24 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Boeing's growing clout with U.S. President Donald Trump's Pentagon can no longer be ignored.
Trump announced Sunday morning on Twitter that he is forcing outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis to leave earlier than expected, and he named Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, as acting secretary. Mattis, a retired Marine general, was slated to leave at the end of February. Shanahan will now take over on Jan. 1.
“Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!” Trump tweeted.
Although Shanahan has not been formally tapped for secretary of defense, which requires Senate confirmation, sources say he is one of the White House's top picks for the job.
Shanahan's ascent is just the latest manifestation of the growing influence the world's largest aerospace company has in Trump's Pentagon. In the last six months, Boeing has wonthree multibillion-dollar competitions for major Department of Defense aircraft programs, despite massive delays in delivering a new tanker fleet to the U.S. Air Force.
Now, senior Pentagon leaders are forcing the Air Force to purchase a new version of Boeing's legacy F-15 fighter, a non-stealth jet that first flew in 1972, which will compete for the Air Force's limited resources with Lockheed Martin's new F-35 fighter jet.
The reportedly $1.2 billion proposal to buy the a dozen new variants of the “F-15X,” the same version of the aircraft Boeing is building for Qatar, reflects Boeing's outsize influence with senior leaders in the Trump administration, a phenomenon that dates back to the beginning of the president's term. As early as February 2017, Trump floated buying additional Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, instead of the F-35. The U.S. Navy placed an order for over 100 new Super Hornets this spring.
Trump also has a personal relationship with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. The two men negotiated directly to reach a $3.9 billion deal for a new Air Force One presidential aircraft, which Trump claimed saves taxpayers $1.4 billion.
Certainly, Boeing has fought hard to offer the Pentagon its products at extremely competitive prices and allowed the department to boast considerable cost savings.
Boeing has adopted “an across-the-board aggressive posture in lobbying, pricing, and product development, largely due to fears that they were being eclipsed,” said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. In addition, “very strong profits from Boeing's commercial jetliner side ... permits more aggressive bids by the military side.”
Full article: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/23/boeing-pentagon-takeover-defense-department-mattis-shanahan
7 février 2024 | International, Naval, Terrestre
Russia said on Wednesday that two of its Tu-95MC strategic bombers flew over waters near the U.S. state of Alaska but said they stayed in international airspace.
26 avril 2021 | International, C4ISR
San Diego, April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that it had received more than...
6 juillet 2020 | International, Naval
By Alexander Quon Global News Posted June 29, 2020 7:30 pm The Government of Canada has awarded a six-year, $72.6-million contract to a Halifax-based company for the maintenance of the Royal Canadian Navy's Halifax-class frigates. Ottawa announced the decision to award the contract to Fleetway Inc., a company of J.D. Irving Ltd., on Monday. The contract, award as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy, can be extended up to 22 years for a total of up to $552 million. It will support 140 jobs in the region and is meant to ensure the Halifax-class frigates remain operational until the construction of the Canadian Surface Combatant vessels is complete, expected in the early 2040s. “Our Halifax-class frigates remain the backbone of our Navy, enabling us to maintain our presence at sea both at home and abroad,” said Vice-Admiral Art McDonald, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, in a press release. “As we continue to transition to our future fleet, it is essential that we continue to foster an environment that enables the (Royal Canadian Navy) to keep our frigates floating, moving, and fighting.” The contract will provide a “full range of technical data management and systems engineering support services” for the 12 vessels used by the Royal Canadian Navy. Fleetway will be expected to secure a team of workers that will store and manage thousands of critical ship documents, ensuring that key information is up to date to support maintenance teams, the federal government said in a press release. “By investing in our fleet of Halifax class frigates, we will be able to provide our members in uniform what they need to continue advancing peace and security around the world,” said National Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in a press release. Work for the contract began earlier this year and it will replace an existing contract provided by Fleetway Inc., which will expire in October 2020. The new contract was awarded through the federal procurement process. Irving Shipbuilding, another company based in Halifax and owned by J.D. Irving, has been awarded the contract to build the 15 Canadian Surface Combatant vessels that will replace the 12 Halifax-class frigates and the three already-retired Iroquois-class destroyers. https://globalnews.ca/news/7122823/ottawa-awards-contract-irving-company/