News
Defense Secretary conducted some official business on a personal email account –
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter relied on a personal email account to conduct a portion of his government business during his first months at the Pentagon, according to White House and Defense Department officials and copies of Mr. Carter’s emails obtained by The New York Times.
Pentagon cuts LCS to 40 ships, one shipbuilder –
The U.S. Navy’s fight to buy 52 variants of its littoral combat ship from two shipbuilders may have taken a fatal blow this week after the secretary of defense directed the service to cap its buy at 40 ships and pick only one supplier. The directive also orders the Navy to buy only one ship annually over the next four years, down from three per year.
Business
Analyst walks back cost claims on Air Force bomber –
The prominent Washington defense analyst who accused the U.S. Air Force of fouling up its cost estimates in picking Northrop Grumman to build its new multibillion-dollar bomber is walking back the criticism he levied in a commentary last month.
Lockheed: New JLTV info prompted court complaint –
New Army-supplied information that emerged toward the end of the Government Accountability Office’s protest process led to Lockheed Martin’s anticipated move to file a complaint with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims over the US Army choosing Oshkosh to build its Humvee replacement, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the company said.
Global Hawk readies for new payload tests –
Northrop Grumman has scheduled flight tests of three new payloads for the RQ-4B Global Hawk fleet next year.
$1.83 billion Taiwanese arms sale OK’d by State –
The U.S. State Department has given its OK to a major arms sales for Taiwan, including two Perry-class Frigates and a large package of weapons.
Oshkosh says work resuming on armored vehicles –
Oshkosh Corp. said it was resuming work on armored vehicles for the U.S. Army — a project supporting thousands of Wisconsin jobs — after the Dec. 15 decision by the U.S. Government Accountability Office to dismiss competitor Lockheed Martin’s protest of the production contract.
Pentagon mortar order bolsters IMI pre-privatization position –
A $98 million Pentagon award to Raytheon and its principal partner Israel Military Industries is fortifying the position of the Israeli state-owned firm as it heads into the final phase of privatization.
France to order four C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from U.S. –
France formally decided to order four C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from the United States, marking a major step toward filling a pressing need for tactical transport and in-flight refueling, two French defense specialists said.
Raytheon pitches new weapons to fix ‘Star Wars’ military flaws –
This week, in anticipation of a little-known art film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Raytheon’s researchers looked at the technology of war long ago in a galaxy far, far away, and offered advice on how to beef up both sides’ security.
Steel from military vehicles will sit at Spencer salvage yard until price rises –
The 12,000 pounds of steel frames salvaged from old armored war vehicles stacked 25 feet high at the Demil Indiana LLC site in Spencer may be there for a while. At least until the price of steel comes back up.
France orders third MQ-9 Reaper UAS –
France has ordered a third MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial system from General Atomics, the French defense procurement agency has announced.
DJI, FLIR team up for aerial thermal imaging –
DJI, maker of the popular Phantom quadcopters for hobbyists, and FLIR Systems are teaming to develop thermal imaging for aircraft.
Trident D-5 SLBM maintenance: Rocket motors, guidance –
Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training and Charles Stark Draper Laboratories have each been awarded contracts external link external link to carry out support and engineering services for the U.S. and U.K. Navies’ Trident systems.
KAI, Lockheed rollout T-X prototype –
Korea Aerospace Industries has revealed the prototype that will form the basis of Lockheed Martin’s bid for the U.S. Air Force’s T-X next generation trainer competition.
Defense
U.S. pulls F-15 fighter jets from Turkey –
The U.S. is withdrawing a dozen F-15 fighters from the key Turkish air base of Incirlik, less than two months after their arrival.
Budget deal nails down fiscal 2016 spending for DOD, VA –
The omnibus appropriations deal reached by congressional leaders late Dec. 15 night will provide $573 billion for defense operations in fiscal 2016, another $163 billion for Department of Veterans Affairs programs and about nine months of budget stability for federal agencies that have faced various looming shutdown threats since September.
Pentagon budget 2016: Congress adds combat aircraft to DOD request –
The U.S. national defense portion, totaling $572.7 billion, of a $1.15 trillion government spending bill released by Congress Dec. 16 contains nearly $3 billion for additional combat aircraft not in the White House’s budget request.
Veterans
Desperate to return home, deported veterans face exile –
For these immigrant veterans, deportation means separation from their families and the country they served.
VA to provide robotic legs to paralyzed vets –
The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to pay for robotic legs that could allow scores of paralyzed veterans with spinal cord injuries to walk again.
VA’s own internal probe finds impunity of agency leaders at scandal-ridden hospital –
Investigators at the Department of Veterans Affairs found that two senior managers retaliated against whistleblowers who reported dangers to patient care and financial mismanagement at the Phoenix hospital at the center of a nationwide scandal over falsified waiting lists.
International
Iraq declines U.S. offer of more troops, attack helicopters –
Defense Secretary Ash Carter traveled to Iraq’s capital Dec. 16 with an offer to deploy more American troops and new attack helicopters to help the Iraqi army defeat the Islamic State group.