The Navy’s plan for building new nuclear missile submarines — the $80 billion Ohio Replacement Program — tips the balance between the nations’ sub-builders in favor of New England-based Electric Boat. Yes, the “Submarine Unified Build Strategy” carefully allocates work between EB, owned by General Dynamics, and Virginia’s Newport News Shipbuilding, owned by Huntington-Ingalls. Yes,… Keep reading →

AFA WINTER: Boeing Defense, fresh off its loss of the Long Range Strike Bomber contract, is getting new leadership. Chris Chadwick, who led the $30 billion Boeing, Defense, Space and Security Division to its most profitable year ever, is retiring and will be replaced as president and CEO of BDS by Leanne Caret on March 1. Caret… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Lockheed Martin just dropped its suit against the government for awarding the giant Joint Light Tactical Vehicle contract to truck-maker Oshkosh. Why now? “After careful deliberation, Lockheed Martin has withdrawn its protest of the JLTV contract award decision in the Court of Federal Claims” was all the company would say. But it turns out… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Adds Aboulafia Comment, SecAF, Boeing, Northrop Statements.  WASHINGTON: The Government Accountability Office upheld the Long Range Strike Bomber contract award to Northrop Grumman today, smoothing the way for one of the Pentagon’s highest priority programs and erasing fears that the dismissal of the service’s top acquisition official for his ties to Northrop might affect the decision.… Keep reading →

SURFACE NAVY ASSOCIATION: Paul Daniels of Raytheon is a bit miffed. Yesterday, prominent defense commentator Loren Thompson wrote an article in Forbes extolling the technology Daniels works on, precision-guided cannon shells — particularly the products of BAE Systems. But Daniels doesn’t work for BAE. He works on Raytheon’s Excalibur smart round, fired 800 times in anger in… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is “weeks” away from taking a tougher line on mergers between defense contractors — but two top defense industry analysts told Breaking Defense that was a bad idea. “Their only possible response to M&A [Mergers & Acquisitions] is S&P[:] Signaling & Posturing,” said the Teal Group’s Richard Aboulafia. “As with so many… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The world’s largest arms maker, Lockheed Martin, is about to take the government to court over the contract to replace the Humvee. When the Army awarded the first 17,000 of a projected 55,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to Oshkosh in August, losing bidder Lockheed filed an administrative protest with the Government Accountability Office. But… Keep reading →

Who’s right about the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program: defense consultant Loren Thompson or the Air Force and senior Defense Department officials? The Air Force awarded the LRSB contract to Northrop Grumman. The competing Boeing-Lockheed Martin team was considered a slim favorite in this closely-held, closed competition, owing primarily to their scale and heft. To no one’s… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Adds Air Force, Aboulafia, Callan, And Northrop Grumman Comments WASHINGTON: To no one’s surprise, the Boeing-Lockheed team has filed a formal protest against the award to Northrop Grumman of the $80 billion Long Range Strike Bomber contract. Industry sources had been talking of strategies to prosecute or defend against a protest for at least… Keep reading →

Updated with Loren Thompson & Byron Callan comment WASHINGTON: Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s sudden exit from the House Speaker race raises the chance of a fiscal disaster — but it also raises the odds of a desperate budget deal. Both extremes just got more likely. Ironically, this deepening leadership void elevates the role of Rep. John… Keep reading →