Rapid Fire May 31, 2013: DoD Finally Succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome

Rapid Fire May 31, 2013: DoD Finally Succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome

* After almost 2 years of denial, US Defense Undersecretary Ashton Carter instructed the services to work on FY 14 and FY15 budgeting scenarios that span a range going from the president’s unrealistic FY14 budget to full sequestration (~10% lower). Give it...
Rapid Fire May 31, 2013: DoD Finally Succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome

Rapid Fire May 30, 2013: Group Think Tank Attack

* 4 major defense-focused American think tanks joined forces to weight budget trade-offs for the Pentagon over the next 10 years. They have a clear consensus [PDF] to primarily target personnel, and more specifically DoD civilians, for cuts, whether sequestration is...
Rapid Fire May 31, 2013: DoD Finally Succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome

SSOP: Britain Extends Contracting Innovations to Naval Sensors

HMS Astute & Type 45(click to view full) In late May 2013, Thales UK signed a 10-year, GBP 600 million Sensor Support Optimisation Project (SSOP) with the Ministry of Defence. It extends the 2003 Contractor Logistics Support deal that covered electronic warfare/...
Rapid Fire May 31, 2013: DoD Finally Succumbs to Stockholm Syndrome

Rapid Fire May 29, 2013: Spanish Military Exports Decline After Record Year

* Spain’s armament exports decreased by 19.6% in 2012 after a record 2011, to EUR 1.95B (about $2.5B). That is still more than twice the yearly average up to 2010. Australia replaced Venezuela as their largest purchaser. El Pais [in Spanish]. * Japan may sell...