Washington: Despite drastic changes made by the Army and the Marine Corps to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program, defense companies are still struggling to get costs under control, according to an industry official. Kathryn Hasse, JLTV program manager for Lockheed Martin, said costs for the new combat truck continue to be the program’s “most… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army needs a new way to connect soldiers on the battlefield, and it doesn’t care how it gets there. The service is taking a “platform agnostic” approach to the way it is carrying out its new network strategy, a senior Army program official told me yesterday during the U.S. Army Association’s annual symposium… Keep reading →

Washington: Army acquisition is facing the largest financial crunch since the infamous defense drawdown of the 1990s. To meet that challenge, service officials today rolled out a list of seven “commandments” it will follow to get the Army through these tough times. The problem is these “commandments” — increased focus on cost and schedule, increased… Keep reading →

Washington: Despite cutting over $1 billion from a key weapons program designed to keep American troops out of harms way, the Army can get enough systems into the field when U.S. troops need them. Last month, Army officials cut the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS), built by Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg, from $2.6 billion… Keep reading →

Washington: Going to war? The Army may soon have an app for that. Today the Army rolled out the newest version of their NetWarrior program, a system designed to let individual soldiers tie into the massive command and control networks used by the Army to coordinate its operations. This version of the system is centered… Keep reading →

Washington: America’s shipyards are sinking fast, and the only way to keep them afloat is to kick the Navy’s shipbuilding plan into high gear, a recently released DoD report states. Pentagon officials noted that U.S. shipyards are falling behind their international peers, in both technology and productivity, according to the department’s annual assessment of the… Keep reading →

Washington: Only three days into the new fiscal year the Army has wielded its mighty budget ax on what many believe is a highly promising weapon system designed to protect soldiers as they roll into battle. Service officials cut the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS), built by Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg, from $2.6 billion… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army is breaking in half its massive plan to revamp its Humvee fleet, giving industry two separate shots to lock in a part of the multimillion-dollar program. In the end, the Army will produce nearly 5,800 modified Humvees at a rate of three to four vehicles a day, under the Modernized Expanded Capability… Keep reading →

Quantico, Va: In a nondescript room on a secure floor here at Marine Corps headquarters, a cadre of civilian and military personnel are busy redefining how the service does amphibious operations. Amid various Power Points, diagrams and computerized templates, the members of the Amphibious Capabilities Working Group have been assigned a formidable task — take… Keep reading →

Washington: Norway is threatening to delay its buy of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters if DoD decides not to support a new missile system built by one of the country’s top defense firms. Norwegian defense giant Kongsberg is pressuring the Pentagon to integrate its Joint Strike Missile for use on the F-35, indicating that Norway is… Keep reading →