News
CIA-armed militias are shooting at Pentagon-armed ones in Syria –
Syrian militias armed by different parts of the U.S. war machine have begun to fight each other on the plains between the besieged city of Aleppo and the Turkish border, highlighting how little control U.S. intelligence officers and military planners have over the groups they have financed and trained in the bitter 5-year-old civil war.
Business
State: $33 billion in GCC weapon sales in 11 months –
The U.S. State Department has facilitated $33 billion worth of weapons sales to its Arab Gulf allies since May 2015, according to department figures.
Boeing wins $13.4 million contract for destroyer data system –
Boeing has been awarded a $13.4 million contract option for work on a data system for Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Raytheon, Northrop contracted for JSTARS radar battle –
The U.S. Air Force has locked in Raytheon and Northrop Grumman as its two competing radar vendors for the new-generation Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System program. Each has been awarded “no-to-exceed” contracts with ceiling values of $60 million and $70 million, respectively, according to a contract announcement by the air branch March 24.
Taiwan F-16 upgrade program moving forward –
Taiwan’s F-16 fighter aircraft mid-life upgrade program has secured another piece to its modernization effort with the upgrade of the ALR-56M Line Replaceable Unit 5 Analysis Processor to the new configuration under requirements approved by the Taiwan air force.
Software allows weapons installation without hardware change –
Raytheon has developed software to allow new weapons to be integrated onto legacy aircraft. The Envoy software allows weapons to be installed without changing the hardware.
GE, Rolls-Royce win Italian Navy contracts –
Italy’s massive navy shipbuilding program has taken a leap forward this month with propulsion contracts handed to both GE and Rolls-Royce, marking a major first step into the Italian naval market for Rolls-Royce.
FLIR wins multispectral contract –
FLIR Systems has been awarded multiple contracts worth $38 million for sensors and C3 systems.
Defense
Air Force ‘loans’ bombs to coalition partners in war on ISIS –
The Air Force and coalition partners in the air war against the Islamic State are not only sharing intelligence, runways and strategic plans, they’re also sharing bombs.
When serving in the U.S. military isn’t enough to prevent deportation –
For much of its wartime history, the U.S. has offered naturalization to noncitizens who enlisted in the military and completed boot camp. The practice was halted after the Vietnam War and then resumed a generation later by the Army in 2009, and the Navy after that.
Pentagon proposes changes to Uniform Code of Military Justice –
The Pentagon has proposed significant changes to how troops are tried and sentenced, two years after a comprehensive review of the military justice system was ordered by then-Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in the wake of persistent sexual assault controversies.
Air Force hopes to head off the poaching of its pilots –
The Air Force is struggling to keep its pilots, who can often find better wages in the private sector. But the retention issue is more complex for the Air National Guard, Maj. Gen. Brian Neal told the House defense appropriations subcommittee March 22.
F-35 acquisition cost drops, but operating costs rise with life extension –
The cost to procure the F-35 joint strike fighter has dropped, but the total price to operate and support the fleet over its lifetime has risen — not because of problems with the program, but because the services plan to fly the fifth-generation fighter jet for six more years.
F-35s $1 trillion support cost ticks up as more flights seen –
The trillion-dollar cost to operate and support Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jet through decades of flight has increased by about $107 billion from last year, according to Pentagon officials.
U.S. Air Force seeks industry wisdom on disposable UAS engines –
The U.S. Air Force is requesting information from industry on technologies that could produce lower-cost engines for future subsonic “Group 5” unmanned aircraft systems, the largest vehicles in the fleet with sizes and capabilities similar to the General Atomics Reaper or Northrop Grumman Global Hawk.
Army fires missile from new interceptor launch platform –
The U.S. Army March 25 successfully fired a Longbow Hellfire missile from its newest platform at White Sands Missile Range as part of an engineering demonstration of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept.