Rapid Fire June 4, 2012: LMP Falls Short
Jun 04, 2012 09:25 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff- US SecDef Leon Panetta was in Cam Ranh Bay in southern Vietnam yesterday, an attractive deepwater spot where an American airbase used to be located, followed by a large Soviet naval base. Relationships between the US and Vietnam have been thawing for years (May 2012 CRS PDF report). China is watching the Obama administration self-described “pivot” to Asia. Panetta said that the US would locate 60% of its forces in the Asia/Pacific region in the future.
- India will soon have its first military satellite, according to the Times of India. The purpose: naval communications and surveillance.
- The VTUAV crash that led to the death of a Schiebel engineer in South Korea last month may have been triggered by GPS jamming by North Korea.
“Despite spending about $1.8 billion, Army managers did not accomplish the reengineering needed to integrate the Procure-to-Pay functions to comply with DoD Business Enterprise Architecture requirements and correct material weaknesses.”
Between the IG’s report and this question recently posted on a DoD acquisition website, it sounds like the Army is not in the driver seat with software requirements, possibly letting the prime contractor (CSC) both define what is should do then implement against its own specs.
- The strike goes on – 6 weeks and counting – at Lockheed Martin’s plant in Fort Worth, TX. The company is hiring temporary workers.
- EADS is considering getting a banking license because of the degrading rating of many European banks.
- French shipbuilder DCNS is trying to sell FREM frigates and Mistral LHDs to Canada in partnership with local contractors, reports La Tribune [in French].
- The threat of sequestration continues to worry contractors and politicians.
