* Some within the Obama administration see post-2014 US troops in Afghanistan down to just a few thousands, while others don’t rule out a complete withdrawal. WaPo | WSJ | UPI | CSIS.
* BAE and Boeing are interested in the huge F-16 worldwide aftermarket, reports Bloomberg.
* Bell and Boeing to Canada: why don’t you have a look at the V-22? But then they started making that pitch more than a year ago.
* Dassault is interested in Canada too… with the Rafale, according to Les Echos [in French]. Scoring that would look something like this.
* The UK’s House of Commons’ Defence Committee released a report on cyber-security recommending that “the MoD and the National Security Council keep under review the delineation of the military role in national cyber-security, not with a view to expanding that role unnecessarily, but to ensure that threats are dealt with in the most appropriate and effective manner, and that the MoD can focus its resources accordingly.”
* The pre-solicitation conference organized by US NAVAIR for T-45 aircraft maintenance and logistics support has been postponed to Jan. 18. A draft RFP is about to be released.
* Australia’s Defence Materiel Organisation has a draft request for tender available upon request for the AIR 5428 Pilot Training System Phase 1.
* The UK-based Phoenix think tank notes that the fact piracy off Somalia abated in 2012 could be an easily-reverted gain. The factors that had triggered a surge in maritime piracy in the first place are still present.
