News
Acknowledging domestic terror threat, Pentagon says troops, recruiters can carry concealed guns –
U.S. military personnel can now request to carry concealed handguns for protection at government facilities, according to new Defense Department directive issued last week in response to a series of deadly shootings over the last seven years.
Business
Defense industry well represented on Trump transition team –
Former executives from Boeing, Elbit and Cubic will help guide the Pentagon transition team for president-elect Donald Trump, alongside several retired Army officials
Defense innovation: Where are things headed? –
As President-elect Trump’s national security team begins to take shape, questions are swirling in the defense industry about the future of several key Obama administration initiatives to modernize the U.S. military arsenal.
Lockheed retakes Korean F-16 upgrade contract –
Lockheed Martin and the South Korean government have cemented a $1.2 billion contract for F-16 upgrades, marking an official victory for Lockheed over previous contract-holder BAE Systems.
South Korea looking to collaborate more with U.S. in defense technology –
The Republic of Korea’s steady advances in robotics, autonomous systems and microelectronics could be the paths Washington and Seoul follow in future collaboration efforts in science and technology, research and development and systems production as the threat from North Korea grows.
India’s private sector lobbies for greater share of defense market –
National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog), an India policy think tank, called upon the country’s domestic private defense industry to intervene with the Ministry of Defense and other ministries to fast track domestic projects and convert some global buy projects to Make in India projects.
Marines take revolutionary 3-D printing to the field –
The future of Marine Corps logistics took shape last month in the form of a plastic Humvee door handle printed in an Arizona desert.
NSA gives its blessing to Harris radio –
The National Security Agency has certified a Harris Corp. manpack radio for secure satellite signals.
U.S. Navy selects BAE Systems for Zumwalt destroyer work –
The contract, initially valued at $10.3 million with the potential to reach $192 million, includes post-construction work for USS Zumwalt and USS Michael Monsoor.
U.S. fears over sensitive compound hits Chinese bid for Aixtron –
Concerns over China gaining access to the secrets of producing a little known material used in military equipment appear to be behind the U.S. block on a 670 million-euro ($713 million) Chinese bid for German chip equipment maker Aixtron.
UK seeks $1 billion deal for remotely piloted aircraft –
Up to 26 Certifiable Predator B remotely piloted vehicles could be purchased by Britain’s Royal Air Force according to a US State Department notification to Congress of the proposed Foreign Military Sales deal.
L-3 awarded special ops binoculars contract –
L-3 has been awarded a $49.5 million contract for night vision binoculars for special operations forces.
Lockheed Martin awarded $125 million Navy sonar contract –
Lockheed Martin has been awarded $125.2 million in contract options for Navy sonar.
Romania to award armored vehicles deal to Germany’s Rheinmetall –
Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has announced that the country’s Defence Ministry is planning to award a contract for the delivery of armored personnel carriers to Germany’s Rheinmetall Defence. The company is to team up with a state-run Romanian manufacturer and launch a plant in Romania that will produce the APCs.
In Israel, furor over super fast-tracked sub deal with Germany –
It took more than seven years for Israel to reach its 2010 agreement with Washington on its first squadron of F-35s, the debut pair of which is scheduled to arrive here next month.
UK receives new-generation G-120TP aircraft for pilot training –
Britain has taken delivery of the first of a new generation of aircraft set to revitalize its fixed-wing military pilot training capabilities.
Under Trump, UK should reconsider dependence on U.S. defense tech, says analyst –
Donald Trump’s election should prompt the British government to question their reliance on U.S. defense technology, according to a leading think tank analyst in London.
CFIUS again objects to a China-Europe deal –
For the second time in a little more than a year, the secretive U.S. agency that vets global deals on national-security grounds is objecting to a Chinese takeover of a European company.
Defense
Zumwalt breaks down, gets tow in Panama Canal –
Early reports indicated the problems stemmed from an issue with heat exchangers in the ship’s integrated power plant, which provides electrical power to both the propulsion plant and sensors, weapons and ship’s services.
U.S. Navy’s new weapons extend reach for future sea battles –
The proliferation of longer-range Russian and Chinese-origin detection and targeting sensors, anti-aircraft weaponry and sophisticated “carrier-killer” missiles has the U.S. Navy reaching for ordnance with improved ship-killing capabilities and greater striking distances.
Operational F-35As grounded by faulty insulation return to flight status –
The 13 U.S. Air Force F-35s that had been grounded since September because of a supply problem have been repaired and are back in action, the service confirmed Nov. 18.
Can America’s B-21 Raider crush future Russian air defenses? –
The Air Force’s 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.
The U.S. Army is getting ready for a big test: Killing Russian, Chinese weapons –
After more than a decade of counterinsurgency warfare, the Army is now emphasizing major force-on-force mechanized warfare against Russia or Chinese weapons around the world.
The ‘Secret’ submarines U.S. Navy doesn’t want to talk about (And Russia fears) –
Google the names of any of the Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarines, the most numerous in the fleet, and you’ll get hits: Navy statements and photo releases, the occasional news article. But try to look up Seawolf-class vessels and you’ll get next to nothing.
Air Force wants to hire thousands for cyber, acquisition jobs –
If you’ve always wanted to work for the Air Force but never joined the military, you’re in luck.
Northrop got $1.1 billion from Air Force for ‘degraded’ services –
The U.S. Air Force paid Northrop Grumman $1.1 billion over about four years to maintain its aging fleet of air-to-ground surveillance aircraft even as costs for the planes increased and their combat capability declined, according to a Pentagon Inspector General audit.
Marines pound USS America’s deck with F-35Bs –
Somewhere near San Diego on the Pacific Ocean, the Marines have been putting F-35Bs and their pilots through a series of qualifications and tests with an eye to better understanding just how the small-deck carriers, the F-35s, V-22s and combat-ready Marines can best function together.
Veterans
Willie Rogers, Tuskegee Airman, dies at 101 after stroke –
He was a member of the original 100th Fighter Squadron established during World War II.
Where evil resides: Veterans ‘deploy’ To Standing Rock To engage the enemy — the U.S. government –
On Dec. 3, if everything goes according to plan, hundreds of veterans will muster at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. The mission: To stop the Dakota Access Pipeline.
World War II mystery: Are ‘missing’ sailors actually in NY cemetery? –
It’s a confounding mystery of World War II: What happened to the 136 missing sailors from the explosion and sinking of the USS Turner? Now, newly discovered documents show that the remains of four of the missing sailors were indeed found and buried not long after the disaster in separate graves for unknowns in a Long Island veterans cemetery.
America’s only memorial to military women needs your help –
The nation’s only memorial for women in the military needs your help to keep serving the women it honors.
Colorado shows nation’s largest spike in the number of homeless veterans –
While most states saw their homeless veteran populations drop an average of 17 percent in the past year to a total of 39,471, Colorado was one of only eight states going in the opposite direction with increasing numbers, according to the the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual report on homelessness.