* It’s one thing to read it, another to hear and see it. On C-SPAN, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Undersecretary Ashton Carter discuss motivations and plans for their new military acquisition and procurement guidelines.
* US GAO looks at Iraq’s budgetary surpluses, and asks questions about American aid.
* No S-300s for Iran: Russian President Medvedev signs decree prohibiting the sale of the long-range, high-altitude S-300 air defense systems to Iran; Iran vows to make its own system.
* Canadian Fighters: Tactical Air Defense Services in Carson City, NV acquires right to purchase and refurbish 6 Canadian CF-5 fighter jets, 45 GE J85-15 jet engines, and spare parts for less than $6 million; the CF-5 is the Canadian version of Northrop Grumman F-5 fighter.
* USAF Research Laboratory and Xilinx, Inc. prepare to launch a the Virtex-5 QV Field-Programmable Gate Array computer chip, which aims to reduce costs, improve satellite circuitry, and survive space’s thermal vacuum and radiation.
* US Army deploys 4 specialized new UH-72A helicopters to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll, Pacific Ocean. Good thing it isn’t the Dick Cheney site – the helicopters are painted orange like a hunting vest, and equipped with skid-mounted floats, integrated life rafts, and jettisonable cockpit doors.
* Iraq gets 3 more T-6A advanced turboprop trainers, graduates more pilots.
* Line in the Cyber Sand: The first line of defense against a cyber attack on US networks would come from commercial industry, but an attack of unknown origin and effect could involve a role for the US DoD, Gen. Alexander, commander of the US Cyber Command, told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
* Good Night’s Sleep: Actus Lend Lease, a public-private community development, will implement the $600 million second phase of the US Army’s Privatized Army Lodging (PAL) hotel renovation program at 11 additional Army installations in the US.
* ATK secures a $50 million US Army order to produce the following variants of 20mm PGU ammunition: PGU-27A/B Target Practice (TP), PGU-30A/B Target Practice-Tracer (TP-T), PGU-28A/B Semi-Armor Piercing High Explosive Incendiary (SAPHEI) ammunition, a PGU-28A/B SAPHEI and PGU-30A/B TP-T linked configuration, and a PGU-27A/B TP and PGU-30A/B TP-T linked configuration.
* CACI gets $35 million task order to improve budget and staffing processes at the US Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, VA.
* Australian shipbuilder Austal’s American CEO resigns, just after his firm submits its Littoral Combat Ship bid. Austal USA also makes the Army/Navy JHSV catamaran.