The test flight program for the Marine Corps' Joint Strike Fighter variant faces challenges in getting back on schedule as officials contend with operating limitations that require grounding the aircraft in common weather conditions including steady wind, wet tarmacs and nearby lightning, according to Pentagon officials and documents.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter will soon identify a slate of initiatives designed to save billions within the Pentagon's procurement shop, according to a senior defense official.
A recent report on the advisability of converting the Army's tactical truck fleet to hybrid electric vehicles found that while the technology is feasible, it remains too expensive and too risky to warrant any action other than further study.
09-07-2010
NATO will assume the same time lines for a "phased adaptive approach" to missile defense as prescribed by President Obama last year, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said today.
09-03-2010
The Navy is pushing back against a Government Accountability Office report issued last week saying the Littoral Combat Ship's anti-submarine warfare package will not add significant capability to the fleet and criticizing the early deployment of LCS-1 and LCS-2.
The Army is seeking feedback from industry on plans to quickly field a robotic vehicle that would follow small groups of soldiers around on the battlefields of Afghanistan to carry their equipment, according to a notice published on the Federal Business Opportunities website today.
09-02-2010
The Pentagon's procurement shop has officially designated numerous acquisition posts to be "key leadership positions" that must be filled by military officials of a certain rank.
Global Strike Command's recently released guidance on B-52 intelligence operations is the first of many the command plans to issue in the coming months, which will act as a gapfiller until the Air Staff issues permanent instruction for those operations, Inside the Air Force has learned.
09-01-2010
BAE Systems has won a $629 million contract to upgrade 1,700 Caiman Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, increasing their survivability and mobility, according to a company statement.
08-31-2010
Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter has commissioned a new study of the Defense Department's basic research program, a key element of the military's science and technology portfolio.
Procurement of the anti-submarine warfare mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship has been suspended due to a Navy analysis showing that it would not add significantly to the fleet's existing capabilities, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
A Raytheon-Boeing team competing for the Joint Air to Ground Missile believes Raytheon's recent win in the Small Diameter Bomb II could pay dividends for the Pentagon if the team is selected to build JAGM.
Defense Environment Alert -- The Defense Department's broad interpretation of legal provisions that free DOD and other entities from liability for pollution solely caused by an "act of war" is sparking a conflict with the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal land management agencies at contaminated sites on two Alaskan islands as well as a dispute over language in a draft revised DOD cleanup manual, according to informed sources.
08-30-2010
Some defense analysts are welcoming the Army's recent decision to scrap its solicitation for the Ground Combat Vehicle and see it as a sign of level-headed planning, despite the disruption it caused many major industry players.
08-27-2010
The Air Force plans to realign multiple space oversight positions at the Air Staff level following the completion of a major review of space management and responsibilities at the Pentagon, according to service documents.
08-26-2010
As U.S. troops prepare for a limited drawdown in Afghanistan starting next July, American air advisers working to stand up the Afghan National Air Force continue to wrestle with significant technological and cultural hurdles within that nascent force, a senior service official tells Inside the Air Force.
08-25-2010
The Defense Logistics Agency's plans to support Defense Secretary Robert Gates' cost-reduction initiatives include cutting "prices" by as much as 10 percent and taking additional steps to weed out suppliers of counterfeit parts that do not meet military regulations, according to senior defense officials.
Based on the findings of a special "red team" report, the Army is canceling its Ground Combat Vehicle request for proposals process and intends to issue revised requirements that will allow industry teams to bid again some time in the future.
