DefenceTalkTwo years into the pivot to the Asia-Pacific region and the concurrent drawdown in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials today related to Congress the Defense Department’s strategy to maintain U.S. superiority in military technology. Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisitions, technology and logistics, told the House Armed Services Committee that until U.S. forces are reduced to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-official-force-size-limits-modernization-efforts-50184/

DefenceTalkThe United States plans to spend $1 trillion on upgrading and maintaining its nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years, but delays in replacing current systems threaten to weaken US nuclear deterrence, according to a new independent study. “The new procurement schedule still entails significant programmatic risks and will likely result in even higher costs, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-spend-1-trillion-on-nukes-but-payoff-unclear-study-50058/

DefenceTalkThe Army’s rapid fielding of network systems to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan led to vastly improved communications capabilities on the battlefield — but also increased network complexity. The service is now moving to simplify and reduce the number of network management tools its communication officers, known as S6s, use to manage the tactical […]https://www.defencetalk.com/combining-network-management-tools-makes-managing-network-easier-saves-money-50041/

DefenceTalkDespite a congressional budget deal that lessens the impact of sequestration on the Air Force, it doesn’t go far enough to halt actions to shrink the service, senior service officials said. Under Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning and Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, the Air Force chief of staff, said that even with […]https://www.defencetalk.com/force-management-programs-necessary-despite-budget-deal-49998/

DefenceTalkEuropean aerospace giant EADS, the maker of Airbus aircraft, announced plans Monday to cut 5,800 jobs in its defence and space division over three years. The job cuts, part of a major restructuring in the face of falling orders, will affect the group’s workforce in Germany, France, Spain and Britain, the company said in a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eads-to-cut-5800-jobs-in-europe-in-restructuring-49886/

DefenceTalkThe Defense Department’s senior leaders announced changes today in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff designed to save money and better align the department’s structures and resources. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed decisions made as part of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-reductions-first-step-in-realigning-defense-spending-49840/

DefenceTalkA reduction in defence orders will have an impact on jobs in EADS’s defence unit, the head of the European aerospace giant said in an interview published Monday. Tom Enders told vbw-Unternehmenmagazin, the magazine of the Bavarian economic federation, that “if defence orders are cancelled or reduced as has happened in Germany in recent years, […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eads-chief-warns-jobs-cuts-coming-in-defence-unit-49741/

DefenceTalkBoeing and the U.S. Air Force Sustainment Center (AFSC) have entered into an overarching public-private partnership that will streamline supply chain contracting, saving money and speeding up execution by as much as 10 months. The partnership – the first of its kind – allows the three Air Force logistics complexes that are under the AFSC […]https://www.defencetalk.com/boeing-partners-with-us-air-force-to-reduce-supply-chain-costs-49620/

DefenceTalkIn the months since the 2012 defense strategic guidance first reflected a new budget reality, Pentagon officials and military leaders have been working on the department’s longer-term budget and strategy, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here Nov. 5. In the keynote address before the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Global Security Forum, Hagel said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-six-priorities-shape-future-defense-institutions-49585/

DefenceTalkBAE Systems will axe 1,775 shipbuilding jobs and close the historic Portsmouth yard in Britain as government austerity hits demand, the British maker of military equipment said on Wednesday. The yard in Portsmouth, on England’s south coast, will be closed in the second half of 2014, but an engineering team will be retained to support […]https://www.defencetalk.com/historic-british-shipyard-shut-as-defence-cuts-bite-49593/