Infrastructure Moves Up on HASC Budget List
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The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the F17 National Defense Authorization Act wants to fund more military construction – cut in recent years in to increase acquisition and operations – than the Pentagon, USNI News reports. For the Navy, HASC would add new runways, hangars, training and maintenance facilities, and more to support new aircraft – the EA-18G Growlers, F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, MQ-4C Tritons, and other unmanned platforms. The HASC apparently heard VADM Philip Cullom, deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics, when he said earlier this year that the Navy cannot just buy new aircraft and ignore the infrastructure needed to support the planes.
In an April 8, 2016, pre-solicitation notice, NAVAIR disclosed its intention to enter into sole-source negotiations with BAE Systems Information and Electronics to procure M282 multipurpose penetrator warheads for integration with the APKWS II guided rocket, IHS Jane’s reports.
Almost five years after Lockheed Martin ended production of F-22 stealth fighter jets, House legislation directs the Air Force to consider restarting the assembly line, Defense News reports. In light of the growing perception that the US military is losing its technological edge to adversaries like Russia and China, Congress has expressed keen interest throughout this year’s budget season in restarting the line.
Unless it is stopped, North Korea will eventually acquire intercontinental ballistic missile capabilities, reports Agence France-Presse in DefenceTalk. Gen. Vincent Brooks, the four-star general selected to lead US forces in South Korea, warned the Senate Armed Services Committee, that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was determined to build rockets to reach as far as the US.
It’s nearly two years since Congress required agencies to publish and standardize spending data. It’s still unclear when that information will be available to the public. The president’s 2017 fiscal year budget request includes $55 million for DATA Act implementation, part of an effort to make government data more open to the public, NextGov reports. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said the transparency requirement could change the way agencies spend money. A bipartisan bill seeks to extend transparency beyond spending data to all information, Government Executive reports, contractors are concerned about protection of intellectual property.
Israel continues to plan on F-35 exclusivity for its arsenal in the Gulf region for some time, even as Qatar and Kuwait await clearance to purchase the JSF, Defense News says.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday at 18096.27, up 42.67, as a rally in oil prices ignited gains in energy shares. The upward trajectory continued a climb that started in mid-February as global growth fears eased, oil prices rebounded, and the Federal Reserve signaled a slow path of interest-rate increases, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Economist talks with Vitalik Buterin, inventor of Ethereum, about technology to manage airspace shared by manned and unmanned vehicles, including “geofencing” and “virtual leashes.” (Audio interview)
The commanding officer of Asia’s largest US Navy base was booted from his post for “loss of confidence” in his ability to lead, a Navy Region Japan spokesman said, according to the Navy Times. Capt. David Glenister, CO of Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, is accused of mishandling at least two command investigations.
Consulting and tech companies pay the highest salaries, with median salaries in the six figures, according to a new survey by Glassdoor.
Is saying on your resume that you’re a vet a plus or minus? Washington Technology takes a reading.
