Rapid Fire May 9, 2013: Weapons to Syrian Government, Opposition
Israel told the US that they suspect Russia intends to sell 4 S-300 missile batteries – for a total of 144 missiles – to Syria, according to the WSJ. For what it’s worth, Russia is also setting up an...
View ArticleRapid Fire May 14, 2013: Savings Catalog | Asian Naval Buildup
The centrist Stimson Center issued a report [PDF] compiling ideas for defense savings from a wide variety of sources. Whereas the Pentagon tends to point to billions of dollars of imaginary...
View ArticleRapid Fire July 24, 2013: Large US Primes Doing OK, So Far
Northrop Grumman’s Q2 2013 sales [PDF] were flat at $6.3B, though their total backlog shed $3.1B from a year ago, down to $37.7B (also down sequentially vs. $39.4B at the end of the previous quarter)....
View ArticleRapid Fire July 25, 2013: India’s Fuzzy FDI Policy
Since a spat between India’s ministers of Commerce and Defense erupted publicly earlier this month, little clarity has emerged about what the ceiling for foreign participation in defense joint...
View ArticleRapid Fire July 26, 2013: South Korea Wants Big Bucks for BMD
South Korea’s defense ministry submitted their budget request for 2014-18 to parliament. They’re asking for 214.5 trillion won (about $193 billion) with a beefy missile defense component. Heading into...
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Australia’s Troubled E-7A “Wedgetail” AWACS Program
E-7A Wedgetail over New South Wales(click to view full) The island continent of Australia faces a number of unique security challenges that stem from its geography. The continent may be separated from...
View ArticleRapid Fire July 31, 2013: Meet the Airbus Group (Formerly EADS)
EADS announced revenue up 6% to 26.3 billion ($34.9B) for the 1st half of 2013. Defense grew by 3% to 5 billion euros ($6.6B). Confirming recent reports, the group is taking the Airbus name, and...
View ArticleRapid Fire August 2, 2013: French 2014-2019 Acquisition Plans Rely on Sale of...
The French government presented [in French] its 2014-19 Loi de Programmation Militaire (LPM, a 6-year defense budget law), to be discussed in parliament in the fall. They are confirming President...
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Rapid Fire August 5, 2013: TCI Wants EADS Out of Dassault
The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI), an hedge fund known for its “shareholder activism”, wants EADS to sell its 46% stake of Dassault Aviation. They’ll need the French government to agree. The US...
View ArticleRapid Fire August 8, 2013: Incentives for Should Cost Acquisition
US Defense Acquisition Undersecretary Frank Kendall issued a memo [PDF] on should cost management giving some flexibility to the services to provide them an incentive to pursue savings: “Components...
View ArticleRapid Fire Sept. 5, 2013: How to Fund Longer-Term Research While Budgets...
Syrian update Will lukewarm support from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees for a resolution [PDF] authorizing strikes against Syria translate into 60 votes in the US Senate as a whole? Then...
View ArticleUS Army Acknowledges Program Tradeoffs Are On The Way
US Budgeteers to Face Tough Calls US Army Secretary John McHugh told attendees of the AUSA annual meeting that GCV and networking count among the service’s priorities, but given the current budget...
View ArticleHouse to Scrutinize Unfunded US Shipbuilding
Unfunded US Shipbuilding The Congressional Budget Office’s report [PDF] on the the Navy’s 2014-43 shipbuilding plan [PDF] notes that it is slightly less money-hungry than the previous year’s 30-year...
View ArticlePrime Contractors Massage Their Earnings But Face Revenue Pressure
Primes Under Booking Pressure General Dynamics’ Q3 revenue was down by 1.7% to $7.8B. Information systems sales break from the trend with a 4.4% increase, but even combined with healthy aerospace...
View ArticleIsrael’s Defense Ministry Prevails in Budget Clash with Finance
Israel’s Defense Budget Settled with Decrease in the Rate of Increase A few months ago it looked like Israel’s defense ministry would have to weather its share of net budget cuts. A rift between...
View ArticleThe Sequestration Outlook, Beyond Short-Term Adjustments
Sequestration Fixation The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on DoD’s handling of the FY13 fiscal environment: “DOD’s approach to sequestration was a short-term response focused...
View ArticleCobham Wants to Grow Non-US Defense Sales by Supporting ‘Pivot to Asia’
Business Ebbs and Flows Cobham’s 2013 interim results [PDF] point to delays in some land system awards as a source of pressure on their US-based defense revenue. They see growth opportunities outside...
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CBO Briefs Budget Conference On Long-Term Scenarios
Options for Reducing US Deficit, Sequestration Pain Spend no more than you earn? No, it cannot be so simple. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest assessment [PDF] of how the US...
View ArticleVacant Senior DoD Staffers, Industrial Decline: Does It Matter?
Unstaffed DoD Arnold Punaro, a retired USMC Maj. General and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)’s new chairman, made a list of vacant senior civilian positions at the Department of...
View ArticleFY2015 US DoD Budget Request Scheduled for March 4
The US Office of Management and Budget finally sent its pass-back guidance to the Pentagon, and will release the FY15 budget request on March 4. Behind schedule, but less late than last year. Life as...
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