particular a tunnel complex under a mountain - at the Natanz nuclear facility. Only a year and a half ago, Israeli officials said that Iran's research and development of nuclear weapons had to be interrupted by the end of 2007. Defense officials privately say no active operational preparation is under way in either the U.S. or Israel.
To successfully battle improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the U.S. military is going to need to look differently at the fight, according to a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council (NRC). "Counter-IED and counterinsurgency efforts are [inextricably] linked, and counterinsurgency concepts can be used as tools to defeat an IED campaign," the report says.
30 AMPHIBS: The U.S. Marine Corps wants as many 34 amphibious warships to meet its requirement for a two-brigade invasion plan, but a fleet of 30 such ships is absolutely necessary, the Marine commandant says. Gen. James Conway, the top Marine general, says that to make sure 30 ships are available at any one time, the Navy really should seek 31 to 33 altogether. The Marines and Navy have been haggling over the necessary size of the amphibious portion of the Navy's fleet as that service struggles with a tenuous shipbuilding and fleet-size plan.
GERMAN AARGM: Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and German defense contractor MBDA LFK-Lenkflugkorpersysteme GmbH are teaming to identify shared opportunities with the German Defense Ministry on the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). The pair will focus on opportunities in the German production and product improvement phase of the AARGM program, as well as opportunities for additional derivatives of the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile. In 2005, Italy became the U.S.
TOMCAT ARREST: Jilani Humayun of Long Island, N.Y., was arrested early July 19 and charged with 11 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to illegally export F-5 and F-14 fighter jet parts. Federal officials, who announced the moves later that day, alleged Humayun illegally exported the fighter parts to a company in Malaysia - but that the F-14 parts were almost certainly headed for Iran.
BLUEPRINT BATTLE: House Armed Services Committee leaders are pushing the Pentagon to buy the blueprints for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, but defense leaders are resisting for now since the program's demise could come almost as quickly as it blossomed. Reps. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), HASC subcommittee chairmen, want the Defense Department to be able to hand blueprints to a new manufacturer - like a major U.S. automotive company - for a potential production surge.
WorldSpace Italia and Fiat have agreed to install and distribute digital audio radio systems (DARS) on Fiat automobiles. It is the first auto agreement signed by the WorldSpace affiliate, which wants to introduce satellite radio service in Europe by late 2008 using WorldSpace's existing Afristar satellite. The radios will be factory installed on some Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia models, and offered through aftermarket distribution channels as well.
COUNTER-IED REPORT: Analytical methods that quantitatively assess the effectiveness of improvised explosive device (IED) countermeasures are needed as counter-IED attention focuses on detonation, according to a new National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report on research opportunities for counter-IED measures. There are some studies about the evaluation of counter-suicide-bombing measures in Israel, and the effectiveness of airline-passenger screening, but to the group's knowledge there is nothing in the scientific literature regarding the evaluation of IED countermeasures.
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE: While the concept of strategic conventional strike may be growing in importance, that doesn't mean nuclear deterrence isn't still crucial, says Thomas P. D'Agostino, acting under secretary of energy for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. "My view is that we're talking many decades before the nuclear stockpile goes away," he says.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] July 30 - Aug. 2 -- 2007 Naval S&T Partnership Conference, "The Navy After Next... Powered by Naval Research II -- Power & Energy for the Fleet and Force," Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.ndia.org/meetings/7200. Aug. 6 - 9 -- AUVSI's Unmmaned Systems North America 2007, Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. For more information go to www.auvsi.org.
PASSED THROUGH: The Professional Services Council is arguing that defense regulators have laid down a new rule that does not conservatively interpret a congressional mandate to ensure that pass-through charges on Defense Department contracts and subcontracts are not excessive compared to the cost of work.
ARMED SEALION: U.S. Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWG) 4 operators are looking to test the SEAL Insertion, Observation and Neutralization (SEALION) II craft as a potential platform for weapons systems and intelligence collection. The high-speed, low observable/low radar signature craft is being operated by NSWG 4 as a clandestine insertion and extraction platform for special forces.
A400M DELAY: EADS CEO Louis Gallois says delays with the TP400 turboprop that powers the Airbus A400M airlifter are likely to lead to a deferral of the first flight, scheduled for late March 2008. Test problems already have delayed the initial flight of the engine on a C-130 testbed from the first to the third or fourth quarter of this year. However, initial deliveries to A400M customers should still take place by late 2009 as planned, Gallois says.
Danger to the twin Mars Exploration Rovers from ongoing dust storms is increasing, especially for Opportunity, perched on the edge of Victoria crater 130 million miles from Earth. A possible outcome of the storms is that one or both rovers could be damaged permanently or even disabled, NASA managers say. Engineers will assess the capability of each rover after the storms clear.
AMCOM CHIEF: U.S. Army Maj. Gen. James Myles has become the sixth commander of the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) and Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, taking over from Maj. Gen. Jim Pillsbury. Myles had led the Test and Evaluation Command in Alexandria, Va., since May 2004. Pillsbury, who led AMCOM for 44 months, leaves to become the deputy chief of staff for operations and logistics at Army Materiel Command.
