Rapid Fire Nov. 19, 2012: US Army Weapon Systems

* The US Army released its 2013 Weapon Systems handbook, a 378-page catalog that gives snapshots covering each system’s mission, description, the program’s status, whether foreign military sales are involved, and projected activities over the next couple of years. The unwieldy digital format can be exported to 2 hefty PDF files. * The Peter G. Peterson Foundation has rounded up fiscal scenarios from several American think tanks that try tackle US federal funding conundrum, or “fiscal cliff” to use the hyperbolic phrase of the moment. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget charted these various alternatives. * An internal memo from an official at the UK Ministry of Defence notes widespread corrosion on the HMS Astute submarine, sees it as “a cause for major concern.” The boat’s commanding officer comes to its defense. * In 2011 Germany issued more export permits to its manufacturers for ammunition, but sales of weapons systems decreased to 1.3 billion euros (about $1.7B), down from a record 2.1 billion euros in 2010. Deutsche Welle | Official report [PDF, in German]. * Massachusetts-based Defense Technology Initiative (DTI) has crunched numbers on the state of the defense industry in their own state, as well as in Connecticut […]