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US Army Modernization: Not In a Good Place

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* US Army Acquisition Undersecretary Heidi Shyu described her service’s modernization efforts as approaching a “death spiral.” That it not just the type of anti-sequestration rethoric we’ve grown used to, as Shyu sounds genuinely frustrated with the amount of paperwork that program managers have to file for each program milestone. * Case in point, the […]

* US Army Acquisition Undersecretary Heidi Shyu described her service’s modernization efforts as approaching a “death spiral.” That it not just the type of anti-sequestration rethoric we’ve grown used to, as Shyu sounds genuinely frustrated with the amount of paperwork that program managers have to file for each program milestone.

* Case in point, the US Army’s follow up to the ill-fated GCV has been dubbed the Future Fighting Vehicle (FFV) and will remain [Army Times] just a notional program until at least 2016.

* The CSIS think tank released its analysis of US defense contract spending over 2000-13, which is the topic of today’s video further below. There are plenty of good charts in this report, including one illustrating the dramatic shrinkage in land vehicle procurement.

* It’s our understanding that readers who have not answered our annual survey yet are overwhelmed with guilt. It’s OK, here’s the link.

DoD Regulations

* The GAO released another scorching page turner: Specialty Metals: DOD Dissemination of National Security Waiver Information Could Enhance Awareness and Compliance with Restrictions. We’re told it’s on Heidi Shyu’s bedside table.

Asia

* The Us Navy announced that 2 BMD destroyers currently homeported in California will be based in Japan by 2017, in order to firm the Administration’s bellyflop to the Pacific.

Europe

* Russia is to start operating [Xinhua] a new radar station in Kaliningrad in December.

Human Factors

* The French Air Force has been measuring human factors [in French, with video] such as vigilance and tiredness to maximize crew use on A400Ms without compromising safety.

US DoD Spending Trends

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