* The US Navy’s latest 30-year shipbuilding plan [PDF] projects an average fleet size of 298 ships. An average of 8.9 new ships would be built each year for a total of 268 vessels. Spending is expected to peak to almost $20B/year in the early 20s and 30s because of SSBN (X) recapitalization. Out of 45 ships to be inactivated over the FY13-17 period, 22 are set aside for foreign military sales. See chart at the bottom of this entry.
* Huntington Ingalls Industries reported revenue down 2.2% to $6.58B in 2011, and $5.6B of new contract awards. Total backlog at the end of December 2011 was $16.3B.
* Hawker Beechcraft is preparing to file for bankruptcy according to Reuters and the NYT.
* Here is the Congressional Research Service’s latest report [PDF] on Israel’s possible military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
* According to Foreign Policy the relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan goes beyond the $1.6B in contracts announced a month ago.
* The CDA Institute has an early analysis [PDF] of Canada’s FY12/13 budget but visibility is limited until the Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) is released, which this year will have to wait until June.
* The Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses (IDSA, based in New Delhi) thinks [PDF] of China’s 2012 defense budget that “for the PLA ‘it’s business as usual’. A focused, calibrated, roll on plan for modernisation, force structuring and enhancement of technological skills in the PLA is underway.”
