The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Marine Budgeting. The Marine Corps, unlike other services, hasn’t held a briefing yet on the forthcoming fiscal year 2013 defense budget, which Pentagon officials previewed Jan. 26. However, Commandant Gen. James Amos issues a statement saying that while “the fiscal choices made over the past year were difficult,” Marine Corps officials “are confident that we managed risk.” He says they have “acknowledged the changing nature of the battlefield by increasing our contribution to special operations and cyber warfare, and have lightened the Marine air-ground-logistics task forces by reducing the number of heavy armor and artillery units, and through streamlining our organizational hierarchy.” Noting plans to reduce the Marine Corps’ force structure, Amos says the service is looking forward to focusing more on the Asia-Pacific regional and returning to its role as an expeditionary force in readiness.
Cyber Worries. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warns over the past year “we have seen a dramatic increase in malicious cyber activity targeting U.S. computers and networks.” Almost two-thirds of U.S. firms say they have suffered cybersecurity threats or information breaches, and the volume of malicious software on U.S. networks more than tripled from 2009 levels, he tells the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Feb. 2. U.S. defense contractors have had intellectual property stolen, and foreign-military capabilities are improving. “This formalization of military cyber capabilities creates another tool that foreign leaders may use to undermine critical infrastructures that were previously assumed secure before or during conflict,” he says in prepared remarks. The intelligence community “is reaching out to the private sector to ensure current understanding of the dynamic cyber environment,” he adds, calling for more government-private sector and international cooperation.
…FBI View. FBI Director Robert Mueller says while counterterrorism is his No. 1 priority now, “down the road, the cyberthreat, which cuts across all programs, will be the number one threat to the country.” He tells the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on Jan. 31 the FBI recognizes it must change its organizational structure to address the cyber threat, about which his office is “exceptionally” concerned. “In the same way we changed to address terrorism, we have to change to address cybercrime,” he says. “We have to recruit and hire and bring on the persons who are capable of doing it. We have to understand that our role is to investigate intrusions and to thwart further intrusions.” In terms of cyber-legislation, he says the FBI supports creating a national data-breach-reporting requirement and improving information-sharing within the government.
Armed Twitter. The Pentagon will hold its first-event Twitter Town Hall today. Users of the social-media website can post questions to Pentagon Press Secretary George Little for the online question-and-answer session starting at 3:30 p.m. People can send questions with the hashtag #AskDoD, Little says in a tweet Feb. 2.
Mayport Machinations. Virginia lawmakers opposed to the Pentagon moving a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier from their state to a new homeport in Mayport, Fla., argue to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the military cannot afford the cost. “Given the breadth of defense budget reductions now being applied across the (Defense) Department, and specifically to the U.S. Navy, we remain convinced that allocating an estimated $500 million to $1 billion to this project would not be in the strategic interests of the Department of the Navy nor the fiscal interests of the nation,” states the Feb. 1 letter from Virginia Reps. Randy Forbes (R), Rob Wittman (R), Bobby Scott (D), and Scott Rigell (R). They note to Panetta that Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said in an Oct. 21 letter to Forbes the “the size of the fiscal adjustments (from the Budget Control Act of 2011) compels us to take a comprehensive strategic review, examining every program element, including the funding required to homeport a CVN in Mayport.”
UAVs non gratae? The State Department several months ago solicited bids from companies interested in supplying unmanned aerial vehicles to assist in protecting diplomatic facilities in high threat environments. But the use of the drones in a pilot program at the embassy in Baghdad has been annoying Iraqi officials, who say the Americans are using their airspace without explicit permission, according to a report in the New York Times last week. Asked about the report, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, without speaking of specific countries, said drones used in the pilot program are part of a “wide variety” of security tools and techniques. “These are tiny little things. They are not armed. They are not capable of being armed. And what they are designed to do is help give us pictures over our facilities to help in their protection,” she said. She conceded the UAVs were about the size of her podium when pressed by a reporter as to whether “tiny” meant the size of “mosquitos.” As for clear Iraqi permission, Nuland’s answer was a little less specific. “We at the State Department always work closely with host governments on the physical protection of our facilities and our personnel. And this is part and parcel of that.”
LAS feud goes on. Not long after Hawker Beechcraft ripped the Air Force’s selection of the A-29 Super Tacano for the Light Air Support (LAS) program, the winning partnership of Sierra Nevada and Brazilian partner Embraer shot back, accusing its rival of spreading “misinformation” about its successful bid. “It’s unfortunate that the truth is being sacrificed for the self interests of Hawker Beechcraft and its owners a Canadian company, Onex, and an investment bank, Goldman Sachs,” Sierra Nevada said in a statement. Hawker Beechcraft has said the Air Force selection of the A-29 over its AT-6 was in “direct conflict” with President Barack Obama’s most recent State of the Union address, in which he called for the creation of high skilled jobs in the United States. Sierra Nevada noted that its planes, although a foreign design, will be built in Jacksonville, Fla. Hawker Beechcraft has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Federal Claims seeking to block the execution of the contract, prompting the Air Force to order Sierra Nevada to stop work until the dispute is resolved.
Defending LCS. One of the criticisms of the Littoral Combat Ship is that it does not employ adequate self-defense systems. Adm. John Harvey, chief of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, says that commanders have always had to assess risk when it comes to the use of forces during hostilities by balancing the objectives of the mission with the threat environment. “Commanders have to make these decisions based on the forces they have and the threats they face and the objectives …,” he said at a recent roundtable with reporters. Harvey said the LCS is ideal for close-to-shore operations and would fit in quite well had it been deployed for the ongoing Exercise Bold Alligator along the southeastern coast. “What I like about the LCS in the environment we’re talking about is its speed and the ability to operate a number of helos on it at speed,” Harvey said. He added: “If I had them, those ships would find themselves pretty well used as they exist today.”
Wait Time Award. The Transportation Security Administration has awarded a potential $48.1 million contract to Switzerland-based SITA, an information technology solutions firm, for an Automated Wait Time (AWT) system that would be used to time how long a person stands in an airport checkpoint security line, thereby enabling the agency to better manage its staffing levels. TSA is first buying a limited quantity of SITA’s AWT units for laboratory testing to confirm that they meet the agency’s standards and operational requirements. TSA currently captures passenger wait times manually, which is labor intensive and not comprehensive. The agency hopes the technology will minimize human resource requirements and mitigate disruptions to checkpoint operations.
New Lab. Lockheed Martin will create the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases Replacement Lab at Ft. Detrick, Md., under a six-year, $66 million contract. Lockheed Martin’s Global Training and Logistics business will help transition essential personnel and equipment to the new facility, which includes nearly one-million square feet of new space comprised of multiple labs, administrative and headquarters offices. “Standing up a research environment is a complex undertaking requiring expertise in medical outfitting and transition,” says June Shrewsbury, vice president of technical services at Lockheed Martin’s Global Training and Logistics business. “Our support will help researchers advance scientific discoveries that will protect Americans from infectious diseases.”
Pentagon Fan Purge? Army Secretary John McHugh found a plus side to the retirement day ceremonies for Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli. “One-by-one we are purging the Pentagon of Red Sox fans. And for Chairman [of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.] Marty Dempsey, and the Chief [of Staff of the Army, Gen.] Ray Odierno, and me, and Yankee fans everywhere, that’s not such an entirely bad thing.” But McHugh made it clear: “I’d let a thousand new Red Sox fans back into the Pentagon if we could keep Pete Chiarelli for one more hitch.”
Taking Out MANPADS. Cooperating with more than 30 countries around the world since 2003, nearly 33,000 “excess, loosely secured, or otherwise at-risk MANPADS have been destroyed,” says Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. In Iraq, the United States has invested more than $200 million in conventional weapons destruction projects since 2003. The State Department official spoke at the Stimson Center Feb. 2. This is also a multi-agency effort, for example, the Defense Department provides physical security and stockpile management assessments to countries.
Successful Orion Tests. Aurora Sciences has successfully tested components that will be integrated into its Orion unmanned aircraft system. Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy says from Jan. 24-28, 2012, Aurora completed the engine 120-hour ground endurance test. “Integrated Orion system tests are scheduled to take place by the end of 2012,” Cassidy says. According to Aurora Chief Technical Officer and Vice President of Development Programs Tom Clancy, the Orion is a “much larger aircraft” that the company is trying to make capable of staying in the air, between take off and landing, for five days.