* Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, J Randy Forbes (R-VA), has outlined a number of shortfalls in US Navy programs. Concerns focus upon increased inspection failures for naval vessels, the deployment of ships lacking essential equipment or systems and aircraft that are not combat ready. Forbes’ concerns have also been echoed by two senior Navy officers during a hearing on fleet readiness.
* The House Armed Services Committee announces the formation of a bipartisan financial management panel to scrutinize the Department of Defense’s (DoD) financial management systems.
* The Defense Contract Agency questions Northrop Grumman’s claims that the divestment of its shipbuilding business and the closure of the Avondale shipyard will save the United States an estimated $600 million.
* A New Jersey based defense contractor pleads guilty to a charge of conspiring to illegally export Department of Defense (DoD) weapons plans to China. Rather than fulfil the obligations of the DoD contract to domestically manufacture defense materiel, Swiss Technology contracted with a company in China who made the products at a cheaper price.
* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gives the Defense Ministry the go-ahead to purchase foreign military equipment if domestically manufactured products are overpriced.
* Speaking at a conference at the UK’s RUSI think tank, Defence Secretary Liam Fox echoed comments made by recently-retired Defense Secretary Robert Gates by criticizing NATO member states who are ‘not pulling their weight’ in the Libyan air campaign.
* A former British Army General argues that the country’s military could offset financial problems associated with ‘equipment lust’ by striking a balance between regular and reserve forces.
* A member of Iraq’s Security and Defense Commission says the country is interested in increasing defense cooperation with the European Union (EU).
* IMI’s M329 APAM-MP-T Kalanit 120mm tank shell wins an Israeli 2011 Defense Prize. The shell works in both time fuzed/airburst mode, and conventional HEAT mode, to kill targets hiding in trenches or behind walls. It’s one of the many spinouts of Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War experiences.
* A Chinese media profile has emerged of the man regarded as the ‘architect’ of the J-20 stealth aircraft.