International F-35 Sales Boost Lockheed
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The F-35’s international sales provided a second quarter earnings increase for Lockheed Martin, reports Washington Business Journal. The aeronautics division saw revenue rising from $3.41 billion to $3.86 billion and operating profit from $407 million to $453 million. Much of the increase was due to the Joint Strike Fighter, with higher net sales of about $210 million for F-35 production contracts due to increased volume. Overall, the defense giant’s second quarter net income rose 3.5 percent to $889 million.
Newly released Pentagon projections call for $26 billion more in procurement and research outlays by September 30 than first estimated, according to Bloomberg Government. The DoD projects spending $110.7 billion on procurement by the end of the fiscal year, up from a previously forecast $92.1 billion; as well as $63.3 billion in research, up from $56 billion.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, (D-Mich.) “greenlighted” preliminary talks about a compromise version of a Pentagon policy bill that would be able to quickly pass both chambers later this year, reports Defense News. The fallback plan would be required if, for the second consecutive year, the Senate fails to pass its own version of a National Defense Authorization bill.
The US Navy UCLASS acquisition process may be an important test on how the Pentagon integrates emerging technologies which is key to maintaining US military superiority, according to an analysis by War on the Rocks. The commentator believes that the ongoing UCLASS mission definition debate is welcome but, “should not substitute for a broader consideration of the Navy’s future, and what role unmanned systems will play in it.”
Service members should be wary before enrolling in Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit university that is facing a government-supervised sale of its campuses and charges it preyed on the military, reports Stars and Stripes. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) said the career colleges have been aggressively recruiting service members and spouses who use military tuition assistance.
Japan is becoming a factor in the escalating global race for military UAVs, reports Defense One. The country will invest approximately $372 million in the next decade to drastically increase its virtually non-existent military UAV program.
The Blue Angels will get an executive officer for the first time in the squadron’s history and the member selection process will be overhauled to include more oversight from personnel officials, reports the Navy Times. The changes were announced Tuesday in the wake of a high-profile misconduct investigation.
The amphibious transport dock USS Denver, the fleet’s oldest deployable warship, is set for an August retirement after an amazing 46 years, a lifespan similar to a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, reports the Navy Times.
