* The Pentagon’s FY2012 annual report from the Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) is now available online. We will update our coverage of major programs accordingly in the days to come.
* DARPA launched its 1st of 3 public challenges meant to spur innovation for the FANG (Fast, Adaptable, Next-Generation Ground Vehicle) program. Participants are tasked with designing the drivetrain and mobility systems for an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle using open source tools. The winner will get $1M. Their goal is as much the testing of new ways to design complex systems through decentralized networks, as it is to produce any specific vehicle. The competition will continue to unfold into 2014 at vehicleforge.org.
* General Dynamics is laying off another 139 people in Anniston, AL, after firing 98 just 2 months ago, as work building and maintaining Strykers is winding down.
* Boeing sent a new proposal to the SPEEA trade union on Friday last week, though negotiations seem impaired by bizarre file sharing slowness, in the age of secure cloud-based services such as Dropbox or Google Drive. The company and union negotiators will resume their protracted talks tomorrow, but the possibility of a strike has not been ruled out. Boeing | SPEEA | Bloomberg | Daily Herald.
* The Avascent consulting firm thinks the opportunity for western manufacturers to take market share from Russia on the Indian market is solid.
* From the RAND Corporation: US Global Defense Posture, 1793-2011.
* Scandinavian countries seem open to taking their growing defense cooperation up a notch by jointly owning some weaponry.
* If you want a good background primer on Mali, the following August 2012 report from Journeyman Pictures is a worthy start. The army there has been in dire straits since late December:
