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Boeing [BA] has chosen FLIR Systems [FLIR] to provide the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) surveillance sensor for the U.S. Air Force UH-1N replacement helicopters it is building in concert with Leonardo.The Air Force in September chose the Boeing-Leonardo team's... http://www.defensedaily.com/flir-will-provide-infrared-sensors-air-force-huey-replacement

The following is excerpted from the 2018 holiday message that LGen Al Meinzinger, commander of the RCAF, sent to Air Force personnel and the extended RCAF family. We can honestly say that 2018 has been an extraordinary year for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The year was bookended by the Sea King, with the last east coast operational flight of our maritime helicopter taking place in January and the official farewell and final flights taking place in December. It's hard to say farewell to an old friend such as the Sea King, but the Cyclone is proving to be a tremendous asset to the RCAF and the Royal Canadian Navy, and the first operational deployment of the Cyclone onboard HMCS Ville de Quebec was a tremendous milestone. This year also brought our participation in a major UN peacekeeping operation, with stellar work being carried out by our Air Task Force personnel in Mali under Op Presence. We also continued our contributions to Op Caribbe and Op Impact. On the space aspect of “air and space power,” we are now an integral part of the Combined Space Operations Centre in California, with a member of the RCAF serving as the combined deputy director. Meanwhile, at home, our ongoing, essential search and rescue (SAR) missions continued, as well as sovereignty operations and exercises in the North. We responded to several Op Lentus missions, including fires in British Columbia and Manitoba, flooding in Kaschechewan, Ont., and storm damage on les Îles de la Madeleine. We also participated in marking a number of significant anniversaries this year, including the 60th anniversary of NORAD. We also marked the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force and, as part of those celebrations, sent a contingent to the United Kingdom to undertake Public Duties–guarding the residences of Her Majesty the Queen. 2018 also brought the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, as well as the 75th anniversary of the Dambusters Raid. In April, I was privileged to attend the opening of the International Bomber Command Centre in England, which is mandated to preserve and honour the memory of all those who served in the Command. I was reminded powerfully of the courageous contributions of our RCAF personnel, noting that we lost some 10,000 RCAF personnel during the bombing campaign. As we look forward to 2019, we must continue to focus on our anchor points: our people, our defence policy, our program and our posture. First and foremost among these are you, our people. Successful delivery of air and space power relies on well-led, robust, healthy and inclusive squadrons and tactical units. You and your families are our lifeblood, and your leaders will continue to create the right conditions to support you, retain your exceptional talents and attract personnel with the right skills and energy to continue your excellent work and move us into the future. We are extremely grateful for and proud of your enthusiasm, your dedicated service and your unparalleled professionalism. You may also rest assured that your work is deeply appreciated by Canadians, by your colleagues throughout the Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence, and by our allies. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/rcaf-commander-recaps-2018

By: Valerie Insinna ASHINGTON — Boeing won't be delivering the first KC-46 tanker to the Air Force in 2018 as planned, due to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' surprise ouster from the Pentagon, a source told Defense News on Monday. The Air Force had intended to accept the first KC-46 by the end of December and was awaiting signature from Mattis, which would finalize the delivery plans, Reuters first reported on Dec. 20. However, later that day, Mattis announced that he would step down from the top Defense Department post in February, and just three days later, President Donald Trump tweeted that Mattis would wrap up his work as secretary of defense by the end of 2018. With sweeping changes in leadership at the Pentagon imminent, a decision on KC-46 was pushed out, a source close to the program told Defense News. The situation was further complicated because Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan — who by the end of Dec. 31 will temporarily take over Mattis' role as defense secretary — is a former Boeing executive and must recuse himself from all decisions involving the company. Boeing declined to confirm that the delivery would not take place on Dec. 31. “KC-46 remains a top priority and we look forward to delivering tanker aircraft in partnership with the Air Force,” said Kelly Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the company, in a statement to Defense News. The Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The delay is a blow for Boeing, which had promised to deliver the first tanker by the end of 2018 after a string of missed delivery dates stemming back to August 2017. “We continue to make steady progress toward final certification of the KC-46 tanker,” Boeing's CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in an October earnings call. “We are working with our U.S. Air Force customer toward completing all the steps required to deliver the first tanker aircraft this quarter." The company has now racked up more than $3 billion in pre-tax charges on the program, as it is responsible for any costs beyond the $4.9 billion fixed price contract value originally awarded in 2011. Boeing officials are hopeful that the Air Force will be able to move forward with delivery after a set of meetings in early 2019, one source said. But at the moment it is unclear who will authorize the KC-46 delivery with Shanahan barred from the process, though it may fall to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson or to Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46s throughout its program of record. McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas is set to become the first installation to receive the new tankers, and training for pilots and boom operators has already begun. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/31/first-kc-46-delivery-stalled-by-mattis-departure

By: Geoff Ziezulewicz , Mark D. Faram , Natalie Gross , Tara Copp , Leo Shane III , Carl Prine , and David Larter, Defense News More money and more personnel but also new challenges from rising rivals in the western Pacific, Europe and the Persian Gulf. More changes to your leadership at the Pentagon and in the Navy. And more innovations that promise to transform the ways the nation's premier maritime service recruits, trains and retains its sailors. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we gave you 19 through six. Today we greet the final five, too! Sailors, here comes 2019. Buckle up! 1. The rise of China and Russia The South China Sea will remain a global flashpoint, with rising tensions sparked by Beijing's ongoing efforts to fortify islands claimed by Western Pacific neighbors. And already parring over Moscow's 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and economic sanctions by western nations against strongman Vladimir Putin's regime, relations between the United States and Russia got rockier throughout 2018. Expect more of all this in 2019. For China, the U.S. Navy has vowed to continue conducting Freedom of Navigation Operations — or “FONOPS” — to remind the world's most populous nation that the disputed islands are in international waterways. On Sept. 30 near the Gaven Reef, a sprawl of rocks that are claimed by Beijing, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam, the Chinese warship Lanzhou closed to within 45 yards of the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer Decatur, forcing the American vessel to veer away to avoid collision. “U.S. Navy ships and aircraft operate throughout the Indo-Pacific routinely, including in the South China Sea,” U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Nate Chirstensen said in the wake of the incident. “As we have for decades, our forces will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.” Beijing's ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai, took to Fox News Sunday to blame the Americans for the confrontation “on China's doorstep.” “It's not Chinese warships that are going to the coast of California, or to the Gulf of Mexico. It's so close to the Chinese islands and it's so close to the Chinese coast. So who is on the offensive? Who is on the defensive? This is very clear,” he said. With Russia, similar confrontations have played out in the air. On Nov. 5, 2018, a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter zoomed close to a U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries II reconnaissance plane flying in international airspace over the Black Sea. The Russian pilot banked right, hit the afterburners and forced the Greece-based Navy crew to fly through the turbulent engine wash. It marked the third time in a 12-month span that Russian jets over the Black Sea intercepted American reconnaissance aircraft in what Pentagon officials said were potentially dangerous encounters. Then came the Nov. 25 incident in the Kerch Strait that divides the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea. Ukraine attempted to send two gunboats and a tug through the channel but Moscow's forces fired on the flotilla and detained the crews, vowing to try them in a Russian court. That triggered Kiev to declare martial law and bar all Russian men of military age from entering the country. “There is no justification for Russia's use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel. We call on Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships it seized, without delay,” read a NATO statement released amid escalating tensions that might not abate in 2019. 2. A new SecDef Just days after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced he would step down from that post in late February, President Donald J. Trump announced in a Dec. 23 tweet that he'd push the popular Cabinet member out even earlier. Trump installed Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan as the acting secretary of defense starting Jan. 1. He praised the Pentagon's second-in-command as having “a long list of accomplishments” and added in his tweet, “He will be great!” The move cuts short Mattis' tenure by two months, and added to an acrimonious end of the relationship between the commander in chief and his top military leader. A resignation letter from Mattis urging the president to find “a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours" likely irked Trump, who unlike the retired Marine four-star general never served in uniform. Mattis also mildly chastised Trump for the president's belligerent statements about allies overseas, especially fellow democracies often at odds with strongmen in Russia, China and North Korea. The end of Mattis' reign over the Pentagon set the stage for potentially contentious confirmation hearings over his successor, who might not be Shanahan, a former top executive at defense contractor Boeing. It also sparked deliberations by the corral of prized national security hands personally recruited by Mattis to help oversee the armed forces. If they decide to depart Trump's Defense Department en masse, there could be increased tension inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, where Mattis enjoyed bipartisan support even amid growing concerns about the president's handling of foreign policy and national security problems. A diplomat, Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group, already joined Mattis in voting with his feet. In a protest over President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, McGurk on Dec. 21 tendered his resignation to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The next day, a tweeting Trump downplayed the development, insisting that he didn't know the envoy an calling his departure a “nothing event." 3. Back to the future with 2nd fleet After nearly two decades as a forgotten backwater, the Atlantic Ocean returned to relevance for the U.S. Navy in 2018. Levels of Russian submarine activity in the North Atlantic unseen since the end of the Cold War helped prod the Navy to reestablish the 2nd Fleet in Norfolk on Aug. 24. The fleet is expected to reach full operational capability in 2019, according to its commander, Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis. And his patrols won't be tracking only Russians. Lewis said that China is “aspirationally in the Arctic,” as well. “There's no question the logical sequence of events with China is they will be there militarily, as well.” Operating in colder northern waters will represent a stark change to traditional U.S. Navy tours, which is why Lewis beefed up his staff with seasoned hands from the U.S. Coast Guard and allies from Canada, Norway and other northern nations. Lewis said 2nd Fleet will count about 80 staff members by early next year. He plans on keeping his team “lean and agile” as it spearheads what other flag officers have dubbed “the fourth battle of the Atlantic.” 4. Homeport swaps Three Navy aircraft carriers and three amphibious warships, plus their crews and families, will be prepping to swap homeports or will be on the move in 2019. The 36-year-old aircraft carrier Carl Vinson will likely leave San Diego in March for a planned incremental availability maintenance stint at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, joining the Navy's oldest operational flattop, the Nimitz, in the state of Washington. Meanwhile, the carrier Stennis will depart Washington in May to prepare for an overhaul in Virginia, according to Navy Personnel Command. And the carrier Abraham Lincoln is expected to leave Norfolk for San Diego, too. Forward-deployed to Japan for just less than a year, the amphibious warship Wasp will leave Sasebo soon and return to Norfolk, replaced by the America, which will bid farewell to San Diego. It's part of a three-port swap orchestrated two years ago that also involves the Wasp-class amphib Bonhomme Richard, which also called Sasebo home before May. That's when the warship completed its homeport shift to San Diego and began prepping for an extended modernization spell at the nearby General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding yard. The Pentagon hoped the movements of the three vessels would be completed in 2018 but the Navy Personnel Command's Decommissioning and Homeport Change webpage marked May 25, 2019 as the effective date for the America's switch to Sasebo. 5. Remedying readiness woes The Navy's Air Boss laid out an ambitious plan in 2018 to get the Navy's F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet strike fighters back into fighting shape, hiking readiness through maintenance changes, service life extensions and other systemic overhauls buoyed by an increase in defense dollars. Navy leaders hope the spending spigot remains on and President Trump has telegraphed that he's willing to push for more Pentagon funding. After waffling on a potential spending cut, he's now expected to propose a $750 billion defense budget for Fiscal Year 2020, a 5 percent hike over the previous year's numbers. Poised to take control of the House of Representatives when it reconvenes in 2019, several Democrats on Capitol Hill have signaled that a bloated defense budget could stand a diet, a sentiment shared by some fiscal conservatives. And a spending bill for much of the rest of the federal government this year languishes because of a standoff over Trump's border wall proposal. Defense hawks and their critics must reach a budget deal by the fall of 2019 or automatic spending caps enacted in 2011 will return, slashing Pentagon funding to $600 billion per year. For 2019, however, expect the Navy keep spending to revamp its aging aircraft fleet, with $1.25 billion earmarked for aviation repair depots, $338 million more than lawmakers provided in 2016. There's more funding for airframe work, engine maintenance and aircraft components, too. “We still have a long way to go,” Naval Air Forces spokesman Cmdr. Ron Flanders told Navy Times. “But we're now at that point where we can say that there's light at the end of the tunnel.” 6. More Ford flattops Dogged by technology glitches and pummeled by critics for its $12.8 billion price tag, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford not only is expected to enjoy a banner year in 2019 but has inspired the Navy to buy more warships like it. The lead ship in its carrier class, the Ford is scheduled to leave its post-shakedown maintenance session at Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipyard and head back to sea in late 2019. Navy officials have told lawmakers that fixes to the Ford's high-tech electromagnetic catapult system, EMALS, and its Advanced Arresting Gear recovery system will be completed and the warship's advanced radar installed. Technicians also are exorcising the demons that haunted the flattop's weapons elevators. Ford's sister carrier, the John F. Kennedy, is expected to be christened by the end of 2019. At the end of November, 84 percent of the flattop's structure was finished. Congress capped the Kennedy's costs at around $11.4 Billion, cheaper than the Ford. It's why the Navy is wrapping up a deal with Huntington Ingalls to build two more to replace the aging fleet of Nimitz-class carriers. 7. Navy mulls frigate choices The Navy retired the last of its workhorse Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates in 2015, hoping to replace them with littoral combat ships. But the LCS program got mired in cost overruns, delays and a fickle Congress that bought more hulls than the Navy wanted, sometimes without the high-tech guts that go into them. Concerns within the Navy and on Capitol Hill about the future of the LCS have helped to drive the Pentagon to buy up to 20 new frigates, beginning in 2020. There are five finalists competing to build what's now called the FFG(X), using designs from existing warships — Austal USA in Alabama; Huntington Ingalls Industries in Mississippi; Lockheed Martin in Baltimore; a joint venture between Italy's Fincantieri and Wisconsin's Marinette Marine; and another tying General Dynamics/Bath Iron Works to Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. Austal is expected to base its design on the Independence-class LCS and Lockheed Martin on its Freedom-class LCS, HII on its Legend-class National Security Cutter, Fincantieri on its FREMM multi-purpose frigate and Bath Iron Works on Navantia's Álvaro de Bazán-class F100 Frigate. The Navy hopes to select a winner in 2019, but the Congressional Research Service wants lawmakers and the admirals to first fix some problems with the FFG(X) program. In a report updated on Oct. 22, CRS urged them to identify the capability gaps and mission needs the new warships are supposed to address and then decide if they're the right vessels for the jobs. They also must determine if they'll end LCS procurement in 2019 and shift to the frigates, or keep buying both vessels. Should they use a “clean-sheet” design that starts from scratch or lean on “parent” vessels like the LCS that already have been built? How much space should be built into the frigates to add new technologies and systems as they're developed, perhaps decades from now? And how does a new frigate program affect Navy plans to buy more guided-missile destroyers or rehab the aging Ticonderoga-class cruisers? Those sound like questions that must be answered in 2019. 8. Divided government Just hours after Democrats won control of the House in November's midterm elections, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said the victory delivered a clear mandate from voters. “We have a constitutional responsibility for oversight,” she told reporters. “This doesn't mean we go looking for a fight. But it means that if we see a need to go forward, we will.” Issues important to the armed forces and military veterans will be at the center of many of those squabbles. Already, Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee have vowed to probe President Donald Trump's decision to deploy active-duty troops to the southwestern U.S. border, suspecting that it's little more than a political stunt. Democratic critics of the president in the House also pledged to explore the military's transgender recruiting rules, Trump's strategy in the Middle East and the need for a new authorization of military force resolution for combat overseas. Senior party officials have promised to dig into reports of Trump cronies influencing Department of Veterans Affairs policies. They also will ask tough questions about GI Bill payment failures during the fall semester and probe plans to overhaul the agency's community care programs. Democrats will have broader subpoena power than they enjoyed in 2018 and will use it to investigate Trump's past tax filings and business connections to Russia. The new Congress convenes on Jan. 3. 9. Coast Guard needs icebreakers The Navy draws its funding from the Department of Defense but its smaller sister service, the Coast Guard, relies mostly on the Department of Homeland Security. Lawmakers already wrapped up a 2019 spending package for the Pentagon but in December they were still working on the DHS budget. Congress and the White House have dangled a $750 million icebreaker project to build what's now called the Polar Security Cutter. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz wants to start building six breakers — three heavy, three medium. His service is down to one of each now, the Healy and the heavy Polar Star, which was commissioned in 1976. The Navy doesn't have icebreakers and with calls to increase America's presence in the Arctic region the Coast Guard is raising a hand to help. And the Coasties can help sooner if they can start building an icebreaker in 2019 and rebuilding the rest of their aging cutter fleet. 10. CNO about to go? Next September will be the four-year mark for Adm. John Richardson's stint as Chief of Naval Operations. And while officials have been mum on the nominee to become the Navy's next top officer, the norm has been a four-year tour. The only four-star to last longer than four in the 21st century was Adm. Vernon E. Clark, who held the post from July 2000 to July 2005, becoming the longest-serving CNO since Adm. Arleigh Burke helmed the Navy between 1955 and 1961. That's led to growing speculation about Navy Secretary Richard Spencer's pick as Richardson's replacement in 2019. Richardson and his predecessor, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, were career submariners, as is Adm. James Caldwell, currently the head of Naval Reactors, and Adm. James Foggo III, who has led naval forces in Europe and Africa, plus NATO's Joint Force Command Naples, since 2017. Four-star aviators include Adm. Bill Moran, who has served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations since 2016, and Adm. John Aquilino. But Aquilino became the 36th commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in May and was soon joined in Hawaii by Adm. Phil Davidson, a surface warfare officer, at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Davidson was replaced at U.S. Fleet Forces Command by fellow SWO Adm. Christopher Grady. The most recent four-star switch occurred on Nov. 26, when Adm. Craig Faller relieved Adm. Kurt W. Tidd as commander of U.S. Southern Command. Tidd holds the titles of both “Old salt” and “Old Goat” — the oldest serving SWO and the longest-serving graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. 11. Fitz officers fight back The Navy officer who commanded the warship Fitzgerald when it suffered a fatal collision in 2017 will finally have his day in court next year, and so will one of his lieutenants. Cmdr. Bryce Benson faces dereliction of duty and hazarding a vessel charges in connection to the June 17, 2017, collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of Japan that killed seven sailors. The Navy dropped a negligent homicide charge against him. The ongoing legal maneuvers continue to shine spotlights not only on the Navy's efforts to shore up years of shoddy maintenance and manning during an era of high operational tempo in the 7th Fleet but also on how senior leaders handle court-martial cases. Attorneys for Benson and Lt. Natalie Combs have moved to get the cases tossed out of court, arguing that public statements by CNO Richardson and several flag officers, combined with other alleged forms of unlawful command influence, spoiled their chances to get fair trials. 12. Fat Leonard haunts the Navy This past year saw several current and retired Navy leaders disciplined, tried and sentenced for their dirty dealings with “Fat Leonard” Glenn Francis, the portly shipping magnate who plied scores of senior officers and their top enlisted sailors with prostitutes, booze, cash and other perks to land ship servicing contracts in the Western Pacific. At least 21 active-duty and retired defendants have been charged by the U.S. Justice Department in connection with the Fat Leonard scandal and federal prosecutors passed hundreds of lower-level cases to the Navy for military adjudication. As of mid-December, 11 named defendants still await trials for public corruption. Several are expected to start in 2019, including those for Cmdr. Stephen F. Shedd, the former 7th Fleet planning officer, and retired officers Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, Capt. David “Too Tall” Lausman and Cmdr. Donald “Bubbles” Hornbeck. 13. Special warriors under fire While trials targeting the Fitz officers and Fat Leonard defendants snatched headlines nationwide, quieter court-martial proceedings have played out for the Navy warriors who ply their trade in the shadowy world of counter-terrorism operations. In California, six SEALs are battling war crime charges tied to their service overseas in either Afghanistan or Iraq. In Virginia, two SEALs face murder charges for their alleged roles in the slaying of Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar, who was strangled to death on June 4, 2017 in Bamako, Mali. They'll be joined in the Norfolk docket by Navy Lt. Craig Becker, an explosive ordnance disposal expert who authorities believe drugged and tossed his wife, Johanna Hanna Elizabeth Hove-Becker, from their Belgian apartment's window in late 2015, killing her. All have pleaded not guilty but the strongest public support has gone to a pair of SEALs in San Diego, Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward “Eddie” Gallagher and his commanding officer, Lt. Jacob “Jake” Portier. Prosecutors allege Gallagher stabbed to death a young, wounded Islamic State prisoner of war near Mosul in 2017. He faces at least 14 criminal counts, including murder, aggravated assault, obstructing justice and drug charges tied to alleged pain reliever and anabolic steroid abuse. Portier is accused of failing to report rumors of his chief's misconduct to superiors in their chain of command. Both have proclaimed their innocence and predict they'll be exonerated. Supporters also point to Chief Special Warfare Operator Keith Barry, who won a landmark decision on Sept. 5 from the military's highest court after justices ruled senior Navy leaders committed unlawful command influence that tainted his case. But questions continue to mount about a culture of corruption and callousness inside the secretive teams of SEALs and the sailors who are attached to them. Nine very public court-martial trials might answer them. 14. More money in your pockets Sailors in 2018 saw lawmakers approve their biggest pay raise in a decade. And the next boost could be even bigger. Continuing a trend in recent years, the raise for 2020 is slated to rise again, thanks to the improving economy and expected increase in civilian sector wages. Based on the current federal formula, troops should see a 3.1 percent pay raise in January 2020, up 0.5 percent from the 2.6 percent raise this January. If that holds, it would mark the fifth year that troops saw a bigger pay raise than the previous year. But getting the money depends on Congress and the White House. The is an easy target for savings because of the large effects even small changes to salaries can make. Dropping the pay raise by 0.5 percent — which leaves troops with a large paycheck but not necessarily one that keeps up with civilian wages — can save up to $3 billion over five years for the Defense Department. But military advocates have long argued that such moves undermine promises to provide for troops and their families. The White House's formal Defense Department appropriations request is scheduled to be unveiled in February. After that, expect months of wrangling over the totals and details. 15. More chances to advance The Navy is expected to grow in 2019, increasing manning to levels unseen in the sea service for over a decade, with advancement opportunities inching up alongside the size of the force. As of December 5, the service had 329,867 people on active-duty, the highest number in uniform total since late 2010. By next December, the Navy is slated to have 335,400 officers and sailors, the highest total since late 2007. Navy personnel officials say the continued growth in end strength should spark more chances for you to get ahead, a trend spotted in 2018. Active duty petty officers enjoyed a 23.5 percent chance of moving up in the fall cycle, slightly higher than in the spring. Advancements to chief petty officer saw a steady rise over the past three years, cresting at a 25 percent selection rate in 2018. Since 1997, the selection rate to senior chief petty officer held stead at around 11 percent, until 2018. Then it shot up to 14 percent. There also will be more Meritorious Advancement Program picks. Since officials revamped the program in 2015, quotas have increased by 4,774 total slots. That's a 213 percent increase over the initial 2,238 quotas allowed. The Navy's top personnel officer, Vice Adm. Bob Burke, wants one out of every four petty officers to get ahead through merit-based advancements, a trend likely to continue in 2019. 16. An end to the uniform madness Nearly two decades of uniform changes should end in October of 2019 when the “Blueberry” Navy Working Uniform will no longer be authorized for wear. That's also the date when all sailors will be required to own and maintain two sets of the green Type III uniform. The transition officially started Oct. 1, 2017 when recruits were issued new uniforms at boot camp in Great Lakes. By early 2018, the Navy Exchange announced it was scrapping a phased two-year roll out for the uniform and made it available in every shop. All sailors will see the second year of a two-year plus-up in their annual clothing replacement allowances to pay for the uniforms. Still undecided is what sailors will wear at sea. The Navy began issuing the new “Improved Fire Retardant Variant” coveralls this year. Considered command-issued “organizational clothing,” Big Navy foots the bill. But officials say that 84 percent of sailors in fleet focus groups demanded a two-piece version to wear. Initial testing of the prototype ended in September and drew poor reviews, with many sailors advocating for a fire retardant NWU Type III style of uniform. Navy leaders will make up their minds in 2019. 17. LinkedIn, for the Navy The Navy is expected to debut a new “Detailing Marketplace” system in mid-2019, with sailors in some ratings getting the chance to negotiate orders and assignment perks on their smartphones and desktop devices. Describing it as “LinkedIn for the Navy,” Vice Adm. Bob Burke, the Navy's top personnel officer told Navy Times that it's all part of an ongoing effort to string multiple personnel databases together to better guide sailors through their careers. “It will know who the sailor is and have the ability to use that information to help them better manage their careers,” Burke said. The Navy spent the latter half of 2018 testing the new technology on both desktop and mobile devices for the aerographer's mate rating, what Burke called a “war game” to try out the new technology. Burke said that the Navy has been using “real data and sailors will be able to test functions and negotiate for money, advance to vacancy, geographic stability, educational opportunities — all those things — just as if they're doing it for real.” Officials are gathering data from the ongoing tests to refine the system for 2019. “Major muscle movement parts will be in place April or May 2019 to support this,” Burke said. “Then we'll commence a rating-by-rating rollout because we won't be able to do it all at once as that would just be too difficult.” 18. A better tape test The Pentagon expects to decide on changes to the dreaded tape test by next summer, potentially overhauling one of the main ways it evaluates sailors' fitness and body composition. For more than a year, the Defense Department has been working with the services on ways to better calculate the body fat composition of service members, which for a generation has mainly involved a tape test that relies on several key measurements of body size and height-weight proportions. The tape test has been widely criticized as an inaccurate method that unfairly penalizes people with certain body types. Failure to meet the services' body composition standards can result in involuntary separation. “The department is actively working closely with the services on this issue and we expect to have results we can discuss in late spring or early summer,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Carla Gleason. Other options could include using MRIs, water displacement or CT scans, methods that are more accurate but also more costly and gobble up more time. 19. GI Bill changes Earlier this year, the Pentagon changed the rules for troops who want to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their dependents. Most notably, the new policy will end transfers for service members who have been in uniform longer than 16 years, starting in July 2019. It also immediately put an end to previous exceptions that have allowed certain service members with more than 10 years in uniform to transfer the benefit without committing to serve four more years, including those who were unable to continue serving because of mandatory retirement or high-year tenure. DoD officials have said the changes are “to more closely align the transferability benefit with its purpose as a recruiting and retention incentive.” Officials said the policy change will impact about 9 percent of the total force. The changes have been hotly contested by lawmakers and veteran advocates, and, after pushback, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced in September that none of the changes would apply to wounded warriors. Active-duty sailors who have earned a Purple Heart are now allowed to transfer their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to their family members whenever they want. More recently, Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, has introduced legislation to scrap DoD's changes altogether and open GI Bill transfer to veterans who did not have dependents while on active duty. Meanwhile, long-serving sailors who want to transfer their GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child should plan on doing so before the July deadline kicks in. https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/12/31/the-19-things-you-need-to-watch-in-2019

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - State-owned defense contractor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) [ISRAI.UL] said on Tuesday it was in talks to invest in local drone maker Aeronautics (ARCS.TA). The talks were at an early stage, IAI said, and no financial details were disclosed. Meanwhile Aeronautics, which was searched on Monday by Israel Securities Authority investigators, said separately it was also talking to another unidentified group regarding the sale of its 50 percent stake in the surveillance and reconnaissance company Controp Precision Technologies. In August, Aeronautics rejected a 430 million shekel ($115 million) acquisition offer from IAI rival, state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, and businessman Avihai Stolero. Israel-based Aeronautics manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles for military surveillance and defense purposes, as well as for the commercial sector. On Monday, investigators from the market regulator searched Aeronautics' office, the company said. A court has placed a gag order on details of the investigation. It was not the first time Aeronautics has been probed by Israeli authorities. In August 2017, Aeronautics said the Defence Ministry had suspended the marketing and export license for one of the firm's attack drones to a single, significant customer in a foreign country. It denied it was at fault. Israeli media at the time reported that the ministry had opened an investigation into Aeronautics over whether during a demonstration in Azerbaijan one of its drones was used to attack a military position in the neighboring country of Armenia, and if so, who was at fault. In November that same year Israeli police said they were investigating one of the drone maker's deals but did not give details. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Alison Williams https://www.reuters.com/article/us-aeronautics-ltd-m-a-il-aerospace-ind/israel-aerospace-considering-investment-in-drone-maker-aeronautics-idUSKCN1OV1JL

By Ed Adamczyk Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Boeing was awarded a $400 million contract by the Defense Department for engineering services on B-1 and B-52 strategic bombers. The contract, announced on Friday, covers recurring and non-recurring services. The B-1 has been in service since 1986, while the B-52, nicknamed the Stratofortress, was first introduced in 1955. Specific work, covered by a $35 million award as part of the contract and to be finished by Dec. 31, 2019, will be done at Tinker AFB, Okla.; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Barksdale AFB, La., and at Boeing's Oklahoma City, Okla., facility. The Air Force Life Cycle Management office at Tinker AFB is the contracting agency. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2018/12/31/Boeing-receives-400M-contract-to-keep-B-1-B-52-bombers-flying/5191546274824

by Sandra Erwin Capt. Benjamin Leaf, program manager of the Space Enterprise Consortium: “We are changing space acquisitions in multiple ways." WASHINGTON — The Air Force just over a year ago formed a Space Enterprise Consortium to expedite the development and prototyping of satellites, ground systems, space sensors and other technologies that U.S. adversaries are advancing at a rapid pace. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson hailed the SpPEC as a successful business model that cuts red tape considerably compared to traditional defense contracting. The consortium so far has started 34 projects worth about $110 million and has been authorized to fund nearly $400 million in additional projects over the next four years. “The initial ceiling for SpEC was $100 million but was increased to $500 million in order to address the emphasis and demand for other transactions agreements to support prototyping efforts,” Air Force Capt. Benjamin Leaf, the SpEC program manager, told SpaceNews in a recent interview. “We are changing space acquisitions in multiple ways,” Leaf said. The consortium does not follow the arcane defense acquisition regulations and issues solicitations in a simpler format. SpEC requires traditional defense contractors to work with nontraditional vendors, he said. “This allows for teaming and understanding innovative capabilities.” Of the 218 companies that have joined the consortium to date, about 25 percent are established Pentagon contractors and and 75 percent are commercial space vendors and startups that rarely have worked with the government. Large defense contractors are expected to either fund one-third of the cost of a project, or otherwise ensure there is “significant participation from a nontraditional entity,” Leaf said. “Almost all our awards have nontraditional participation” either as prime or subcontractors. “The government is trying to become less prescriptive of engineering needs and focusing more on solving the operational problem within a cost and schedule constraint,” Leaf said. The average timeline from solicitation to award has been roughly 90 to 110 days. To compete for contracts, bidders have to pay a membership fee to join the consortium — organized as a nonprofit venture managed by a private contractor ATI. As the consortium manager, ATI is responsible for registering companies. It puts on webinars and conferences for member companies and government officials to share information. ATI also manages contracts on behalf of the government, and charges a percentage of the cost to cover expenses, but is not allowed to make a profit. Leaf said projects planned for fiscal year 2019 include space situational awareness, navigational user equipment, space weather sensors, software processing and a potential requirement from the U.S. Army. Air Force seeks new pool of vendors The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, which oversees the consortium, wants to increase the use of commercial space technology in military projects, Leaf said. “The gap between the traditional defense vendor pool and the innovative technologies offered by nontraditional vendors is steadily shrinking, with SpEC being a strong avenue in that progress.” When the Pentagon decided that space should be treated as a domain of war, it became apparent that the traditional procurement methods would not fit the bill for many of the military's emerging needs, Leaf said. “It starts with the acquisition process,” he said. “The current process has been slow not only in the contractual manner in which projects are awarded but also in execution, with long time frames to deliver capabilities.” To attract commercial vendors that typically would not seek government work, the SpEC uses cost-sharing agreements known as Other Transactions Authority (OTA) that have for years been common practice at NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Pentagon in April approved the $500 million spending ceiling for SpEC. That money is not like regular DoD funding, Leaf explained. The $500 million is the “total prototype throughput of the agreement” over five years. “We have four years remaining before we have to re-compete the consortium manager contract.” Each prototype project is counted as a “contract modification” in the agreement with ATI. Decisions on what projects to take on are driven by requests from DoD and Air Force leaders. “I have my ear to the ground as far as requirements or mission areas that need specific prototyping efforts,” said Leaf. “Sometimes folks come to me. It's a two-way conversation.” A group of military officials and ATI contractors review the requests. “We study what these programs are trying to do and what we can legally do under SpEC as a prototyping effort,” he explained. “Then we generate a solicitation.” The first round is a request for white papers from interested bidders. Next are more detailed proposals with cost information. Over the past year, the SpEC has awarded prototyping contracts for micro-satellites, missile tracking sensors, hosted payload interface units, ground-control and data processing software for the Space Based Infrared missile warning system, protected tactical satellite communications and cyber secure software. Leaf said upcoming competitions will focus on many of these same areas. New projects will address space situational awareness and a ground component for a low-Earth orbit constellation that DARPA is developing for future military use. Startups pursuing government work In response to government interest in space startups and in using nontraditional contracting, the consulting firm Deloitte recently sponsored a mentoring program known as Space 2.0 Accelerator. Six companies that collectively have received more than $60 million in private capital were selected for a seven-week program that wrapped up in December, run by the tech incubator Dcode. The idea was to teach companies about contracting methods like OTA, and to give government agencies a taste of what's available in the private sector. “We've seen private investment in space technology skyrocket in recent years,” said Meagan Metzger, CEO of Dcode. The six space ventures selected were Infinite Composites Technologies, Kepler Communications, Metamaterial Technologies Inc., RBC Signals, Slingshot Aerospace and tacit.io. The companies met with representatives from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nate Ashton, director of Dcode accelerator programs, said many startups struggle to break into the government market. “Space is where cyber was 20 years ago in terms of government awareness of the state of technology,” Ashton said. A lot of companies stay away from defense contracts but eventually realize they need the work. “Government at the end of the day spends more than anyone else on the space business.” https://spacenews.com/air-force-turns-to-nontraditional-contracting-for-space-technology-projects

Par Michel Cabirol L'Espagne a signé un contrat avec le consortium NHIndustries, composé d'Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo et le néerlandais Fokker portant sur l'acquisition de 23 NH90, dont sept dans une version navale tactique. Airbus Helicopters et Leonardo ont terminé l'année sur une très belle commande. Selon nos informations, l'Espagne a signé un contrat avec le consortium NHIndustries (NHI), composé d'Airbus Helicopters (62,5%), Leonardo (32%) et le néerlandais Fokker (5,5%) portant sur l'acquisition de 23 NH90, dont sept dans une version navale tactique. Le gouvernement espagnol avait décidé en septembre, lors d'un conseil des ministres, de consacrer une enveloppe budgétaire de 1,5 milliard d'euros à l'achat de 23 nouveaux NH90 (dix pour l'armée de Terre, six pour l'armée de l'Air et sept pour la Marine). Le montant du contrat s'élève à 1,38 milliard d'euros (hors TVA). 2018 a vraiment marqué le retour du NH90 sur le plan commercial avec deux belles commandes : Qatar (28 NH90) et Espagne. Il y avait des années que le NH90 n'avait pas été exporté. La Nouvelle-Zélande en 2007 et la Belgique en 2008 avaient été les derniers pays à s'offrir des appareils de ce type. Fin 2015, le ministère de la Défense français avait commandé six hélicoptères NH90 dans sa version de transport tactique (TTH) destinés à l'aviation légère de l'armée de terre. Au total, 543 NH90 ont été commandés par les clients dans le monde entier. Une flotte renouvelée à partir de 2006 Le programme de renouvellement de la flotte d'hélicoptères a débuté en 2006 avec l'intention d'acquérir 45 hélicoptères NH90. Toutefois, en raison de restrictions budgétaires de l'époque, l'Espagne n'avait acheté que 22 appareils dans la version terrestre (TTH). Les nouveaux appareils de l'armée de Terre et de l'Air vont remplacer des Super Puma (AS332) tandis que ceux de la marine vont succéder aux très vieux Sikorsky S-60 pour des missions de transport tactique. En septembre, l'Espagne avait également décidé de moderniser ses hélicoptères lourds américains CH-47D Chinook pour un montant de 819 millions d'euros (livraison entre 2021 et 2025). https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/airbus-leonardo-l-espagne-s-offre-23-nh90-supplementaires-802328.html

In 2018, major fault lines developed in the relations between the Middle East's largest power, Saudi Arabia, and its Western allies. For decades, Riyadh has been one of the major buyers of European and U.S. defense equipment, but there is growing uneasiness about how Saudi Arabia has been using it. International pressure increases on Saudi-led conflict in Yemen Middle Eastern nations grow combat mass and capability Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen was already controversial, but ... http://aviationweek.com/defense/defense-spending-middle-east-continues-strong-growth