US Shutdown Watch
* House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner [R-OH] failed to rally Republicans to back what was supposed to be an alternative to the stopgap fiscal bill being discussed in the Senate. This weakens the hand of House GOP lawmakers objecting to the compromise about to emerge from the upper chamber. That bill may, or may not, include some appropriations flexibility for the Department of Defense, within the boundaries of sequestration. WSJ | LAT | Politico | NYT | Defense News | More from Def News.
* About 25% of workers are idled at Aerospace Testing Alliance in Tullahoma, TN.
* The US Army’s Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM SCIE) is postponing its Parachute Navigation System (PARANAVSYS) industry day to October 23.
* The US Navy’s Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) intended to proceed this quarter with the 1st phase of a research effort looking into ship acoustic, imaging, and combat system signal processing. But the contract office in charge of that award was displaced because of the Sept. 16 shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. There’s no firm date set yet.
56-ton Gearbox
* The Navy will host an Industry Day [PDF] in Washington, DC on Nov. 8 to determine industry capability and interest in manufacturing main reduction gear (MRG) shipsets for DDG 51 Class destroyers. In recent years Philadelphia Gear produced MRGs for DDG 113-115. On background, here’s a video of a smaller “red gear” on FFG-56, and a paper [PDF] discussing lessons learned on propulsion control aboard DDGs.
Big Russian Deal in Angola
* According to the Vedomosti daily via RIA Novosti, the 18 Su-30K interim fighters returned by India will be re-sold to Angola. Vietnam said months ago they were not interested, and African countries including Sudan and Ethiopia were rumored to be considering buying these jets. Angola has reportedly inked a $1B armament package that also includes Mi-17 transport helos and various land weapons.
India Wants UAVs for Border Control
* The India Army’s Northern Command issued an RFP for mini UAVs to be used for surveillance over its unsettled borders (“lines of actual control”) with China and Pakistan.
German Military Emerges from Its First Post-WWII War
* Der Spiegel: How Afghanistan Changed the German Military.
Controversy over UK MoD Underspending
* The Telegraph claimed a few days ago that the British Ministry of Defence had failed to spend almost £2 billion (about $3.2B) of a declining 2012-13 budget. Secretary Philip Hammond pushed back without mincing his words by accusing his detractors of financial illiteracy. Hammond said any underspend would remain available for future investments. More from Thin Pinstriped Line and in the video below:
