News
Military proposes sending more special forces to Syria –
The Obama administration is considering sending 250 additional U.S. special forces to Syria to advise rebel groups as part of a broader Pentagon recommendation on how to increase the pace of operations against ISIS, a U.S. defense official said April 8.
Business
Arms makers take on Pentagon’s cost cop –
Some of the nation’s leading defense companies are declaring war on a powerful enemy — an obscure Pentagon official named Shay Assad who has helped cut more than $500 million from military contracts with his aggressive scrutiny of their costs.
Norway shortlists DCNS and ThyssenKrupp for sub program –
Norway has narrowed the search for a contractor to build a new fleet of submarines down to DCNS of France and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the Ministry of Defence said.
Northrop MEMS to guide weapons when GPS denied –
Tiny inertial sensors based on microelectromechanical systems are used in everyday devices such as cellphones, game controllers and unmanned quadcopters but lack the performance required for navigation applications. Now Northrop Grumman has won a DARPA contract to develop a miniaturized navigation-grade inertial measurement unit based on MEMS sensors, for use in precision-guided munitions in GPS-denied environments.
Group wants tech transfer to define strategies of French arms companies –
A defense study group recommends that French arms companies factor in the transfer of technology to the core of their strategy in order to win export deals.
U.S. Army starts firming FVL requirements as RFI deadline passes –
Locked away somewhere, behind a government firewall, is one “initial capability set” that will lead the army’s Future Vertical Lift program, an initiative that will introduce a next-generation family of rotorcraft to succeed everything from the now-retired Bell Helicopter OH-58 Kiowa to the Boeing CH-47 Chinook beginning in the coming decades.
Airbus Helicopters advances Panther MBe deliveries –
Airbus Helicopters will accelerate deliveries of its AS565 MBe Panther anti-submarine warfare rotorcraft following requests from the Indonesian and Mexican navies — its sole customers for the new variant.
Defense
Meet the Navy’s new sub-hunting drone ship –
Think of it as a Google Self-driving car, but that’s 130-feet long and built for hunting submarines. And it got one step closer to real operations this week.
Top appropriator draws a line on DOD spending –
Meet the new budget fight, same as the old budget fight. If Republicans want more money for defense, Democrats will insist on extra funds for non-military programs too.
Beyond the Fighter Jet: The Air Force of 2030 –
In its quest to dominate the air battlefield of the future, the U.S. Air Force may look to replace the traditional fighter jet with a network of integrated systems disaggregated across multiple platforms.
Army enlists first female infantry recruit –
The Army’s first female infantry recruit, a 25-year-old police officer from Louisiana, will report to basic training next year.
Future of Army report to hit Carter’s desk next week –
The Army’s report on which National Commission on the Future of the Army recommendations it plans to implement and which ones it plans to reject is expected to hit the defense secretary’s desk next week, the Army chief of staff said.
How stealthy is Navy’s new destroyer? It needs reflectors –
The future USS Zumwalt is so stealthy that it’ll go to sea with reflective material that can be hoisted to make it more visible to other ships.
Veterans
List of Agent Orange-related diseases may expand –
The Veterans Affairs Department is weighing whether to add several diseases to the list of health conditions presumed in Vietnam veterans to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
VA’s response to three whistleblowers inadequate, special counsel says –
In the latest in its continuing scrutiny of the Veterans Affairs Department, the Office of Special Counsel April 8 reported that it was faulting the department’s managers for inadequate follow-up on three whistleblower cases affecting health and safety.
Space
SpaceX lands Falcon 9 rocket on drone ship –
SpaceX successfully landed a first-stage Falcon 9 rocket on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean April 8, a historic achievement for the space launch industry.
