The Army has released a draft request for proposals outlining a new acquisition strategy for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle that calls for proceeding with a single engineering and manufacturing development contract as a cost-saving measure.

The Pentagon is seeking congressional permission to reprogram funds appropriated in fiscal year 2012 to finance two airpower-related projects: a new high-tech mechanical arm mounted on armored trucks designed to rapidly clear airfields of unexploded ordnance, and upgrades to the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft system operated by U.S. Special Operations Forces.

Beechcraft Corp. filed a lawsuit yesterday in federal court in an attempt to stop the Air Force from producing light-attack aircraft for the Afghan military until after a government agency has ruled on a bid protest the company filed in early March.

The Air Force has surpassed its goal of reducing fuel consumption by 10 percent several years ahead of schedule, two senior service officials said today.

The Defense Department will ask lawmakers to approve nearly $70 million in new counterterrorism aid for Libya, Nigeria and the Philippines, among other countries, according to an administration report to Congress.

Air Force reserve component leaders are concerned that ongoing congressional budget issues may negatively impact modernization plans for Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard aircraft efforts, in particular F-16 targeting pods and the C-130's fuel control system.

Pentagon officials likely will jump through the hoops of a federal rulemaking process to satisfy a new legal requirement aimed at forcing defense contractors with access to secret government information to report network hacking incidents to the Defense Department.

The Army in June will launch a pilot capability portfolio review process centered on eliminating infantry brigade combat team redundancies, a departure from previous reviews' focus on mission areas like precision fires or intelligence, according a senior service leader.

The Navy is delaying until late spring a review, previously set for last summer, of the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules program, holding up the disclosure of how much it will cost to field the shore-hugging ships with their full combat capability.

The Air Force today successfully launched its second Space-Based Infrared System geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.

The House Armed Services readiness subcommittee will take a hard look this year at how to bring equipment back from Afghanistan, what to keep and how to fix it up, and how to transition away from the way the United States has fought war since 2001 and into whatever future threats may require, according to the subcommittee's new chairman.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week directed senior leaders to conduct a review of the choices that underlie the Defense Department's strategy, force posture, investments and institutional management -- including "all past assumptions, systems and practices," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today.

Kansas lawmakers have asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to countermand the Air Force's decision to build a fleet of light-attack aircraft for the Afghan military while a contract for that work is under protest.

Industry submitted at least four proposals to the Army for a chance to build a Joint Multi-Role technology demonstrator air vehicle that will guide possible designs and concepts for the service's Future Vertical Lift helicopter expected to take flight around 2035, according to company sources.

The Obama administration will shift funds from the Standard Missile-3 Block IIB program to pay for the deployment of an additional 14 Ground Based Interceptors in Alaska, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today.

The Air Force today announced it has authorized Sierra Nevada Corp. to build 20 light-attack aircraft for the Afghan military despite an ongoing bid protest from the losing contractor.

The general tasked with leading the Air Force's segment of the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review said this morning that the QDR will have important strategic value to the service and the Defense Department regardless of the budgetary and force structure questions DOD is dealing with.

McKinsey & Co., a management consulting firm, is wrapping up an independent assessment of the Joint Strike Fighter's estimated $1.1 trillion, 30-year operating and support costs -- findings the Pentagon plans to use in a new campaign to drive down the stealth fighter's life-cycle price tag.

The Pentagon has notified Congress how it will spend nearly $204 million this fiscal year for the Cooperative Threat Reduction program funds provided under the continuing resolution, with more than half of the money going to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall this week stressed the vital importance of strong leadership in making acquisition programs succeed, but he said the Air Force has not been heavily affected by years-long vacancies at the top of its acquisition executive ranks.