News
Impeachment trial will disrupt some Hill work on defense, veterans issues-
The ongoing Senate impeachment proceedings don’t directly involve defense and veterans policy work on Capitol Hill, but chamber leaders are warning that work on those issues will be disrupted somewhat by the demands of the historic trial over the next few weeks.
Business
BAE buys up GPS, radio units divested by UTC, Raytheon-
BAE Systems announced Jan. 20 that is has reached an agreement to buy two subsidiaries being divested for antitrust reasons by Raytheon and UTC as part of the merger between the latter two companies.
Leonardo flies new Falco Xplorer drone-
A new 24-hour-endurance drone built by Italy’s Leonardo has made its maiden flight in trials run in cooperation with the Italian Air Force, the firm said.
Australian defense leaders defend submarine buy with France’s Naval Group-
Australian defense leaders last week denied claims that their department was urged to consider alternatives to the navy’s plans of buying 12 large conventionally-powered submarines from France’s Naval Group.
Turkey invites Malaysia to join its TF-X future fighter jet program-
A state-owned Turkish company as invited Malaysia to join the country’s indigenous fighter program, the TF-X, following Ankara’s suspension from the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
Germany’s $6.7 billion frigate deal with Dutch shipbuilder Damen may be last of its kind-
Following the pick of Dutch shipbuilder Damen this week to build at least four new frigates for the German Navy, officials in Germany are finalizing a new policy meant to steer similar contracts to local shipyards in the future.
Defense
‘Red Air’ providers prep for a big year of war games-
Last year, the Air Force tapped seven defense companies for a $6.4 billion opportunity for “Red Air” training where contracted pilots pose as aggressors in air-to-air combat. With the fiscal 2020 budget finally approved, those firms are hungry to hear for more information about when and where they start flying.
U.S. Army cancels current effort to replace Bradley vehicle-
The U.S. Army is taking a step back on its effort to replace its Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle after receiving only one bid in its competitive prototyping program, but this does not mean the end of the road for the future optionally manned fighting vehicle, service leaders told reporters Jan. 16 at the Pentagon.
U.S. Navy’s so-called budget salvo demands too much-
The latest U.S. Navy “budget salvo” that demands a larger share of the defense budget for the Navy requires some tough scrutiny. On Jan. 14, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday announced his service needs a bigger slice of the defense budget if it is to reach its goal of fielding a 355-ship fleet. This pronouncement comes despite the Navy already having the Department of Defense’s biggest service share of the defense budget.