* Jerry DeMuro will replace Linda Hudson as president and CEO of BAE Systems, Inc., effective February 1st. He was until last year working at General Dynamics.
* Allan McArtor is to succeed Sean O’Keefe as Chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, Inc. as of March 2014. McArtor has been at EADS (now Airbus) since 2001.
* AM General filed a lawsuit against the government in the Court of Federal Claims over the Ground Mobility Vehicle award last August to General Dynamics.
Tracking How Export Reform Works in Practice
* The US Department of State’s Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG) will have [PDF] a plenary session on January 16 in Washington, DC to discuss export control reform, trade cooperation treaties with the UK and Australia, and a proposal to ease the export of non-lethal UAVs for civilian use.
* Rule 78 FR 40922, Public Notice 8370 [PDF], amending USML Categories VI (surface vessels), VII (ground vehicles), XIII (materials), and XX (submersible vessels), went into effect this week.
UK Scrambles to Scramble in Reaction to Unexpected Russian Visit
* Last month a Russian warship tested that the UK’s new concept of operations works as intended by approaching within 30 miles of Britain’s coast before being detected. A single ship had to sail the length of the island to find its Russian counterpart. This is what happens when you dismantle your entire maritime patrol aircraft fleet, and a reminder that as far as ships are concerned, quantity has a quality of its own. We’re waiting for the follow-up video clip tease from Russia.
How Passive Radars Work
* EADS Defence & Space describes [PDF] its work in passive radars, which use a wide range of ambient frequencies emitted by radio and TV towers to detect stealth aircraft. See also from Professor Hugh Griffiths at University College London: passive bistatic radar [PDF], inaugural lecture on radar (video).
Refocusing the NSA on Targeted Techniques
* An article in The Guardian, of all places, says that “the NSA’s Tailored Access Operations show there’s a way to be safe and get good intelligence without mass surveillance.” Security expert Bruce Schneier agrees, but he’s still publishing one exploit a day from the NSA’s catalog for analysis and discussion. This material is 5 years old, meaning the NSA’s cutting edge must have moved much further since then.
Dealing with India
* The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a think tank funded by the Ministry of Defence, looks into the legal and contractual complexities of the VVIP contract and its cancellation. Valuable reading for anyone interested in the Indian market.
East Asia Turmoil
* East Asia Forum explains President Park’s hesitant approach toward Japan.
* National Interest: Asia’s Worst Nightmare: A China-Japan War.
* Ian Bremmer from the Eurasia Group sees tensions between China and Japan as the greatest geopolitical danger in the world this year, though Japanese exports to China have bounced back after violent Chinese protests against Japan in 2012. Video below:
