Rapid Fire 2011-01-31: Defense Business Transformation

* GAO reports: DoD is having trouble counting [PDF] all of its service contractors; Defense Business Transformation initiative [PDF] has flaws; and ballistic missile defense plan for Europe has unrealistic cost estimates [PDF]. * Is Pentagon chief Robert Gates planning to stay for awhile? * GE’s joint venture with China’s Avic, to produce advanced open architecture avionics, is raising some eyebrows. * Oskhosh is adding 650 to 750 jobs to handle increased orders for US military vehicles. * Czech defense spending expected to increase 4.15% in 2011, as country increases deployments in Afghanistan, according to BMI. * French defense spending is predicted to increase at a modest rate of below 2% per year, reaching EUR 52.9 billion in 2019, according to BMI. * UK MOD bottled water plant bottles 48,000 liters of water per day from hard coral strata beneath Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.