Rapid Fire 2010-11-04: House Armed Services Chairman Change

* Republican election victories in the House topple Armed Services Chair Skelton [D-MO], Seapower chair Taylor [D-MS]. Bloomberg looks at possible buying trends, while the AIA wonders if countering near-peer competitors like China will shade out immediate frontline solutions. Then again, it might just herald cuts. * “UK-France Summit 2010 Declaration on Defence and Security Co-operation“. Read the full text. * Are defense firms better prepared for consolidation this time around? which makes one wonder, how much farther can they consolidate? * Satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe is concerned that budget cuts could scale back its 10-year, $3.55 billion EnhancedView contract from the DoD’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a follow-on to the NextView contract. * Aviation Week reports that the global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry needs to boost the size of its workforce to cope with the world’s growing feet of aircraft, at a time when work environments make retention more difficult. * Close to half of Germans surveyed support cutting defense spending to bring down the budget deficit, while only 39% of Britons think its a good idea, according to a Financial Times/Harris Poll. * General Dynamics’ Santa Barbara Sistemas subsidiary snags 4-year EUR 20 million contract to supply […]