Rapid Fire April 18, 2012: Obsolescence Management

* NATO, Australia hope to be able to rely on Afghan forces to fight the Taliban by next year: Washington Times | US Joint Chiefs of Staff | NYT | Speech by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. * US Senator Richard Lugar [R-IN], ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, says the Obama administration should not bypass early, informal consultations with Congress before formally notifying it of a planned foreign military sale. * The Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) portal is a new online resource set up to help DoD and its industry partners to “implement best practices for monitoring, tracking, resolving, and performing analytical logistic and engineering analysis related to obsolescence impacts.” * Are laser weapons going to remain “just 5 years away” for a long time? * RAND Arroyo Center’s Annual Report 2011 gives an overview of the research they have published last year in support of the US Army. * A contract from the French Ministry of Defense for radio handsets worth 150+ million of euros per year (more than $4B over 22 years) will be awarded to Thales, according to La Tribune [in French]. * In line with earlier reports the Spanish […]