UPDATED: Adds Aboulafia Comment, SecAF, Boeing, Northrop Statements. WASHINGTON: The Government Accountability Office upheld the Long Range Strike Bomber contract award to Northrop Grumman today, smoothing the way for one of the Pentagon’s highest priority programs and erasing fears that the dismissal of the service’s top acquisition official for his ties to Northrop might affect the decision.…
By Colin ClarkB-21, hypersonics and more: How digital development is driving industry innovation
Technological advancements are key to keeping pace with customer demands and evolving threat landscapes.
SURFACE NAVY ASSOCIATION: Paul Daniels of Raytheon is a bit miffed. Yesterday, prominent defense commentator Loren Thompson wrote an article in Forbes extolling the technology Daniels works on, precision-guided cannon shells — particularly the products of BAE Systems. But Daniels doesn’t work for BAE. He works on Raytheon’s Excalibur smart round, fired 800 times in anger in…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is “weeks” away from taking a tougher line on mergers between defense contractors — but two top defense industry analysts told Breaking Defense that was a bad idea. “Their only possible response to M&A [Mergers & Acquisitions] is S&P[:] Signaling & Posturing,” said the Teal Group’s Richard Aboulafia. “As with so many…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: The world’s largest arms maker, Lockheed Martin, is about to take the government to court over the contract to replace the Humvee. When the Army awarded the first 17,000 of a projected 55,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to Oshkosh in August, losing bidder Lockheed filed an administrative protest with the Government Accountability Office. But…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. Who’s right about the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program: defense consultant Loren Thompson or the Air Force and senior Defense Department officials? The Air Force awarded the LRSB contract to Northrop Grumman. The competing Boeing-Lockheed Martin team was considered a slim favorite in this closely-held, closed competition, owing primarily to their scale and heft. To no one’s…
By Anand Datla
UPDATED: Adds Air Force, Aboulafia, Callan, And Northrop Grumman Comments WASHINGTON: To no one’s surprise, the Boeing-Lockheed team has filed a formal protest against the award to Northrop Grumman of the $80 billion Long Range Strike Bomber contract. Industry sources had been talking of strategies to prosecute or defend against a protest for at least…
By Colin Clark
Updated with Loren Thompson & Byron Callan comment WASHINGTON: Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s sudden exit from the House Speaker race raises the chance of a fiscal disaster — but it also raises the odds of a desperate budget deal. Both extremes just got more likely. Ironically, this deepening leadership void elevates the role of Rep. John…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Modernizing military simulation with open systems architecture
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WASHINGTON: Under intense budget pressure, a Pentagon cost-cutting team is pushing the Navy to cancel its third and last Zumwalt-class destroyer, the Lyndon Johnson (DDG-1002). But two sources familiar with the program say this cost-cutting measure just doesn’t add up. The DDG-1000 Zumwalts are expensive; three ships will cost almost $13 billion. About $9 billion of that…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: Between fear of Russia, urgency from the Army, and lobbying from General Dynamics, funding to upgun the Army’s GD-built Stryker armored vehicle has grown 350 percent in three weeks. In mid-May, the House approved a $79.5 million addition to the administration’s budget request. Yesterday, the Senate, not to be outdone, voted $371 million — four…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
[UPDATED 8:00 with Loren Thompson comment] This afternoon, the Army announced it had chosen Harris and Thales to make its Rifleman Radio, the 21st century walkie-talkie that links foot troops into the Army’s command network. General Dynamics and Thales had split production of the first 21,379 radios under a Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract, but GD…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
UPDATED: Sen. McCain & Rep. Forbes Comment NATIONAL HARBOR, MD: Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced today that he’s reorganizing his department to increase emphasis on unmanned systems, from aerial drones to robotic mini-subs — a move which met with rapid approbation from Congress. “I’m going to appoint a new Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: “About half” of the shipyards building US Navy vessels are “one contract away” from leaving the business, the Navy’s top procurement officer told the Senate today. After decades of decline due to foreign competition, the US shipbuilding industry has become so fragile and so dependent on government contracts that the Navy is taking unprecedented and…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: The overall cost for Pentagon’s weapons buying is at the lowest it’s been a decade, says the Government Accountability Office in its respected annual assessment of the military’s major programs. But that overall result, which might seem to cheer exponents of acquisition reform and of smaller Pentagon budgets, contains two smaller points well worth…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: The top question on defense lawmakers’ minds right now is: “Can we trust you with the people’s money?” And no large military organization has a worse record in that respect than the US Army, with its unhappy track record of canceled programs and wasted billions dating to before 9/11. It’s such a sensitive and high-stakes question that, when I started to ask Army…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
