• The US Senate voted 86-13 for the FY12 defense bill which President Obama is now expected to sign. Congress is also on the verge of finding another midnight hour funding compromise to avoid a government shutdown, pending votes later today. Meanwhile Republicans and Democrats are putting stakes in the ground for or against rolling back the forthcoming sequester.

• Some senators worry about how more work at military depots may be moved to the private sector; others want the Pentagon to stop getting in a situation where it ends up paying millions of dollars in extra fees to shipping companies because of containers that are returned late.

• According to La Tribune [in French], the French defense sector looks about to go through a round of product portfolio shuffling, consolidation and privatization. Companies involved: Thales, DCNS, Nexter, but also potentially Safran, Renault Trucks Defense and Panhard.

• France is about to launch the Elisa project [in French]. It’s a constellation of 4 smaller satellites flying at 700km altitude, that aims to refine the collection of intelligence about opposing radars (SIGINT/ ESM) from space. The DGA is preparing for an operational effort called CERES, which aims to be up and running by 2020.

• SBIRS GEO-2 is done testing, and SBIRS GEO-1 has completed on-orbit checkout. They’re the USA’s new missile launch warning satellites.

• More reports that Taiwan is moving toward its own submarine program. The Taipei Times adds one expert’s recommendation that the money and time might be spent on fast-attack missile boats like the Chinese Type 022. Which makes industrial sense, but not military sense, since the Chinese PLAAF will control the air.

• US Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer dismisses his suit against BAE OASYS, which was allegedly triggered by corporate retaliation when he objected to selling thermal weapon scopes to Pakistan. The firm didn’t end up selling the scopes.

• The US GAO found that of the 40 former high-ranking Coast Guard officials who left the service from 2005 through 2009, 22 have been compensated by Coast Guard contractors.

• The Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) is going to test small fail robots to dispose of anti-personnel mines.

• Australia decommissions its H-3 Sea King helicopters. They’ll be replaced by the RAN’s 6 ordered MRH-90s (NH90 TTH).

• a preliminary report [PDF] on defense procurement procedures by the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee of the Australian Senate notes some improvements but oozes frustration about the bureaucratic mess it has to wade through: ”[i]t only takes a cursory glance at a Defence procurement chart to see the convoluted and incomprehensible web of documents, committees and milestones.”

• After the cremated remains of at least 274 fallen US service-members, and 1,762 other unidentified body parts, were unceremoniously thrown into a county landfill as waste, Tom Ricks says that “either the Air Force Secretary, its Chief of Staff, or both” need to resign; “It’s not a colonel’s problem”. He makes a strong case. Meanwhile Congresswoman Renee Ellmers [R-NC] wants to legislate.

• The US House of Representatives approved the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) after the White House lifted its veto threat. The bill should now sail through the Senate and be made into law within the next few days. Which means focus will shift to FY13 and beyond. HASC Chairman Howard McKeon (R-CA) is introducing a bill as he had said he would to avoid sequester in 2013. The Senate is also on it, as per the video at the bottom of this entry. Also, representatives Mark Critz (D-PA-12) and Mo Brooks (R-AL-05) created last week a congressional caucus for Army Aviation (AAC).

• L-3 Communications bought for $210M in cash Kollmorgen Electro-Optical (KEO), a $160M/year unit of Danaher Corporation that employs about 550 people in Massachusetts and Italy. KEO will complement’s L-3s existing Sensor Systems division.
  Continue Reading… »

Canberra concept

In May of 2006 the Royal Australian Navy announced its decision to expand its naval expeditionary capabilities. HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla would be replaced with substantially larger and more capable modern designs, featuring strong air support. Navantia and Tenix offered a 27,000t Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) design that resembled the Strategic Projection Ship (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) under construction for the Spanish Navy. The DCNS-Thales Australia team, meanwhile, proposed a variation of the 21,300t Mistral Class that is serving successfully with the French Navy.

Navantia’s larger design eventually won, giving the Spanish firm an A$11 billion clean sweep of Australia’s “Air Warfare Destroyer” and LHD programs. These 5 ships will be the core of Australia’s future surface navy. The LHDs will be able to serve as amphibious landing ships, helicopter carriers, floating HQs and medical facilities for humanitarian assistance, and launching pads for UAVs or even short/vertical takeoff fighters:

• Winner: The Navantia-Tenix LHD
• Program & Construction Plans [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

• The Latest Defense AT&L [PDF] covers among other topics: contingency contracting (staying clear of mentioning the work of the now closed Commission on Wartime Contracting), the Afghan vendor base, critical path drag in project management, and collaboration between Program Managers (PMs) and Contracting Officers (KOs).

• This Should-Cost template [PPTX] provides a notional guide for presenting a summary of a program’s “should cost” plans and estimates, to flesh out “Better Buying Power” acquisition guidance published by the Pentagon last year.

• The US House Armed Services Committee released a summary of the conference report on the FY12 Defense Authorization Act.

• Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy has announced she will step down early next year.

• Turkish papers report that Syria’s regime is taking warheads from its chemical weapon stocks, and has armed its medium range missiles. Syria’s Shabab-2 (Iranian) and Hwasong-6/ Scud-C (North Korean) missiles could hit southern and eastern Turkey, which is supporting the Free Syria Army against the regime. Russia, ever helpful, reportedly sent the Syrian regime 3 million gas masks.

• The US State Department says they’ve secured and destroyed around 5,000 Libyan SA-7 and related shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. The regime had about 20,000, and teams are still trying to account for the rest: destroyed in fighting, abandoned, or…?

• Reports surface that Brazil may want the 3 completed “Port of Spain” Class offshore patrol vessels that Trinidad & Tobago canceled, with an option to build another 5 in Brazil. Brazil has been building its submarine force, and there’s a large naval contract on the horizon to build a variety of surface combatants.

• Norway’s AMRAAM-based NASAMS air defense system is going mobile. With the USA canceling its truck-based SL-AMRAAM, and international interest in the capability, that could be good for Kongsberg’s exports, too.

• Navy Cmdr. Charles Coughlin (ret.) gets 3.5 years in prison, after it’s determined that he faked being injured by falling debris in the Pentagon on 9/11. He had received $331,000 from the victims’ fund, a Purple Heart, and a Meritorious Service Medal.

• 2 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters crashed last night at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, killing 4 soldiers.

• In the UK the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released a scathing report on the lack of cost-effective armored vehicle capability. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) responded rather defensively but as Think Defence argues, what’s surprising about brutal weather and the use of landmines? This debate and dynamic are not new, see for instance MRAPs, Irregular Warfare, and Pentagon Reform [PDF] from the US National Defense University. Back to the UK’s present controversy, a quick summary in the video below:
  Continue Reading… »

• The Pentagon is considering updating Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate a “proposal adequacy checklist” for proposals in response to solicitations that require submission of certified cost or pricing data. Comments should be sent to DoD in writing before January 31, 2012, to be considered in the formation of the final rule.

• Switzerland’s largest socialist party (SPS) passes a resolution saying that they’ll try to stop the deal for 22 Swedish JAS-39 Gripen fighters. We aren’t surprised, either.

• Photos of a Japanese ATD-X stealth fighter mock-up. Which seems to be re-using a Mitsubishi F1 canopy. Still waiting for cool transforming robots…
  Continue Reading… »

• Still no progress in India’s long negotiations with France’s SNECMA, to develop a Kaveri jet engine successor as an alternate engine for India’s Tejas LCA Mk.2 fighter. GE’s F404 equips the Mk.1 variant, and their F414 has been picked for future versions.

• US Senators Carl Levin and John McCain (Chairman and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, respectively) cowrote a defense of their position on how to handle detained terrorist suspects. This is the sticking point between the Senate and the Obama administration that has been delaying the FY12 defense authorization bill – the latter threatens a veto.

• Since the US Senate has been unable to vote on regular spending bills in a timely fashion, majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wants to lump everything into a $1T “omnibus” appropriations bill next month instead of passing another continuing resolution.

• USMC Sgt. and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer sues his former employer BAE Systems in a Texas state court, reports the WSJ.

• It is recommended to post Sole Source Justifications on FedBizOps prior to contract awards rather than after the fact.

• The transfer of munitions squadrons responsible within the US Air Force for nuclear mission support from Air Force Materiel Command to Air Force Global Strike Command should be complete next month.

• Thales intends to increase its share in DCNS from 25% to 35%, according to La Tribune [in French]. Thales acquired this option back in 2009 and must exercise or lose it by next March.

• The British Royal Navy is deploying HMS Protector, its new ice patrol ship, to to the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship has been leased by Norway to the UK for 3 years.

• The video below shows what a supply air drop using JPADS looks like:
  Continue Reading… »

Cougar 6×6, IEDed
- the crew lived.

The Cougar family of medium-sized blast-protected vehicles is produced in both 4-wheel (formerly Cougar H) and 6-wheel (formerly Cougar HE) layouts. Eventually, the wisdom of using survivable vehicles in a theater where land mines were the #1 threat became clearer, and these vehicles have gradually shifted from dedicated engineer and Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) roles to patrol and route-proving/ convoy lead functions as well. Related variants and blast-resistant designs are also produced in response to country-specific requirements (Wolfhound, Mastiff, Ridgeback, ILAV Badger) and other designs cover different operational needs (Buffalo mine-clearance, Cheetah, Ocelot, and JAMMA patrol vehicles). To date, the firm has received orders from Britain, Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, Iraq, and Yemen; and Poland operates some on loan from the USA. Front line testimonials offer evidence of their effectiveness.

Cougar orders predate the USA’s MRAP program to rush mine-resistant vehicles to the front lines; indeed, the performance of Force Protection’s vehicles on the front lines was probably the #1 trigger for the MRAP program’s existence. This FOCUS article describes Force Protection’s vehicles and corporate performance, which became an issue in recent years. It also covers key events and procurements around the world related to Force Protection’s Cougar (MRAP CAT I & II), Buffalo (MRAP CAT III), and related blast-resistant vehicle families.

• The Cougar Vehicles
• Cougar Family: Related Contracts & Events [updated]
• Appendix A: Ramping Up Production
• Appendix B: Additional Readings and Sources
  Continue Reading… »

• The Institute for the Study of War offers a good snapshot of the Libyan revolution and operations by the numbers. This week Libya was also on the mind of the UK’s House of Commons Defence Committee in a Q&A session with the Minister for the Armed Forces, and France’s Assemblée Nationale in one of several hearings [in French] focused on the 2012 budget. One outcome: Britain and France’s navies plan a major joint exercise next year.

• According to the Washington Post the US Air Force is now flying armed UAVs out of the Arba Minch airport in Ethi­o­pia.

• DAPRA has a $50K prize set aside for the team coming with a way to “unshred” documents. 12/02/11 update: solved!

• Project Manager Soldier Sensors and Laser’s (PM SSL) logistics team won the US Army Acquisitions Excellence “Transforming the Way We Do Business Award” FY11 earlier this month because it came up with a system to improve inventory accountability.

• Mantech to buy IT provider Worldwide Information Network Systems, Inc. for $90M in cash.

• The US Defense Science Board researched early intercept (EI) ballistic missile defense feasibility [PDF] and found that “EI in and of itself is not a useful objective for missile defense [...] Intercept prior to the potential deployment of multiple warheads or penetration aids [...] requires Herculean effort and is not realistically achievable”. But this doesn’t necessarily undermine regional missile defense plans, if they don’t rely too much on EI.

• US DoD undersecretary for personnel and readiness Clifford L. Stanley resigned. DoD’s Inspector General was investigating allegations of incompetence and waste sent by anonymous Pentagon employees last summer. JoAnn Rooney, Stanley’s principal deputy since last June, will take his job on an acting basis in 2 weeks and until a replacement is formally announced.

• The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) compares the emerging Democratic and Republican positions within the Super Committee.

• US Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) asks [PDF] the Secretary of Defense to look into how the infamously bankrupt Solyndra LLC was selected as a finalist for a contract via the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative (DeVenCI). Note that in the end Solyndra did not get a DoD contract award.

• The Readiness Subcommittee in the US House of Representatives held a hearing yesterday on the effects of “austerity” on readiness with witnesses from the 4 services. Exec summary: budget cuts affect readiness. 1st video embedded at the bottom of this entry.

• Another HASC hearing took place to review the state of DoD ERP systems. In its testimony the GAO highlights schedule slippages, cost increases and functionality gaps.

• The 2nd video below shows a quick glimpse of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s work on micro-UAVs looking like birds or even insects.
  Continue Reading… »

• US Army acquisition personnel has updated the Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) website several times in recent days to help contractors position themselves for the forthcoming Engineering & Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the project. JAB has an undisclosed amount of funding for FY12 and FY13. The current (very early) schedule looks at starting production at a low rate in FY15 and finishing deliveries in FY22, for a potential of 168 JABs for the Army and 29 for the USMC. Lots of Ts to cross and Is to dot until then. Because JAB will use the Abrams M1A1 hull, bidding involves ITAR exports control and a lot of the relevant material is posted as controlled unclassified information (CUI).

• In light of recent events in North Africa and the Middle East, the UK’s Foreign Secretary William Hague intends to introduce a “mechanism to allow immediate [defense/security export] licensing suspension to countries experiencing a sharp deterioration in security or stability.”

• Work got started on Anson, the 5th of a planned 7 British Royal Navy Astute class submarines.
  Continue Reading… »

Night raid
(click to view larger)

FY 2011 Pentagon announcements. (to Sept 30/11)

It was Christmas Eve 2007 and US Army Rangers were searching for suspected Al-Qaeda members in Mosul, Iraq. They were using their night vision goggles so they would have the element of surprise on their side. The story, detailed in a USA Today article, dramatically demonstrates the advantage night vision capabilities provide to US troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Rangers found 2 Al-Qaeda suspects who were holding an 11-year-old Iraqi boy hostage. Using their night vision capabilities, they were able to shoot the suspects without harming the boy. After that encounter, a firefight erupted between the Army rangers and Al-Qaeda insurgents, with 10 insurgents killed, including the head of an assassination cell, and no Army ranger losses. As former General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the US Army’s 24th Infantry Division in the 1991 Desert Storm conflict, commented: “Our night vision capability provided the single greatest mismatch of the war.” It still does.

This free DID Spotlight Article will examine how this technology works, how its military application has developed over years, how the technology is used by troops in the field, as well as major contracts for procuring night vision devices.

• Night Vision Technology
• Generations
• Riding the Omnibus
• Night Vision Limitations
• The Way Ahead
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »