July 26, 2021 | International, Land
US Army chooses competitors to design infantry fighting vehicle replacement
The U.S. Army has chosen five teams to develop rough digital designs for its Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle.
April 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Boeing extends plant shutdowns in Washington state
ByEd Adamczyk
April 6 (UPI) -- Boeing Co. announced an extension of a production suspension in its Washington state facilities, and signaled that layoffs and buyouts could be coming, to help stem the spread of COVID-19.
The company's Puget Sound and Moses Lake sites will be closed until further notice because of the spread of the coronavirus, additional advice from state health authorities and supply chain disruptions, the company said in a Sunday statement.
The original shutdown began on March 23 and was scheduled for two weeks.
The Puget Sound facilities are mostly known for constructing commercial aircraft, but the military's KC-46 tanker and P-8 maritime patrol aircraft are built on the same lines. Boeing officials said last month the stoppage is not expected to affect their production too greatly.
Boeing employs about 70,000 people in the region. Last week it announced a two-week closure of facilities in the Philadelphia area for two weeks due to the spread of the virus.
In a letter last week to employees, CEO David Calhoun predicted that the company's recovery from the health crisis will be lengthy.
"When the world emerges from the pandemic, the size of the commercial market and the types of products and services our customers want and need will likely be different," he said. "It's important we start adjusting to our new reality now."
Within several weeks, a buyout package will be offered to some of Boeing's 161,000 U.S. employees. Nearly one-third of its 27,000 unionized machinists are over 55, and with an aging workforce a buyout could find many takers.
While the company appears to be eligible to receive funds from a $17 billion loan available to the aviation industry included in the $2 trillion federal stimulus package it is required to maintain staffing at 90 percent of current levels.
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June 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Is China already inside America’s hypersonic industrial base?
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — As the Pentagon focuses on developing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and directed energy, department officials have declared the need to ensure foreign nations are not buying their way into the defense-industrial base. But a new report warns China may already have ownership over a key focus: hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic missiles, which are capable of going faster than five times the speed of sound, are expected to become a backbone of the U.S. military in the coming decades. As part of its annual Federal Scorecard, data and analytics firm Govini found that tier one suppliers in the hypersonic supply chain — seven major companies that are working most closely with the Department of Defense on the technology development — has done a good job of keeping Chinese-owned companies out of the process. But at the tier three level, where companies provide smaller but still critical components, the exposure to Chinese suppliers jumps to nearly 10 percent. And that exposure grows slightly by the time it reaches tier five suppliers, with Govini seeing signs of overlap among companies at those lower levels. “This does not necessarily mean that Chinese parts are ending up in DoD'a hypersonics,” explained Jim Mitre, Govini's senior vice president for strategy and analysis. “However, China may have opportunities to jeopardize the development [of] hypersonics through engagement in the supply chain, and it's critically important for DoD and industry to ensure that's not the case.” That is “an area that we're regularly working with the department on exploring and unpacking” to understand the challenges in the supply chain, Mitre added. A series of Pentagon reports in the last two years have raised concerns about the defense-industrial base, particularly when it comes to high-end materials and design knowledge for missiles. In some cases, the only supplier for critical materials come from China, the exact country the U.S. is looking to counter by investing in hypersonic weapons. In March, the Pentagon announced it was launching a deep dive into the hypersonic industrial base specifically to understand the vulnerabilities at the lower-tier suppliers. That study is ongoing. Meanwhile, officials have acknowledged that smaller suppliers have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Govini also found that the U.S. is under investing compared to China in the realm of quantum technologies, with the Pentagon's fiscal 2021 research, development, testing and evaluation budget for quantum-related programs decreasing by nearly 10 percent from the previous year. The department has requested $3.2 billion for RDT&E funds related to hypersonic weapons in FY21. https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2020/06/09/is-china-already-inside-americas-hypersonic-industrial-base/
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January 10, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Why ‘Help Wanted’ In A&D Doesn’t Mean The Same Anymore