China Confirmed As RIMPAC 2014 Participant

by Editorial Staff | May 7, 2014 | Asia - Other, China, Daily Rapid Fire, Finmeccanica, India, Issues - International, Legal, Training & Exercises, USA

* The international RIMPAC 2014 exercise will take place between June 26 and August 1 and involve 47 surface ships, 6 submarines, 200+ aircraft, and 25,000 people. China will participate for the first time, following an invitation extended by then US SecDef Panetta in...

GAO: To Get More Competition DoD Should Act Earlier in Acquisition Process

by Editorial Staff | May 6, 2014 | Asia - Other, Bases & Infrastructure, China, Daily Rapid Fire, Launch Vehicles, Russia, Satellites & Sensors, Science - Basic Research, Soldier's Gear, Think Tanks, USA

* The US Government Accountability Office is trying to figure out why DoD and the services issue so many noncompetitive contracts and task orders. The agency thinks that recently-introduced rules that kick in when only one offer is received apply too late in the...

Hagel, Enders Point Out Weak Euro Spending As Eastern Ukraine Unravels

by Editorial Staff | May 5, 2014 | Airbus, Alliances, Britain/U.K., Budgets, China, Daily Rapid Fire, Europe - Other, European Union (EU), Israel, Legal, Official Reports, Outer Space, People, Russia

* US Secretary of State Chuck Hagel is urging the USA’s NATO partners to renew financial commitments to defense, echoing former SecDef Robert Gates as he was departing the office 3 years ago. * At least 42 people, most of them pro-Russian, died in a fire during...

Clashes Intensify in Eastern Ukraine

by Editorial Staff | May 2, 2014 | Britain/U.K., Daily Rapid Fire, Europe - Other, Issues - International, Japan, Middle East - Other, Russia, USA

* Pro-Russia forces shot down 2 Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters and damaged 1 Mi-8 earlier today in the Donetsk Oblast, killing 2 servicemen in the process, according to Ukraine’s ministry of defense. There are also clashes in Odessa. Beyond that, there’s a...

Reports of Chinese Rift with Russia Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

by Editorial Staff | May 1, 2014 | Asia - Central, Biological Weapons, Chemical Weapons, China, Daily Rapid Fire, Launch Vehicles, Logistics, Middle East - Other, Russia, Turkey, USA

* China’s Ministry of Defense announced it will stage joint naval drills with Russia in the East China Sea at the end of the month. This, right after China’s foreign ministry criticized sanctions as a source of tensions. So much for American pundits...