Shutdown Shut Down
* Having failed to come up with a bill of their own yesterday, House Republicans were left with little choice but to capitulate to the very sort of Senate bill they were adamant to avoid. The Continuing Appropriations Act (HR 2775) first sailed through the Senate (81-18 roll call) then passed in the House with a 285-144 roll call (all Democrats in, 87 yeas and 144 nays on the Republican side, with a stenographer meltdown thrown in for good measure). President Obama then promptly signed it, putting an end to the crisis – for now. More in our comprehensive FY14 overview.
Tough Transition for Avondale
* Huntington Ingalls is still trying to relaunch the Avondale shipyard in Louisiana as a builder for the energy industry, with its naval work set to end by the middle of next year. It’s not yet clear whether they’ll secure enough new work not to close the shipyard outright.
* Their prospects are not quite as bad, but Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST) is about to fire 600 people from a current total of 16,000+.
East Asian Arms Imports
* The CSIS think tank has a new memo [PDF] on the dependency East Asian states may have on foreign armament suppliers. While Japan and South Korea have used relatively stable import flows, China is clearly shifting to production at home, while Taiwan remains dependent on imports from the US.
UK GOCO No Go?
* According to the Financial Times, the British government’s plans to partly privatize its defense procurement could be about to be wrecked as Serco, a member of one of the two competing groups, may be on the verge of being excluded from public sector contracts.
Joined at the Wing
* Britain and France’s air forces are working together during exercise Capable Eagle. Video below:
Quantum, er, Something
* Google and NASA are jointly acquiring a quantum computer, which the following video does a good job of making aspirationally confusing. It’s all good since that’s apparently the proper state of mind to understand quantum physics:
* The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology may not have used quantum physics to transmit data wirelessly at 100 Gbs, but that is still an impressive feat, even if it’s limited to short distances. This could be used to build relays where laying fiber is impractical or too expensive.
