Federal Employees Receive Pay Raise
Federal employees will receive their first automatic pay raise in more than three years, 1 percent beginning Jan. 1.
VA Tech Wins UAS Test Siting, Could Boost Pax Sites
Formal collaborative agreements among between Virginia Tech, Rutgers and the University of Maryland System could retain Southern Maryland sites as potential testing arenas for commercializing unmanned aviation systems.
Quarter-Million in Uniform Overseas for the Holidays
Joint Chiefs of Staff Dempsey reminds Americans of the hundreds of thousands of service members and civilians workers who do not take holidays off from the job of keeping us safe.
Budget Delivers a Merry Christmas to Contractors
The bi-partisan budget bill on its way toward final approval makes big winners of big defense contractors, especially in aerospace and arms. Investors can expect a happy new year.
Maryland Offshore Wind Farm Leases to be Auctioned
Federal officials announced wind energy development leases would be offered for 80,000 acres at least 10 nautical miles off Ocean City late next year.
Snowden: NSA Spy Mission “Collapsing”
In a recent letter to “the people of Brazil” NSA leaker Edward Snowden offered to help that nation investigate alleged American spying but would require Brazil to provide political asylum because the US “government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak.”
Google Buys DARPA’s Favorite Robotics Lab
Boston Dynamics became the eighth robotics firm Google has purchased in the past six months. Current military contracts will be honored, say Google execs, but the company doesn’t seek to become a military contractor on its own.
Retiree Benefit Cuts Snag Budget Bill in Senate
Senate passage of the Defense Bill is predicted this week, but reductions in military retiree benefits and partisanship remain obstacles to passage of budget bill approved by the House last week.
Pentagon Avoids Immediate Cuts
Deal would avert another government shutdown, halve sequestration cuts for the current fiscal year and fund the government through October 2015. Pentagon spending cuts scheduled for January would be avoided while Defense spending is increased by $2 billion over last year.
Northrop’s RQ-180 Drone Spied Over Area 51
The new stealth drone may be twice the size of Lockheed Martin’s RQ-170 Sentinel drone which makes it large enough to conduct operations as an unmanned stealth bomber, although spying is likely the aircraft’s main mission.
