The U.S. Army could decide whether to make its temporary addition of 30,000 troops part of the permanent budget as early as fiscal 2007, Maj. Gen. David Ralston, director of Army force management in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, told reporters April 11. "We are currently assessing it. When we first decided on the temporary addition of troops, we thought there would be much less force posture in OIF [Operation Iraqi Freedom] by now, but the optempo has remained high. It would be fiscal 2007 before we would start to see," he said.
It is unclear if Rolls-Royce will be seriously considered to supply new engines for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft and whether the project will even go forward, a company official said April 11. "There's been back and forth on that. We thought we had a pretty good engine to offer to them and ... whether we're going to be seriously considered for it or not, I can't tell you right now," said Michael D. Ryan, Rolls-Royce's executive vice president for government business.
The Government Accountability Office said Congress should "rethink" whether the current arms export control system can appropriately protect U.S. interests in a post-Sept. 11 world, according to an April 7 report.
XSS-11: The Air Force Research Laboratory plans to launch the XSS-11 microsatellite on April 11 from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Minotaur launch vehicle. XSS-11 is an $80 million experimental satellite designed to explore future military space applications including on-orbit servicing, diagnostics, maintenance, and space support. After checkout, XSS-11 will autonomously rendezvous with other U.S.-owned or inoperative satellites nearby and demonstrate safe proximity operations around them.
PROFITS MAY FALL: The restructuring of the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) acquisition strategy from an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) to a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) could reduce industry profits, sources say. "Moving to a FAR contract will be tougher on quality and good on cost. If you talk to smaller contractors, they may have a tough time hanging on, if they have to come in at a significantly lower price level," a source familiar with the program told The DAILY. Another source says even the profits of lead systems integrator Boeing/SAIC could dip.
COHEN GROUP: The Cohen Group, former U.S. Defense Secretary Bill Cohen's consulting firm, has attracted several more heavyweights, including Ret. U.S. Adm. James Loy, former commandant of the Coast Guard and former deputy secretary of homeland security; Ret. U.S. Gen. Paul Kern, who led Army Materiel Command; and Frank Miller, who was senior director for defense policy and arms control on President Bush's National Security Council staff.
The United States has made significant progress upgrading several radars to warn the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system of long-range ballistic missile attacks, according to Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency.
April 11 - 12 -- Technology Training Corp.'s Third Annual UCAVs, Armed UAVs & Precision Munitions Conference. Excalibur Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nev. For more information call 310-563-1223 or go to www.ttcus.com. April 11 - 14 -- 2005 JSEM, Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Fla. For more information go to www.ndia.org.
Advanced fiber manufacturer DuPont is working to protect soldiers from asymmetric threats such as improvised explosive devices (IED), chemical and biological risks, and ballistic and blast threats, Alexa Dembek, DuPont global business manager for advanced fiber systems, told The DAILY April 8. Weight reduction has been a major concern for the Army, which is trying to become lighter and more agile with its Future Combat Systems (FCS). Currently, a soldier must carry on his back about 120 pounds of equipment.
Over the past 14 years, budget pressures have reduced the number of tactical aviation (TACAIR) aircraft that some observers estimate the Defense Department can afford by more than 30%, according to Christopher Bolkcom, national defense specialist for the Congressional Research Service.
An ongoing audit of the Defense Department's procurement practices outside normal, more-accountable federal acquisition practices has been suspended to support defense base realignment and closure and other operational priorities, Defense Department Inspector General Joseph E. Schmitz has told lawmakers.
Lockheed Martin has successfully completed a week-long demonstration of a system designed to manage a wide range of military tactical battlefield networks, the company said April 7.
WING REPLACEMENT: New York-based L-3 Communications said April 7 that it was awarded a $16 million follow-on contract from the U.S. Navy to conduct Enhanced Special Structural Inspections and Center Wing Replacement on four P-3 maritime patrol aircraft. With the award, L-3 has been contracted to perform ESSI work on a total of 28 U.S. Navy P-3s. Over the next several years, all 150 P-3 aircraft in the Navy's fleet will require similar modifications to remain operational, L-3 said.
NO OPPOSITION: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says he foresees no opposition to the nomination of Navy Secretary Gordon England to replace Paul Wolfowitz as deputy defense secretary. Levin says England is "extraordinarily well qualified" and a "very decent and open type of person."
CHIP WARNING: A Defense Science Board task force is recommending "urgent action" to address an "alarming" migration of critical microelectronics manufacturing from the United States to foreign countries.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The draft request for proposals for the Air Force's next buy of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles assumes some 23 missions split about evenly between Boeing and Lockheed Martin to allow both to remain viable launch contractors through 2010, according to Lt. Gen. Brian A. Arnold, commander of Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center.
TRANSMITTERS: BAE Systems said April 7 that it was recently awarded a $17.1 million contract modification for the production of six low-band transmitters (LBT) for the U.S. Navy's Electronic Attack-6B Prowler aircraft. The follow-on award brings the total contract value to $21.1 million. The LBT - Antenna Group is a radar and communications jammer used to provide protection for strike aircraft, ships and ground troops by disrupting enemy radar and communications signals.
NEW APPROACH: The U.S. military is finding that small numbers of large, expensive systems are not appropriate for increasingly common yet irregular types of warfare, retired Navy Vice Adm. Arthur K. Cebrowski says. Cebrowski, who until recently served as director of Force Transformation, says Pentagon leaders need to re-evaluate their approach to defense spending because the character of warfare is changing. "We are moving into the age of the small, fast and the many. To do that, we need an entirely different approach to what things cost," he said.
Following an Army request, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has accelerated system development and fielding of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) unitary rocket, a Lockheed Martin official said. The system is currently in test and evaluation, Rick Vallario, director of Lockheed Martin tactical missile business development, told The DAILY April 6. "Testing is under way and a Spiral 1 capability will be available this year. Then system development and demonstration (SDD) will continue," he said.
ATLAS V HEAVY: Lt. Gen. Brian A. Arnold, commander of Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center, speculates that in light of NASA's space exploration plans Lockheed Martin may choose to develop a heavy version of its Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV). When the EELV program began some years ago, Lockheed Martin and Boeing were required to develop heavy boosters, but only Boeing did so.
