Rapid Fire Feb. 28, 2013: Light Air Support Reawarded to Sierra Nevada / Embraer

• The US Air Force awarded again its $427M contract (with a $950M maximum) for light air support (LAS) aircraft for the Afghan forces to the team which had already won last year, before the Company Now Known as Beechcraft contested the acquisition and the Air Force cancelled the award..

• After having run a series of articles heavily criticizing big-ticket US weapon systems, Bloomberg puts procurement in perspective: it’s personnel costs driven by healthcare that have really jacked up spending at the Pentagon through the past decade. In comparison, jeremiads about acquisition, while justified, are decades old. Defense departments across industrialized countries are facing at a smaller scale the same tightening demographic and fiscal constraints faced by these nations as a whole.

• The Washington Post boils down guidance [PDF] from the Office of Personnel Management for federal employees about to face furloughs. Yes, you should come to work tomorrow.

Rapid Fire Feb. 27, 2013: Chuck Hagel’s Weak Confirmation

• As expected Republican Senators softened their opposition to allow Chuck Hagel’s nomination as US Secretary of Defense. The 58-41 roll call stands in contrast with the entirely smooth confirmations of Leon Panetta (100-0) by the previous Congress, or more recently John Kerry by the 113th (94-3).

• Whereas Robert Gates used the freedom coming with retirement to sound the alarm on low defense spending by NATO European members, Panetta is leaving with a whisper.

• Congressman Randy Forbes [R-VA, Chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee] is working on legislation that would allow the US Navy to shift money to ship repairs within the current Continuing Resolution. The Hill.

UAE Looking to Become a Regional C2 Leader

Saab S340-AEW

The 21st century has seen a quiet transformation of the UAE’s armed forces. Advanced AWACS airborne early warning planes and air and missile defense systems are just the outward signs of a push from a collection of purchased weapon systems, to an integrated defense force that can cope with the most modern threats.

Making that happen requires more than just planes, or missiles. It requires extensive back-end systems that help turn information from advanced radars and airborne surveillance into a coherent whole, and allow command staff to direct battles based on that information. DID explains the larger picture and where things stand now, as the UAE continues its strong Command, Control, Computing, & Communications (C4) push.

Rapid Fire Feb. 26, 2013: US Dept of Bridge Selling Sees No Govt Waste

• Republicans plan to introduce legislation today that would give the Administration discretion in how to implement sequestration, whereas the original Budget Control Act cuts indiscriminately across budget accounts. The executive branch says they are already pretty efficient so cuts, no matter where they’re done, will affect muscle and bone, not just fat. Senator Coburn [R-OK], who is drafting the legislation, says there is plenty of waste and low-priority projects that can be cut without affecting core governmental functions.

• In the meantime Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security is promising delayed port entry for container ships and long lines at customs for foreign travelers, an impressive synergy with the Department of Transportation’s planned furloughing of air controllers.

• If you are somehow tuning in only now on the sequester: 15 things you need to know about it.

• The center-left Brookings Institute is lining up proposals to make the federal budget, including its military component, more efficient. Here is their paper [PDF], authored by Cindy Williams (not that Cindy Williams) on how to make defense affordable. In short: start from genuinely vital national security interests, which leads to more restricted defense policy goals (i.e. not “policing the world”), translating into a smaller force structure. See also a video of a panel last Friday where Williams and former defense and budget officials discussed the paper.

Rapid Fire Feb. 25, 2013: If You Don’t Yield On Sequester, We’ll Kill This Dog

Rejected draft cover

President Obama used his weekly address to lay the whole responsibility of the sequester on Republicans in Congress. There is a good dose of scare tactics thrown in, including at the Department of Transportation where they apparently can’t execute a 2% budget reduction except by disrupting flights across the US.

• Suddenly the White House has very granular data on the sequester scourge, down to the state level (here’s Virginia [PDF] for instance). The Washington Post has a round up.

• But some Republicans in Congress would rather see sequestration happen than yield further on the tax/spend mix, and defense industry support in Congress is no longer what it used to be. NYT | Politico.

Rapid Fire Feb. 22, 2013: Sequester Threatens Bookings more than Backlog

• US defense acquisition undersecretary Frank Kendall encouraged his staff to start briefing their industry contacts about the effects of sequestration in a memo seen by Reuters. Comptroller Hale anticipates that new contracts are more likely to be delayed or cancelled than existing ones.

• But contracting officers do not necessarily know how the big picture affects them. In a Q&A posted by the USAF after an industry day dedicated to Depot On-Site Contract Augmentee Teams 3 (DOCAT3):

“Q [industry]: Will the hiring freeze impact/help this contract?

A [Air Force]: It is not known how the hiring freeze will impact the program. It may or may not increase the need for DOCATs.”

• Defense News reports that the Pentagon is going to delay payments to prime contractors to make sure the department does not run out of cash.

Rapid Fire Feb. 21 2013: Hi, My Name is Bob and I’m a Sequestrolic

Hi Bob!

• As they had pre-announced yesterday, the Pentagon made their preparations for potential sequestration and furlough notifications official. There’s just 4 days left where Congress will be in session before this kicks in. DoD comptroller Bob Hale provides a little bit of comic relief: “When I walk down the hall, people still wave, but with fewer fingers.” Among senior DoD officials, Hale was probably most forthcoming last year with specifics on how adjusting to sequestration might happen.

• Stars & Stripes has a helpful Q&A on the coming furloughs.

ALAS: the Missile Cometh

ALAS mock-up

The usefulness of over the horizon light precision strike weapons is becoming clear to navies, recently became clear to land forces, and was always clear to air forces. Serbia’s Yugoimport has been working on an “Advanced Light Attack System” missile that builds on their rocket and turbojet expertise, but they needed a financial backer to develop their low-cost solution. In 2013, an agreement with the UAE’s EAI secured that backing, in exchange for joint development.

The missile is an interesting product definition case, which seems to aim at a low-cost, non-western niche in the naval and helicopter markets. At sea, it could be a strong step forward to address an emerging requirement for all navies.

UAE Buys C-17s, Seeks Tactical Transports

UAE C-17: 1st delivery

The biggest news from the 2009 IDEX exhibition was the UAE’s twin selections of medium (12 Lockheed C-130J) and heavy (4 Boeing C-17) transport aircraft. Estimates at the time placed the total value at AED 10.7 billion (about $2.78 billion), but the estimates were low for the C-17, and would likely rise further if the C-130 order also goes through. The C-17 order later rose to a confirmed contract for 6 planes, and negotiations remain in progress for the C-130J-30 buy.

Given the country’s geographic position, and the global shortage of military airlift capacity outside of the United States, a force of this size and quality can be parlayed into international influence by supporting multi-national military deployments and humanitarian efforts from Africa to South Asia, and around the world.

Rapid Fire Feb. 20, 2013: Here Come the WARN Act Letters

• The pre-sequester bad news are now coming full bore: Defense Department set to announce furlough plan (Stars & Stripes) | Navy’s budget plan: No Bataan deployment, fewer jets (Virginian-Pilot) | BAE could layoff 1,368 workers (San Diego Union-Tribune). But it’s always someone else’s fault.

• The company formerly known as Hawker Beechcraft emerges out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy process as just “Beechcraft.”

• More orders announced by the UAE at IDEX include Raytheon GBU-12 and GBU-58 laser-guided bombs, support for their Thales Crotale air defense missiles, and Fire Storm targeting from Rockwell Collins. Defense News.

• India’s Defence Ministrer A K Antony says “speedy indigenization in Defence production is essential to eliminate corruption in procurement process.” He did not explain how one leads to the other, but Western manufacturers who expect to make up for declining home markets will take note of what the minister told the armed forces: “imports should be the last resort.” This, just as Russia is also refocusing on homegrown sourcing.

• Colonel Leon Thurgood will be promoted to general and Program Executive Officer, Missile and Space at Redstone Arsenal, AL. He’s been deputy at the PEO for the last few months. Here is their weapon systems book [PDF].