* House Armed Services Committee approves $690 billion defense authorization bill for FY 2012: among other things, the bill would 1) allow GE and Rolls Royce to continue development of the F136 engine for the F-35 fighter at their own expense, 2) continue funding production of the General Dynamics-produced M1 Abrams tank despite Army’s plan to suspend production for 3 years to save money, and 3) require DLA to develop a plan for a competitive supply chain for rare earth metals used in advanced weaponry. #3 will get easier, as new sites are coming on-stream.
* Pakistan launches an inquiry, tries to figure out how US Special Forces got within 40 km of Islamabad to kill Bin Laden, without being detected. This may offer a clue.
* Meanwhile: “Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has warned that continuing to work with the United States could imperil his government, unless Washington takes drastic steps to restore trust and win the hearts of Pakistanis.” President Obama could say much the same thing, in reverse.
* US must preserve defense industrial base in era of defense budget cuts, warns Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn. Easier said than done.
* The DoD’s large space acquisition programs have experienced billions of dollars in cost overruns, schedule delays, and increased technical risks resulting in capability gaps in missile warning, military communications, and weather monitoring, concludes a GAO report. DID readers already knew all that.
* Despite President Obama’s New START treaty with Russia, the USAF hopes to hold on to more than 40 of its B-52H bombers, which have seen extensive use in conventional wars. The USAF’s plan was to keep 76 total.
* Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin tells Senate panel he will crack down on corruption in weapons procurement. We’ll believe it if we see it.
* Thailand gets a C-212-400 from Airbus Military – adapted for use as a rain-making plane.
* Russian Comptroller’s Office says Energomash sold RD-180 engines [PDF] for the Atlas V rocket at half of the production cost, losing $32 million as a result. Maybe they can make it up on volume…
* US Special Operations Command expects to award a contract for a mid-endurance UAV by end of June.
* Booz & Co’s strategy + business magazine: “Service Operations as a Secret Weapon.” Memo from Russia’s military customers, to Russia – read this, will you?