In a continuing effort to meet the Department of Defense funding targets in the Fiscal Year 2012 President’s Budget and re-balance the civilian workforce, approximately 60 Air Force installations will implement civilian Reduction in Force authorities effective through about Aug. 23, to assist in the placement of employees not assigned against funded positions (termed “surplus…

The United States is footing more of the bill for overseas bases in Germany, Japan and South Korea even as the military reduces the number of American troops in Europe and strategically repositions forces in Asia, a congressional report says. The exhaustive, yearlong investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee focused on costs and burden-sharing…

Business Contractors spinning off divisions as Defense budget ax falls Pentagon budget cuts were supposed to herald a wave of consolidation in the defense industry. Instead, they’re prompting contractors to shrink by spinning off divisions.   Defense Pacific shift: $527 billion request includes less for Army, more for Air Force The Pentagon’s $527 billion fiscal…

EADS in talks to buy almost half a billion euros worth of shares from French government The parent company of European jet maker Airbus says it is in talks to buy back almost half a billion euros worth of its own stock from the French government. European aerospace giant EADS says in a statement April…

Business BAE checks Harpoon fit for anti-ship Typhoon BAE Systems has conducted first windtunnel tests to assess the suitability of integrating Boeing’s AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile with the Eurofighter Typhoon.   Defense Pentagon weapons spending to be 4.5 percent less than earlier Pentagon weapons spending through 2017 will be $20.6 billion, or 4.5 percent, less…

China’s president visits key southern naval base Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited a key naval base in an island province in the disputed South China Sea in his latest move advertising his close ties to the military. Xi reviewed vessels and troops April 11 before boarding an ultra-modern amphibious ship and submarine. Dressed in…

News Pentagon’s $526.6 billion budget asks Congress for unpopular cuts The Pentagon unveiled a $526.6 billion budget April 10 that calls for base closures, program cancellations and smaller pay increases, but which is still $52 billion higher than spending caps set by law, putting the department on a path toward another year of financial uncertainty….

U.S. fighter crashes in Gulf; crew rescued The U.S. Navy says a fighter jet has crashed into the Persian Gulf near the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, but both crew members were rescued safely by divers. The Navy cited engine failure on the F/A-18F Super Hornet as the reason for the April 8 crash….

President Barack Obama April 10 sent to Congress a proposed defense budget of $526.6 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund defense programs in the base budget for fiscal year 2014. The budget continues the department’s commitment to good stewardship of taxpayer dollars by seeking further consolidation of defense infrastructure, instituting a study of possible…

Business Pentagon awards surge 71 percent in March as Congress eases budget blow The Defense Department announced contracts valued at as much as $39.4 billion in March, 71 percent more than the prior month, even as automatic federal budget cuts started taking effect. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/defense-contracts-surge-71-percent-in-march-as-congress-eases-budget-blow/2013/04/07/4deeb982-9c89-11e2-a941-a19bce7af755_story.html Lagardere to use private placement to sell EADS shares French media…