Last updated: Wednesday Apr 23, 2014 - 15:10 UTC ()

SM-3 BMD, in from the Sea: EPAA & Aegis Ashore

Serious Dollars for AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)

Rapid Fire | Wednesday, April 23, 2014, 15:10 UTC ()

Lockheed Martin Feels the Pinch

• Lockheed Martin’s Q1 2014 sales were down 4% Y/Y to $10.65B. Aeronautics stood out as the one segment whose revenue grew this quarter, mostly thanks to the F-35 and C-5. Information systems and Mission systems sales on the other hand were down by 9% and 11% respectively, as a number of programs wind down or see decreased volume. Of late the company has been making acquisitions in an effort to reduce its current overwhelming reliance on defense.

Asian Pivot/Rebalance/Standstill?

• FT: Obama’s trip to Asia in 10 conversations.

• Yomiuri Shimbun: Senkakus “within scope” of U.S.-Japan treaty.

Eastern Europe

• The US Army is sending paratrooper companies from Italy for exercises to Poland and the three Baltic states, for a total of 600 soldiers.

Afghanistan

• Der Spiegel: What Germany Left Behind: A Feeling of Abandonment in North Afghanistan.

DARPA Seeks Crew Cut with ALIAS

• DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) is organizing an industry day [PDF] about the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) on May 14 in Arlington, VA. The goal is to develop automation that can be retrofitted into existing aircraft to reduce onboard crew.

• The US Air Force will hold an industry day on May 13-15 in Oklahoma City to discuss the modernization of avionics and subsystems in T-1A Jayhawks used for pilot training. They have a total of 178 aircraft fielded in 1992-97 that are intended to be used until 2035, but obsolescence is looming.

Submarines: the Invisible Queens

• Today’s video, from ASPI’s recent conference in Canberra, Australia, discusses building submarines from a US, French, and German perspective:

• Did you sit through 90 minutes of admirals lecturing about submarine doctrine above? Good, “Shoot ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” is your dessert, courtesy of VFA-27 and its Super Hornet pilots equipped with GoPro cameras:

More In-depth Contract News & Updates

The JAS-39 Gripen: Sweden’s 4+ Generation Wild Card

| Sweden current government commits to stronger defense, officially wants 10 more JAS-39Es. More »

Budget Busters: The USA’s SBIRS-High Missile Warning Satellites

| Orbiting GEO-2 gets thumbs up; Overall program state and next steps in expanded background section; New SAR offers qualified good news, but GAO reports remind how far over budget SBIRS is; Budgets updated and graphed; DOT&E testing report gives thumbs up, but (classified) issues still exist; Article reformatted. More »

E-2D Hawkeye: The Navy’s New AWACS

| Budgets 2014 - 2019, in detail; Program costs are rising, but most of that is due to Congress & the Pentagon. Again. So, how expensive have they been? More »

JDAM: A GPS-INS Add-on Adds Accuracy to Airstrikes

| Total program costs rise, because they're ordering more. More »

Australia’s Submarine Program in the Dock

| Substantial progress, says Coles Review into Submarine Sustainment chronicles - but all could be lost if some key issues aren't fixed. More »

The Rockets’ Red Ink: from EELV to a Competitive Space Launch Future

| SAR report shows a reduction - to $67 billion. More savings are possible. More »