National Defense articles from May 2006

National Defense archives from May 2006

U.S. industry bears brunt of past protectionism.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
May 1, 2006... As even casual observers of the defense industry can attest, the business of producing and delivering weapons systems to the military has radically changed. In the United States, we have seen our industry not only shrink substantially, but also...

Mixed messages on Iran's role in Iraq.(Washington PULSE)
May 1, 2006... American and British military commanders have hinted in recent months that Iraq's insurgents have improved the sophistication of roadside bombs partly because of technical know-how and equipment coming from Iran. The Pentagon and the State...

Information chief warns of future cyber threats.(Linton Wells III)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Securing research and development dollars to protect the Defense Department's computer networks from hackers, cyber-terrorists and Internet viruses has been an uphill battle, according to the Pentagon's deputy chief information officer, Linton...

Navy can make do with 10 carriers.(Washington PULSE)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Only last year, the Navy trimmed its aircraft-carrier fleet from 12 to 11 ships. As early as 2012, it may have to do with just 10. The fleet would stay at 10 carriers only for about three years, after the USS Enterprise is decommissioned in...

Army aviators fly archaic simulators.(Washington PULSE)
May 1, 2006... The Army is drafting an "investment strategy" for how modernize its aging flight simulators, says Brig. en. Stephen Mundt, director of Army aviation. "Some Defense Department simulators can't compare to the commercial simulators," he told...

What lies beneath: lawmakers introduce tunnel legislation.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
May 1, 2006... The movement of illegal immigrants or narcotics through a tunnel under a U.S. border is a felony, but there are no laws on the books preventing the excavation itself. Bipartisan legislation aiming to close this loophole has been introduced in...

Information Overload?(Linton Wells II concerned about information security)
May 1, 2006... While the U.S. intelligence community struggles to create inter-agency links and eliminate the barriers that prevent them from communicating and preventing another terrorist attack, some officials have sounded an alarm on a problem few...

DHS pushes for its own joint command.(Department of Homeland Security )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Department of Homeland Security has asked Congress for $50 million to organize a joint staff office to tie together its 22 agencies. The national preparedness integration program would be modeled on the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of...

McHale: disaster response time expected to improve.(Paul McHale)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... As the hurricane season approaches, the Defense Department has attempted to reduce the time it would need to mobilize troops to respond to a domestic catastrophe, said Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense. While...

Chemical security legislation moves slowly.(SECURITY BEAT: Homeland Defense Briefs)
May 1, 2006... Among the new laws passed in the years following the 9/11 attacks, chemical plant security has so far been left out. Legislation to harden such facilities has been introduced every year since 2001, but the bills have gone nowhere. ...

Procurement rules remain disconnected from reality.(DEFENSE WATCH)
May 1, 2006... A wealth of Pentagon rhetoric, and lip service to the wonders of 'network-centric" warfare has conveniently ignored a sticky issue: The purchase of information-age technologies often is entirely incompatible with the Defense Department's buying...

The U.S. military: under strain and at risk.(VIEWPOINT)
May 1, 2006... In the current debate over the nation's defense strategy and spending priorities, there is an elephant in the room that few are willing to acknowledge: Our ground forces are under enormous strain. This strain, if not soon relieved, will have...

Protective cover: chemical suits fitted for unconventional war.(UPFRONT)
May 1, 2006... CHARLESTON, S.C -- During operations near the Iraqi city of Fallujah, ground forces came across bottles full of potassium cyanide and sodium cyanide in an insurgent safe home. Sitting next to them were paint guns with five- and 10-gallon...

Innovation needed for chem-bio gear.(protecting soldiers from chemical and biological weapons)
May 1, 2006... While Defense Department officials insist that the chemical-biological protection given to U.S. personnel is the best in the world, there is a lot of room for improvement, they admit. "It's a difficult science to get your arms around,"...

Simulations could help avert program failures, says former Pentagon tester.(UPFRONT)
May 1, 2006... Escalating procurement costs and setbacks in the development of new weapons systems partly can be blamed on the Defense Department's failure to exploit simulation and modeling technologies, asserts the Pentagon's former testing director. ...

Army networks test limits of commercial technologies.(Joint Network Node)
May 1, 2006... A tactical communications system currently deployed with Army battalions in Iraq and Afghanistan proves that commercial technology, for the most part, can meet military requirements. But the system also accentuates the difficulties of...

Plans for global information grid unrealistics.(UPFRONT)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A Pentagon effort to develop a global network that connects all military services and Defense Department agencies could fail as a result of current procurement and funding policies, says the Government Accountability Office. The Defense...

Despite advances, air strikes fall short of expectations.(UPFRONT)
May 1, 2006... NORFOLK, Va. -- The Joint Forces Command will launch a demonstration program this year to improve communications between the armed services and the intelligence communities. The goal is to decrease the time it takes to put bombs on elusive...

Errata.(UPFRONT)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2006... In the April 2006 story, page 26, "Soldiers, Marines Team Up in Trailblazer Patrols," the manufacturer of the Cougar armored vehicle is incorrect. The vehicle is made Force Protection Industries. In the March 2006 story, page 20, "Army Land...

Under scrutiny: soaring costs not likely to slow down global hawk.(UNMANNED AVIATION)
May 1, 2006... The Global Hawk spy aircraft has become--in the eyes of its Defense Department supporters--a shining example of leap-forward technology. The aircraft also has emerged as a cautionary tale for what government auditors consider a high-risk and...

'Eyes on the ground': army operators cope with airspace congestion.(UNMANNED AVIATION)
May 1, 2006... FORT IRWIN, Calif. - In the center of a vast dry lakebed, a squad of soldiers from the nation's first Stryker brigade combat team has just launched a Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle for a five-hour training mission. For soldiers such as...

Crowded airspace: 'Dysfunctional' interagency coordination hampers domestic deployment of drones.(UNMANNED AVIATION)
May 1, 2006... If the Coast Guard has its way, unmanned aircraft will be patrolling American ports and waterways. And if Customs and Border Protection has its way, unmanned surveillance craft may be flying over the northern border with Canada. The...

Evacuation under fire: combat rescue units see shift in missions.(SEARCH AND RESCUE)
May 1, 2006... Air Force combat rescue teams increasingly are shifting their training and resources to the evacuation of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead of just focusing on the recovery of downed pilots. "Now we're using our combat search and...

Aircrew training: race begins for search and rescue contract.(SEARCH AND RESCUE)
May 1, 2006... The Air Force is preparing to award a contract worth as much as $500 million over the next five years to provide training for its combat search and rescue personnel. The job--dubbed aircrew training and rehearsal support II, or ATARS...

Notice to mariners: U.S. Coast Guard launches long-delayed communications system.(SEARCH AND RESCUE)
May 1, 2006... CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. -- The Coast Guard's delayed and expensive search-and-rescue communications network has made its debut here and at an air station in Atlantic City, N.J. Rescue 21, as the system is known, is intended to make dramatic...

'The new Army': soldiers sharpen humanitarian, diplomatic skills.(CIVIL AFFAIRS)(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- As they train for combat in mock Middle Eastern villages, soldiers find that their fighting skills often cannot make up for a shortage of interpreters and a poor understanding of Iraqi culture. A team of soldiers from the...

Fog of war: army strives for training that resembles combat.(GROUND FORCES)
May 1, 2006... FORT IRWIN, Calif. -- Combat rehearsals that replicate conditions in Iraq provide valuable training for troops who have yet to experience the real war. But these training drills don't have much new to offer to combat veterans, according to...

Connecting nodes: 'land warriors' link up with Stryker vehicles.(GROUND FORCES)
May 1, 2006... An Army Stryker battalion training for possible deployment to Iraq in 2007 will outfit hundreds of its soldiers with the high-tech "land warrior" ensemble this summer. These soldiers will help determine whether the system is suitable for combat...

Sense, destroy: rocket propelled grenade killer developed.(TECH TALK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A sensor and precision kill missile system has successfully neutralized a rocket propelled grenade in mid-air. The Quick Kill system was employed on a Stryker vehicle at a recent test in New Mexico. The Raytheon Company product is a hit...

Nobody hides from these sensors.(TECH TALK)
May 1, 2006... Insurgents beware. A new, compact, multiple sensor system is able to identify targets partially hidden in camouflage or vegetation. The Lockheed Martin sensor package relies on a long-range variant of its LADAR (laser detection and ranging)...

Unmanned vehicle speeds dam inspections.(TECH TALK)
May 1, 2006... REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLES produced by JW Fishers of Taunton, Mass., are now being used in several Canadian provinces to inspect hydroelectric dams. When human divers are used, operations must be either shut down completely or significantly...

Periscope helps protect troops or cops.(TECH TALK)
May 1, 2006... A HAND HELD PERISCOPE with variable 4x to 9x zoom is now available for military or law enforcement use. Equipped with an attachment for a flashlight or camera, the SWAT Scope is designed for looking around or over obstacles. It gives the user...

Smart cable thwarts missile attacks.(TECH TALK)
May 1, 2006... AN AIR FORCE TEAM HAS developed and fielded an upgrade for transport aircraft missile warning systems. Called the smart cable, the unit has been installed on 400 coalition aircraft, according to officials. It was developed by members from...

Weight-in-motion tester scrutinized.(pioneered by Department of Energy. Oak Ridge National Laboratory)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A PORTABLE MILITARY vehicle weight-in-motion system has been pioneered by the computational sciences and engineering division of Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The hardware and software automatically identify the equipment,...

'Active interceptor' will lighten helo pilots' workload.(TECH TALK)
May 1, 2006... Army Black Hawk helicopters will be equipped with an "active pilot inceptor system. The technology will replace the mechanical controls on the current UH-60 with active technology that saves weight and provides pilots with intuitive tactile...

Molded rubber products not a problem.(TECH TALK)
May 1, 2006... Custom-molded rubber prototypes increasingly are gaining applications in government and military products, says Jefferson Rubber Works Inc. of Worcester, Mass. The company has developed a new "injection-molding" process to expedite the...

Congress should consider further acquisition reform.(GOVERNMENT POLICY NOTES)
May 1, 2006... During the past decade, Congress has enacted significant acquisition reform legislation. Yet, in order to achieve the full degree of cost savings and comprehensive reform envisioned, NDIA believes that additional legislation is needed. Toward...

Regulations affect sales agents, fees.(ETHICS CORNER)
May 1, 2006... Many firms hire employees or engage sales agents to help secure federal government business. Doing this properly requires compliance with ethics rules that bar "improper influence." Generally, the government views contingent fee...

NDIA events calendar.
May 1, 2006... MAY 15-17 Joint Services Small Arms Systems Annual Symposium, Exhibition and Firing Demonstration Albuquerque, N.M. POC: Emily Brown @ (703) 247-9476 Exhibits: Dennis Sharland @ (703) 247-2573 31-JUNE 1 ...

Affiliate events.
May 1, 2006... www.afei.org MAY 9-10 Fulfilling the Warfighter's Vision 2006: Closing the Information Gap Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club St. Petersburg, Fla. MAY 18 Trusted Information Sharing Hyatt Crystal City, Arlington,...

Chapter events.
May 1, 2006... JUNE 13-15 Michigan Chapter 6th Annual Intelligent Vehicle Systems Symposium & Exhibition Grand Traverse Resort & Spa Acme, Mich. 15 Picatinny Chapter 31st Annual Firepower...