Don't expect the Senate to complete ratification of the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty anytime soon, according to Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ).
The Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis recently issued a report
on the role of missile defense in countering the electromagnetic-pulse threat,
particularly from terrorists operating from a cargo ship off the continental
United States. "In particular, this means that we should seek all means to
prevent a threatening vessel from approaching U.S. territorial waters close
enough to launch an EMP-threatening ballistic missile -- and failing that, to
intercept the missile in its ascent phase before it releases a nuclear
warhead," the report states, adding: "We should increase deployment of -- and
continue to improve -- this defense capability, which will be imperfect
initially."
The Air Force has updated the way it develops operational capability requirements, releasing a new guidance that takes into account policy changes and a number of reforms to implement in the service's weapon buying shop, according to Pentagon documents.
The Army's
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system could cost hundreds of millions more
than budgeted if prime contractor Lockheed Martin maintains program performance
through development contract completion in January 2011, according to a
Government Accountability Office report released July 14.
The Pentagon's
acquisition executive has established a standing advisory panel to regularly
assess the vulnerability of U.S. military weapons to attack from an
electromagnetic pulse designed to cripple microcircuits and electronic systems.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) pressed Navy Undersecretary Robert Work last week to re-examine the possibility of designing a smaller submarine-launched nuclear missile so the service could avoid designing an expensive new sub, jeopardizing future budgets.
Air Force officials delayed the Atlas V-propelled launch of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite for 10 days after a newly designed separation nut failed testing, according to a service spokeswoman.
The Pentagon
plans to strip millions of Air Force dollars from a number of intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance procurement programs and boost funding for
intelligence analysis and exploitation capabilities, according to a recent
reprogramming notice.
Pentagon
procurement chief Ashton Carter wants officials running the most sensitive
classified defense programs to work closely with the Defense Contract
Management Agency in a way his predecessor never advocated.
Defense
Secretary Robert Gates' big push for efficiencies is "not a budget drill," but
instead is about "turning fat into muscle," Pentagon industrial policy chief
Brett Lambert told defense industry representatives June 15 at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies.
