Rapid Fire September 20, 2012: Euro Scrambling

by Editorial Staff | Sep 20, 2012 | Airbus, BAE, Britain/U.K., Budgets, Daily Rapid Fire, Europe - Other, European Union (EU), France, Germany, Lobbying, Mergers & Acquisitions, R&D - Contracted, Russia, Submarines, USA

* Swedish general Hakan Syren, the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, tells it like it is: “The military capabilities of the EU member states are on a steady downward slope. […] Looking a few years into the future, it is simple mathematics...

RQ-16: Future Combat Systems’ Last UAV Survivor Falls

by Joe Katzman | Sep 19, 2012 | Boeing, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, FOCUS Articles, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Project Methodologies, T&C - SAIC, Testing & Evaluation, Transformation, UAVs, USA

Class 1 MAV(click to view full) The USA’s Future Combat Systems Class I UAV is intended for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in nearly all terrain, including urban environments. Each system of 2 vertical take-off and landing air...

Rapid Fire September 19, 2012: DoD Contract Spending

by Editorial Staff | Sep 19, 2012 | Africa - Other, Asia - Central, China, Daily Rapid Fire, Japan, Lobbying, Official Reports, Think Tanks, USA

* The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a data-rich report [PDF] on defense contract spending from 1990 to 2011, based in large part on FPDS data. This has a number of limitations, such as limited visibility into Air Force obligations...

Rapid Fire September 18, 2012: Chinese Diplomacy

by Editorial Staff | Sep 18, 2012 | Britain/U.K., Budgets, China, Daily Rapid Fire, Japan, Launch Vehicles, Satellites & Sensors

* As US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta meets with Chinese leaders to urge them to solve their differences with Japan through diplomatic channels, protests in China appear to involve a mix of underlying official support and genuine grassroots anger. Real or staged,...

PAVE PAWS Radar Upgrades: Clear AFS Goes from Warning to BMD Targeting

by Joe Katzman | Sep 17, 2012 | ABM, Contracts - Awards, Radars, Raytheon, USA

Clear Air Force Station:EWR is upper right(click to view full) In fall 2012 The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Air Force award Raytheon a $125.3 million contract to modernize and upgrade the US Air Force’s early warning radar (EWR) system at Clear AFS,...