CYBERSECURITY REQUIRED: The Pentagon, NASA and the General Services Administration are proposing a new contracting requirement for the “basic safeguarding of contractor information systems that contain information provided by or generated for the government.” The proposal was announced Aug. 24 in the Federal Register; comments can be submitted at Regulations.gov through Oct. 23.
Click here to view the pdf Fiscal 2013 Senate Defense Appropriations Markup ($ in thousands) Fiscal 2013 Senate Defense Appropriations Markup ($ in thousands) Line Description Request SAC %
NEW DELHI — Swedish defense, aerospace and security company Saab AB has joined with Indian ship-builder Pipavav Defense and Offshore Engineering Ltd. for a $38 million initiative for the construction and maintenance of military hardware. In addition to the Memorandum of Understanding signed on Aug. 24, the two sides also have entered into a technical partnership agreement involving further cooperation and relevant projects.
Construction of two new research ships funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) officially earlier this month in Anacortes, Wash. The design and construction of both Ocean-class Auxiliary General Purpose Oceanographic Research (AGOR) vessels will be managed by the Naval Sea Systems Command. Each is expected to be completed in the next 30 to 36 months, with delivery scheduled for late 2014 for AGOR 27 and early 2015 for AGOR 28.
The Pentagon’s massive civilian workforce will be hit hardest and fastest if potential across-the-board federal budget cuts take hold in January, a Washington-based budget analyst says.
TEL AVIV — Israeli intelligence analysts are trying to create a template to predict why governments falter, when their influence fails and what then happens to their armies and weapons.
The U.S. Navy says it will cost about $450 million to repair the fire-damaged attack submarine SSN-755 USS Miami, and the service expects to complete the work by April 30, 2015. The estimate includes “10 percent variability due to the unique nature of the repair and the cost impacts of shifting the planned maintenance availabilities of other ships and submarines,” the Navy says.
While defense analysts continue to hammer the U.S. Navy’s spending practices for its ships and other large-expense items, one of the service’s initiatives has quietly been able to save the Navy an average of about $10 million annually for such items as office supplies, wireless services and global business support services. The Navy Supply Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) San Diego “strategically sourced solutions” have already saved the Navy more than $42 million in the last four fiscal years, the service estimates.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army is making headway with plans to demonstrate the utility of nanosatellites and small, low-cost, mobile launchers to provide direct support to deployed forces, bypassing the traditional data processing and dissemination system located in the U.S.
FLYING CATS: EADS subsidiary Cassidian Aviation Training Services (CATS) has selected Cirrus SR20s and SR22s to provide training services to the French air force and navy. A fleet of 13 SR20s will be used for training pilots at the Salon de Provence air base. Seven SR22s will provide navigator training and liaison flights. Another three SR20s will train students of the Ecole Navale at Lanveoc-Poulmic naval air station.
The U.S. Navy is making strides in developing “networked” weapons that can be redirected in flight from any nearby aircraft carrying the right data-linking system. Raytheon's Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1 achieved just such a mission, retargeting from a small ship to a larger, maneuvering ship target during flight, as part of its first integrated test experiment. An F/A-18F Super Hornet released the glide bomb roughly 90 km (56 mi.) from the small ship, its first designated mark.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The U.S. Army is making headway with plans to demonstrate the utility of nanosatellites and small, low-cost, mobile launchers. (Kestrel image: U.S. Army)
Just in time for the Republican National Convention, the Center for Security Policy has reissued a database of defense spending across congressional districts. Here’s a look at contracts coming to some of the House’s most influential members on defense matters.
Australia will acquire electronic attack systems for the half of its Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fleet that is already wired for the equipment. The upgrade will cost an estimated A$1.5 billion ($1.44 billion), and the converted aircraft are scheduled to be operational in 2018.
NEW DELHI — India-based Samtel Avionics & Defense Systems is in talks with Honeywell for the supply of multiple displays for aircraft and expects business worth $100 million from the U.S. firm in the next five to seven years.
Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh and AM General all have been chosen to progress into the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program to replace U.S. Army and Marine Corps Humvees. Lockheed is receiving $66 million for the 27-month EMD phase, with Oshkosh receiving $56 million and AM General $64 million. Navistar International Corp., General Dynamics and BAE Systems also bid for EMD but were not chosen.
