The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Survey Says. A biennial survey finds acquisition operational and oversight professionals are divided on the effects of conflict-of-interest rules, acquisition-workforce development, and procurement-reform initiatives. The Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton’s Acquisition Policy Survey of federal government personnel, released Nov. 15, finds more than 70 percent of operational professionals feel organizational-conflict-of-interest structures in place today function effectively, while 60 percent of oversight professionals say they do not function effectively. More than 70 percent of all respondents believe preferences for fixed-price contracts and other restrictions on contract type do not generate better outcomes for the taxpayer or government. Also, nearly two-thirds of the acquisition operational and oversight professionals surveyed say the increase in the number of contract protests filed with federal auditors or courts have hurt the procurement process.
Forever Young. House Appropriations Defense subcommittee (HAC-D) Ranking Member C.W. “Bill” Young will know next month if he can retake the chair of the powerful panel after the new Republican majority takes control of the House in 2011. Young is maxed out as chairman under current term-limit rules, but says he has the support of incoming House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). “He indicated to me he thought I would be the right person to chair that defense committee because that’s what I’ve done,” Young tells the St. Petersburg Times. “I’ve done it for a long time, and I’ve done it very effectively.” The House GOP Steering Committee will decide next month if it will grant term-limit waivers to Young and other lawmakers seeking chairmanships. Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, is seeking a waiver to be able to chair the full committee. Yet Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a HAC-D member and earmark foe, is challenging Lewis for the top HAC spot. “I believe I could be helpful in this position for a number of reasons,” Kingston says in a Nov. 19 “dear colleague” letter. “Primarily, I am a committed conservative with a long track record to prove it.”
… SASC Adds. Newly elected and sworn-in Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) now serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) as of Nov. 15. Coons serves on the AirLand, Seapower, and Emerging Threats and Capabilities subcommittees. Manchin is on the Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Readiness and Management Support, and Strategic Forces subpanels.
START Stopped. Vice President Joe Biden predicts if the Senate voted on the U.S.-Russia New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) before the end of the year, enough Republicans will vote to approve it. “I’m confident that there are 15 of my former Republican colleagues who are inclined to support this treaty,” the former senator says Nov. 19 on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “But…they’d rather not have to take on what is the internal dynamic in the Republican Party now, at least as I read it.” Biden predicts Senate Republicans would “rather not to have to make the vote,” but if they had to enough of them would support the treaty because the White House has pledged to spend $4.1 for nuclear stockpile stewardship as part of a plan to pass the treaty. The pact needs the support of 67 senators. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) says the Senate will not have enough time to debate New START this year, before Republicans gain more seats in the chamber next year.
Webb Maneuver. SASC member Jim Webb (D-Va.) says Nov. 18 he is no longer blocking Senate consideration of Department of Defense (DoD) nominations because the Pentagon sent him data he wanted on DoD staffing. Now Webb wants the Pentagon to relocate the headquarters for U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) from Germany to the Norfolk, Va., facilities for Joint Forces Command, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to close. Army Gen. Carter Ham, during his confirmation hearing to be commander of AFRICOM, says he will assess alternate locations for AFRICOM’s headquarters, including in the United States. “Norfolk and its adjoining communities have first-class facilities to accommodate AFRICOM’s mission,” Webb says in a statement. “This relocation of the nearly 1,500 military and civilian personnel now assigned at AFRICOM’s headquarters in Germany would also save billions of dollars in the long term, an important consideration as Secretary of Defense Gates seeks ways to generate savings in the defense budget through his comprehensive efficiency initiatives.”
Raptor Down. The pilot of an F-22 aircraft that crashed on the night of Nov. 16 has been identified as Capt. Jeffrey Haney, assigned to the 525th Fighter Squadron, the Air Force says. Haney’s status as of Nov. 19 is missing. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at 7:40 p.m. Alaska time while on a nighttime training mission, according to the service. Search and rescue teams discovered the wreckage of the F-22, assigned to the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Nov. 17 at 10:15 a.m. Rescue continue to search the area, approximately 100 miles north of Anchorage.
F-35 Software Drop. The first of three principal software-development blocks for the F-35’s mission systems, made its inaugural flight on Nov. 5 in the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing aircraft known as BF-4, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The functional check flight from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., lasted 1.5 hours. “The flight went as planned, and we look forward to expanded mission systems testing in the coming months,” says Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin F-35 program general manager. Block 1 software enables most of the primary sensors on the F-35 and enables information fusion from the F-35’s radar, electronic warfare system, distributed aperture system, electro-optical targeting system and other sensors, according to the company.
MQ-1/9 GCS, LiMA Basing. Air Force officials have released criteria for basing of the MQ-1/9 ground control stations for an Air Force Reserve Command unit and criteria to determine basing locations for the light mobility aircraft. Basing criteria for the MQ-1/9 ground control stations include mission requirements, communications infrastructure, Reserve component recruiting, facilities, support capacity, timing and cost. Criteria for the LiMA include mission requirements, training requirements, airspace, facilities and infrastructure, support capacity, environmental impacts, and cost. Release of the candidate bases for the MQ 1/9 is expected early next year, and release of candidate bases for LiMA is expected next month. Based on the results of these efforts, Air Force officials expect to announce the alternatives/preferred locations for LiMA in the first quarter of 2011.
C-17 Basing. The Air Force’s preference for basing eight C-17 aircraft at an Air National Guard location is Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y. Twelve C-5A aircraft assigned to Stewart would be retired as part of the deal. Kathleen Ferguson, the Air Force deputy assistant secretary for installations, notes that this is not a final basing decision but “the alternative we believe will fulfill our mission responsibilities while considering economic, environmental, and technical factors.” Once the environmental impact analysis process is complete, a final decision will be made. Meanwhile, Boeing delivered the United Kingdom’s seventh C-17 to the Royal Air Force last week. The company has delivered 224 C-17s worldwide, including 20 with international customers. Other customers include Australia, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO. President Barack Obama announced this month that India and the United States have reached a preliminary agreement for the Indian Air Force to acquire 10 C-17s.
New Concept Adopted. At the Summit meeting in Lisbon, NATO leaders adopt a new Strategic Concept to serve as the alliance’s roadmap for the next decade. Late Friday after the first session, the Secretary General said leaders reconfirmed the commitment to defend one another against attack as the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security, the alliance announced. The new strategic concept also lays out NATO’s vision for an evolving alliance that will remain able to defend its members against modern threats and commits NATO to become more agile, more capable and more effective. Anders Fogh Rasmussen says: “NATO is an unparalleled community of freedom, peace, security and shared values. But the world is changing. We face new threats and challenges. This Strategic Concept will ensure that NATO remains as effective as ever in defending our peace, our security and our prosperity.” Allies agree to develop within NATO the capabilities necessary to defend against ballistic missile attacks and cyber attacks. Of particular interest to the United States is allied backing for the administration’s policy of a Phased Adaptive Approach to missile defense for Europe.
Adaptive Talking. Australian Army’s Chief of Army’s Exercise 2010 (CA EX 10) “Current Operations: Adaptive Responses to Complex Environments,” sees Chief of Army Lt. Gen. Ken Gillespie welcome more than 75 senior Army leaders and stakeholders, including U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli among key speakers. “The exercise also provides military leaders the opportunity to engage with military counterparts and senior representatives in bilateral discussions, strengthening relationships that contribute to regional security and stability,” Gillespie says. “This type of relationship plays a central role in fostering mutual understanding and confidence, which helps to add another layer of engagement between nations.” Army leaders and delegations attended from Canada, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Brunei, senior representatives and delegations from Thailand, Vietnam, India, South Korea, Singapore, East Timor, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, and the United Kingdom, as well as Australian Army officers and senior representatives. CA EX 10 coincides with Australia’s Land Warfare Conference 2010, Full Spectrum Threats: Adaptive Responses.
Way Off Road. Oshkosh Corp. participates for the first time in the 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race Nov. 18-20 in Mexico. The Oshkosh Extreme Racing team is running its Light Concept Vehicles (LCV) through the rugged 1,061-mile desert course from Ensenada to La Paz. Oshkosh engineers designed the LCV with the latest advancements in off-road suspension and diesel-electric powertrain performance. The Oshkosh Extreme Racing team will be racing two vehicles in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 as part of its rigorous testing. Chris Yakes, Oshkosh vice president of Advanced Products Engineering and Oshkosh Extreme Racing team member, says: “In pursuit of next-generation technologies for future fleets, we’ve been testing our concept vehicles in remote locations in the United States, and we are now competing in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000–our most intense challenge to date. We are excited about this opportunity.” Sal Fish, SCORE International’s president and CEO, which has sanctioned and produced the event since 1975, says: “We’ve created a new class for the Oshkosh Extreme Racing Team based on their vehicle’s unique capabilities, weight and dimensions, and look forward to seeing it perform.” Yakes says: “We expect to learn a lot from this event and will apply those learnings to our ongoing research and development efforts.”
Wider Passage. The expansion of the Panama Canal–going on today–is one reason CNO Adm. Gary Roughead says the Navy will play an increasingly important role in the future. Activities such as the expansion of the Panama Canal will change the nature of the maritime environment. It’s an effort that doesn’t get much attention. “The Panama Canal will change its throughput in 2015-2016 to where about 90 percent of global shipping will be able to pass through and 86 percent of liquid gas tankers will be able to pass through that canal where today only 6 percent can pass through,” he says at the Hudson Institute in Washington last week. Roughead thinks that will “fundamentally change” maritime routes through the Caribbean and the southern waters that are of great interest to the United States, in addition to the western approaches to the Pacific.
…Fifth Ocean. Roughead says another change in the maritime environment could be potential changes that open the Arctic ocean. “That, in my opinion, will begin to see the migration of fishing stocks into the cooler water, which will drive fighing fleets into those areas which will probably change the cost of that protein source. Not so significant for those of us in the United States, but when you get into Africa and Asia where they’re extracting about a quarter of their protein from the ocean that will have significant effect on thinking and on activities in the Polar regions.”