Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, has discussed with the Defense Department the possibility of competing to build the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, a prospect that government sources say influenced DOD's recent move to drastically lower cost targets.

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Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) today asked the newly appointed fiscal year 2012 defense authorization conference committee to keep the House's language that bans funding for upgrades to a naval station in Mayport, FL, where the Navy intends to move one of the nuclear-powered aircraft carriers stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, VA.

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The Office of the Secretary of Defense is crafting a policy that targets suspected counterfeit electronic parts in the Defense Department's supply chain.

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Key lawmakers have asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to assess the readiness of the Air Force variant of the Joint Strike Fighter to begin flight training and weigh in on an issue that has pitted the Pentagon's top weapons tester against the F-35 joint program office.

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The Pentagon is threatening to recommend a presidential veto over language in the House's version of the fiscal year 2012 defense authorization bill that would prohibit the defense and energy secretaries from spending any money to dismantle nuclear weapon systems as required by the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

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The Marine Corps spared its modernization funds while identifying its share of $450 billion in Defense Department cuts over the next decade, Assistant Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford said today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 326 words

The Senate has narrowed a broad Pentagon exemption from the Freedom of Information Act contained in the fiscal year 2012 defense authorization bill, aligning the language in the Senate bill with an earlier House-passed version and gaining the backing of open government groups.

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Government-to-government sales of U.S. military equipment totaled $34.8 billion in fiscal year 2011 with Afghanistan, Taiwan and India accounting for more than 40 percent of the total sales, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

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The Government Accountability Office has ruled against Science Applications International Corp., which had filed a bid protest against the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle program, according to a GAO official.

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The Pentagon has reached a tentative agreement with Lockheed Martin on "key terms" for the fifth batch of Joint Strike Fighter jets, a fixed-price contract deal that includes a "concurrency" clause requiring the prime contractor to shoulder a portion of the costs for additional F-35 development work, according to a Defense Department statement.

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The Air Force's senior civilian has confirmed that there are still "outstanding risks associated with the Joint Strike Fighter flight training" at Eglin Air Force Base, FL, a sign of concurrence with the Pentagon's top weapons tester that the F-35 is not yet ready for unmonitored flight or formal training.

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The Defense Logistics Agency purchased 450,000 gallons of biofuels last week which will be used in upcoming exercises, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters via teleconference today.

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The Obama administration has directed the Pentagon to cut $261 billion from its five-year spending plan, including a $47 billion reduction in fiscal year 2013 -- reductions that reflect spending levels set by Congress and the White House in August as part of the Budget Control Act, according to sources familiar with new budget guidance from the White House.

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NATO member nations should consider the good of the alliance as they mull defense cuts in the face of an ongoing global financial crisis, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder said today.

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The General Electric-Rolls-Royce team building a second engine for the Joint Strike Fighter has decided to discontinue self-funding of the F136 engine, marking the end of the engine's development, the companies announced today.

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The Senate has approved legislation that would direct the Pentagon to furnish lawmakers with an explanation of how the Marine Corps' Joint Strike Fighter variant, the F-35B, can end its "probation" imposed in January by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

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AVX Aircraft Co. and BAE Systems have thrown their hat into the ring for the Medium-Range Maritime Unmanned Aerial System competition, AVX announced in a statement today.

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NEW YORK -- The Pentagon's fiscal year 2013 budget proposal will be cut by at least $40 billion, followed by cuts of roughly $50 billion annually for a decade, to comply with spending caps Congress and the White House agreed to in August, a senior Defense Department official said today.

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NEW YORK -- A senior Pentagon official today rejected claims made this month by Lockheed Martin's chief executive officer, who said "concurrency" rules being advanced by government F-35 negotiators reflect new policy. Those rules would shift costs for additional development work to the company.

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Cuts to military spending required by sequestration under the Budget Control Act would be drawn in part from unobligated prior-year balances, which could put at risk more than $8 billion appropriated for major weapon system acquisition in fiscal years 2011 and 2012, according to federal budget experts.

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