US, European Defense Sales Slide, Russia’s Up
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Sales of arms and military services by the world’s top 100 defense manufacturers in 2012 were down 4.2% from 2011, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Sales in 2011 were down 6.6% over year-earlier sales. Sales by companies in the United States, Canada and most West European countries continued to slide while arms sales by Russian firms increased by 28%, DefenceTalk reported.
The Pentagon’s ability to restrain spending is often stymied by Congressional representatives protective of military operations in their districts, pushing the Pentagon to act on its own to control what spending it can: personnel costs and troop benefits including health care, housing allowances and access to on-base commissaries.
Northrop Grumman’s X-47B will go to sea aboard an aircraft carrier this summer for “dedicated blending” testing in which the manned F/A-18 and unmanned X-47B will operate from the carrier together cooperatively, said RADM Mat Winter, Naval Air Systems Command’s program executive officer for unmanned aviation, in an interview with USNI News.
Companies specializing in government services are cutting expenses and considering mergers as defense spending on government services shrinks and competition for what’s left intensifies, reports National Defense.
Britain and France announced greater military cooperation through joint drone-building and helicopter weaponry projects, DefenceTalk reported.
China accused Japanese right-wingers of making trouble with their rumor that China will declare a new air defense zone over the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, Defense News reported. The Islands are claimed by Vietnam as well as China, which has occupied them since 1974. The US issued a warning, reminding China of its commitment to solve regional territorial disputes with diplomacy.
Return to drawing board recommended: The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester is calling for a redesign of part of the long-range missile defense system, some of which has already been deployed. J. Michael Gilmore’s recommends fixing a system that has been called “fragile” and unable to repel “any but the most primitive attacks,” Defense One reported.
With a robot looking remarkably like an updated version of The Jetsons’ 1960s cartoon maid, Rosie, Knightscope’s K5 “patrol-bot” may be a worthy partner for understaffed community and military policing, Defense Tech says.
DARPA wants military forces to be able to cover their tracks with computer chips that self-destruct. DARPA has scheduled a proposers’ day Feb. 14 to see what technology might already be out there that could be promising for its “Vanishing Programmable Resources” effort. Last day to sign up is Feb. 8.
