* The “Espionage as a Service” [Jeffrey Carr] hacking case involving Su Bin and his Lode-Tech firm has expanded, with a US grand jury indictment [Contra Costa Times]. Programs affected include the C-17, F-22, and F-35. Su is currently being held in Canada, where he has been denied bail [CBC News]. Canada happens to have a wider array of problems with Chinese espionage, cyber and otherwise [Toronto Sun].
* China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding launched the 1st of 3 C82A corvettes ordered by Algeria. Delivered is expected in May next year.
Eastern Europe
* Ukraine’s government say they have taken back control of Luhansk [BBC], a city held by pro-Russian rebels for months.
* Latvia asks [Deutsche Welle] German Chancellor Merkel for a greater NATO presence in Baltic states.
* US State Department Undersecretary Rose Gottemoeller denounces Russia’s INF treaty violation:
“There is an expert debate in Russia about its nuclear modernization programs and about the contribution of the INF Treaty to Russia’s security. It is important for Russia to take into account that no military decisions happen in a vacuum. Actions beget actions. Our countries have been down the road of needless, costly and destabilizing arms races. We know where that road leads and we are fortunate that our past leaders had the wisdom and strength to turn us in a new direction. Let us hope that debate in and out of the government leads to a decision to return Russia to compliance with all of its international obligations.”
US Acquisition
* Richard Ginman, Director of US Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, published the latest numbers [PDF] on contracts competed – or not – by the Pentagon. At 56.5% of FY14 awards competed as of July 31st, the department is so far falling short of its goal to compete 58% of contracts this fiscal year.
* Northrop Grumman saved itself [AvWeek] from a $420M handicap in its competition with Boeing/Lockheed Martin in the USAF’s next-gen strategic bomber competition. California had initially voted tax breaks limited to subcontractors that Northrop would not have been able to claim.
* Congratulations are in order: the Pentagon finally figured out their Microsoft’s biggest customer and are pooling [C4ISR & Networks] enterprise license agreements across services.
More News From the Land of the Free and Informed
* Marcus Weisgerber from Defense News reports deliberate efforts at censorship and intimidation by the Huntsville (Alabama) police department as well as on-site private security during last week’s Space and Missile Defense Symposium. Reporters were barred from taking pictures of unclassified slides showed by the Missile Defense Agency, among other niceties. Industry representatives manning booths at the event were also hassled while trying to take pictures of their own booths. See also the take from AviationWeek’s Amy Butler.
* The Justice reporter for the Huffington Post sees earplugs on the ground in Ferguson, MO, tweets that he believes they’re rubber bullets. It’s hilarious – but the problem of basic incompetence that it illustrates also affects mainstream defense coverage. Our take: in an electronic age, the quest for better standards begins by disseminating and mocking the lack of same.
Unmanned Naval Flight Ops
* Today’s video shows the US Navy testing an X-47B UAV flying alongside an F-18, both operating off USS Theodore Roosevelt:
