News
Company sold ‘defective’ combat helmets to Pentagon –
The Justice Department’s inspector general Aug. 17 released a scathing report on practices at Federal Prison Industries, a government-operated group that employed inmates to manufacture nearly 150,000 military helmets.
Business
Pentagon taps Olympic inventor, Lululemon for chem-warfare suit challenge –
The Pentagon wants a sleeker, more advanced suit to protect warfighters against chemical, radiological and biological threats – and is counting on the commercial industry and individual inventors to come up with a solution.
Leidos completes merger with Lockheed tech business line –
Leidos has completed its merger with Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business line, the companies announced Aug. 16.
Lockheed considers unmanned U-2 for MDA laser demo –
An unmanned version of the U-2 Dragon Lady is among the list of platforms being considered by Lockheed Martin for the Missile Defense Agency’s stratospheric UAV-borne laser demonstrator program.
Raytheon poised to offer next-generation anti-ship missiles –
Raytheon is positioning itself to offer key missile defense assets that fill coverage gaps on the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ships and new frigates, including upgraded surface-to-air missiles and new anti-ship and land attack missiles.
DARPA is shrinking LIDAR to fit on a chip –
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is leading an effort to take what are now bulky expensive Light Imaging, Detection, And Ranging systems and make them small enough to fit on a microchip.
Electric Boat furloughs workers, says subs won’t be delayed –
Employees at U.S. Navy contractor Electric Boat are taking voluntary furloughs, but the company said Aug. 17 that won’t delay the delivery of submarines.
MBDA awarded UK F-35B ASRAAM production contract –
The UK Ministry of Defence has approved a $238 million contract with MBDA for the production of an updated version of Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAMs) to equip the UK Royal Air Force and Royal Navy F-35B Lightning II multirole combat aircraft.
NORINCO enhances SR5 rocket artillery system with precision munitions –
China North Industries Corporation has developed guided rockets for use with its SR5 Universal Artillery Rocket Launcher system.
South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding posts more losses –
South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering posted further losses in the second quarter of fiscal year 2016 due to increased costs, the company said in a filing to the Korean Exchange Aug. 16.
Rafael says Trophy, Spike are on target for Australian requirement –
Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is a leading contender to supply active protection systems (APS) and missiles for the Australia Department of Defence’s Land 400 program, a company representative told IHS Jane’s Aug. 10.
China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier nearing completion –
Airbus Defence and Space imagery captured on 11 August 2016 shows significant activity related to China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy projects at Dalian Shipyard, including the assembly of the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, and the production of Type 052D guided-missile destroyers.
UK to buy additional Zephyr ‘pseudo satellite’ –
The United Kingdom is to take up its option of procuring a third Airbus Defence and Space Zephyr high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle, the Ministry of Defence confirmed Aug. 17.
Belarus receives first 59N6E early warning radar –
Belarus has begun operating a 59N6E Protivnik-GE early warning surveillance radar, the country’s Ministry of Defence announced Aug. 16.
Defense
‘Combat Cloud’ key to future penetrating ISR –
From the original Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 reconnaissance airplanes designed for the Cold War by Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, to modern “penetrating” RQ-170 and RQ-180 intelligence UAVs, the U.S. Air Force has always maintained small fleets of highly specialized photographic and signals intelligence aircraft to spot threats or verify information gleaned from satellites or human intel.
Report: Contractors outnumber U.S. troops in Afghanistan 3-to-1 –
Defense Department contractors in Afghanistan still outnumber U.S. troops by a 3-to-1 margin according to new research released this week, raising questions again about the role those workers play in the ongoing wars overseas and the oversight they receive.
Pentagon: We’re closer than ever to lasers that can stop missiles –
With global demand for missile defense surging, U.S. officials are fine-tuning cheaper, more powerful laser weapons.
Private sector to fill gaps in military aviation training –
A confluence of factors is pushing U.S. combat aviation training units to the brink. With deployment commitments on the rise, neither the Air Force nor the Navy has nearly enough fighter aircraft or pilots to sustain training squadrons. It is a problem that has been a long time in the making — accelerated over the past decade by a combination of budget cuts, low pilot morale and a migration of fighter pilots to drone units.
Air Force considers opening JDAM competition to new suppliers –
Boeing has held a monopoly on the dual-mode bomb market, but the U.S. Air Force may be gearing up to widen the playing field to other potential competitors.
Army’s rapid capabilities office to stand up in September –
An Army rapid capabilities office, which will aim to quickly field technology and put it in the hands of soldiers, is nearing its debut, said the undersecretary of the Army Aug.16.
New U.S. Navy Osprey to conduct more aircraft carrier night missions –
Managing wind, rough seas, changing carrier water speed, carrier deck movements and more dangerous night-time landings, Navy Osprey pilots conducted a series of maneuvers with an MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft on board the USS Carl Vinson — in preparation for a Navy Osprey variant to be operational 2021.
F-35C back at sea for third round of carrier tests –
Two F-35C carrier variant versions of the Joint Strike Fighter lined up Monday on catapults one and two of this aircraft carrier steaming about 75 miles off the Virginia coast. Blast doors lifted from the deck and the aircraft’s control surfaces wiggled as the pilot ran through final checks. The engine revved, the launch shooter saluted and pointed go, and the jets roared down the cat tracks to leap into the air.
F-35s new landing technology may simplify carrier operations –
Seven Navy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters spent the morning of Aug. 16 in a round robin off the coast of Norfolk, Va., completing a tight succession of take-offs and arrested landings as pilots with Strike Fighter Squadron 101 completed carrier qualifications on the aircraft.
Navy studying installing SeaRAM on more destroyers, other ship classes –
The Navy is considering expanding the number of SeaRAM installations on its ships beyond a quartet of ballistic missile defense ships based in Spain and Littoral Combat Ships, a service official told USNI News Aug. 16.
Veterans
McCain: New Suicide prevention initiative for veterans can be model for nationwide effort –
A new suicide-prevention pilot program will give veterans access to the help they need, says Sen. John McCain, and can be a model for efforts around the country.