* NSA’s Cyber Center: US Army awards $1.2 billion contract to Balfour Beatty/DPR/Big-D joint venture to build a data center at Camp Williams, Utah, reportedly for the National Security Agency.
* Financial Management?: The GAO tells a Senate panel DoD’s financial management IT systems are behind schedule and $6.9 billion over budget.
* Good Morning, Vietnam: Japanese Defense Minister Kitazawa could hold talks with his Chinese counterpart in Vietnam next month, despite strained relations.
* Neodymium Delirium: China dominates the market for neodymium, a rare earth metal used in US smart bombs.
* Short Fuze: Kaman snags $36 million order to supply joint programmable fuzes (JPF) used in smart bombs to the USAF.
* Simulation Profits: Canada’s CAE gets more than C$75 million in contracts to provide upgrades for the following: 12 German Army helicopter simulators, software avionics for Canada’s CF-18 fighters, RAF’s C-130J transport aircraft simulators, and a C-130H simulator for an undisclosed North African customer.