Rapid Fire Nov. 1, 2012: Shipbuilding Capabilities
Nov 01, 2012 10:00 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff- China has ramped up mass production techniques and coordination between its shipyards to allow a rapid modernization of its fleet, with some degree of versatility thanks to modular construction. The Diplomat.
- Meanwhile the Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov is expecting his country’s shipyards to launch 5 combat and support ships per year in years to come. RIA Novosti.
- The Philippines’ plan to buy a 3rd used cutter from the US is on hold, according to the Philippine Star. For now they will focus on equipping the two ships they already acquired from the US Coast Guard. USCG Dallas, the second of these two ships (renamed to BRP Ramon Alcaraz), is expected in February 2013.
- Australia is not the only country where high commodity prices make it harder for its Navy to retain qualified personnel: Norway is facing similar issues.
- The administrative surcharge rate charged by the US through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is down from 3.8% to 3.5%, effective today.
- The Center for American Progress and the Institute for Policy Studies, two left-wing American think tanks, are advocating the implementation of a unified security budget, and defense budget cuts at the scale, but not in the shape, of the sequester. PDF report.
- In the US Army’s latest Q&A about the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) it plans for its fleet of Landing Craft Utility 2000 (LCU 2000) vessels, a point small businesses need to understand beyond this one program: “component (replace/refurbish) decisions would be made by the prime contractor.” An Industry Day should take place next December or January. TACOM.
- Switzerland’s intelligence service reportedly advised in its weekly report for the Swiss Federal Council to consider participating in NATO’s European missile defense system. That would obviously be quite a break from neutrality. Tages-Anzeiger [in German].
Categories: Alliances, Americas - Other, Budgets, China, Contracts - Awards, Domestic Security, Europe - Other, Russia, Think Tanks, USA
