* US Acquisition Undersecretary Frank Kendall received [PDF] 90+ proposals from 50+ American companies interested in joint projects with India. He wants to remain realistic given India’s preference for local production:
“We will carefully assess a number of factors, including the degree of co-production and co-development involved, the likelihood of Indian interest, and the probability of approval for release of the technology involved.”
* The US Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) has been updated with a final rule to “simplify prescriptions for provisions and clauses that are applicable to the acquisition of commercial items and to specify flowdown of clauses to commercial subcontracts.” We tried to wrap our head around how much “simpler” the rules are becoming and, oh god make it stop. That’s why you have lawyers, right?
* The US services are now required Independent Logistics Assessments (ILA) during the milestone decisions of their major programs. Here’s a quick wrap-up of the policy supporting that document. Like the previous item, reading these qualifies as a self-imposed “enhanced interrogation technique.”
* Data collected by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) shows that insurgents in Afghanistan are changing the chemical mix they use in explosive devices, with increasing use of potassium chlorate rather than fertilizer.
* In 2012 the UK saw a £3.5B increase of its defense and security exports to £11.5B (about $17.8B), according to the UK Trade & Investment’s Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO). Which puts them ahead of France thanks to better aircraft sales.
* UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond touts the Ministry’s recent Better Defence Acquisition [PDF] white paper, noting that “Almost half of the money spent on defence equipment every year is awarded through single source procurement .” He pushes the option of entrusting procurement to a Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated (GOCO) entity as the strongest choice so far into the current review process.
* DARPA’s ARPANET was one of the Internet’s precursors. Almost 4 decades later, their brainchild escaped from the lab and grew into something hardly recognizable. They want to map what it has become: Plan X-Red OCRE contract award.
* Norway received its 1st National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) High Mobility Launcher (HML) from Raytheon and local partner Kongsberg.
* The video below presents the Raytheon-Rafael David Sling missile defense system, meant to work between Iron Dome (point defense) and Arrow (anti-ballistic) ranges:
