National Defense articles from May 2008

National Defense archives from May 2008

Defense industrial base: plans needed to ensure soft landing.(PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE)
May 1, 2008... Discussions about the impending collision between military needs and resources mostly occur in the context of service priorities. Bur what about the industrial base? What does a future of possibly declining budgets hold for large prime...

Weapons budget: the more you spend, the less you buy.(DEFENSE WATCH)
May 1, 2008... When Pentagon officials are grilled on Capitol Hill about the eye-popping price tags of military hardware, their standard response is that next-generation weapons are justifiably expensive because fewer of them are required. While that...

Battling for sales: joint strike fighter bracing for marketing wars.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Pentagon is counting on its prized new Joint Strike Fighter to guarantee victory against future enemies. But before it can secure its place as the world's premier combat jet, the JSF must first be able to beat...

'IED Defeat Task Force' also in the private sector.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... When the Defense Department launched its campaign against the biggest killer of U.S. troops in Iraq--roadside bombs--it reached out to defense contractors and academia for technologies to counter IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. It...

Influx of scientists and engineers at the Pentagon.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pentagon officials for years have sounded alarms about the dwindling supply of qualified scientists and engineers in the government. But now the tide appears to be turning, said Allan Shaffer, principal deputy...

Wanted: army contracting officers.(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In past presidential elections, candidates often have vowed to "clean up Washington" and downsize the "bloated" federal bureaucracy. That anti-government mindset ultimately left military agencies ill-equipped and...

"It's not a technology problem. It's governance and culture".(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... Jay Cohen, undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, explaining why DHS lacks "interoperability" with the nation's first responders. Police and fire chiefs have the means to communicate with federal...

"Does the general staff there in the Pentagon understand that they could very well go down in history as incompetent and inadequate to the most important challenge of this decade in American history?".(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... Lou Dobbs, host of CNN's 'Lou Dobbs Tonight,' in an exchange with Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre about the strain that the Iraq war is causing the U.S. military.

"We have fielded over 600 Internet cafes on the ground.".(WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY)
May 1, 2008... Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, chief of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, commenting on SPAWAR's duties related to the war in Iraq.

Underground war: border tunnel problem worsening as fences go up.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Tunnels underneath the southwest border are expected to proliferate as improved fencing makes it harder for smugglers to move illicit goods, said members of a San Diego task force tackling the...

Want to know how to build a virtual fence? ask border patrol.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... Designers of the Project 28 pilot program, which was envisioned as a virtual fence along the Southwest border, failed to ask users what they wanted in the system, according to the Government Accountability Office. After an eight-month...

TSA setting up cargo screening system.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... The Transportation Security Administration has a congressional mandate to screen 100 percent of air cargo traveling on passenger airlines by August 2010. President Bush signed the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, which spelled out the...

Wanted: one unarmed aerial vehicle; must be able to take off from ships.(SECURITY BEAT: HOMELAND DEFENSE BRIEFS)
May 1, 2008... The Coast Guard is in the market for a new vertical unmanned aerial vehicle to fly off the deck of its new national security cutters. It will take a look at any UAV that meets its requirements, but it has to be fully tested and ready to go...

Water, climate change: recipe for trouble?(INSIDE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2008... As the Navy likes to remind us, water covers 70 percent of our planet and enables global commerce. Military strategists also caution that future wars will be fought over access to waterways and even over drinking-water supplies. And yet, we...

On the mend: new ships are breaking the bank so the Navy is fixing its old ones.(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The ballooning costs of new ships are forcing the Navy to reevaluate its plans to boost the fleet size from 280 to 313 ships in the coming decade. Having acknowledged that buying all new ships to replace aging...

Fire away: army in a rush to produce new cannon.(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)
May 1, 2008... FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Future Combat Systems program wants to give the Army a gift on its 233rd birthday this year: a working prototype for its nonline-of-sight cannon. The often maligned FCS program plans to unveil the first...

Corrections.(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2008... In the March 2008 story, "Demand on the Rise for Small Hovering Drones," it was reported that Aurora Flight Sciences of Manassas, Va., competed with BAE Systems and Honeywell for DARPA's organic air vehicle program contract. It should have been...

Clarification.(IN FOCUS: DEFENSE AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS)(Correction notice)
May 1, 2008... In the April 2008 story, "Navy to Deploy Robotic Sub Hunters." it should have been mentioned that the Navy's remote multi-mission vehicle is made by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Balancing act: uncertainty about budgets, workforce shape future of U.S. weapons industry.(Industry Study)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Uncertainty about future conflicts and the capabilities of potential enemies raise complex questions about what weaponry the U.S. military will need to counter a wide spectrum of threats. From top to bottom, they...

Power hungry: market for synthetic aviation fuels off to a shaky start.(Aviation Energy)
May 1, 2008... Algae, wood chips or garbage could in the future help fuel airplanes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] So say U.S. manufacturers of alternative aviation fuel, who are beginning to develop novel ways to power aircraft. Makers of synthetic...

Man vs. machine: ground robots' place in military at risk, experts warn.(Ground Robots)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN ANTONIO, Texas--With the success of explosive ordnance disposal robots in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the rapid development of the technology in the private sector, one might assume that "mechanical soldiers" are...

Armed robots sidelined in Iraqi fight.(Ground Robots)
May 1, 2008... SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The first three armed ground robots deployed onto a battlefield are stuck behind sandbags and are not patrolling Iraqi streets as its inventors envisioned, said a senior executive with its manufacturer, Foster-Miller Inc....

Navy to field a family of next-generation bomb disposal robots.(Ground Robots)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Navy will field a family of bomb disposal robots to replace the ad hoc commercial systems being used in Iraq and Afghanistan today. Byron Brezina, robotics director of Naval explosive...

Piercing the fog: to succeed, soldier 'need to see the environment'.
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Troops fighting in Iraq's cities often complain that they cannot see the enemy, who is most often hiding among the population. They need sensors that can penetrate walls, identify foes in...

Army starts over with aerial common sensor.(Battlefield Surveillance)
May 1, 2008... FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Army is making a second attempt at a failed joint program to create a manned aerial platform designed to provide persistent surveillance over battlefields. The service's aerial common sensor was scheduled to...

Urban surveillance still falling short, say army commanders.(Battlefield Surveillance)
May 1, 2008... SAN DIEGO -- Army commanders need more sophisticated aerial surveillance sensors to give them a wider, more detailed view of the complex urban battle field, officials said. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We face an incredible problem, a...

Not cleared to fly: worries about mid-air collisions keep civilian drones grounded.(Battlefield Surveillance)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SAN DIEGO -- Local governments and unmanned aircraft suppliers look forward to the day when legions of drones can fly over the national airspace to survey fires, spot displaced citizens in a natural disaster or...

Tough calls: in today's wars, air strikes under fire.(Close Air Support)(Cover story)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For decades, the Air Force and the Army have feuded over who gets to be in charge of the "big guns" on the battlefield. That rivalry has become irrelevant in current wars, where one doesn't win by killing, but by...

Weapon of choice: technology upgrades give edge to ground-attack pilots.(Close Air Support)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- When he flew combat missions in Afghanistan in 2004, Maj. Neal Kistler lugged two sacks of maps into the cockpit of his A-10 and used a red grease pencil to notate the locations...

Exchange program helps services acquire laser missiles for free.(Close Air Support)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The producer of the laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick missile, Raytheon Corp., is recycling unused missiles in the military's inventory to help services acquire needed weapons at almost no cost. Through a "replacement...

Bombers will fly closer to the ground in upcoming deployment.(Close Air Support)
May 1, 2008... They've been called the roaming linebackers in the skies above Iraq and Afghanistan. When ground troops need support, the B-1 Lancer drops bombs or thunders overhead at supersonic speeds. Originally designed to fly intercontinental bombing...

Radar vision: smoke, snow, gloom of night not a problem.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New aviation-safety sensor technology that relies on millimeter-wave radar and infrared imaging is permitting C-130H transport pilots to land their aircraft in zero visibility conditions--including heavy fog, smoke...

U.S. company helps China monitor oil spill.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Following last December's environmental disaster off the coast of South Korea, Applied Science Associates Inc. of Narragansett, R.I., provided computer models and simulations to China's oil spill emergency response...

Polymer magazine developed for assault rifle.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At the request of military and law enforcement agencies, Lancer Systems of Allentown, Pa., has developed a translucent polymer, 30-round magazine for the M16 rifle that is as durable as metal counterparts. The...

Lightweight fabric blocks radiation.(TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS)
May 1, 2008... Thanks to the acquisition of patents from Russia and Singapore for Demron, the U.S. now has its own source of a unique radiation blocking fabric that can be made into full body suits, gloves, boots, vests and other apparel. Radiation...

Contractors' conflicts of interest under scrutiny.(Ethics Corner)
May 1, 2008... Contractors may soon be required to police their employees' personal conflicts of interest. In March 2008, the Government Accountability Office issued a report entitled, "Defense Contracting, Additional Personal Conflict of Interest Safeguards...

NDIA endorses 'Project Lead the Way'.(NDIA NEWS: ASSOCIATION BRIEFS)(National Defense Industrial Association)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The National Defense Industrial Association has endorsed Project Lead the Way, a nationwide program that provides proven curricula and teacher training to both improve technical education and excite students about careers in technology fields....

Outstanding ROTC officers receive Codd Award.(NDIA NEWS: ASSOCIATION BRIEFS)(Reserve Officers' Training Corps)(Colonel Leo A. Codd Memorial Award)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The National Defense Industrial Association announced the winners of its annual Colonel Leo A. Codd Memorial Award for 2007, which recognizes outstanding junior officers in ROTC programs throughout the United States. First through third...

Smola named navy 'tester of the year'.(NDIA NEWS: ASSOCIATION BRIEFS)(American Systems employee Susan Smola)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) has recognized American Systems employee Susan Smola as the 2007 NDIA U.S. Navy contractor tester of the year for her outstanding work supporting the common submarine radio room program. ...

Birdies for the Brave.(NDIA NEWS: ASSOCIATION BRIEFS)(The Association for Enterprise Architecture)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Association for Enterprise Architecture at its fourth annual Warfighter's Vision Conference in Tampa, Fla., in March organized the Warfighter's Vision Charity Golf Outing to benefit Birdies for the Brave....

NDIA calendar: upcoming exhibits, shows and events.(National Defense Industrial Association)(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... MAY 5-8 Joint Services Environmental Management Training (JSEM) Conference & Exposition Denver, CO www.jsemconference.com 6-8 2008 Strike, Land Attack & Air Defense Annual Symposium Laurel, MD--JHU APL ...