Syrian update
* Will lukewarm support from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees for a resolution [PDF] authorizing strikes against Syria translate into 60 votes in the US Senate as a whole? Then there’s the House, where some pro-defense lawmakers may try to tie a renewed effort to repeal sequestration to authorizing the use of force against Assad’s regime. Yesterday’s hearing at the House Foreign Affairs panel can be seen in the video below:
* With debate over what to do with Syria at the top of the US Congress’ agenda, the FY2014 defense bill is likely to be further delayed. Its chances of getting through the Senate, let alone conference with the House, before the end of the month/fiscal year were already slim.
* The high alert around Syria brought a lot more notice to Israel’s latest missile defense test. The most recent version of their intercept target is the Silver Sparrow [PDF], designed to test the new top-tier Arrow-3 BMD system. The thing is, targets designed to simulate enemy ballistic missiles tend to appear on radar as… ballistic missiles.
* At the G20 meeting, French president Hollande was hung out to dry by European Union officials who are reflecting in their speeches German Chancellor Merkel’s refusal to get involved militarily, comments the center-right Le Figaro [in French].
US DoD R&D Efforts
* US Defense Acquisition Under Secretary Frank Kendall hopes to preserve research funding dedicated to pursuing big breakthroughs, with initial contracts of relatively low nominal dollar value that could lead to big improvements in future ground vehicles or rotorcraft.
* The US Air Force and DARPA each have their own programs pursuing hypersonic flights. They are about to launch a new joint effort to further pursue their research in the field.
SAIC Sequestered
* SAIC’s 2nd quarter results were pretty bad, with revenue down 12% Y/Y to $2.47B.
Indian Troops; OPVs
* In response to Chinese border provocations, India decided it will man an expensive new mountain strike corps with 45,000 soldiers. Is it the right response?
* After commissioning in January INS Saryu, the lead ship in a new class of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), the Indian navy received INS Sunayna, the 2nd ship of the class.
Korean hotline
* The 24×7 news cycle tends to pursue the latest hotspot issues breathlessly, probably giving a sense of ongoing tension that is higher than warranted. Not too long ago North Korea’s posturing was making headlines. They have agreed to restore a military hotline with South Korea, in a gesture that may indicate further easing is ahead.
