Air Force To Cut 10,000; Global Hawks Get Warehoused
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PENTAGON: The decision to sideline the Global Hawk Block 30 aircraft was made because its sensors aren’t as good as those of the U-2 and the UAV costs more to operate, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told reporters today. The Global Hawks sensors are “not as capable” as are those of the… Keep reading →
Army Eyes Even Deeper Troop Cuts
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PENTAGON: While the Army is already poised to drop to its lowest total force since 9/11, the service also is mulling a slew of organizational changes that could shrink the force even more, the Army’s top uniformed officer said today. The Army is studying what the “optimal size” of the service’s brigade combat teams should… Keep reading →
Sub-Based Global Strike Weapon Reborn; Questions Remain
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WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is again looking to its submarine fleet to fill a long-standing desire for a Prompt Global Strike weapon. The Navy will finance work on an “undersea conventional prompt global strike option” as part of its share of DoD’s $525 billion budget request for Fiscal 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said during today’s… Keep reading →
Industry Pitches Humvee Upgrades To Marines, Again
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WASHINGTON: Defense firms working on the Humvee upgrade effort are setting their sights on the Marines after Pentagon officials killed the Army-led program, industry sources say. Marine Corps officials who observed testing on some early industry designs for the Modernized Expanded Capability Vehicle — the official moniker of the Humvee recapitalization program — were more… Keep reading →
Air Force Cans Current Global Hawk; Funds Next-Gen Version
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UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Global Hawk is dead. Long live the Global Hawk. Pentagon and service leaders are rumored to be considering reducing or canceling the current version of the venerable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone. The Block 30 Global Hawk variant will be replaced with the Cold War-era U-2 spy planes. The decision to cut… Keep reading →
Army Eyes Radical Changes To Tac Vehicle Fleet
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WASHINGTON: Lighter, faster and more lethal. That’s where he U.S. military is headed as a result of looming budget cuts slated to begin in fiscal 2013. And that’s where the Army wants to take their fleet of light combat vehicles, to help ease that budget blow. But to get there, service leaders plan to radically… Keep reading →
Army Kills Humvee Upgrade Program; Shifts Dollars To JLTV: Exclusive
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UPDATED WASHINGTON: The Army will cancel a multimillion dollar effort to upgrade its Humvee fleet and funnel those funds into the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, according to sources with knowledge of the program. Pentagon acquisition officials spearheaded Army’s decision to terminate the Modernized Expanded Capability Vehicle program — the official moniker of the Humvee recapitalization… Keep reading →
OMB, DoD Agree On $523B 2013 Budget; Budget Chicken Begins
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WASHINGTON: President Obama’s defense budget for 2013 implements the start of the $500 billion in budget cuts required by the Budget Control Act but does not address the additional $600 billion in cuts triggered by the Super Committee’s failure. The most important implication deduced from the chart above would be that the administration has begun… Keep reading →