German Defense Ministry Faces Laundry List of Problems
August 10/15: The German Defense Ministry is investing 
EUR6 billion ($6.5 billion) in fixing problems with in service equipment. The investment will be spread over seven or eight years and focus principally on high-value assets, including the Eurofighter jet and NH90 helicopter. The German military has been criticized considerably in recent weeks, with low aircraft availability hampering operational efficacy.
- Consultants hired by the German government confirmed that its defense procurement is messed up because of poor corporate management and weak institutional culture: Deutche Welle | Süddeutschen Zeitung [in German].
- Germany will make a decision [Reuters] next year on whether they’ll continue to develop MEADS.
US DoD
- The Pentagon has already spent [Military Times] more than $1B in less than 4 months of operations against ISIS.
- GovExec rounded up ideas to fix the US’ broken security clearance process.
- DARPA is organizing a webcast [FBO] on October 15 to discuss Spectral Combs from UV to THz (SCOUT), an effort to improve standoff detection (i.e. at a distance) of trace chemical and biological species.
China, Russia
- China says [The Diplomat] their DWL002 radar will make US stealth jets “obsolete.” Maybe they watched The Americans too much, but this could be more than hype as passive radar is a real technology.
- As China and Russia keeping testing airspace limits with their neighbors [Stars & Stripes], NATO reminds Russia in the video below that they’ve got AWACS and can react quickly:
Updates
2015
August 10/15: The German Defense Ministry is investing EUR6 billion ($6.5 billion) in fixing problems with in service equipment. The investment will be spread over seven or eight years and focus principally on high-value assets, including the Eurofighter jet and NH90 helicopter. The German military has been criticized considerably in recent weeks, with low aircraft availability hampering operational efficacy.
