* Who says you cannot make a U-turn with an aircraft carrier? Early media reports were right (it happens!), the UK officially confirmed [PDF] that it will switch its JSF order from the F-35C to the STOVL flavor:
“We expect HMS Queen Elizabeth to be handed over to the Navy in early 2017 for sea trials. We expect to take delivery of our first test aircraft in July of this year, and we expect the first production aircraft to be delivered to us in 2016, with flying from the Queen Elizabeth to begin in 2018, after her sea trials are complete.”
* Canada released its Report on Plans and Priorities 2012-13. It shows total expenses down 10.3% from last year to CAN $19.6B. Planned spending allocates 17.9% to land readiness, 11.6% to joint efforts, 11.4% to maritime readiness and 9.5% to aerospace. Land readiness is almost cut in half but is planned to go back above CAN $3.3B by 2013-14.
* DoD’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) FY11 report [PDF] dates from February but was only released publicly earlier this week. Though the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is exempt from DFARS regulations, CAPE has started independently assessing the cost of their programs. They have focused so far on regular major programs (MDAPs) while they have worked mostly on the IT programs (MAIS) deemed to be in the worst shape. Also of note:
“There were two notable pioneering cases (the Ohio Replacement and the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV)) where CAPE prepared independent cost estimates early in the program development as
part of the Materiel Solution Analysis phase leading to a Milestone A DAB review. The Materiel
Solution Analysis phase presents the first substantial opportunity to influence design through
trade-off studies that balance requirements, performance, technology choices, schedule, and cost
considerations. The CAPE independent cost estimate is now an important element of this process.”
* The Pentagon’s Comptroller has an updated tutorial [PPT] on budget execution processes and the flexibility that, to some extent, is built in them. The document covers reprogramming and transfers, as well as emergencies and extraordinary expenses. Warning: this is fairly wonkish DoD budget material.
* If you are not seizing yet from reading the previous document, try this one on the funding of US Army ammunition ports by RAND.
* The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is trying to improve collaboration between government agencies and vendors. Here are their recommendations [PDF] for both parties.
* A big page of defense acquisition history: Rearming for the Cold War: 1945-1960 [PDF], the most recent addition to this series from the Historical Office of the US Secretary of Defense.
* Research company Frost & Sullivan looks at India’s revised defense offset policy and the major offset deals coming in the next few years.