Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acting acquisition chief, has instructed the Army to fully fund the Common Infrared Countermeasures program through its technology development phase, according to a Dec. 28 memo obtained by InsideDefense.com.

Since carrying out its first mission for the Marine Corps in Afghanistan last month, Lockheed Martin's K-MAX unmanned helicopter has delivered more than 18 tons of cargo in about 20 flights, helping to keep truck convoys off the road, George Barton, Lockheed Martin vice president of business development for ship and aviation systems, said today during a company briefing.

Competing work on the Missile Defense Agency's billion-dollar command, control, battle management and communications element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System instead of retaining lead contractor Lockheed Martin would delay the effort by more than three years and cost an extra $117 million, according to MDA.

The Pentagon's strategic pivot toward the Asia-Pacific region will not require a major surge in the number of Navy ships there, nor will it diminish the fleet's presence in the Middle East, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said today.

The Pentagon's shift in military strategy that President Barack Obama announced last week could prove to be a boon for Navy unmanned programs and 10th Fleet, as leaders told the media last week that the services would shift their focus from large ground forces to the unmanned and cyber realms.

The Army's development of the Ground Combat Vehicle is on unsure footing due to a high price tag and the fact that U.S. military strategy is pivoting toward power projection in the Pacific and away from extensive ground engagements, a new report to Congress contends.

The F-35 joint program office is girding for a surge of international orders that would boost manufacturing rates for the seventh and eighth Joint Strike Fighter production runs by more than 40 percent above currently planned buys for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, according to Defense Department officials.

A request for proposals on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program's engineering and manufacturing development phase is expected to be released on or about Jan. 20, with up to three contract awards planned for June, according to a Jan. 5 Army announcement.

The United States' new defense strategy aims to trim conventional military forces while increasing investments in a handful of areas including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, unmanned systems, space programs, cyberspace capabilities, and platforms that project U.S. forces rapidly around the world, officials said today.

A Kansas lawmaker is frustrated by Boeing's decision to close a facility in Wichita, KS, and move a portion of work on KC-46 refueling tankers to Puget Sound, WA.

The Pentagon's fiscal year 2013 budget request slashes Marine Corps and Army end strength in conjunction with a new military strategy that urges cutting back on stability operations, but even deeper cuts to both ground services are expected in the coming years, according to sources familiar with the plans.

The Pentagon's acting acquisition chief has assured defense industry executives that last year's negotiations with Lockheed Martin over F-35 purchases, which involved "concurrency" rules that would shift costs for additional work on early production aircraft to the company, are not intended to be precedent-setting for future procurement programs.

The announced sale of two Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense systems to the United Arab Emirates will increase Lockheed Martin's planned build rate for the system by between 50 percent and 100 percent, said Tom McGrath, Lockheed's vice president and program manager for the THAAD weapon system.

The Defense Department failed to meet its goals for achieving competition in procurement programs in fiscal year 2011, according to a Pentagon memo.

At least four companies have provided responses to the Army's request for information for input on mission systems that could outfit a future family of helicopters slated for fielding around 2030.

The Advanced Amphibious Assault program office is looking to replace the Assault Amphibious Vehicle's intercommunications systems, according to Dennis Boucher, AAV director.

The Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility Systems effort spearheaded by the Office of Naval Research will likely incorporate a range of vertical-takeoff-and-lift platforms rather than just one specific platform, according to a concept of operations released last week.

Defense officials are awaiting approval from the Pentagon's financial leaders on a proposed financial management professional certification program that would focus on audit readiness and provide a framework for the department's 58,000 people working in the field.

OFF THE COAST OF CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Asking Marines and sailors in the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group whether the Marine Corps is getting back to its amphibious roots will spur mixed reactions -- some feel a renewed emphasis on the work they're doing, while others will insist the Marine Corps never left the seas despite a decade of fighting land wars.

Air Mobility Command, in conjunction with several organizations within the Defense Department that provide precision airdrop services in theater, is working with industry to refine the technologies that allow for accurate delivery of supplies to troops on the ground, according to the command.