Defense Daily articles from April 2008

Defense Daily archives from April 2008

Key Meeting On BAMS Expected Next Week, Followed By Contract Award This Month.
April 1, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The Navy is expected to award a contract for a system of persistent unmanned maritime surveillance aircraft in the coming weeks, and the program manager predicted a pre-award Pentagon meeting won't be pushed off...

Lord: Air Force Cyberspace Command Needs Faster Acquisition Process.
April 1, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The Air Force will need a much more flexible acquisition process to ensure its burgeoning Cyberspace Command is properly equipped to counter adversaries using complex technologies to try to disrupt warfighters'...

Raytheon Sees Its STUAS Bid As 'Killer' Solution, Draft RFP Expected This Month.
April 1, 2008... By Geoff Fein In the coming weeks, the Navy is expected to issue a draft request for proposal (RFP) for its Small Tactical Unmanned Air System (STUAS) to fill a critical gap identified by the Marine Corps for an organic tactical system...

Raytheon's JLENS Successful In Preliminary Design Review.
April 1, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt Raytheon [RTN] yesterday said the Joint Land attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) successfully completed Orbit preliminary design review (PDR), a key milestone for the Army program expected...

Robonic Delivers Third Generation Launcher To Finnish Defense Forces.
April 1, 2008... Robonic Ltd of Tampere, Finland, said it has delivered an MC2555LLR launcher to the Finnish Defense Forces. The system will be dual role, supporting the launch of aerial targets for the Finnish air force as well as launching the Finnish...

Kehler: TSAT Study To Go To Lawmakers In Spring.
April 2, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The Air Force plans to deliver a study to Congress this spring on whether to rework Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program, a review spurred by plans to add a fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)...

Northrop Grumman Awards Bath Iron Works Construction Work On LPD-24.
April 2, 2008... By Geoff Fein Northrop Grumman [NOC] is outsourcing construction of modules for the USS Arlington (LPD-24) to General Dynamics' [GD] Bath Iron Works to meet shipbuilding schedule commitments and help stabilize the shipbuilding industrial...

Obering: Next Budget May Bolster Sea-Based, Land-Mobile Missile Interceptors.
April 2, 2008... By Dave Ahearn The next Missile Defense Agency budget may switch from a focus on items such as providing more Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptors to "robust" other systems such as sea-based missile defense and land-mobile...

BAE Systems To Produce More M777A2 Howitzers.
April 2, 2008... BAE Systems has received a $176 million order from the Defense Department for 87 additional M777A2 155mm towed howitzers. The order adds to the 589 M777A2 howitzers already on order for the U.S. armed forces, of which more than 300 have...

General Dynamics, Part of Lockheed Martin JTRS AMF Team, Plans Work.
April 2, 2008... General Dynamics [GD], part of the winning Lockheed Martin [LMT] team selected for the $766 million work on the Joint Tactical Radio System for Airborne, Maritime and Fixed Stations, yesterday announced its portion of the work. JTRS is...

USSOCOM Plans Industry Conference Next Month.
April 2, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is planning a Special Operations Forces (SOF) industry conference next month in Tampa, Fla. The Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce is hosting the May 20-22 conference at the...

NNSA Calls On Corps of Engineers To Manage Big Plutonium Project.
April 2, 2008... By George Lobsenz The National Nuclear Security Administration, under fire for design, cost and management problems on several major projects, has signed an agreement to have the Army Corps of Engineers serve as construction manager for...

DHS Still Needs To Get S&T Priorities Right, Langevin Says.(Department of Homeland Security)(Science and Technology )
April 2, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker Attempts by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) office to develop a strategic plan based on budgets and overall priorities is still lacking although the "foundation" of the...

High Costs, Operational Challenges Among Lessons Learned In Secure Freight Initiative.
April 3, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker Initial lessons from a nearly six-month old pilot program at several overseas seaports to test the feasibility of scanning 100 percent of all cargo bound for the United States include substantial costs and a slew of...

Navy To Seek Industry Input In Maturing Technology For Carrier Drone Program.
April 3, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The Navy plans to reach out to industry this year for ideas on tackling the technology-maturation segment of its effort to develop unmanned strike aircraft that operate off aircraft carriers, a service official said....

Third VH-71 Helicopter Preps For Final Assembly And Mission Systems Integration.
April 3, 2008... Test Vehicle 3 (TV-3), the third VH-71 helicopter built for the presidential helicopter program, is undergoing final assembly and mission systems integration to enable the helicopter to be used as a command and control platform by the White...

Osprey Engine Durability Issue Leading Navy To Explore Options.
April 3, 2008... By Geoff Fein Concerns with the long-term durability of Rolls-Royce's V-22 engine has led the Navy to examine options running the gamut from modifying the current system to looking at a new engine, according to a program spokesman. ...

Lockheed Martin Signs $198 Million U.K. Situational Awareness Contract.
April 3, 2008... Lockheed Martin [LMT] U.K.-led Team Athena has signed a $198 million contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) situation awareness program. LEAPP is expected to give ground...

GAO Says Airborne Laser Costs Up, But Obering Says They Stabilized Recently.
April 3, 2008... By Dave Ahearn While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told members of Congress that costs of the Airborne Laser (ABL) missile defense system jumped from $1 billion to $5 billion, that occurred in early days of developing the...

Boeing Files Updated Tanker Protests, Denies It Has Narrowed Its Filing.
April 4, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford Boeing [BA] yesterday denied it narrowed its protest of the Air Force's tanker award to Northrop Grumman [NOC], saying it has filed updated protests after seeing materials allegedly supporting its appeal that deal...

New Technologies Will Make DDG-1000 Tough To Find, Tough To Fight.
April 4, 2008... By Geoff Fein While much of the focus on DDG-1000 has been on the program's cost, not to be overlooked are the number of new systems and technologies that will be brought into the fleet, a Navy official said. When it hits the fleet...

NATO Considering Link Between Alliance, U.S. Missile Defense Systems.
April 4, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATO is examining ways to link its current missile defense efforts to a European-based U.S. missile defense from concerns that the proliferation of ballistic missiles poses an increasing threat to alliance forces,...

Czech Republic Agrees To Host U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense Radar.
April 4, 2008... The Czech Republic agreed to provide the site for a U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) radar installation to guard against missiles launched by nations such as Iran, the Czechs said yesterday. Czech Foreign Minister Karel...

DoD IG Raps Army Paper Trail In Body Armor Contracts.
April 4, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt The Defense Department Inspector General (DoD IG) finds that contract documentation between January 2004 and December 2006 Army body armor procurement was not adequately maintained, according to Federal Acquisition...

AAAE, Airports Form Consortium To Help Ease Biometrics Into Employee Security Solution.
April 4, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker The trade group representing the nation's airports and operators from a dozen airports have established a new working group aimed at building on the expertise of the airport community in worker credentialing and...

Terrorist Intent To Develop Nuclear Weapons Remains But Capabilities Unclear, DHS' Allen Says.
April 4, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker Terrorists are still intent on acquiring nuclear weapons but the intelligence community is "uncertain" regarding the capabilities of terrorists to either acquire or develop such devices, the top intelligence official...

Defense Watch.
April 7, 2008... The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense No Protest. Boeing will not contest the $766.1 million government award to Lockheed Martin for the design and development of the military's next generation Airborne...

Honeywell To Acquire Maker Of Safety, Personal Protective Gear.
April 7, 2008... Honeywell [HON] on Friday said it has agreed to acquire Norcross Safety Products, LLC, a provider personal protective equipment for the fire service, utility and general industrial markets, for $1.2 billion. Norcross, which is majority...

Boeing Starts Final Assembly of First P-8A Poseidon Test Aircraft.
April 7, 2008... By Geoff Fein Boeing [BA] last week began final assembly of the first P-8A Poseidon to provide increased capability in long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the Navy,...

Analyst: Obama Would Be A Nightmare For Defense Programs, Firms.
April 7, 2008... By Dave Ahearn If Sen. Barak Obama of Illinois wins the Democratic presidential nomination and then goes on to be elected to the White House, the defense industry better brace for tough times, according to Heidi Wood, Morgan Stanley...

Supporting The Army Means Timely And Full Funding, Cody Says.
April 7, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt Sustaining the all volunteer force in a time of war and an evolving future seen as one of persistent conflict means the Army needs the funding for the FY '08 supplemental request and the FY '09 budget to avoid...

Vought Signs $400 Million Contract For V-22 Tail Parts.
April 7, 2008... Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. recently signed a $400 million contract with the Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] to manufacture tail parts including the empennage, ramp and ramp door, for the V-22 Osprey, according to Vought. Bell and...

Joint Strike Fighter Not Facing Cost Breach For Late 2007 Period.(Joint Strike Fighter )
April 8, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program's cost decreased slightly over the final months of 2007, and the effort did not experience a significant cost breach during that time requiring congressional involvement,...

Army Stretched, But Not Hollow Or Broken, Casey Says.
April 8, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--Six and a half years of war may have stretched the Army, but it's by no means broken, according to the the Chief of Staff. "We're stretched and stressed there's no question about that," Gen....

DDG-1000: Bigger Ship, Smaller Crew.
April 8, 2008... By Geoff Fein While DDG-1000, with its advanced technologies, low radar cross section and modern weapons will provide a new direction for the Navy's surface combatant fleet, the ability to operate all of that with crew of no more than...

Army Expects $500 Million Savings On Chinook Multi-Year Contract.
April 8, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.---By June, Boeing [BA] expects to have signed on to a five-year contract to support the CH-47 Chinook helicopter expected to save the service $500 million, according to officials. "We've...

Coast Guard Takes Delivery of First of 180 New Response Boat Mediums.
April 8, 2008... By Geoff Fein The Coast Guard yesterday unveiled its new 45-foot Response Boat Medium (RB-M), the eventual replacement for the service's 25-year-old Utility Boat (UT- B) The Coast Guard has 30 of the new RB-Ms under contract with the...

Cause of Predator UAV Accident In Theater Unknown.(unmanned aerial vehicle)(Brief article)
April 8, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The Air Force does not yet know if a MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle that ran off a runway in Iraq late last week can be repaired, or what caused the accident, the service said. "Our skilled maintenance...

Most Denial of Service Attacks Targeted U.S. In Late 2007, Symantec Report Say.
April 8, 2008... More than 50 percent of denial of service attacks were targeted against computers in the United States in the second half of 2007, according to a new report by the computer security firm Symantec [SYMC]. Governments are the top sector...

Rockwell Collins Completes Purchase of Athena Technologies.(Rockwell Collins closed its acquisition with Athena Technologies Inc.,)(Brief article)
April 8, 2008... Rockwell Collins [COL] yesterday said it had closed its acquisition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) subsystem supplier Athena Technologies, which will expand its presence in the UAV market. The deal was first announced early last month....

JSF Officials Optimistic On Foreign Partners, Welcome Report On Cost Stability.
April 9, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford Officials steering the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program said signs are good for Japan joining the aircraft effort, and predicted partner nations Norway and Denmark will not drop their plans. Japan has eyed...

Collins Stands Firm Against Altering Navy's DDG-1000 Plans.
April 9, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said it would be a "disaster" to pass on building future DDG-1000s in favor of another Navy ship, and pledged to remain a strong voice for maintaining the service's plans for the...

Cody: Army Aviation Must Keep Making The Hard Choices.
April 9, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--Army aviation must not defer hard decisions to remain agile, lethal and successful, according to the Army Vice Chief of Staff. "The branch since its inception has made the hard choices," Gen....

Raytheon Launches Information Security Practice.
April 9, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker Building off its legacy capabilities combined with its purchase last October of the cyber security firm Oakley Networks, Raytheon [RTN] said yesterday it has launched an Information Security Solutions practice aimed...

BAE Systems Unveils Helmet-Mounted Display Technology.
April 9, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--BAE Systems yesterday unveiled its Q-Sight family of helmet displays and tracking products that can bring improved situational awareness to Army pilots, according to officials. "It's a...

Lockheed Martin To Build More Arrowhead Targeting Systems.(contracts)
April 9, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.-- Lockheed Martin [LMT] April 7 announced the Army awarded it a $172 million follow-on contract for Arrowhead electro-optical systems for AH-64 Apache helicopter crews. The Arrowhead kit upgrades...

Blackhawk and Atlantic Turbines Form Vector-Hawk Aerospace.(Blackhawk Modifications )(Brief article)
April 9, 2008... Blackhawk Modifications and Atlantic Turbines International have entered a teaming agreement to expand turbine engine capabilities, forming a new company, Vector-Hawk Aerospace, headquartered in Daleville, Ala. The new company will...

Bell Helicopter Teams With Army To Advance CBM Technology.
April 9, 2008... Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] and the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) are teaming to advance the state-of-the-art for Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) Technologies. Bell will begin testing various elements of this...

Rockwell Collins, OADS LandSafe(tm) System Offers Brownout Solution.
April 9, 2008... Rockwell Collins [COL] and Optical Air Data Systems, LLC (OADS) have teamed to introduce a new solution called LandSafe(tm) to help helicopters navigate and land safely in degraded visual environments, especially brownout conditions. ...

Hoffman: F-22 Shutdown Decision Needed By November.
April 10, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford An Air Force official told Senate authorizers yesterday that a decision on whether to keep open the F-22 Raptor production line needs to be made by November, saying adding four of the fighter jets to a supplemental...

Army Sky Warrior Makes Its Debut.
April 10, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--The Army's Extended Range Multi-Purpose Unmanned Aircraft Weapon System made its debut here April 8 at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual convention. "What a great opportunity to...

Navy Lifts Stop Work Order On GD's CEDS Effort.
April 10, 2008... By Geoff Fein The Navy has lifted a stop work order on a General Dynamics' [GD] effort to develop a common display system for ships, submarines and aircraft, following a reevaluation of a protest that showed the company's proposal...

FLIR Acquires Spanish Sensor Networking Firm.
April 10, 2008... FLIR Systems [FLIR] on Tuesday said it has acquired Spain's Ifara Tecnologias, a developer and supplier of middleware and client application software used to network sensor systems, for $11.1 million in cash. FLIR, which has been...

Lockheed Martin Receives AH-64 Apache PBL Follow-On Contract.(Performance Based Logistics)
April 10, 2008... Lockheed Martin [LMT] received a follow-on potential $76.6 million contract for 2008 for Performance Based Logistics (PBL) to support the Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (TADS/PNVS) and Modernized TADS/PNVS...

NRC Expands Radioactive Source Tracking System.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
April 10, 2008... By George Lobsenz The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), substantially expanding a key anti-terrorism initiative, announced Tuesday a plan to nearly quadruple the number of companies, hospitals and other users of nuclear materials that...

Ability To Collaborate On Intel Data Is Vital In GWOT, Official Says.
April 10, 2008... By Geoff Fein Being able to bring in intelligence data and manipulate it and do it in an interconnected globally collaborative environment without having to hand type information in is vital to the war on terrorism, according to a Navy...

U.K. To Spend $125 Million For 157 Category I MRAPs.
April 10, 2008... The United Kingdom is looking to spend upward of $125 million for 157 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles as well as associated equipment and services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reported yesterday. The...

Turkey To Spend $227 Million For Six MK 41 VLS.
April 10, 2008... Turkey is looking to buy six Lockheed Martin [LMT] MK 41 Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) as well as associated equipment and services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said yesterday. The total value, if all options are...

DHS Continues To Struggle With Acquisition Management, GAO Says.(Department of Homeland Security)
April 10, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made some progress in how it organizes and manages acquisition activities, but still lacks accountability for how it spends and oversees procurement dollars, an official...

New LCS RFP Extends Build Time To 32 Months.
April 10, 2008... By Geoff Fein The Navy last month issued its request for proposals (RFP) to teams led by General Dynamics [GD] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] for one Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in FY '08 and two in FY '09, with the only significant change...

Correction.
April 10, 2008... In the April 8 edition of Defense Daily, a story about Symantec's cyber security report should have read that government accounted for 60 percent of the identities exposed globally, an increase from 12 percent in the first half of 2007. ...

Canada Rebuffs ATK's Attempt To Acquire MDA's Space Business.(Alliant Techsystems Inc. acquired with MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates )
April 11, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker Alliant Techsystems' [ATK] plans to bolster its capabilities and offerings for the space market took a hit this week when Canada rejected the company's pending $1.3 billion acquisition of the space and related...

Early Efforts Should Help DDG-1000 Production Avoid Other Programs' Pitfalls.
April 11, 2008... By Geoff Fein As construction on DDG-1000 gets underway in the coming year, the Navy and the two shipyards heading up the effort will have a design that is significantly further along than any previous surface combatant has ever been,...

Lockheed Martin DAGR Successful In Recent Testing, Company Says.
April 11, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt Lockheed Martin [LMT] said it recently completed another series of successful tests of the Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) semi-active laser guidance kits for 2.75 inch/70mm rockets. The DAGR guidance kit adapts to...

DoD Approves Funds To Start Stryker Product Improvement Program.
April 11, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt The Defense Department's chief acquisition officer has approved up to $10 million in FY 2008 research, development test and evaluation (RDT&E) funds to initiate a Stryker Product Improvement Program (S-PIP). Stryker...

Price Outlines Shortcomings In DHS Budget Request.(Department of Homeland Security)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... The chairman of the House panel that oversees funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) yesterday said that the FY '09 budget request for Homeland Security is essentially flat and doesn't meet ongoing needs. "Such a flat...

From Factory To Front Line, 5,000 MRAPS Delivered.(mine-resistant, ambush protected)
April 11, 2008... As of April 5, more than 5,000 mine-resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles to protect troops have been delivered to U.S. Central Command's area of operations, according to U.S. Transportation Command. "This is truly an achievement...

Marine Corps Proceeds With Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, Congressional Concerns Remain.
April 11, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The Marine Corps is moving forward with the once-troubled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) development program, with a key Pentagon meeting planned for next month followed by possible orders for revised...

Battle Command A Major Focus For Army Operations, General Says.
April 11, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt The Army's new operational doctrine, Field Manual 3-0, requiring forces to be able to conduct simultaneous offense, defense and stability operations reflects and goes beyond the new realities from current conflict. ...

Boeing-Computer Sciences Corp. To Compete For Multi-Billion SOF Support Work.(contract)(Special Operations Forces)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Boeing [BA] April 7 announced a teaming agreement with Computer Sciences Corp. [CSC] to pursue the multibillion-dollar U.S. Special Operations Forces Support Activity (SOFSA) contract. Both companies are working closely to design and...

Defense Watch.
April 14, 2008... The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense MRAP Rap. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is mighty grateful to lawmakers for the hefty investment in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)...

CSAR-X Bidders Prepare For Latest Tweaks To Solicitation.
April 14, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford The trio of contractors vying for the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR-X) replacement helicopter contract plan to submit feedback to the Air Force this week on the latest amendment to the solicitation, which they...

GAO Denied Four of Five Protests Raised By DRS On CEDS Award.
April 14, 2008... By Geoff Fein A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) decision on a DRS [DRS] protest regarding the common enterprise display system (CEDS) display consoles, denied the first four bases of protest raised by the company, but did...

Naval Intelligence Increasing Support To SEALs, Expeditionary Warfare.
April 14, 2008... By Geoff Fein While the entire intelligence community changed as a result of the 9/11 attacks, the principle areas where Naval Intelligence expanded were capabilities in the area of human intelligence (HUMINT) as well as support to Navy...

Gansler: Congress Should Stay Out of Air Force Tanker Protest.
April 15, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford Former Pentagon acquisition chief Jacques Gansler said Congress should not "meddle" in the Air Force's contested tanker contract award to Northrop Grumman [NOC] and foreign partner European Aeronautic Defense and...

Army Light Utility Helicopter Program Costs Rise In SAR.
April 15, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt Modifications and procurement changes account for a program cost increase of more than 11 percent for the Army's new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), produced by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS),...

Justice Department Preparing To Implement IWN In FY '09.
April 15, 2008... A year after awarding a potential multi-billion dollar contract to General Dynamics [GD] to develop and build a wireless communications network that links federal security officials and state and local first responders, the Department of...

Navy Working To Make Intel Data Available Faster, Seamless.
April 15, 2008... By Geoff Fein While there are still challenges with sharing intelligence data, not only within the United States, but with allies, efforts are being made to speed up the process and make information that is time sensitive more...

NATO Agencies Forge Close Ties Moving Forward On Interoperability, Transformation.
April 15, 2008... NATO Standardization Agency (NSA) Director Vice Adm. Juan Moreno and the Chief of Staff NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Lt. Gen. Jan Arp March 3 signed a letter of agreement to foster their working relationship in the area of...

IAC Advanced Diagnostics Credited With Saving Apache Helicopter.
April 15, 2008... By Ann Roosevelt NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--Intelligent Automation Corporation (IAC) said its advanced Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) installed on Army AH-64 Apache helicopters is credited with accurately detecting and diagnosing...

Navy To Begin Testing Periscope Camera That Provides 360-Degree View.
April 15, 2008... By Geoff Fein This summer, the Navy will begin testing a prototype advanced camera for Los Angeles-class submarine periscopes that will provide a 360-degree scan of the surrounding waters. Developed by Massachusetts-based...

DHS Launching International Registered Traveler Pilot For 'Trusted' Fliers.
April 15, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last Friday evening said it will begin a fee-based pilot program this summer for international "trusted" travelers entering the United States at three airports to test expedited...

Young Signs Joint Strike Fighter LRIP II Memo.
April 15, 2008... By Emelie Rutherford Pentagon acquisition executive John Young last week signed a memo approving the purchased of six conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force, a source familiar with the matter said....

Big Hit On LHD-8 Programs Raises Execution, Management Questions.
April 16, 2008... By Calvin Biesecker and Geoff Fein Northrop Grumman's [NOC] early morning surprise yesterday that it would take $320 million to $360 million charge on the LHD-8 amphibious assault ship it is building for the Navy left some analysts...