News:
Obama extends Afghanistan mission into 2017 –
President Obama’s long dream of concluding the war in Afghanistan before he departs the White House officially ended Oct. 15 with the announcement that the U.S. will leave up to 5,500 troops there into 2017.
Business:
Canada’s Navy in talks to rent Spanish replenishment ship –
Spain and Canada are negotiating a mutual logistic arrangement to deploy a Spanish replenishment ship with the Canadian fleet in the North Atlantic, both navies confirmed.
Nuclear sub project poses U.K.’s biggest financial challenge –
Britain’s nuclear submarine effort is a monster-sized undertaking that keeps the Ministry of Defence’s top civil servant awake at night, the official admitted to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Oct. 14.
CACI wins $63.5 million Navy communications contract –
CACI has been awarded a $63.5 million Navy bridge contract to continue support for naval aircraft communications.
Pentagon awards $68 million cybersecurity training contract –
TeleCommunication Systems has been awarded a $68 million contract for cybersecurity training.
Dutch buy Sniper advanced targeting pods –
The Royal Netherlands Air Force is buying Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods for its F-16s.
Lockheed Martin may finalize Sikorsky acquisition by month end –
Lockheed Martin’s deal with United Technologies Corporation to acquire its Sikorsky helicopter segment for $9 billion might close by the end of this month or the first half of next month.
Lockheed to cut 250 jobs in missile, fire control business –
Lockheed Martin Oct. 15 said it plans to cut 250 jobs in its Missiles and Fire Control business by late November as part of an overall “belt tightening” drive.
Northrop Grumman realigns sectors, restores COO post –
Northrop Grumman Oct. 14 announced a restructuring plan that analysts said could lead to the U.S. defense contractor carving off its government services arm.
Airbus patents supersonic aircraft that could fly from London to NYC in 1 hour –
Dreams of high-speed air travel are one step closer to being realized.
GA-ASI awarded US Army contract for improved MQ-1C UAV –
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. has been awarded a full-rate production contract by the US Army for 19 MQ-1C Improved Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles to be delivered by September 2018, the company announced Oct. 14 during the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.
Defense:
New Army strategy sees future combat vehicles as highly mobile, highly lethal –
The Army’s plan to modernize its combat vehicles fleet in the near-term looks to acquire a new lightweight vehicle for infantry brigade combat teams and increase the lethality of its Strykers, according to the service’s brand new combat vehicle modernization strategy.
Handgun makers compete to supply Army with new handgun –
Firearms manufacturers are competing for a rare chance to sell the U.S. Army a new handgun that would replace its current Cold War-era model, and they must meet a lengthy list of requirements to win the lucrative deal.
Firms show off contenders for Army’s ultra-light vehicle –
The U.S. Army will soon have its long-awaited Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, but the Humvee replacement won’t solve the mobility needs of the service’s expeditionary light forces.
Navy might need two unmanned carrier jets –
The Navy is still deciding what it needs from its first operational unmanned carrier jet — surveillance or strike weapons, or a mix of each.
Lockheed, U.S. Air Force reach agreement on C-130 multiyear deal –
Lockheed Martin Corp on Thursday said it had reached a verbal agreement with the U.S. Air Force on a five-year contract to build up to 83 C-130J Super Hercules transport planes for the Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps through 2020.
New stealth bomber will be designed to elude next-gen air defenses –
The Air Force’s new stealthy long-range bomber will have the endurance and next-generation stealth capability to elude the most advanced existing air defenses and attack anywhere in the world, if needed, senior service officials said.
Space:
Frozen world of Enceladus revealed –
Blurry images captured by NASA’s Voyager mission suggested the Enceladus’ north pole was heavily cratered, but these latest high-resolution shots show instead just how varied the landscape is.
The sun has sprung a leak –
Astronomers have spotted an enormous hole on the sun’s surface that triggered aurora on Earth earlier this month.
Pluto is an active world of spectacular color –
Pluto is a world of “spectacular” colors, dramatic surface features and dynamic geology, the first published results from the historic fly-by of the dwarf planet have shown.
Mystery of the moon’s ‘Mafic Mound’ –
A giant mound near the Moon’s south pole appears to be a volcanic structure unlike any other found on the lunar surface.
Life on Europa may have been sparked by comets –
Europa’s icy surface is covered in cracks and scars that resemble shattered glass and this unusual terrain could now reveal clues about life, if it exists, on Jupiter’s moon.
