Rapid Fire July 23, 2012: Outsourcing UK Defence Procurement

* British military procurement is to make a big step if Philip Hammond’s statement [PDF] to Parliament last week is followed up by implementation. The Defence Minister wants to turn Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) into a Government Owned, Contractor Operated (GOCO) entity after having “soft market tested” alternatives earlier this year. This is likely to lead to a competition among interested service companies but it will take a while to happen, and there are many challenges ahead. DE&S currently employs about 18,000 people with a budget of around 14 billion pounds (slightly under 22 billion US dollars). * Closer to the ground, the UK’s armed forces now have a choice among 5 types of boots, including new brown boots meant to be worn with the Multi Terrain Pattern uniform. The boots come with 2 width fittings to better take into account female personnel. * The US Navy continues preparations for an X-47B UCAS-D unmanned drone to land on a carrier in 2013. The latest move? Testing new software on board the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). * As promised, RIMPAC delivered hot sinkex action. Canada’s HMCS Victoria got to torpedo USNS Concord. * The Washington Times reports how an […]