Reforming Surveillance - Maybe * The President's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies released a report [PDF] making recommendations to rebalance security concerns with privacy and civil liberties, though they point out that some core...
China Crowdsources Arms Smuggling to Procure Mil Tech * Reuters investigates China's military buildup in its many forms. * From the DC-based Lexington Institute, on China's belligerence: "Defense experts use a simple formula to represent the severity of threats to...
By releasing its budget proposal for fiscal year 2014 in mid-April, the Obama administration was two months over the legal deadline and later than at any time in the modern record. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reiterated the gambit that failed and...
Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee opened the first phase of India’s giant western naval base INS Kadamba in Karwar, Karnataka state, on May 31, saying it would protect the country’s Arabian Sea maritime routes…. The Kadamba base is being built in the southern state as part of India’s ambitious RUP 350 billion (USD $8.13 billion) “Project Seabird,” which will include the naval base plus an air force station, a naval armament depot, and missile silos when it is completed in the next five years. Mr. Mukherjee admitted that the project had to overcome many impediments since it was sanctioned by the government in 1985 (it was originally slated for completion in 1995)….
Ammo Concerns * National Defense on the munitions industrial base in the United States: "A new Defense Department initiative seeks to ensure that new munitions development efforts include concurrent pursuit of designs for exportability. This is welcome and will be...
Yours for a low, low price In July 2012, after protracted bargaining over American aid money, Pakistan reopened its roads - the so-called PAKGLOC in military lingo - to NATO traffic in and out of Afghanistan after their closure at the end of 2011. That is the theory...
Japan's Mid-Term Defense Program * The Asahi Shimbun reports that the new 5-year FY14-19 MTDP - pending cabinet approval - includes 17 V-22s and 3 Global Hawks. For reference: FY11-15 MTDP [PDF]. ITAR Guidance * The US Department of State released updated guidelines...
US Business * SAIC released its first quarterly results since its spin off. Revenue for Q3 FY14 came at $974M, down 18% from $1.18B a year ago. The services business, especially IT, continues to be tough in the current budget environment. * The Program Manager, Light...
Pentagon Contract Flow * The Pentagon announced 198 contracts for a total of $23B in November, showing a return to norm after October's shutdown. Bloomberg. * The US Navy is going to ramp up its biofuel purchases, with financial support from the Department of...