• Significant drilling has started at Portsmouth Naval Base to allow the UK’s future aircraft carriers in.

• Former US Navy Secretary and DOD UnderSec Gordon England opines: “The base defense budget, somewhat over 3 percent of our gross domestic product, isn’t the problem and can’t be the solution.”

• White House Press Secretary Jay Carney insists Secretary of Defense Panetta and President Obama are on the same page. That is, if you ignore the fact they repeatedly made mutually exclusive statements about whether to proceed with budget sequestration.

• The Congressional Research Service offers a historical perspective [PDF] on the concept of a “hollow force.” They conclude that it can be argued this phrase “is inappropriate under present circumstances.”

• The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has a hearing scheduled at 3pm ET this afternoon on the contracting and regulatory issues of doing business with DOD, though they didn’t yet announce who will testify. Meanwhile the Defense Appropriation Subcommittee released its hearing schedule [PDF] until the end of March with a focus on the FY13 budget.

• The CSBA think tank is running a survey on military compensation. The Stimson Center likes the idea, Veterans of Foreign Wars, not so much.

• According to Les Echos [in French], defense is going to bear the brunt of budgetary cuts in 2012 that the French government should announce later this week. This in front of a backdrop which might sound familiar: a tepid economic growth forecast and a presidential election.

• The US Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center is working on making Individual First Aid Kits (IFAK) easier to carry around and use.

• In the video below the GRASP laboratory at University of Pennsylvania gets tiny quadrotors to fly in sync:
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General Dynamics Team
Trimaran LCS Design
(click to enlarge)

Class services from each builder; LCS 3 post-production support; Mine-hunting ancillaries. (Dec 19/11)

Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $30+ billion “Littoral Combat Ship” program was intended to create a new generation of affordable surface combatants that could operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments, while remaining affordable and capable throughout their lifetimes.

It hasn’t worked that way. In practice, what the Navy wanted, the capabilities needed to perform primary naval missions, and what could be delivered for the sums available, have proven nearly irreconcilable. The LCS program has changed its fundamental acquisition plan several times since 2005, and canceled contracts with both competing teams, without escaping any of its fundamental issues. This public-access FOCUS article offer a wealth of research material, alongside looks at the LCS program’s designs, industry teams procurement plans, military controversies, and contracts.

• LCS: Concept & Needs
• LCS Solution = Standard Equipment + Mission Modules
• LCS: Controversies & Cautions
• LCS: Export Potential
• LCS: Designs & Teams
• LCS: Budgets and Program Structure
• LCS Ship Roster
• LCS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• LCS Ancillaries: Mission Module & Weapon Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
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• It’s confirmed: the Super Committee might have come close, but ultimately failed to reach an agreement. SecDef Panetta declared that “Congress cannot simply turn off the sequester mechanism” but also hinted that the nation deserves better than the outcome of the sequester. Predictably, HASC Chairman McKeon (R-CA) announced he’ll soon introduce a bill to roll back the sequestration mechanism before it kicks in. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) plan to do the same in the upper chamber. President Obama preemptively threatened to veto any such legislation. The Administration will have to show its cards by February when it submits the FY13 President budget. Will it assume sequestration takes place or not? And since sequestration doesn’t kick in until 2013, this might have to wait until after the 2012 election, for the new Congress to expedite in December ‘12. Expect to hear about it in tonight’s Republican primary debate, and as an ongoing campaign issue.

• The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on the Navy’s amphibious warfare ships, reckons the Navy will fall short of its “unconstrained demand” as stated last year.

• The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its annual report to Congress [PDF] last week, reviewing among other topics China’s military developments and its “Area Control Strategy.” The report states: “In order to defeat a superior opponent, the Area Control Strategy emphasizes degrading an opponent’s technological advantages; striking first in a conflict; and establishing military control over China’s periphery, especially the maritime region off of China’s eastern coast.”

• US Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is pressuring the Obama administration on F-16 sales to Taiwan: his letter | Taipei Times.

• Military cooperation between the US and Australia may lead to the development of joint military facilities on Cocos Islands in the Indian ocean.

• The transfer of dock landing ship Foudre from France to Chile is confirmed [in French] and will happen next month, as well as training of Chilean personnel. Defense ministers Gerard Longuet (FR) and Andres Allamand (CL) discussed increasing their naval cooperation in the Pacific ocean.

• Poland’s defense spending looks set to increase more than in most other European countries in the next few years.

• In the UK a fleet of 38 Merlin helicopters has been grounded earlier this month because of problems with their computerized recording systems.

• The USAF proposed the debarment of 3 contractors: Advanced C4 Solutions, Inc. (headquartered in FL), Superior Communications Solutions Inc. (GA), and Iron Bow Technologies (VA) because of a “history of failure to perform [or] unsatisfactory performance.” Washington Technology | WBJ.

• Count us among those disappointed that the Commission on Wartime Contracting’s records will remain sealed for 20 years.

• In case the DoD acquisition lifecycle gets you confused, yes a program can be in its Production & Deployment Phase and in its Operations & Support Phase at the same time. Procurement funds are channeled to the former while Operations & Maintenance (O&M) budgets line up with the latter. In practice the end of the acquisition lifecycle is less formally structured than earlier, milestone-constrained phases.

• Back in September Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) sent a letter [PDF] to Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert to argue in favor of maintaining all CVNs currently homeported in Forbes’ state. Greenert recently sent back his reply [PDF], and while he supports the strategic rationale behind moving a CVN to Mayport, FL, he leaves the door open to reconsidering based on budgetary concerns. Forbes had sent his letter on the day Greenert was appointed as the 30th Chief of Naval Operations. Last month several lawmakers from Florida asked Greenert to consider moving the date of the planned carrier move from FY19 to FY16. Expect them to fire back.

• US SecDef Leon Panetta gave a classified briefing to the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) yesterday, but its chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) told reporters that “he [Panetta] wants to take 50% of the [$450B] cuts out of modernization,” i.e. weapons procurement, the other half coming from personnel. Forthcoming HASC hearings: FY12 Combat Aviation, US Nuclear Weapons Policy and Posture (both this afternoon); Institutionalizing Irregular Warfare Capabilities, and A Day Without Seapower and Projection Forces (both tomorrow).

• On a backdrop of sovereign debt crisis and Euro bailouts, yesterday the Greek government made sweeping changes at the top of its military.

• Recent Pentagon reports of interest: State of U.S.-India Security Cooperation, BRAC 2005 Implementation, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction quarterly report [all PDFs].

• While the US is refocusing its attention to Asia/Pacific, China has dramatically ramped up its investments in Africa. The US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations just had an interesting hearing on this topic. Not a hotspot defense issue now, but of increasing geostrategic significance nonetheless.

Karwar, India: The Site

Phase II much more expensive, but headed for approval as India’s navy grows.(Oct 13/11)

Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee opened the first phase of India’s giant western naval base INS Kadamba in Karwar, Karnataka state, on May 31/05, saying it would protect the country’s Arabian Sea maritime routes. Kadamba has become India’s 3rd operational naval base, after Mumbai and Visakhapatnam. It is valuable for its location, and also for its ability to transcend the fundamental capacity and security limitations of India’s other 2 naval bases.

INS Kadamba is being built near Karwar in the southern state of Karnataka. That Phase I construction was just part of India’s ambitious “Project Seabird,” a potential INR 50+ billion project that will include the naval base, and much more besides. India finished a scaled-back Phase I a full decade after the originally-envisaged 1995 completion date. As might be expected, Phase II is now likely to be approved, after it was supposed to have been finished…

• INS Kadamba [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
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• Early retirement? Defense News says USS George Washington (CVN 73) might be decommissioned in 2016, instead of going through refueling and overhaul. This is based on 2 unnamed Pentagon sources and was not officially confirmed or denied.

• Early homeporting? Floridian Democrat Senator Bill Nelson, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Congressman Ander Crenshaw asked Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Greenert to consider advancing the move of a nuclear aircraft carrier to Naval Station Mayport from FY19 to FY16. Currently the 5 Atlantic Fleet CVNs are all homeported at Norfolk, VA, which, some say, contributes to an over-reliance of the Hampton Roads region on defense. Related: GAO report (March 2011), CRS backgrounder [PDF, May 2011].

• Newport News Shipbuilding is expanding its shipyard where parts of Virginia Block III SSN 787 are currently being built.

• ITT Corporation’s board of directors approved the spinoffs of its defense and water businesses which will be known respectively as ITT Exelis and Xylem. The separation is to be completed by the end of the month.

• Oshkosh has reached a tentative deal with the UAW Local 578 union which will hold a vote tomorrow. The truck manufacturer also named John Urias, a former Army major general, President of its defense segment.

• Food fight. During a hearing of the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight she chairs, US Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) complained that some contractors supplying food to military bases and other facilities don’t pass along savings from supplier rebates through to the government.

• US SecDef Leon Panetta listed guidelines to decide when to end the war in Libya: Gadhafi’s forces have to really be out, including in his hometown Sirte, and “opposition forces [should be] able to provide security” in the country. That latter statement sounds rather open-ended.

• The US Office of USD Acquisition, Technology and Logistics published its annual Industrial Capabilities report [PDF] to Congress earlier this week. Among FY11 highlights: the Solid Rocket Motor (SRM) Industrial Base Sustainment Plan (see also this PDF report) and an assessment of rare earth oxide (REO) supplies. The conundrum is that REOs come overwhelmingly from China, but defense accounts for only around 7% of North-American demand. For reference, last year’s Industrial Capabilities report [PDF].

• Yesterday’s US House Armed Committee hearing was on DoD’s financial management workforce. Video below:
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• South Korea’s 2012 defense budget: +5.6% or roughly in line with total budget growth, pending parliamentary approval.

• British Secretary of State for Defence Dr Liam Fox says a 1% increase (in real terms) to the Defence Equipment and Support budget between 2015/16 and 2020/21 should give the ministry a “firm footing” to tackle long-term challenges.

• BRAC complete at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) in Texas – the largest installation in the US military.

• Can a US Army Program Manager get his USMC pals to benefit from his program even if it’s not a designated joint one? The answer is yes, through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the 2 services.

• DFARS Case 2011-D013 on what to do when acquisitions using competitive procedures receive only one offer is received has been reopened for comments until October 7. The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) objects to the unlimited waiver currently in the planned regulatory change, as well as to the exception provision for contingency operations, given the track record in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• US DoD Performance Based Logistics (PBL) 2011 award winners were announced recently:
• System Level “Gerald Beck” Award: Joint STARS Total System Support Responsibility Team/Northrop Grumman – USAF C2ISR Aerospace Sustainment Directorate/Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WRALC)
• Sub-system Level Award: AH-64D Apache Sensors/Lockheed Martin – USA PEO Aviation/Apache Project Management Office
• Component Level Award: Tire Performance-Based Logistics Team/Michelin Aircraft Tire Company – USN Naval Supply Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS)

• Forthcoming hearings at US House Armed Services Committee: National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11: Perspectives from Former Service Chiefs and Vice Chiefs (Oct. 4), Is the Financial Management Workforce Positioned to Achieve DOD’s Financial Improvement Goals? (Oct. 6). The latter should be fun for people who like to watch glaciers move, but it may beat the non-news that so far have emerged from the Super Committee.

• The Stimson Center notes contrasting visions of the future of the US Navy: stick to a strategy of forward presence and projection, or scale back to a position of “security guarantor of last resort.” The two approaches definitely come with a different price tag. Admiral Roughead argued in favor of the more asserting strategy in a roundtable at the Aspen Institute earlier this month (video below):
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B-52H: to 2030?

BAE contract; Rust never sleeps. (Sept 26/11)

The current US Air Force fleet, whose planes are more than 23 years old on average, is the oldest in USAF history. It won’t keep that title for very long. Many transport aircraft and aerial refueling tankers are more than 40 years old – and under current plans, some may be as many as 70-80 years old before they retire. Since the price for next-generation planes has risen faster than inflation, average aircraft age will climb even if the US military gets every plane it asks for in its future plans. Nor is the USA the only country facing this problem.

As this dynamic plays out and average age continues to rise, addressing the issues related to aging aircraft becomes more and more important in order to maintain acceptable force numbers, readiness levels, and aircraft maintainability; avoid squeezing out recapitalization budgets; handle personnel turnover that becomes more and more damaging; and keep maintenance costs in line, despite new technical problems that will present unforeseen difficulties. Like F-15 fighters that are under flight restrictions due to structural fatigue concerns – or grounded entirely.

The biggest contracts aren’t always the ones deserving of the most attention. Enter the USA’s Joint Council on Aging Aircraft (JCAA), and initiatives like the Navy’s ASLS. Enter, too, DID’s Spotlight article. It seeks to place the situation and its effects in perspective, via background, contracts, and a research trove of articles that tap the expertise and observations of outside parties and senior sources within the US military…

• The JCAA
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Aging Aircraft: Some Additional Readings [updated]
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USNS Sacagawea

T-AKE 13 christened by its namesake’s widow. (Nov 12/11)

Warships get a lot of attention, but without resupply, an impressive-looking fleet becomes a hollow force. The US Navy’s supply and support fleet has been aging, and needed new vessels. T-AKE is part of that effort, and the ships have also found themselves performing “naval diplomacy” roles.

The entire T-AKE dry cargo/ ammunition ship program could have a total value of as much as $6.2 billion, and a size of 14 ships, as the US looks to modernize its supply fleet. How do T-AKE ships fit into US naval operations? What ships do they replace? What’s the tie-in to US civilian industrial capacity? How were environmental standards built into their design? And what contracts have been issued for T-AKE ships to date? This FOCUS article covers the T-AKE program, and offers answers…

• T-AKE Ships: Mission, Listing & Capabilities [updated]
• T-AKE Ships: The Civilian Industry Angle
• T-AKE Ships & the Environment
• T-AKE Ships: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
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• The Government Accountability Office (GAO) publishes Pakistan Assistance: Relatively Little of the $3 Billion in Requested Assistance is Subject to State’s Certification of Pakistan’s Progress on Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism Issues [PDF].

• The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Gregory Schulte, tells a defense writers group that the United States is seeking dialogue with China concerning the ‘rules of the road’ in outer space.

• The UK Government unveils its Building Stability Overseas Strategy [PDF]. The strategy is an inter-departmental initiative encompassing the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for International Development (DFID).

• Boeing and Lockheed Martin pronounce themselves satisfied with the explanations received for their elimination from India’s M-MRCA fighter competition.

• Lockheed Martin also announces the introduction of a voluntary lay off program to be offered to 6,500 employees at the company’s Corporate Headquarters and Enterprise Business Services.

• Thales provides Australia with the 800th Bushmaster armored vehicle completed at its Bendingo production plant.

• L-1 Identity Solutions and Safran announce that they have received notification from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that the investigation of their merger transaction has been satisfactorily completed.  The transaction is expected to be completed within five working days.

• Russia use the visit of the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, to announce plans to increase bilateral military cooperation.

• A report emerges outlining – and bringing into question – a worrying rate of cannibalisation undertaken by the US Navy.

• Does China’s defense industry have lessons for India? US MINERVA Initiative winner Prof. Tai Ming Cheung says yes, even if India disregards the cheating and stealing part.