Rapid Fire Dec. 14, 2012: Lining Up New Leadership
- With Susan Rice out of the picture as the USA’s next Secretary of State, John Kerry is the top contender for that spot, which reportedly makes Chuck Hagel the Administration’s top pick for Secretary of Defense.
- Buck McKeon [R-CA], the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, announced subcommittee chairmen for the new legislature: Emerging Threats and Capabilities:
- The Pentagon’s Defense Security Service (DSS) saw continued industrial espionage [PDF] targeting US defense technology in 2011. “East Asia and Pacific” is where more than 40% of these attempts originate. With their careful lumping of data by region to avoid directly pointing the finger at China, you would think DSS is part of the Department of State.
- Raytheon acquired SafeNet’s Government Solutions business for its federally-approved encryption software. Todd Moore, VP Federal Product Management at Safenet says they will continue to pursue federal customers with off-the-shelf commercial solutions.
- USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) completed its 1st planned incremental availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (VA). The carrier went through Post Shakedown Availability/Selected Restricted Availability in 2009.
- Tony Barber argues in the Financial Times that political interference is preventing Finmeccanica from divesting its ailing transport and energy subsidiaries to foreign bidders.
- (Soon retired) Dassault Aviation president Charles Edelstenne in a recent hearing [in French] with the French Assemblée nationale’s defense commission:
“For all the suppliers in [Dassault’s] supply chain, Rafale accounts for the production of one plane per month vs. a total of 130 civilian aircraft. The anecdotal weight of military production in the French supply chain hints at the level of focus said production will get from suppliers. It’s easy to see that it can be difficult to deliver a ready-to-fly plane.”
- Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper finds Prime Minister Erdogan a little too excitable on the capability of his country’s defense industry.
Categories: China, Daily Rapid Fire, Forces - Naval, IT - Cyber-Security, Mergers & Acquisitions, Official Reports, People, Raytheon, Thales, Turkey, USA
