Is Stealth Aircraft’s Effectiveness Only Skin Deep?

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the Internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.

 

Are potential adversaries’ radars getting too smart for US aircraft to keep hiding from them?  AOL Defense looks into rising skepticism about stealth aircraft such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and others.

The Pentagon should continue to invest in special operations forces, offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, new manned and unmanned long-range strike aircraft and undersea vessels even as defense spending declines in the coming decade, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Defense News reports.  The study recommends, as defense spending declines, reducing the buy of Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighters to protect other investments.

The Navy released a new draft request for proposal for the VXX Presidential helicopter replacement program. A formal RFP should be released by the middle of the current fiscal year. FlightGlobal reports that the RFP seeks “existing, in-production” helicopters. The Navy hopes to leverage an existing civil or military airworthiness certificate to issue a Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR) flight clearance.

The General Services Administration launched a new online dashboard this week  that lists agencies’ information technology spending using government wide acquisition contracts. The dashboard helps agencies make “data driven” decisions about IT investing and provides federal IT vendors insight into new business opportunities, NextGov says.

China eyes international and new domestic markets in considering civil surveillance and other roles for its  UAVs, Aviation Week reports.

The Boeing Company, awarded a $26,257,174 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-09-C-0022), will provide additional services for the development maintenance training curriculum in support of the P-8A multi-mission maritime aircraft.  The Naval Air System Command, Patuxent River, is the contracting activity.

U.S.consumer confidence rose this month to its highest level in four and a half years, helped by improved consumer confidence in the labor market. The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 in November from 73.1 in October. Both are the best readings since February 2008.

Also confident was billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who said on the Charlie Rose Show that he wouldn’t panic if the nation rolled over the fiscal cliff. “I hope something gets worked out before January 1st, but if it goes a little bit beyond that … I will not be selling stocks.”