The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Sequester Slicing. The Pentagon doesn’t know how so-called sequestration cuts would apply to its accounts if those $500 billion in longterm defense cuts materialize, Comptroller Robert Hale says. Lawyers from the Pentagon and White House Office of Management are examining “arcane law” that dates back to 1985 and dictates how sequestration cuts are applied, he tells the Senate Budget Committee Feb. 28. The Pentagon says in a letter to lawmakers last November the sequestration cuts would take a set percentage off of each defense program, project, and activity. Yet Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) says the Budget Control Act of 2011, the law that made the sequestration cuts possible, does not require cuts to each activity within an account. “For example, you could choose to apply the amount to be sequestered from the Navy procurement account entirely to one activity within that account,” Thune maintains. Hale replies: “Our lawyers believe that (the cuts) would be at that low level of detail that was in that (November) letter,” though they are investigating the matter. He adds: “I don’t think anybody questions that at the account level–Army (operations and maintenance) O&M, Navy shipbuilding–that would have to be equal in percentage terms.” Congress could stop the sequestration cuts before next January.
Snowe Fall. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) announces Feb. 28 she will not seek reelection to a fourth term, depriving the Senate of a shipbuilding advocate. Snowe, like her colleague Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), advocates for General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works shipyard and to keep Portsmouth Naval Shipyard open. She touts Maine shipbuilding in a press release last December, saying the state “continues to play a key role in the security of the United States, by providing funding for Bath Iron Works’ shipbuilding programs, submarine maintenance at Kittery-Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and other defense-related activities undertaken every day by Mainers around the state.” Snowe also has worked extensively on cybersecurity legislation. Lawmakers looking to replace her include House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).
Smith’s Jet. HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) says he shares Senate Armed Services Committee’s leaders’ concerns about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. “We do not yet have a firm idea of when the plane, any of the three variants, are actually going to be ready,” Smith tells the Defense Writers Group March 1. “My favorite thing is, ‘Yes we have problems, but we know what all of them are and we know they’re all fixable,’” he laments. “So I’m very worried about that.” Considering the Lockheed Martin fighter is going to dominate the military’s fleet for the coming decades, he says: “We have to find a way to make it work.”
Japan’s View. Japan may cancel F-35 orders if prices rise or deliveries are delayed, a top official says Feb. 29, Reuters reports. Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka’s comments come as the Pentagon seeks Congress’ permission to delay the purchase of 179 F-35s for the United States over the next five years, to save $15.1 billion and allow kinks to be worked out in testing. Japan, one of eight foreign countries participating in the fifth-generation fighter program, has planned to buy 42 F-35s, starting with four jets delivered by March 2017. “As for the first four planes, I expect an official contract to be concluded by this summer. If it turns out they cannot meet what they have proposed by that time, that would raise concerns about our defense capability,” Tanaka told Japan’s parliament, according to Reuters. “I believe we would need to consider as a potential option matters like cancelling our orders and starting a new selection process if that is the case.”
China Concerns. HASC member Randy Forbes (R-Va.) blasts the Pentagon for not releasing its annual report on China’s military power by its March 1 due date. “Unfortunately, the report’s tardy delivery has become an annual occurrence,” he says in a March 2 letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The congressman says his office has heard multiple reasons for the delays, including interagency coordination, analytical challenges, and political pressures. “This year, given the (Defense) Department’s new rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific, I find it even more alarming why a report on the military capabilities of a state that the Department has said is acquiring capabilities aimed at denying the United States freedom of action in the western Pacific Ocean would again be unavailable during the National Defense Authorization Act assessment process,” writes Forbes, co-chairman of the Congressional China Caucus.
Decentralized Finance Model. After two failed attempts to create a one-system approach to financial systems management of the enterprise, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is looking to a decentralized model that leaves alone components with good financial systems while fixing systems of agencies in need of repair, Rafael Borras, the under secretary for Management at DHS, tells a House panel. DHS scrapped its first attempt at a one-system financial model, the eMerge-2 effort in 2005, and its second, the Transformation and Systems Consolidation, last May. Now, the department is looking to standardize where appropriate, maintain oversight, but take a “modular and agile” approach that leaves intact good financial systems like Customs and Border Protection has in place rather than invest in one comprehensive system, he says.
…Weaknesses Remain. DHS improved its financial management during FY ’11 and produced its first auditable balance sheet, enabling independent auditors to render a qualified opinion on the statement, Charles Edwards, acting Inspector General at DHS, tells the same House panel. Still, the auditor was unable to perform procedures to “form an opinion on DHS’ internal control over financial reporting” and all of the key department components face functional limitations with their financial systems, he says. He also says that “many” of the financial systems used across DHS rely on aging technology and have not been updated since the department was formed in 2003.
Command And Control. The Navy last week released a memorandum intended to improve and streamline the management of command and control systems. The tactical memo, or TACMEMO, was issued by the Navy Warfare Development Command. It defines a common lexicon and standardized process for use by maritime operations centers personnel. The memo is designed to outlines an effective process for managing command and control architectures like intelligence and information, networks and communication transports, and decision support. The document was generated after a year-long observation of fleet staff across various regions, including Pacific Fleet, 6th Fleet, 5th Fleet and 3rd Fleet. “We quickly discovered that many organizations are conducting similar activities in an ad-hoc manner that needed to be formalized within the Navy doctrine process,” said Rear Adm. Terry B. Kraft, chief of Navy Warfare Development Command.
Expeditionary War Gaming. The Marine Corps is set this week to conduct its annual Expeditionary Warrior war game to assess challenges and evaluate the ability of sea-based expeditionary forces to respond to a crisis. The gaming also examines the forces’ capability to penetrate and operate in an anti-access area denial environment envisioned for 2024, the service says. EW12 will include participation from across the services and the Office of Secretary of Defense along with 15 international partners. The seminar style war gaming is set to begin today and run through the week.
LCS-1 Dry Docking. The first Littoral Combat Ships, the USS Freedom (LCS-1) has been dry docked in San Diego to repair a shaft seal that failed and caused the ship to take on water. The Freedom was taken out of the water on Feb. 25 after returning to port following the leaking that took place on Feb. 1, while the ship was undergoing post-availability sea trials. Lt. Jan Shultis, a spokeswoman for Naval Surface Force command in San Diego, says engineers from Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and manufacturer Lockheed Martin are working on the seal and determining the cause of failure. No conclusions have been reached so far. Shultis says the LCS-1 is expected to be in dry dock for about six weeks for the repairs and that it will take about another week to return it to the water. She says it was unclear whether the repair time will affect plans to conduct another post-availability sea trial scheduled for this summer.
New Helo Strike Squad. The Navy commissioned a new helicopter strike squadron consisting of MH-60R Seahawks at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego last week. The Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) becomes the fourth of a planned six squads and will join a carrier wing. HSM-78 trained pilots and the maintenance crew for months and will consist of 11 MH-60Rs. “We are meeting a significant milestone in its progression to becoming the primary and premiere aviation sea control asset,” says Capt. Jeffrey Hughes, commander of Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific. HSM-78 is currently assigned to Carrier Air Wing 17 and is scheduled to deploy aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in 2014.
Saving Dough On Nukes. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to delay construction of a new facility to save money and offset the cost of higher priorities like the nuclear Weapons Lifetime Extension programs. Thomas D’Agostino tells a House Appropriations subcommittee last week that deferring construction of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility will save about $1.8 billion over the next five years. NNSA will instead focus on how the government can meet plutonium demands on an interim basis through use of the capabilities and expertise at existing facilities.
V For Success. Top Army acquisition officials say the Stryker double V hull (DVH) has gone from being a General Dynamics Land Systems concept to provide further protection to soldiers from IED blasts 24 months ago and just “PowerPoint deep,” to soldier feedback calling the system a “tremendous success,” says Lt. Gen. William Phillips, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics & Technology at a Friday Pentagon roundtable. Almost 300 of the DVH Stryker vehicles are fielded to soldiers today and the Army plans to buy about 760 of them, about two brigade sets worth, as requested by theater commanders. Of some 40 IED incidents to date, only two resulted in soldier injury or death.
…Back In Action. Phillips also says at a battle damage and repair facility in Qatar it has taken “on average less than 60 days” to return DVH Strykers to the fight.
Going Live. Australia’s army celebrates its 111th birthday and launches its new website Chief of Army, Lt. Gen. David Morrison says: “Our new website provides audio and visual information of what we are doing now, what we will do in the future, as well as what has made us who we are. I invite you to explore Australia’s modern Army–a reflection of our Anzac heritage, performing a vital role in today’s world with a deep commitment to the security of Australia in the 21st century. The new Australian army website features interactive soldiers that rotate 360 degrees, a collection of rare oral histories, videos and images, and information about Army’s force restructure, Plan BEERSHEBA. Take a look: http://www.army.gov.au.
New Leader. The Army Initial Military Training (IMT) Center of Excellence Friday conducted a change of responsibility ceremony at Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Headquarters, Fort Eustis, Va. Maj. Gen. Richard Longo turns over responsibility to Maj. Gen. Bradley May. May reports in from Iraq, where he served as executive director, deputy commanding general (Advising and Training), U.S. Forces-Iraq; Operation New Dawn. Longo moves on to Afghanistan as director, Task Force 2010. The IMT Deputy Commanding General is the TRADOC executive responsible for the Army’s officer, warrant officer and enlisted training process through completion of IMT.
NATO And Cyber… The most important thing NATO can do to shore up its cyber defenses is to “unpack the issues” by getting down to basics, a think tank analyst says at a forum Feb. 27 to unveil a new issues brief titled “NATO’s Cyber Capabilities: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” Jason Healey, director of the Atlantic Council’s cyber statescraft initiative, says during a discussion that too many times cyber discussions are overly negative and a race to a bottom. “You have to unpack the issues because cyber issues can get incredibly complex so fast. But they don’t have to be,” Healey says. “A lot of times, you get into a conversation about what future cyber conflicts might be like or can you figure out if there was a large cyber attack, who was behind it? There may only be the people who say ‘Yes, but you may never know that, you may never be able to figure out X, Y, or Z.’ To unpack the issues is to say ‘Yes, but maybe you can.’ Too often in cyber, we drive ourselves down into these discussions that have no solutions without realizing ‘No, there’s this big part up here that do have solutions if we just don’t get caught up in all of the exceptions.’”
…Suggestions for NATO. Three specific suggestions the issue brief makes for NATO include: Considering structuring its future defense plans to into multiple phases depending on future threats and technologies; push for multi-national sharing of baseline cyber capabilities; rely on the European Union for issues, especially those that rely on national infrastructure; connect civilian and military organizations and create an “ad hoc” coordination cell where offers would apply, but not share, knowledge of sensitive capabilities to help communicate the objective of NATO’s operational commanders to their relevant national cyber units.
SDA ‘Security Jam.’ Security & Defence Agenda, a “neutral meeting point for defence and security specialists from NATO and the European Union,” is hosting an online “Security Jam” March 19-23 to promote the “need for fresh thinking both from the military and from the wide range of relevant civilian stakeholders.” Topics include strategic partnerships, crisis management, cyber security and future capabilities. You can learn more about the Security Jam at http://www.securityjam.org.
Taxpayer Group Applauds LAS Decision. A non-profit, non-partisan organization applauds the Air Force for its intent to terminate the Afghanistan Light Area Support (LAS) contract to Sierra Nevada and Brazilian manufacturer Embraer for the A-29 Super Tucano. Taxpayers Protection Alliance says in a statement that millions of taxpayer dollars were exposed to “waste, fraud and abuse” when the Pentagon decided to exclude Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company and its AT-6 from competing. “With so many questions surrounding the United States Air Force Light Air Support contract decision, we are happy to hear a succinct review process is now underway,” TPA President David Williams says in a statement. “It is our hope this evaluation will enable American contender Hawker Beechcraft a fair and open competition against foreign challenger Embraer. This decision brings our country one step closer to the possibility of job creation in Kansas and other states with companies that support manufacturing for the Hawker AT-6.”
Why USAF ‘Needs’ Long-Range Bomber. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz makes no bones about why he thinks the service needs a new Long Range Bomber at a Defense Writers Group. “I’ll tell you why we need the bomber,” Schwartz says. “Do you think the Chinese have established one of the world’s best air defense environments in their eastern provinces just to invest their national treasure? Or, for that measure, (why) the Iranians have established integrated air defenses around certain locations in their country? They’re not doing this for the fun of it, they’re doing it because they have a sense of vulnerability. I ask you, what is it that conveys that sense of vulnerability to others? One of those things is long range strike, and that is an asset the United States of America should not concede and that is why our want for the Long Strike Bomber is relevant and will continue to be relevant.”
…Benefits of Austerity. Schwartz says that maybe there is a ray of sunshine in a time of budget austerity. “I completely agree with your premise…that a period of austerity, by its very nature, introduces discipline which we haven’t had to exercise over the least 10 years,” Schwartz says. “I have a generation of airmen who came on just before or right after 9/11 who have never had the institution say no to a legitimate need. So not only do we have to reintroduce discipline because of a period of austerity, but we need to make sure our kids understand what we are doing.”