News
Marines fired commander days before deadly helicopter crash in Hawaii –
The Marine Corps helicopter squadron reeling from the recent deaths of 12 colleagues saw its commanding officer removed from his job three days prior to the tragedy because senior officials determined he had failed to keep the unit operating at acceptable standards, Marine Corps Times has learned.
Business
U.S. Pacific commander voices support for Aegis Ashore in Hawaii to counter N.K. threats –
The U.S. Pacific commander said Jan. 27 he supports the consideration of establishing an Aegis Ashore missile defense facility in Hawaii to help counter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.
Israel to equip troop carriers with Trophy APS –
Nearly a decade later than planned, Israel this week began operational testing of its Namer heavy troop carrier equipped with the indigenously developed Trophy Active Protection System.
Lockheed Martin, AEC Sniper ATP center opens in Saudi Arabia –
Lockheed Martin and Advanced Electronic Company’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod support center begins operations in Saudi Arabia.
China Shipbuilding signs finance agreement with state bank –
The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of China have agreed to strengthen collaboration with a view to expanding the state-owned shipbuilder’s presence in domestic and international markets.
Lockheed Martin UK supplying radar to Royal Navy –
Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems UK is to supply more than 60 new navigation radars to the Royal Navy under a Ministry of Defense contract.
Raytheon tops fourth quarter profit forecasts –
Raytheon blew past Wall Street’s profit expectations for the fourth quarter and said Jan. 28 that it expects both profit and revenue to improve this year.
Northrop Grumman profit falls 9.3 percent –
Northrop Grumman Jan. 27 posted a 9.3 percent decline in profit as sales fell more than expected and the company adopted a tax method change.
The aircraft that’s ‘slowly dying’ –
Boeing has announced that it will slow production of its 747-8 airliner in September, halving the output of the aircraft from 12 to six planes a year.
United Arab Emirates to acquire Finnish Patria AMVs –
The United Arab Emirates armed forces has ordered Patria AMV 8×8 armored wheeled vehicles.
Navy awards $147 million for ERP support –
The Navy on Jan. 25 announced a multi-vendor contract award worth more than $147 million to help run naval enterprise resource planning programs. The contract supports the Naval Supply Systems Command Business Systems Center, which handles systems related to IT, business, logistics and more for the service.
Report: Aviation, defense cybersecurity market to reach $62 billion –
The global aviation and defense cybersecurity market will reach $61.9 billion by 2020, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 9.34 percent from 2015, according to a forecast by market research firm MarketsandMarkets.
Leidos to support Air Force laser comms research –
Leidos has been awarded a $21 million Air Force laser research contract.
General Atomics to develop new Reaper UAV software –
General Atomics has been awarded a $34 million contract to develop software for Air Force Special Operations Command MQ-9 Reapers.
Defense
Lawmaker calls on Obama to fund A-10, develop replacement –
Ahead of President Barack Obama’s budget rollout next week, an influential Air Force pilot-turned lawmaker called on the commander-in-chief and his defense secretary to request full funding for the legacy A-10 until plans for its replacement take shape.
F-35 software overrun with bugs, DOD testing chief warns –
The F-35s flight plan appears to have delays written all over it. A previously unreleased memo from Michael Gilmore, the Department of Defense’s director for Operational Test and Evaluation, details a list of problems that will likely hold up the testing of the final configuration of the aircraft-and will mean the “Block 2B” aircraft now being delivered to the Marine Corps soon will continue to be full of software bugs for years to come.
Army Force Commission calls for Apache compromise, more troops in Europe –
A U.S. Army force of 980,000 is “minimally sufficient” for maintaining national security and the National Guard should keep some attack helicopters, the National Commission on the Future of the Army declared in a new report.
10 highlights from Army commission report: More units, fewer cuts –
The Army should put an armored brigade combat team in Europe, keep a combat aviation brigade in South Korea, keep some AH-64 Apaches in the National Guard, and look at possibly cutting two infantry brigades.
Veterans
Lawmaker wants VA to speed up new veteran ID cards –
The lawmaker behind national IDs for veterans is upset that federal officials are still months away from issuing any of the new cards.