News
Obama tells Pentagon to speed up review of California Guard enlistment bonuses –
President Obama has told the Defense Department to expedite its review of nearly 10,000 California National Guard soldiers who have been ordered to repay enlistment bonuses improperly given a decade ago, but he is not backing growing calls for Congress to waive the debts, the White House said.
Marine F/A-18C crashes at Twentynine Palms; pilot safe –
The twin-engine F/A-18C Hornet crashed around 6 p.m., Oct. 25 near the end of a training flight at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.
Business
Sentient demonstrates ViDAR for Coast Guard –
Sentient has successfully demonstrated its Visual Detection and Ranging system for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Game over: GAO protest reveals cost was deciding factor in B-21 contest –
Eight months ago, the Government Accountability Office shot down Boeing’s protest of the government’s decision to award the B-21 bomber contract to competitor Northrop Grumman. With the Oct. 25 release of its 52-page decision, the public now can read why.
Lockheed CFO: No agreement yet on price, profit for F-35 lots 9, 10 –
A deal between Lockheed Martin and the Defense Department on the ninth and tenth lots of F-35s still appears to be elusive, as the organizations have not yet settled any one of the three “sticking points” mentioned by the company’s chief financial officer in an Oct. 25 earnings call.
Lockheed Martin re-ups MUOS satellite network contract –
Defense titan Lockheed Martin has secured a $92.8 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract to fund Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) operations.
Russia’s super-secret spy submarine returns to sea –
Earlier this month, a Russian ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) called Podmoskovie slipped out of its pier at Severodvinsk for the first time in 16 years.
RAF Typhoon begins operational assessment of new upgrades –
The UK Royal Air Force has begun an operational evaluation of upgrades to its Eurofighter Typhoon, which will ultimately enable it to take over the ground-attack role currently performed by the Panavia Tornado GR4.
Defense
U.S. nuclear modernization poses tough choices for Pentagon –
The next U.S. president will be faced with updating the nation’s aging nuclear arsenal just as a slew of conventional weapons systems come due for replacement. The resulting acquisition “bow wave” threatens to overwhelm the Pentagon’s budget in the coming decades.
Meet the Air Force’s ‘ultimate battle plane’ and your new close-air support –
In the not-too-distant future, when ground troops call for close-air support, the ‘Ghostrider’ and its deadly arsenal could come to their rescue.
Why America’s enemies fear Army’s AH-64E ‘Guardian’ helicopter –
Already battle-tested in Afghanistan, the Apache Guardian reflects the latest trends in U.S. military doctrine—namely improved response and loiter time, interoperability with drones, and the capability to engage maritime targets.
Veterans
Legendary World War II fighter pilot Bob Hoover dead at 94 –
When the National Air and Space Museum conferred its highest honor on Hoover in 2007, the museum noted that Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the famed 1942 bomber raid on Japan, had once described Hoover as “the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived.”