Controlling the Defense Procurement Spiral

Concern Over Burn Rates

The New York Times has an extensive article with the somewhat inflammatory title “Arms Fiascoes Lead to Alarm Inside Pentagon.” While the Times’ reputation isn’t what it used to be, this article is recommended for several reasons, including its quotes from a number of senior Pentagon and Department of Defense sources right up to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

The article is also significant because of the bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill over the skyrocketing costs of new weapons programs, which are often costing significantly more than the items they replace by a factor of 2 or 3. The new CVN 21 carrier, for instance, is expected to cost $13.7 billion – almost double its original estimate, and more than double the cost of a new Nimitz-Class carrier [NOTE: actual cost per ship is $8.1 billion – see DID’s explanation]. The resulting budget strains and force shrinkage are widely seen as serious issues, and forcing procurement process reviews.

L-3 Subsidiary Under Criminal Investigation Over Radio Units

CSEL Handset

Boeing subcontractor L-3 Communications is under federal criminal investigation after Interstate Electronics Corp., one of its subsidiaries, supplied defective parts used in CSEL emergency radios to locate downed military pilots.

Interstate Electronics Corp. purchased many of the parts from lower-level suppliers, but it is responsible for supervising the manufacturing process, testing the parts and verifying they meet quality standards.

Pentagon criminal investigators and contract-management officials now suspect that Interstate Electronics may have supplied thousands of other, potentially substandard parts over the years to a wide range of Army and Air Force weapons systems. The Los Angeles U.S. attorney’s office is leading this investigation, and its expansion means that L-3 could be subject to greater penalties if found guilty of wrongdoing. The US government (primarily the military) accounts for more than 75% of the company’s business.

Jittery Over JTRS, Pentagon Puts Boeing on Notice

No, NOT the
John Tesh Radio Show

According to Federal Computer Weekly, Defense Department officials may cancel a contract with Boeing for the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 1 program. Army Lt. Col. Chris Conway, spokesman for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration and Chief Information Officer, confirms that the Pentagon sent Boeing officials a “show cause” letter to notify them that the $856 million JTRS Cluster 1 deal may be terminated because of an anticipated failure to meet cost, schedule and performance requirements.

Boeing officials must send a letter within 30 days to Army officials managing the program at Fort Monmouth, NJ to explain how they can execute the contract. After reviewing the letter, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and service officials can decide to terminate, restructure or continue the contract.

• What Is JTRS?
  
• The Cluster 1 Contract
  
• Pentagon Steps Taken
  
• Next Steps
  
• JTRS Program Updates
  
• Additional Readings & Sources
  

Europe’s 21st Century Infantry Programs

Britain’s new FIST
(click for labeled view)

The USA isn’t the only country with a Future Soldier/Land Warrior type program that aims to equip its infantry for the 21st century. “Europe’s Future Infantry” at eDefense Online looks at current trends and programs in a number of European countries with similar programs.

Efforts covered include Germany’s Infanterist der Zukunft, France’s FELIN (Fantassin a Equipements et Liaisons Integrees; or Integrated Soldier Equipment and Communications), the UK’s Future Integrated Soldier Technology (FIST) program, the more gradual approach of the Dutch Soldier Modernization Program, Sweden’s MARKUS (Markstridsutrustad Soldat; Ground Warfare Equipped Soldier), and some thoughts on Russia’s programs as it transitions to a professional force.

This article looks at the framework underneath the trend.