Mark V(click to view full) US Special Operation Command's Mark V fast boats are known for their daring crews and SEAL passengers. They're also known for back-breaking bumpy rides, and for an occasional tendency to have their entire pilot house collapse when hit by a...
* KyivPost: "Interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov called the separatist referendums in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts - collectively 15% of the nation - a 'farce' that 'will not have any legal consequences except for the prosecution of its organizers.'" *...
Boeing Wichita Development and Modification Center in Wichita, KS is being awarded a $216.7 million cost-plus fixed-fee contract to enhance the in-theater combat communications of the B-52H Aircraft. Solicitation began August 2004, negotiations were completed March 2005, and work will be complete by January 2010. The B-52 remains the mainstay of the U.S. strategic bomber force, and in-theater combat communications improvements may allow it to make better use of advanced new weapons like the JDAM. The Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, OK issued the contract (FA8107-05-C-0001).
* Defense One's claim that every country will have armed drones within ten years that are capable of firing missiles seems a bit of a stretch, but it's a safe expectation that at least every significant military power will have UCAVs in 10 years, and so will many...
* While discussing their annual Top-Performing Companies (TPC) study, AviationWeek and PWC echo concerns voiced here at DID last month: "Another troubling sign is that half of the world's 10 highest-ranked defense-oriented operating units saw defense-related revenues...
(click to view full) Night Vision Goggles have provided American troops with important combat advantages, and the technology has continued to advance. The Army has moved to field Enhanced Night Vision Goggles, but soldiers complained about the first 9,000 or so. 2013...
* 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...
* 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...
* 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...