Rapid Fire 2010-10-27: Coast Guard Continuous Improvement

* USA reportedly prepping a $2 billion military aid package for Pakistan, even as Foreign Policy magazine openly wonders if there’s any way to fix the country, and India has concerns of its own. China’s Xinhua has its own slant. * iCD Research: The Israeli defense sector is expected to grow at a 3% compound annual growth rate, reaching $15.8 billion by 2015; defense spending is expected to focus on procurement of missile defense systems, fighter aircraft, submarines and armored vehicles. * US Coast Guard releases their v5.0 Blueprint for Continuous Improvement in acquisition and contracting. * Iris Independent Research offers their KC-X competition white paper, “9 Secrets of the Tanker War.” One entirely unsurprising conclusion: KC-X is it; there will be no KC-Y and KC-Z as planned. * Playing hardball: Sen. Jim Webb [D-VA] is holding up DoD civilian and flag officer nominations until he receives data related to the decision to close JFCOM in Norfolk, VA. * Australian DSTO and Thales Australia working on a fiber optic towed array (FOTA) project to improve detection of submarines. * Deja-vu all over again: Under a proposal being developed by NATO, the Russian military might be returning to Afghanistan for the […]