* US defense acquisition undersecretary Frank Kendall encouraged his staff to start briefing their industry contacts about the effects of sequestration in a memo seen by Reuters. Comptroller Hale anticipates that new contracts are more likely to be delayed or cancelled than existing ones.
* But contracting officers do not necessarily know how the big picture affects them. In a Q&A posted by the USAF after an industry day dedicated to Depot On-Site Contract Augmentee Teams 3 (DOCAT3):
“Q [industry]: Will the hiring freeze impact/help this contract?
A [Air Force]: It is not known how the hiring freeze will impact the program. It may or may not increase the need for DOCATs.”
* Defense News reports that the Pentagon is going to delay payments to prime contractors to make sure the department does not run out of cash.
* Bloomberg is closing a series of articles on US weapons spending with quotes from the usual suspects lambasting the F-35 as “flawed” and “too big to kill.” Meanwhile, from Time: The Most Expensive Weapon Ever Built. Nothing in there that industry participants haven’t read before, but that type of coverage gets broad distribution that cannot be ignored.
* Plan B for Lockheed Martin? Compact nuclear fusion.
* The US Army’s Contracting Command-Warren recently published draft documents for the Ground Combat Vehicle Infantry Fighting Vehicle (GCV IFV) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, including a draft Capability Development Document (CDD). Access is restricted with export controls and other conditions. They expect feedback from industry by March 13. The date for the GCV EMD RFP is not set yet.
* The US Navy rounded up its recent IT policy guidance, covering expenditure approval, data center consolidation and more.
* From India’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis: Impressions on China’s Second Missile Interceptor Test.
* The grounding of USS Guardian in Philippine waters has interesting legal ramifications, in a region where maps and borders are heavily challenged.
* South Korea’s president-elect Park Geun-hye cabinet choices are facing criticism before she is even sworn in. Her choice for defense minister, former general Kim Byung-kwan, recently straightened a tax issue 27 years after the fact, and in 2010-11 was a part-time adviser to a weapons part importer which was involved in a bribery probe at the time.
* Bruno Spagnolini is replaced by Daniele Romiti as CEO of AgustaWestland. Spagnolini was promoted from COO to CEO in May 2011 and is currently under house arrest in a corruption probe over the sale of 12 helicopters to India. Finmeccanica | Bloomberg.
