DDG 110 & MH-60S(click to view full) Technically, the Ticonderoga Class cruisers sit at the pinnacle of the US Navy's surface combatant fleet. They're no longer being built, however, and the growing preponderance of Arleigh Burke Class destroyers in missile defense...
Electronics & IT Articles
Norway’s CV90 Armored Modernization
Norway's CV90-30IFV, Afghanistan(click to view full) In June 2012, Norway began a NOK 10 billion/ $1.68 billion program to upgrade and build CV90 tracked armored vehicles, and field unmanned air and ground vehicles, as part of the Army's largest military modernization...
Rep Probes Huge B-3 Cost Estimate Hike | Army to Test Chlorine Gas Spread | Russian Firm Developing Drone Tech to Render Stealth Features Useless
Americas * The Air Force's contrite admission that the B-3 bomber program would cost roughly double what it originally said it would isn't going down well in Congress. Beyond the obvious financial pain involved with a program that hopes to produce planes for half a...
DoD HR Overhaul Getting the Squinty Eye | DARPA Saw Avengers; Ready for Airborne Carriers? | A-10/F-35 Competition Set for 2018 (If AF Hasn’t Already Ditched the ‘Hog)
Americas * The on-again, off-again Air Force comparison test between the F-35 and the A-10 for close air support is back on again, according to the Washington Times. The F-35 doesn't carry - and isn't anticipated to carry - the sorts of weapons that have proven useful...
Halliburton/KBR Contracts Under Fire from Congress, DCAA
Pentagon auditors are questioning more than $108 million in costs claimed by Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown Root (KBR) under its $875 million “Task Order 5” contract to provide fuel in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) also faulted KBR for the quality of the records it delivered to the investigation, citing discrepancies between reported actual costs and accounting records. Halliburton is asserting that no wrongdoing was involved, claiming that the costs stemmed directly from the strictures it was working under and the challenges of getting shipments into a war zone without fail…
Manufacturers: Careful with Parts Printing – Make Them Inspectable | Japan Launches Second Heli Carrier | Iran Looking to Russia for Long Deferred Aviation Purchases
Americas * Technology allowing parts to be printed is rapidly seeing military adoption, but manufacturing experts warn that they need to be designed in a fashion to allow for inspection. * The Navy is prepping a patch of seafloor off Florida to be an undersea training...
Pentagon: JCS Chair’s Testimony Didn’t Imply F-35 Review | Russia: Our Stealth Fighter Can Fit Weapons Inside | DoD Lays Down Law on Reporting Data Breaches
Americas * The Pentagon is codifying how and when defense contractors must report data breaches. * Lockheed is reportedly working on a U2 replacement. To be optionally manned, which is less apt to offend either pilot officers or policy wonks. A new U2 could well see...
Oshkosh Takes JLTV Competition | Air Force Keeps ‘Em Guessing on A-10 | More Nations Interested in French Heli Carriers
Americas * Oshkosh won one of the largest land forces defense contracts ever, taking the $30 billion JLTV contract. The initial order for 17,000 vehicles will start replacing Humvees in fiscal 2016 and really ramp in 2018. Runner ups were Lockheed and AM General. * In...
House Rep Wants “Transparency” from Air Force | Sandia Settles Over Illegal Use of Fed Funds for Lobbying | Russia Delivers Helos to Peru; Loans $1B to Bangladesh for Helo Purchases
Americas * A House Representative is demanding answers from the Air Force Secretary regarding discrepancies over the Air Force's projected cost for the Long Range Strike Bomber program, after it emerged last week that the estimated program cost rose from $33.1 billion...

