National Defense articles from January 2009

National Defense archives from January 2009

Erratic oil market should not derail U.S. energy goals.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
January 1, 2009... A perfect storm of economic downturn and plummeting oil prices is posing a serious threat to the nation's quest for energy independence. But even in these troubled times, it is important to stay focused on our long-term goals and not let...

Industry braces for bigger crackdown on corruption.(DEFENSE WATCH)
January 1, 2009... A deteriorating relationship between government and contractors may be about to hit rock bottom. Amid a general climate of distrust--exacerbated by a slew of high-profile procurement fraud cases in recent years--federal regulators recently...

Buying the wrong weapons.(READERS' FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... * Your article, "Why the Pentagon Keeps Buying the Wrong Weapons" (November 2008) makes for interesting reading and clearly was intended to present an opposing viewpoint to today's procurement philosophy. The article's premise that the country...

Failing science.(READERS' FORUM: VIEWS ... COMMENTS ... SUGGESTIONS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... * I much enjoyed your article on the Pentagon's science advisors, "Scholars Give Defense Department Failing Grade" (November 2008). This subject is very interesting and also a bit scary that we are losing this type of talent and not...

Industry protests: government need not worry.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Pentagon officials have bemoaned the growing number of procurements that have been protested by industry. The rise in protests, however, appears to be overplayed. A handful of high-profile disputes, such as the Air...

Acquisition workers: no more reforms!(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
January 1, 2009... * Federal procurement officials want meaningful change in acquisition policies. But enough with the blue-ribbon panels on how to overhaul the system, concluded a survey by the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton. Acquisition...

Navy reversing course on outsourcing.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
January 1, 2009... * Outsourcing the operations and maintenance of military information networks was a no-brainer in the '90s. Why not let industry do it better and cheaper? The Navy pioneered the concept with its $10 billion Navy-Marine Corps Intranet. The NMCI...

Government reports depict alternate realities.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... * Federal agency reports can be notoriously oblivious to facts. Exhibit 1: The National Science and Technology Council's latest study on the use of biometrics in the federal government since 9/11. The council commended federal agencies for...

Washington pulse: news from inside the beltway.
January 1, 2009... "I am still prohibiting access to Facebook on Defense Department computers." John Grimes, the Pentagon's chief information officer, speaking at the Milcom industry conference. He said the Facebook social network would potentially allow too...

Soft underbelly: 'scrambling data' a greater threat than hacking, intelligence chief says.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN DIEGO -- Hackers defacing websites or stealing information is bad, but the destruction of computer data could be worse, said Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, in one of his last speeches as a...

A domestic counterterrorism agency? It's a numbers game.(SECURITY BEAT)
January 1, 2009... * The question of whether to create a standalone domestic intelligence agency for counter-terrorism comes down to some cold, hard math, said The Rand Corp. in a recent study. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Members of Congress are asking if it...

Debate over next-generation radiation portals continues.(SECURITY BEAT)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Department of Homeland Security and the Government Accountability Office were still trading barbs over the effectiveness of the next generation of radiation portals to be deployed at ports. ...

DHS testing specialized plug to contain subway fires.(SECURITY BEAT)
January 1, 2009... * Researchers at West Virginia University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing a "tunnel plug" that would stop fires from spreading in underground train stations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The plug is essentially a...

Future of nuclear energy hinges on recycling technology.(INSIDE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2009... * Demands for electricity are rising around the world and a growing number of nations are seeking alternative sources of energy to fuel their needs. Global warming concerns, volatile oil prices and the security of fossil fuel sources have...

Renewable fuels: mileage mandates and biofuels aren't silver bullets.(COMMENTARY)
January 1, 2009... The United States got on the right path right after the Arab oil embargo shocks of the 1970s by focusing on higher mileage requirements for cars and trucks. But the drop in oil prices in the 1980s drove the nation off course. In addition,...

Economies of scale: analysts predict new wave of industry consolidation.(Defense Industry)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Expectations of declining budgets for Pentagon big-ticket weapons and an overall uncertainty about future military spending priorities may set off new rounds of industry mergers and acquisitions, economists say. ...

Purchasing power: 'milspec' technology makes a comeback.(ANALYSIS)
January 1, 2009... A rising propensity to "militarize" the Defense Department's information networks will be making it more difficult for the Pentagon to take advantage of cutting-edge technologies from the commercial sector, say analysts and industry experts....

Weapon cost overruns: from bad to worse.(Defense Industry)
January 1, 2009... A report by the Government Accountability Office last year stirred up a scandal of sorts as it meticulously documented that the Pentagon's 95 largest weapon systems were nearly $300 billion over budget. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Now,...

Feeling the pinch: small firms seeking federal contracts face uphill climb.(Small Business)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pentagon officials are fond of saying that small businesses are critical engines of innovation that not only are essential to the military but to the larger U.S. economy. According to recent government statistics,...

Diplomacy from the sea: taking cues from new administration, naval forces shift focus to soft power.(Naval Operations)
January 1, 2009... The Navy and Marine Corps will be turning more attention to "soft power" missions in the coming years, officials said. They are taking their cues from the Corps' former commandant, retired Gen. James L. Jones Jr., who will be President...

Marines eye littoral combat ship for future missions.(Naval Operations)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- The Marine Corps is considering new ways in which it could employ the Navy's new littoral combat ships. "We're working on an assessment of what we can put on the LCS," the chief of the...

Rescue mission: new patrol boats: a must-win for the Coast Guard.(Coast Guard)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The upcoming acquisition of new high-speed patrol boats for the U.S. Coast Guard is viewed as a make-or-break effort that could help the service recover from a string of setbacks in its Deepwater modernization...

Coast Guard boosting cooperation with military.(Coast Guard)
January 1, 2009... * VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Last summer, as Russian forces lay siege to the nation of Georgia, the Coast Guard cutter Dallas, along with two Navy ships, sailed to the Black Sea to provide relief. The Coat Guard crew, under Operation Assured...

Friend or foe? Defense Department under pressure to share biometric data.(Biometrics)(Cover story)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] TAMPA, Fla. -- Within minutes of knocking down the door of a suspected bomb maker in Iraq, U.S. troops can fingerprint everyone they find inside, send the scans across a satellite rink, and find out if the subjects...

Iris scan technology yet to take off.(Biometrics)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * TAMPA, Fla. -- Fans of thriller movies are familiar with the high-tech iris scanners that read an eyeball and allow access to super secret facilities in the basements of shadowy Washington spy agencies. What...

Coast Guard biometrics program expands.(Biometrics)
January 1, 2009... * TAMPA, Fla. -- A Coast Guard effort to collect and analyze biomettic data gathered at sea has expanded and will be made into an official program next year, said a senior technologist from the service. The Mona Pass, a 90-mile stretch of...

Defense Dept. 'institutionalizing' use of biometrics.(GUEST COMMENTARY)
January 1, 2009... The Defense Department is institutionalizing biometrics training for soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. The organization in charge of this effort, the Defense Department's biometrics task force, conducts biweekly secure video...

Navy seeks to miniaturize biometric gear.(Biometrics)
January 1, 2009... * The Navy plans to issue biometric-capable handheld computers that can help sailors quickly identify a terrorist suspect when they are searching enemy ships. Some biometric systems already exist in the fleet but the Navy wants to scale...

Broadband on the battlefield: military services follow dissimilar paths toward digital communications.(Battlefield Communications)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] SAN DIEGO -- The dream is to push streaming video and the Internet throughout the battlefield. Air Force pilots want to see what's happening on the ground. Army commanders want to receive live images from...

'T-Sat Lite' on tap to replace troubled satellite program.(Battlefield Communications)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN DIEGO -- The transformational satellite program--as its name suggests--is designed to revolutionize military communications by supplying vast amounts of bandwidth to troops on the ground. But that vision is...

Navy can text stealthy submarines 24/7.(Battlefield Communications)
January 1, 2009... * SAN DIEGO -- For years, the Navy has wanted to communicate with its submarines as they travel underwater at great depths. On some missions, a commander can be ordered to run silent and deep for months without any way to send or receive...

Ground control: drone operators ask industry for 'open' systems.(Battlefield Communications)
January 1, 2009... The ground-based equipment that is used to fly unmanned combat aircraft is not adequate to handle the demanding missions of current conflicts, operators say. Of most concern is the design and configuration of the control stations where...

Software improves connections to robots.(Battlefield Communications)
January 1, 2009... Troops who rely on robots for various missions are increasingly being handicapped by limited radio ranges and airwaves jamming. Small unmanned aerial vehicles and ground robots lack adequate onboard computing power to transmit...

Power wheels: prowler all-terrain truck for the military.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Phoenix International Systems Inc.'s Prowler)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... * An enhanced version of Phoenix International Systems Inc.'s Prowler is now on the production line. The light, tactical all-terrain vehicle is the only product in its inventory that is specifically designed for military use. [ILLUSTRATION...

Armor kits allow trucks on ships.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corp. in Oshkosh, Wis., is constructing 1,500 reducible-height armor kits for the Marine Corps' all-terrain medium tactical vehicle replacement fleet. Under the $180 million...

Battery charger gets going on dash of H2O.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
January 1, 2009... For troops in isolated areas with no access to traditional sources of power regeneration, on-going research by Ultralife Corp in conjunction with Lynntech Inc. and the Army's Communications-Electronic Research, Development and Engineering...

Shocking products keep bad guys behind bars.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)(Guardtower and IP6000)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... A company based in Teleford, Pa., is offering two new products that are designed to keep criminals in prison and intruders from high security facilities. Guardtower is a non-lethal electric fence option and IP6000 is an induced pulse high...

Conflict-of-interest plight can be avoided.(Ethics Corner)
January 1, 2009... Recently, one of the nation's largest government contractors faced a federal jury verdict that it violated the False Claims Act and breached two contracts with an independent federal agency based on failure to disclose conflicts of interest....

NDIA calendar: upcoming exhibits, shows and events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
January 1, 2009... JANUARY 15 NDIA Small Business Breakfast Arlington, VA ndia.org/meetings/914B [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 22-23 Information Systems Summit Miami, FL Improving Defense Information System (IS) Acquisitions:...