The Pentagon estimates an additional $482 million is required to pay for cost growth and modifications of aircraft purchased in the Joint Strike Fighter program's fourth early production run, a 14 percent increase above the $3.6 billion cost target for building 32 Joint Strike Fighters, lawmakers said today.

Cementing key acquisition lessons and reviewing the Defense Department's campaign to bolster its buying power are among acting DOD procurement chief Frank Kendall's top priorities for the year.

Ford Motor Co. will not pursue a bid for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle being developed by the Army and Marine Corps due to time line concerns, according to a company spokesman.

The Pentagon wants to establish a high-speed acquisition track for developing and procuring cyber capabilities, forming a new process to parallel the traditional weapon system acquisition system.

The Defense Department committed "acquisition malpractice" by putting the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter into production years before the first test flight, acting Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall said today.

Less than a year after terminating the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program for runaway costs, the Pentagon has formally launched a replacement acquisition effort to develop an Amphibious Combat Vehicle -- a pared-down successor in terms of capability and cost the Marine Corps hopes will begin ferrying troops from ship to shore as soon as 2022.

The Air Force intends to transfer its entire 42-aircraft MC-12 Liberty fleet to the Air National Guard and pursue a more limited version of its C-130 avionics modernization program, service leaders announced today.

The Pentagon is taking a crucial first step toward developing a new nuclear-armed cruise missile called the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) weapon, a key component of the Defense Department's plan to modernize its long-range strike capabilities and ensure it can hit targets in well-defended, hard-to-reach areas such as China and Iran.

The Air Force's top civilian said today that the service remains committed to completing its planned buy of 1,763 Joint Strike Fighters, arguing that any decision to trim the total acquisition objective -- a move that would immediately drive up aircraft unit costs -- is a decision for Pentagon leaders in the next decade.

A handful of Republican senators will file a bill today that would replace cuts during the first year of sequestration with savings found through federal employee attrition and pay freezes.

The Air Force's plan to retire hundreds of aging aircraft will allow the service to reduce expenses and get rid of excess capacity, but arranging those fleets into common configurations will also allow for better flexibility in battle, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said today.

Northrop Grumman has won the Navy's Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services design competition, according to a Navy official.

The Air Force plans to eliminate more than 280 aircraft in its inventory, defer or cancel a number of procurement programs and reduce its manpower by nearly 10,000 airmen over the next five years, the service said today in a document released ahead of the fiscal year 2013 budget request.

The German and Italian governments oppose a new Defense Department plan to bring the Medium Extended Air Defense System to a close earlier than agreed to last October, according to a letter sent to the Pentagon's top acquisition official.

Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems have won technology-development contracts for the Army's Common Infrared Countermeasures system, the service said today.

Pentagon top brass have formally reaffirmed a 2009 pact outlining a framework for how the Air Force will provide direct support to the Army for the delivery of time-sensitive, mission-critical equipment, a move designed to "mitigate" the Defense Department's decision to eliminate the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft fleet as part of a package of budget-reduction measures.

Cyber threats have been elevated to a top national security concern on par with terrorism and proliferation, and are one of the most challenging issues facing the intelligence community, the director of national intelligence told lawmakers today.

The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are likely to realign themselves over the next several years to tackle more "new mission areas" like cybersecurity and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, the directors of the two organizations said today.

The commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command told reporters today that the Ponce (LPD-15) will be renovated into an afloat forward staging base for U.S. Central Command to support mine countermeasures, not special operations forces.

The Navy's new budget plan will reverse a move announced last year to accelerate the production of a new fleet of oilers, a decision that strips three of four vessels from the service's earlier plan and resets the start date for construction of the new logistics ship to fiscal year 2017, according to sources familiar with the Pentagon's new budget plan.