The dual-band radar system that was initially intended for the first DDG-1000 will now likely be installed on the CVN-79 aircraft carrier, according to the DDG-1000­ program manager. 802 words

The DDG-1000 program is working a series of tests that program officials hope will retire the class's remaining major risks. 563 words

The Office of Naval Research met with industry last week to discuss establishing a program of record for a Navy cargo unmanned aerial system by the middle of the decade, and a Marine Corps official said a successful deployment of an immediate cargo UAS system could lead to exploding demand across the services. 1266 words

Days after the Pentagon's top weapons tester decried reliability rates of the Virginia-class attack submarine, the program office pushed back against allegations of reliability problems, telling Inside the Navy that any depiction of the submarine as unreliable is "inaccurate." 503 words

The Pentagon's acquisition directorate plans to approve the start of full-rate production for the multibillion-dollar, Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine program, clearing the way for a doubling of the production rate.838 words

Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) has appealed to President Obama to prevent the closure of the Northrop Grumman-owned Avondale shipyard in his district in 2013 by steering some defense contracts to it, according to a spokesman. 565 words

The Navy needs to re-think the amount of documentation it requires for acquisition programs, Rear Adm. Jerry Burroughs, head of Program Executive Office Command, Control, Computing, Communication and Intelligence, said at a conference earlier this month. He pointed out that all the documents produced cost money, and some are the result of a single program mishap. The Navy must "look at every document you have to produce and seriously look at how much benefit we're getting out of that and is it worth the cost we're paying," he said, "and I think in a lot of cases, the answer's going to be no."105 words

The Defense Department has delayed by three months a high-level Pentagon review of whether the Navy's P-8A program is ready to proceed into the production and deployment phase of acquisition, a pivotal juncture for the $32 billion program that will replace the Navy's venerable P-3 turboprops with a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft modified to hunt submarines and, if necessary, fight surface ships.497 words

Rising fuel costs and a desire to cut down on maintenance spending is helping push the Navy's increasing use of simulators for training, but the service must be careful to not be overly reliant on the systems, Vice Adm. William Burke, deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics (N4), told a House panel last week. 439 words

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. 710 words

The Coast Guard has announced its schedule moving forward with the Offshore Patrol Cutter, which is expected to make up the largest portion of its acquisition budget. 497 words

The Office of Naval Research is wrestling with the fact that many of the ships envisioned as part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force are not designed for at-sea transfers, and therefore need new technology to help connect vessels far from shore in high sea states. 536 words

The Defense Department's acquisition office wants to develop an online toolkit to help streamline the acquisition process for warfighters in the field and to quickly and efficiently get them the items they need.769 words

Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, the incoming chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command, last week said issues surrounding the use of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems during counterinsurgency operations are high on his agenda as the general in charge of advancing new warfighting concepts and joint training efforts.380 words

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.928 words

The Defense Department lacks the information and guidance needed to manage and reduce operating and support costs for major weapon systems, according to a report released July 16 by the Government Accountability Office.722 words

The Defense Business Board is recommending Defense Secretary Robert Gates eliminate U.S. Joint Forces Command and the Pentagon's networking directorate, merge the Joint Staff with Gates' office and implement a hiring freeze.883 words

Prior to a July 22 vote in the Senate that advanced a multi-billion supplemental war funding bill, four key Pentagon officials warned Congress that failing to pass the measure before the scheduled August recess would result in civilian furloughs and create a financial emergency for the military.972 words