News
Senate Republicans not ready for US military action against Iran-
Senate Republicans were advising against immediate military action against Iran in response to an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, calling for more analysis and discussion first.
House rejects GOP motion on replacing Pentagon funding used on border wall-
The House on Sept. 17 rejected a Republican motion on replacing military construction funding President Trump is dipping into for his border wall as the chamber moved to officially start negotiations with the Senate on the annual defense policy bill.
Pentagon is canceling three border wall projects because the costs went up-
Three proposed sections of border wall for Arizona are on hold, according to a Sept. 16 federal court filing, because they’re going to cost more than the Defense Department planned on spending.
Business
Boeing calls for ‘government intervention’ on ICBM replacement fight-
Months after announcing it would not bid on the Air Force’s ICBM replacement program, Boeing is officially lobbying both Congress and the service to force a shotgun marriage with Northrop Grumman, against the latter companies will.
Extra-long sustainment contracts are Lockheed’s latest bid to cut F-35 costs-
The company is pitching the Pentagon on a five-year deal — with promises to keep 80 percent of the fleet mission-ready.
Two companies to square off for Australia’s $10 billion infantry fighting vehicle program-
The Australian government has selected Hanwha and Rheinmetall to participate in the next phase of its A$15 billion (U.S. $10.3 billion) infantry fighting vehicle program, being delivered under Project Land 400 Phase 3.
New deal moves Britain’s Protector drone closer to civilian airspace approval-
General Atomics has nabbed a $125 million contract from the United Kingdom to make that country’s Protector military strike drone certifiable to fly alongside civilian traffic, pushing the company’s agenda to be first in Europe with such a system.
Scoring recent development contracts, Lockheed bets on hypersonic missile production-
Lockheed Martin has placed its bets on hypersonic missiles, using golden shovels to break ground surrounded by cotton and corn fields in Alabama on Sept. 16 for new facilities to develop, test and produce the weapons.
U.S. Army’s new landing craft hits an early milestone-
Work on the U.S. Army’s next-generation landing craft, the Maneuver Support Vessel (Light), is well underway, the company building the boats announced Sept. 17.
Textron shows off mine-hunting drone boat armed with Hellfire missiles-
Textron Systems is working with the Navy to turn a mine-sweeping unmanned surface vessel designed to work with Littoral Combat Ships into a mine-hunting craft armed with Hellfire missiles and a .50-caliber machine gun.
Defense
U.S. military has triggered a massive surge of its wartime sealift ships-
The command in charge of U.S. military logistics worldwide on Sept. 17 triggered one the largest surges of its aging sealift ships in decades, a critical test of the country’s ability to move heavy equipment overseas in the event of a major conflict.
U.S. Army activates new units in Europe to support Poland-
The 510th Regional Support Group and six subordinate units were activated at Sembach Kaserne.
Hypersonic weapons could give the B-1 bomber a new lease on life-
It’s been a rough stretch for the U.S. Air Force’s fleet of 62 B-1B Lancer bombers, with a pair of fleet shutdowns over safety concerns and the confirmation of plans to start retiring the plane as the new B-21 comes online, even as the much older B-52 remains in service.
Air Combat Command goes ‘back to the future’ to re-learn large-scale deployments-
Going into his third year as the head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Holmes is continuing to focus on how to reshape his command to prepare for a possible “great power” conflict.
Veterans
VA’s $900 million caregiver program bogged down by bad data, IT issues, GAO finds-
Inaccurate data kept by the Department of Veterans Affairs on its staff for the Family Caregiver Program and delays in the technology infrastructure needed to expand the program are hampering an effort to include the caregivers of injured veterans from World War II through Vietnam, a government watchdog agency has found.