Numbers Wanted. As House Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and White House remain at odds last Friday over dueling deficit-reducing plans, Pentagon watchers try to deduce the amount of defense cuts in each proposal. The plans by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), as of late last week, both call for roughly $1 trillion in discretionary spending cuts over 10 years but don’t specify reductions to the Pentagon’s base, non-war budget within those amounts. HASC Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) in a memo pegs the “defense” cut in the Reid plan at $868 billion over 10-year, the same amount of the broader “security” spending cut said to be in a different deficit plan offered two weeks ago by the Gang of Six senators. The two-part Boehner plan, as of July 27, looked to have in the range of $500 billion in long-term Pentagon cuts in the first round, writes analyst Byron Callan, director of Capital Alpha Partners LLC in Washington. That House plan would bring more cuts next year.
… Behind The Numbers. Jamie Fly, executive director of the conservative Foreign Policy Initiative, picks up on McKeon’s analysis that the Reid plan has $886 billion in cuts. Commenting July 27 in a National Review Online blog about the Boehner plan at that time, Fly writes: “As House Republicans debate whether to support the Boehner debt-limit package, one key issue is getting overlooked in the debate: Unlike the alternatives presented by Democrats and bipartisan commissions, the Boehner plan avoids significant defense cuts, making it the best option for conservatives concerned about U.S. national security.” He argues “national-security conservatives should rally behind the Boehner plan.”
McCain’s F-35. SASC Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.) says during a July 28 hearing the cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program is “simply unsustainable” and questions Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the nominee to be chief of naval operations, about alternatives. McCain tells Defense Daily he is “very serious” about exploring the possible cancellation of the F-35. He says it is “very potentially possible” he will try to add an amendment to the defense authorization bill on the Senate floor–which could be debated in the fall–like one he offered in committee to put the F-35 program on probation and terminate it next year if costs are 10 percent over the target amount. “More and more people think that it’s unsustainable, its costs are unsustainable,” he says. “I think we need to assess the impact of the cost of the F-35 on the services, particularly the Marines…to the other things they need.”
Boomer Sharing. Greenert tells Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) discussions are still underway in the Pentagon to have the defense-wide budget share with the Navy some of the costs of the Ohio-class SSBN(X) next-generation ballistic missile submarine, which is projected to dominate the Navy’s shipbuilding budget starting at the end of this decade. “If confirmed, I intend to try to continue those discussions,” Greenert says during his confirmation hearing. “In the ‘20s, we have a phenomenon, an unfortunate one, where many of the ships built in the ‘80s will now come due for retirement. That’s right when the Ohio replacement comes in. So we’ll work very hard to make sure we got the requirements right. We’ll work very hard with the acquisition community to drive that cost down but we may even so need some assistance, I believe, in the shipbuilding budget if we’re going to meet our goals.” He tells Levin he supports design decisions the Navy has made on the nascent program to control costs.
Japan’s Strike Fighter. Japan has requested information from the Pentagon about the F-35 as it deliberates whether to buy it, Air Force Maj. Gen. C.D. Moore, deputy director of the Joint Strike Fighter program office, says July 27 at an Air Force Association breakfast in Arlington, Va. “The F-35 is one of the aircraft being considered by the Japanese, I think that’s a fair statement,” he says. “They have a process right now that they’re going through. We have a timeline for the U.S. government.” The United States will deliver information to the Japanese this fall, before it decides which aircraft to buy, he says. “We are in the middle of doing that work now to support the Japanese request for information,” Moore adds.
Fit The Budget. The Army wants a new Ground Combat Vehicle at about $10 million a copy, and the big question is can they do it. The DoD Director of Defense Pricing Shay Assad says, “that’s the whole purpose of conducting the Technology Development phase, which is to answer that question, can we, in fact, design and produce a vehicle that can meet that cost.” The Army is in source selection right now, and recently the DoD chief acquisition official gave the program the green light to move forward.
…Staying On Budget. The Army’s cost figure for Ground Combat Vehicle is what they can afford, Assad says. “I think it’s a responsible thing to go forward and say to the contractors, hey look, this is what we’re shooting for here.”The Army has to determine what they can afford. Assad’s job then is to try and determine if “we in fact can buy a vehicle” for what they can afford. “School’s out as to whether or not we’re going to be able to accomplish that,” he says.
Rally Sport Goes Military. Supacat launches a military variant of the Rally Raid proven Wildcat into the global defense market. The company says the high-performance off-road vehicle works for special forces, border patrol, reconnaissance, rapid intervention or strike roles. Filling a significant gap that currently exists between lightweight and less expensive high mobility platforms such as quad bikes and the heavier, more specialist and well renowned Jackal, the performance on offer with the Wildcat is unrivaled. The teaming of Supacat and QT Services will provide race-bred capability in a fully integrated military variant of the race car at an affordable price. The transfer and modification of an entire U.K. vehicle from the motorsport Industry into a military role by Supacat is an industry first. Supacat has partnered with Wildcat Design Authority and manufacturer, QT Services.
Improving Survivability. The Marine Corps Systems Command awards General Dynamics Land Systems–Canada a $41.6 million contract modification to install upgrade kits for RG-31 Mk5E vehicles previously delivered under the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program. Contracts to assemble the upgrade kits, which are to improve the survivability and operation of the RG-31 vehicles to the latest production configuration, were awarded earlier this year. Installation work begins in August at the MRAP Sustainment Facility in Kuwait and will be completed by October 2012. The contract was awarded through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown Agency of the Canadian Government.