* Northrop Grumman’s Q2 2013 sales [PDF] were flat at $6.3B, though their total backlog shed $3.1B from a year ago, down to $37.7B (also down sequentially vs. $39.4B at the end of the previous quarter). Aerospace sales are proving more resilient than information systems or technical services, continuing the trend from the last year or two.
* Boeing Defense, Space and Security had flat Q2 2013 sales [PDF] of $8.2B, with a total backlog at a stable $71B, while overall revenue (i.e. including commercial sales) grew 9% to $21.8B.
* General Dynamics Q2 2013 sales were flat at $7.9B. Can you spot a trend? Combat Systems sales were 28% lower than a year ago, but strong growth from aerospace, and to a lower extent marine systems, compensated the revenue loss. Total backlog was at $49.4B at the end of the quarter, vs $48.5B at the end of Q1.
* The above, in addition to Lockheed Martin’s results announced yesterday, confirms that, at least in the short term, large US prime contractors are shielded from anything like the dramatic outcome that budget cuts at the Pentagon were supposed to guarantee. However, they “remain cautious” and “are just entering the woods” as opposed to “out of the woods” with regards to sequestration, in the words of Boeing executives during their earnings conference call. Raytheon will release their Q2 results tomorrow.
* The US Department of Labor may soon issue a new regulation (first proposed in December 2011) to compel government contractors to hire quotas of disabled people. Of course this cannot possibly result in higher costs passed back into baseline pricing, among other likely unintended consequences.
* Israel’s weapon exports rebounded in 2012 to their 2009-10 levels of about $7.5B/year, according to the SIBAT government agency.
* China has gone recursive on the US and Japan, issuing their own take on the state of American and Japanese military power. They are a little behind the times as their analysis works off the US’s Fiscal Year 2012 (ended Sept. 30, 2011).
* China’s restructured State Oceanic Administration (SOA) is now formally operating, following the merger of 5 civilian maritime agencies. Some consider the SOA as a second Navy rather than your average coast guard, given the size and composition of their fleet. It’s often them who are sent to harass fishermen from neighboring countries or otherwise assert China’s far-reaching maritime claims.
* The Philippine Coast Guard is in talks with France to acquire a mix of new and used vessels, according to a local press report, though that has not been confirmed [in French] on the French side yet.
* From 2 employees at US DoD Systems Engineering, an article in the latest Incose Insight: requirements challenges in addressing malicious supply chain threats [PDF].
* The prolific Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank released a report [PDF] acknowledging that it’s very hard to accurately estimate the economic impact of cyber espionage. They also hosted a panel about the forthcoming US Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), in the video below:
