2 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR
By: Leo Shane III
WASHINGTON — Senators gave final approval to the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday, sending the $717 billion budget package to the White House to become law in the next few weeks.
The move marks the 58th consecutive year Congress has approved the military spending policy measure and the earliest that lawmakers have finished the work in 41 years. Typically, lawmakers labor until late fall before reaching agreement on the legislation.
It sets the military pay raise at 2.6 percent starting next January, adds 15,600 more troops to services' overall end strength, and boosts aircraft and ship purchases above what the White House had requested.
It also gives lawmakers a solid legislative victory to tout before voters in the lead-up to the November mid-term elections, and some parliamentary breathing room they hope can lead to progress on appropriations bills in the next few weeks.
WASHINGTON — Senators gave final approval to the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday, sending the $717 billion budget package to the White House to become law in the next few weeks.
The move marks the 58th consecutive year Congress has approved the military spending policy measure and the earliest that lawmakers have finished the work in 41 years. Typically, lawmakers labor until late fall before reaching agreement on the legislation.
It sets the military pay raise at 2.6 percent starting next January, adds 15,600 more troops to services' overall end strength, and boosts aircraft and ship purchases above what the White House had requested.
It also gives lawmakers a solid legislative victory to tout before voters in the lead-up to the November mid-term elections, and some parliamentary breathing room they hope can lead to progress on appropriations bills in the next few weeks.
Congress is giving the officer promotion system a massive overhaul
The changes will have a far-reaching impact on military culture and change the incentives for how individual officers manage their careers.
By: Leo Shane III
A day earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that he had reached an agreement with Senate Democrats on bringing defense appropriations legislation to the Senate floor later this month, as part of a broader effort to wrap up fiscal 2019 military spending issues before the election.
20 septembre 2023 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
The Pentagon envisions the Microelectronics Commons as a national network of academic institutions, small business firms and research entities.
29 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON – With the U.S. Air Force having received final bids from industry, the service is now poised to award a contract for its 350-plane next-generation trainer fleet in just a few weeks. An Air Force official, speaking on background, said the service expects to award the contract by the end of the fiscal year — in other words, before Sept. 30. Many have speculated that the days before the Air Force Association's annual conference, being held Sept. 17-19 outside of Washington, would be a potential time for an announcement to come. However, a source with knowledge of the situation said the current plan is to make the announcement after AFA concludes, likely the week of Sept. 24. If true, it could create an awkward environment at the event, where senior leaders will have to duck commenting on the soon-to-come T-X winner. Three industry teams have submitted bids for the T-X competition, with an estimated price tag of $16 billion over the life of the program. Boeing and Swedish aerospace firm Saab have developed a new, clean-sheet design; Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries are offering the T-50A, a take on KAI's T-50 jet trainer; and Leonardo DRS is offering the T-100, a modified version of the Italian aerospace company's M-346. The contract represents more than just 350 jets, although that alone would make it one of the biggest U.S. Air Force programs in years. Whichever contractor captures the USAF market may have the inside track on a number of future trainer competitions around the globe, particularly among countries looking to buy the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. In addition, if the U.S. Air Force decides to purchase aggressor aircraft for live-flying training, something that has been discussed on and off in recent years, simply buying more T-X trainers would be a logical solution. The contact has been a long time coming, and the contest has been filled with twists and turns. The service has for years sought to replace its aged T-38 jet, which ended production in the early 1970s and has served as the primary training plane for fighter pilots for decades. However, other priorities and sequestration-related budget caps saw the T-X campaign pushed to the right; while companies began announcing their entries for the competition as early as 2010, it wasn't until 2015 that the service revealed its actual criteria. At this point last year, the Air Force was still pledging to announce a winner by the end of calendar 2017. That projected award was pushed to March, and then to the end of the fiscal year. The expected winners have shifted over time as well. Around 2013, the conventional wisdom was that either Leonardo or the BAE Hawk, teamed with Northrop Grumman, would be the winner, as the service was looking for an off-the-shelf solution that has already been proven in service elsewhere. Boeing's idea of a clean-sheet design was seen as a longshot, due to the associated costs and timeline. However, that view shifted to the point that in 2015, Northrop and BAE scrapped plans to offer the Hawk and instead developed a new clean-sheet design of their own; the companies ultimately dropped out of the competition entirely in February of 2017. Meanwhile, the T-100 team struggled, with original partner General Dynamics dropping off the project in March 2015. GD was replaced by Raytheon in February 2016, but quit less than a year later. Other competitors, including Textron AirLand's Scorpion jet and a team-up between Turkish Aerospace Industries and Sierra Nevada, have come and gone, leaving only the three remaining competitors. Of those, industry analysts largely agree the winner will be either the Lockheed/KAI team or the Boeing offering. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/08/28/when-you-should-expect-the-air-force-to-announce-its-next-trainer-aircraft
11 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
San Diego, December 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider and industry-leading provider of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial systems, announced today that Kratos has received an additional $38,691,360 from the U.S. Navy for Lot 2 of its recently-awarded Full Rate Production (FRP) contract for an additional 48 BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Targets (SSAT) and associated technical data. Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “The SSAT is an incredibly high-performance threat representation system consistently providing performance levels previously unachievable. The exercise of the FRP Lot 2 option secures the uninterrupted production of our SSAT system well into the Government's Fiscal Year (GFY) 2023. Concurrently, we have been part of the Navy's site activation plan and I couldn't be prouder of the part we played in supporting the first flight at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii last month. Under Captain Molly Boron's leadership, the NAVAIR-Kratos team is already halfway to its goal of achieving Full Operational Capability (FOC) in GFY21. Even under normal circumstances, achievement of FOC would be very challenging but to be making the progress we have during this pandemic is a testament both to the Navy's leadership and the commitment and perseverance of the Kratos team during these challenging times.” About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including proactive research and streamlined development processes. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we specialize in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training, combat systems and next generation turbo jet and turbo fan engine development. For more information, please visit www.KratosDefense.com. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December 29, 2019, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos. Press Contact: Yolanda White 858-812-7302 Direct Investor Information: 877-934-4687 investor@kratosdefense.com View source version on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.: https://ir.kratosdefense.com/news-releases/news-release-details/naval-air-systems-command-exercises-option-additional-387