• Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter tells Commission on Wartime Contracting that DoD needs “fast lane” to speed procurement and deployment of weapons in wartime, warns against over-reliance on contractor debarment to combat fraud.

• The US Federal Communications Commission, fresh from its stellar job selling off the B-2 bomber’s radar frequency and forcing a $1+ billion switch, has issued an L-band broadband satellite license that’s likely to interfere with GPS signals. The question “Where on earth does the FCC get its ideas?” may presuppose the wrong answer.

• A small number of defense programs are driving cost increases in DoD’s budget, GAO finds.
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• USMC could lose up to a 3rd of its acquisition money, $563 million, under a FY 2011 continuing resolution, Commandant Gen. James Amos tells Senate Armed Services Committee.

• Former L-3 engineer Sixing “Steve” Liu faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of exporting defense-related technical data to China without a license.

• Russia’s state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport expects to make $9.5 billion in arms sales in 2011.

• South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin vows to beef up defense against GPS jamming after confirming that the North tried to jam the South’s military GPS devices.

• DARPA, Northrop Grumman test MQ-9 Global Hawk as unmanned aerial tanker.

• China suspected in cyber attack on French finance ministry targeting G20 summit documents.

• US Naval Academy adds some cybersecurity classes to its core curriculum.

• Crunch time for General Dynamics and Boeing cases. They argue that the government improperly invoked the state secrets privilege, in order to hide information that would help them prove their side of cases surrounding the A-12 naval stealth fighter’s program cancellation liabilities.

• Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system is a “stupid idea” driven by the French military, according to OHB-System CEO Berry Smutny. Sorry, former CEO.

• Lockheed Martin says the Chinese J-20 unveiling has added urgency to F-35 sales discussions with JSF consortium partner Singapore, plus Japan and South Korea – with all 3 countries in active discussions with US officials.
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Slimmer and Trimmer
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A couple of years ago, it looked like the Land Warrior program was dead due to soldiers’ concerns that the equipment was too heavy and complex. However, after trimming down the system from 17 pounds to 7.2 pounds, the Army is moving ahead with the program.

While those efforts are underway, the US Army still owns more than 900 Land Warrior ensembles, 300 vehicle-integration kits, and related equipment as of October 2009. Now, a new set of contracts enables General Dynamics’ field service engineers to deploy with all Land Warrior-equipped units and provide support for housing, repairing and shipping spare and replacement Land Warrior gear worldwide.

• Acquiring Minds: Boeing, Lockheed Martin target acquisitions in cybersecurity, ISR, and UAV sectors.

• White Collar Cuts: Meanwhile, Boeing is cutting 10% of the executive positions at its military aircraft business as part of a restructuring effort; an additional 400 job cuts are expected.

• In Reverse?: Navistar posts a fiscal third-quarter profit but lowered its revenue outlook for the year as military truck orders are deferred to 2011 and commercial truck sales slump.

• GKN delivers first major CH-53K helicopter sub-assembly.

• Zumwalt Class destroyer’s new Total Ship Computing Environment certified to TRL 6.

• Believe It or Not: Is Russia really trimming its bloated military bureaucracy? That’s what they say.

• A Russian Rokot rocket lifts 2 Kosmos military communications satellites and 1 Gonets-M navigation satellite, part of the Glonass system, into orbit from the Plesetsk space center.

• Comtech Mobile Datacom gets $24.9 million in orders to provide satellite communication support for the US Army’s Blue Force Tracker under an existing $384 million contract.

• Australia details of A$ 1.1 billion in multi-year plans for equipment to protect deployed soldiers.

• Frost & Sullivan: Military demand for satellite capacity contributes to industry’s resurgence.

• As the military and intelligence turn to the web and wikis, scientists wonder: what effect does that have on brain activity and comprehension?

• HMAS Dechaineux returns to service, doubling Australia’s operational submarine fleet.

• Australian troops to get new “Tiered Body Armour System” soon.

• Software glitch highlights US military’s heavy reliance on GPS-based navigation systems used in weapons and vehicles, a reliance that could make these systems vulnerable to disruption, warns defense expert.

• A murder of CROWS: EOS, Northrop Grumman look to dethrone Kongsberg in coming CROWS-3 competition.

• US Marines train with Romanian troops using non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray and Tasers.

• USJFCOM meeting grapples with radiofrequency spectrum management issues posed by proliferation of UAVs.

• US House Armed Services Committee approves FY 2011 defense authorization bill with controversial provisions on F-35’s F136 engine and KC-X aerial tanker procurement, along with strong language re: continued Super Hornet buys. HASC summary [PDF]

• Will new UK coalition government cut Trident nuclear submarine program?

• Serial number on metal fragment sinks North Korea’s claim that it had nothing to do with sinking of ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772), a Pohang-class patrol combat corvette.

• Speaking of torpedoes, Australian National Audit Office report torpedoes their MU90 Eurotorp buy, A$ 397.5 million and 11 years later with nothing to show. In response, the government will… not re-compete or cancel the project. ANAO [PDF] | Australian DoD | Adelaide Now.

• Will Littoral Combat Ship’s cost spawn an export competitor? Israel may become the launch customer for TKMS’ modular MEKO CSL.

• USAF RFI to replace 1950s-era AN/SPQ-166 radars on 76 B-52H bombers. See also Flight International.

• Pakistan receives 2 Bell 412EP helicopters. That was fast.

• Launch of GPS IIF-01 satellite aboard a Delta IV rocket delayed until May 21 due to faulty launch tower equipment.

• DARPA, industry develop robot that can convert shubbery into electricity and travel 100 miles per 68 pounds of vegetation. Ni!

• Azerbaijan, Turkey to hold joint military training exercises and classes.

• Center for Naval Analysis: US Navy’s decline reaching a tipping point?

• Chinese hackers gain access to classified documents in India’s Defense Ministry, Canadian think tank finds. Report | New York Times | Bloomberg | India Express

• Feeling Irregular?: USAF needs to beef up its irregular warfare capabilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, including dedicated COIN aircraft, says RAND report [PDF].

• Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer, flip side: Why Taliban marksmanship sucks – and how they sometimes make it work for them anyway.

• A UK conference report, “Winning Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan: Assessing the Effectiveness of Development Aid in COIN [PDF],” says the current counter-insurgency approach may be doing more harm than good.

• The Taliban have a COIN doctrine, too. Or at least, rules for procuring suicide bombers.

• USA sending GunPACS Sniper detectors to Afghanistan, ASAP

• Meanwhile, David Axe reports from the ground in the Chowkay Valley. And Michael Yon discusses the COIN uses of a “designated comedian.”

• Culture Club: UK military specialists advise commanders on Afghan culture and language.

• USAF F-15s begin to get new nosecones, to go with their new radars

• Argon snags $11 million contract for Phase 2B of DARPA’s Robust Surface Navigation program to solve problems of GPS-signal jamming or blockage by building and foliage.

• Obama administration released April 6 its Nuclear Posture Review, which significantly limits the threatened use of nuclear weapons and renounces development of any new nuclear weapons. Report [PDF] | White House Statement | New York Times | Washington Post

• Next system test phase begins for USMC’s G/ATOR radars.

• Raytheon team snags $886.4 million contract for GPS OCX advanced control segment.

• PWC reports that aerospace & defense mergers hit a record low in 2009. It wasn’t a good deal year for the chemicals sector, either, but transport and logistics was busy in Q4.

• Portsmouth becomes 5th of 6 UK shipyards involved in building Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, while Britain’s Conservative Party wants to know more about cancellation options. DID has in-depth coverage of the CVF carriers.

• Harris gets $78 million order for MRAP radios.

• Der Spiegel: A330 flight 447 from Rio to Paris may give new meaning to the term “software crash”; expect blowback into KC-X aerial tanker competition.

• General Dynamics NASSCO delivers USNS Matthew Perry, the 9th T-AKE supply ship, to US Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

• German Army report criticizes the NH90 helicopter for limited capabilities and other deficiencies.

• US Army releases RFP for next-generation armored vehicles.

• Frost & Sullivan: Indian Army’s land combat systems modernization to generate $33.76 billion in revenues.

SBSS Constellation
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In January 2001, a commission headed by then US Defense Secretary-designate Donald Rumsfeld warned about a possible “space Pearl Harbor” in which a potential enemy would launch a surprise attack against US-based military space assets, disabling them. These assets include communications satellites and the GPS system, which is crucial for precision attack missiles and a host of military systems.

“The US is more dependent on space than any other nation. Yet the threat to the US and its allies in and from space does not command the attention it merits,” the commission warned.

One of the systems that grew out of the commission’s report was the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) project, which is developing a constellation of satellites to provide the US military with space situational awareness using visible sensors. Recent developments for the project include a $30 million contract for Boeing to provide maintenance and operations services for the SBSS logistics infrastructure.