* The US Office of Management and Budget [OMB] published a list of innovative contracting case studies [PDF] that include rapid prototyping, milestone-based competitions, challenges, and other contracting schemes. Both contractors and government employees are invited...
(click to visit) Guest Article by Christina Balis, Avascent This is a pivotal year for the Polish defense market. Part 1 of this series offers an overview of Poland's $44 billion military modernization program. This 2nd and final part covers key near-term purchases,...
* German weapons manufacturers are miffed that Sigmar Gabriel, the minister of economic affairs, has deliberately built up a backlog of unapproved export requests. Gabriel is sticking to his guns (bad pun intended) and urges "entrepreneurial consolidation in the...
* Islamic State insurgents chose to yield ground, [WaPo] rather than fight Iraqi and Kurdish forces whose effort to take back an important dam near Mosul is backed by US airstrikes. But ISIL reportedly booby-trapped buildings, and is still close by. * US Army Col....
Sperwer UAV(click to view full) By the time 2005 drew to a close, Canada was pursuing UAV deployments on 3 fronts. The RQ-11 Raven's early performance in Afghanistan led to purchases of soldier-portable mini-UAVs, which would be joined by older Sperwer tactical UAVs...
* The "Espionage as a Service" [Jeffrey Carr] hacking case involving Su Bin and his Lode-Tech firm has expanded, with a US grand jury indictment [Contra Costa Times]. Programs affected include the C-17, F-22, and F-35. Su is currently being held in Canada, where he...
(click to visit) Guest Article by Christina Balis, Avascent This is a pivotal year for the Polish defense market. Russia's actions in Ukraine have underscored the urgency of Poland's $44 billion military modernization program, and accelerated planned purchases....
UH-60V Cockpit(click to view full) The US military is ordering new UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters at a rapid clip, but it still has a large legacy fleet of UH-60Ls. Upgrading UH-60L performance etc. isn't cost-effective, but upgrading their avionics to a common...
* The UK's Telegraph reports first-hand sighting of Russian armored vehicles crossing into Ukraine, also witnessed by Shaun Walker from the Guardian. This is a different column of vehicles than the "aid" convoy [NYT] of 260 trucks sent by Russia to "help" [see also...