Defense Watch

Aviation Readiness Hearing. Four military service representatives are slated to testify before the House Armed Services Committee Nov. 9 on the state of aviation readiness. The witnesses will be Lt. […]

F-35A Deployment. The U.S. Air Force plans to send 12 F-35A Lightning IIs to Japan in early November, marking its first operational deployment of the new Lockheed Martin-built fighter jet […]

BE-4 Engine Milestone. Blue Origin says it has conducted the first test firing of its full-scale BE-4 engine. “First hotfire of our BE-4 engine is a success,” Amazon founder Jeff […]

Army Suppliers. Gen. Gustav Perna, the head of Army Materiel Command, says he is trying to rebuild the supply chain that provides repair parts for Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles […]

Defense Policy Bill. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, hopes a House-Senate conference committee can complete the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill by the […]

Reprogramming Resistance. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, opposes the Pentagon’s proposal to take $416 million from operation and maintenance accounts and use it […]

Sub Deal. General Dynamics Electric Boat [GD] takes home a $5 billion cost-plus-incentive-fee with special incentives contract for the Integrated Product and Process Development design completion for the Columbia-class ballistic […]

SASC Navy. The Senate Armed Services Committee hosts a hearing on Sept. 19 to discuss recent naval incidents with top naval personnel. Witnesses include Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer; […]

F-35 Acquisition. Navy Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the new head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, says he is pursuing “agile acquisition principles” to speed up improvements to the […]

Congress Returns. After a month-long recess, lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill Sept. 5 facing a host of unfinished business, including the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization and appropriations bills […]