The Pentagon has reversed plans to delay the release of its biannual audit readiness report, opting instead to address the details of a recently accelerated milestone in a separate addendum, according to a senior defense official.

Army Secretary John McHugh today singled out Defense Department-wide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets as a "good area" to look at in the Pentagon's search for reducing costly duplications in the services' weapon programs.

While the military service chiefs testified today before a House defense committee on the dangers of deep cuts to Pentagon spending, two House Democrats have sent a letter to the debt-reduction supercommittee suggesting ways to wring nearly $600 billion from the Defense Department budget over the next decade.

Funding for the Pentagon's entire weapon system modernization program would be decimated in the event additional cuts of $600 billion called for by the sequestration provision of the Budget Control Act are imposed, top brass from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines warned lawmakers today.

Congressional proponents of the Joint Tactical Radio System Handheld Manpack Small Form Factor (JTRS HMS) radio and the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) programs are urging House appropriators to stand their ground on fully funding the efforts when the fiscal year 2012 defense appropriations bill goes to conference.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert responded to Virginia lawmakers seeking to keep a full fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in Norfolk, writing in an Oct. 21 letter that the decision to move one carrier to Florida was strategically smart but would be re-examined in the context of budget cuts.

The Pentagon's acquisition executive has asked Air Force leaders to weigh in on a recommendation from the Defense Department's top weapons tester to delay F-35 pilot training until next fall, a move that would add new cost and delays to the beleaguered Joint Strike Fighter program.

PANAMA CITY, FL -- The head of the Littoral Combat Ship program executive office said here last week he plans to use contractors to address corrosion and maintenance issues on both the Austal USA and Lockheed Martin ship designs, as he is opposed to increasing the size of the LCS crew to deal with the problem.

The Asia-Pacific region looms large in the Army's latest look at the national security challenges of 2020 and beyond, according to the three-star general overseeing the effort.

The Army and Marine Corps are inviting executives from companies expected to compete in the next round of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle competition to meet with top brass next month to "solicit feedback" on the JLTV draft solicitation, according to Army sources.

The Defense Department and other agencies that deal with nuclear weapons are likely to encounter a "bow wave" of significant costs to modernize all three legs of the nuclear triad after fiscal year 2017, a top Air Force nuclear official said today.

The Air Force has halted work on two bomber upgrade programs, putting funding for both on the chopping block as the Pentagon prepares to finalize its fiscal year 2013 spending proposal, according to government sources.

The Missile Defense Agency should put less emphasis on efforts to intercept ballistic missiles early in flight, particularly in light of the Pentagon's regional phased adaptive approach missile defense plans, according to a new Defense Science Board report.

The Pentagon will cut four F-35 jets from its next Joint Strike Fighter order to help finance $771 million in cost overruns incurred during the manufacturing of the program's first 28 stealthy fighters, according to government officials.

Two senior Army leaders said today they believe the effort to save the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is bearing fruit on Capitol Hill, where budget-minded lawmakers are poised to terminate the program.

The Pentagon's acquisition executive issued guidance this summer requiring government negotiators to insist that Lockheed Martin shoulder a share of future cost overruns for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft after the Defense Department absorbed more than $770 million in overruns for the first three production lots, the F-35 program office said today in a statement.

Air Force officials believe they can find more energy efficiencies in a tight budget environment and are actively working to do so, a service official said today.

A new Pentagon report finds "a stunning increase" in espionage targeting sensitive U.S. military technology and defense industry trade secrets over the last year, including newly concerted efforts -- particularly from East Asia and the Pacific -- to acquire autonomous underwater vehicle technology.

Lower-tier space suppliers are worried about how expected defense budget cuts could affect their future, the president of the Aerospace Industries Association said today.

Lt. Gen. William Phillips, the military deputy to the Army acquisition executive, and Lt. Gen. Robert Lennox, the service's chief programmer (G-8), are fond of calling each other "battle buddies" because of how often they find themselves representing (and defending) Army acquisition efforts before Congress and the media. They will do so again tomorrow, Oct. 26.