Interservice rivalries: A force for good

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  June 11, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  House panel unveils $674.6B Pentagon spending bill

  BY REBECCA KHEEL - 06/06/18 12:39 PM EDT The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday unveiled its $674.6 billion Pentagon spending bill for fiscal 2019. The bill would provide $606.5 billion in base discretionary funding, which is about $900 million less than the Trump administration requested but $17.1 billion more than this year's spending level. The bill would also provide $68.1 billion for a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account. “With the changing global dynamics and ever-growing threats to our security, it is absolutely imperative that our military is properly trained, equipped and fully supported in order to do their jobs,” Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) said in a statement. “This legislation does all of this by including robust funding for our troops, the defense programs and activities necessary to accomplish our national goals and ideals, and to continue to rebuild our military.” The money would pay for a boost of 15,600 troops across the military and a 2.6 percent pay raise for service members, both matching what was requested by the administration. The bill would also provide $145.7 billion for equipment purchases and upgrades. That's split $133 billion for base requirements — or $2.5 billion more than requested — and $12.7 billion in OCO. The procurement money includes $22.7 billion for 12 new Navy ships, two more ships than the administration requested. The two extra ships are littoral combat ships, which Congress continues to support buying — despite the Navy's plan to transition away from the ship — so that shipyards keep working and will be able to keep pace on future orders. The bill would also fund a slew of aircraft, including $9.4 billion for 93 F-35 fighter jets and $1.9 billion for 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft. The bill includes funding for the procurement of 16 more F-35s than requested. The plane is built by Lockheed Martin in defense appropriations subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger's (R-Texas) district. Granger said the bill is an extension of last year's efforts to address readiness shortfalls. “It is a product of countless meetings and briefings with our military leaders and demonstrates our commitment to ensuring the U.S. military is the strongest, most capable military in the world,” she said in a statement. “Our military must have the resources it needs to respond to and deter threats from countries like Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, and also counter violent extremists throughout the world.” http://thehill.com/policy/defense/391001-house-panel-unveils-6746b-pentagon-spending-bill

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  March 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Here’s what we know about the Space Force’s acquisitions plan

  By: Nathan Strout The newly establish United States Space Force is expected to deliver a report outlining its acquisition plans to Congress by the end of the month, but in a series of hearings this week lawmakers got a first look at how Space Force leadership is approaching the problem. One of the primary issues the Space Force faces in organizing its acquisitions is the relationship between the three main space acquisitions entities: the Space and Missile Systems Center, the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office. SMC is the largest of the three and has been responsible for most Air Force space acquisitions, while the other two organizations were established in the last two years to address specific capability gaps. Legislation passed by Congress called for creation of a position in fiscal year 2022 to oversee the three organizations, but it did little to clarify their roles or relationships, leading to some concerns of redundancy. The Space Force seems set to follow that model. Space Force Vice Commander Lt. Gen. David Thompson reportedly stated that the three entities would be put under the jurisdiction of a new Space Systems Command, although they will continue to be three separate organizations. When asked about this proposal at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March 3, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein assured lawmakers the Space RCO would remain independent, as Congress intended. “While there will be a lot of discussions about (administration) and bureaucracy, our job is to deliver capability and to deliver it fast—at the speed of relevance—because that's exactly what the threat companies are doing,” said Goldfein. “Space RCO (...) needs to stay independent, and it needs to be able to move fast without a lot of lines and boxes that all get a chance to vote on what they're doing.” In a separate hearing before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense March 4, Thompson emphasized that leaders were already working to ensure the three organizations were on the same page. “We have already begun the process even before the Space Force was established (...) of working between the SMC, the SDA, the Space RCO (...) and others to ensure that their acquisition processes are synchronized, complementary and not duplicative in many senses,” Thompson said. Thompson also briefly outlined the expected roles of the three organizations. SMC will continue to develop and acquire those unique capabilities the military has depended on for decades, including protected communications, missile warning and GPS, he explained, while the Space RCO, which was established two years ago, will continue to rapidly develop and prototype new capabilities. Finally, the SDA's focus will be on leveraging commercial technologies, especially when it comes to utilizing proliferated constellations in low earth orbit. “Consolidating them under a specific acquisition organization will further integrate their activities and ensure they are not duplicative, but make sure they create one, single space architecture,” said Thompson. “Right now our focus is in driving an agile and rapid response for all of them as they continue to develop space capabilities for the mission.” More details on the Space Force's plans will be delivered in a report to Congress by the end of the month. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond said he expects to see a draft of the Space Force's acquisitions plan next week. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/03/04/details-emerge-on-space-forces-acquisitions-plans/

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  June 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  France Plans Billions of Euros to Rescue Aerospace Industry

  By Francois De Beaupuy and Tara Patel The French government will present a plan worth billions of euros to rescue its beleaguered aerospace industry, protect key suppliers from Chinese interests and may bring forward some defense orders, the transport minister said. The aid package to be presented Tuesday is aimed at European jet manufacturer Airbus SE, engine maker Safran SA, defense group Thales SA, and hundreds of French suppliers that have seen their businesses dry up during the coronavirus pandemic. The plan will be worth as much as 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion), Les Echos reported Monday, although it's not clear what will be included in the total. “We will invest several billions over a rather long period,” French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on LCI television Sunday. “The state will be here, the European Union will be present.” The package will aim to kickstart air transport, relaunch manufacturing, and develop less-polluting “hybrid planes” toward 2027 and “carbon neutral” aircraft by 2035, the minister said. In exchange, the industry will have to create or relocate as many jobs as it can in Europe, he said. However, the minister said the industry will probably have to cut jobs. With airlines grounding their fleets worldwide because of the health crisis, Airbus faces a 40% drop in its activity over at least two years, he said. Airlines around the world are struggling to survive, with European giants Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM getting state bailouts and carriers desperate to salvage business from what is normally the busy summer. The French government has extended loans and guarantees worth 7 billion euros to Air France-KLM, tying the funds to a reduction in carbon emissions and services on its domestic routes. The rescue will include the creation of several funds to consolidate the industry and to prevent key suppliers from being acquired by foreign investors, Djebbari said. Chinese companies are making “offers” to small and medium-sized companies with “critical skills” that are currently weakened by the crisis, he said. Many of the companies that have been hardest hit are small and medium-sized. While they have limited access to commercial bank funding, some are considered strategic because they are also defense suppliers. Read More: Macron Is Set to Unveil Rescue Package for French Aerospace Many European nations will probably agree to reopen air travel in the so-called Schengen area from June 15 assuming that the coronavirus crisis continue to recede, Djebbari added. The number of Air France's flights may rise from 5% of its usual level to 15% from June 15, and to 40% in mid-August, he said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-07/france-plans-billions-of-euros-to-rescue-aerospace-industry