Acquisition Reform Advocate to Head House Armed Services Committee

by Editorial Staff | Nov 19, 2014 | Africa - Other, BAE, China, Contracts - Awards, Daily Rapid Fire, Fighters & Attack, Issues - Political, Japan, South Korea, Specialty Aircraft

* Mac Thornberry [R-TX] was selected [Breaking Defense] by the Republican steering committee to chair the House Armed Services Committee. He had been seen as the contender most likely to succeed retiring chairman Buck McKeon. Randy Forbes [R-VA] was also interested in...

Chancellor Merkel Denounces Russian Creeping Expansionism

by Editorial Staff | Nov 18, 2014 | Daily Rapid Fire, DARPA, Europe - Other, Germany, IT - Cyber-Security, IT - Networks & Bandwidth, Japan, Policy - Doctrine, Pre-RFP, Russia, Surface Ships - Combat, USA, UUVs & USVs

* Vladimir Putin is losing [Time] even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pointed out [WSJ] during a speech in Sydney how Russian meddling is extending far beyond Ukraine: “This is not just about Ukraine. This is about Moldova, this is about Georgia, and if...

US Naval Sea Systems Command, US State Dept Face Cyber Challenges

by Editorial Staff | Nov 17, 2014 | Britain/U.K., China, Daily Rapid Fire, Europe - Other, European Union (EU), Iraq, IT - Cyber-Security, Russia, USA

* The US Navy’s NAVSEA command published the 2nd edition [PDF] of its 2013-18 business plan, whose 1st version was released in October last year. The main addition is the appearance of cybersecurity among mission priorities. NAVSEA accounts for about a quarter...

Australia, UK Prime Ministers Confront Putin Over Ukraine

by Editorial Staff | Nov 14, 2014 | Daily Rapid Fire, Israel, Nuclear Weapons, Policy - Personnel, Russia

* Russian President Putin is bracing [FT] for a “catastrophic” slump in oil prices as he arrived at this year’s G20 summit in Australia. 4 Russian naval vessels are also on their way to Australia, which is Putin’s answer to Tony Abbott’s...

Post-Midterms US Defense Priorities

by Editorial Staff | Nov 13, 2014 | China, Daily Rapid Fire, India, IT - Cyber-Security, Middle East - Other, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, UAVs

* The White House finally withdrew [Navy Times] the nomination of Jo Ann Rooney as the US Navy’s Undersecretary, after a year in limbo [Next Navy]. The Administration will have to nominate people whose qualifications don’t seem such a stretch for the job...