18 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

The military could save hundreds of billions — by capping pay, scrapping aircraft, slashing benefits, experts say

WASHINGTON — Analysts from the Congressional Budget Office say the government could trim hundreds of billions from the federal deficit by enacting a host of already discussed military and veterans program reforms.

The problem is that those reforms include some of the most controversial and politically unpopular policies of the last few years, things like limiting military pay raises, ending a host of military equipment purchases, and cutting back on veterans benefits.

The document released last week — CBO's annual “options for reducing the deficit” report — lists more than 120 ideas to reduce federal spending or boost federal revenues over the next 10 years. Authors said the goal is to “reflect a range of possibilities” of moves that lawmakers could make in dealing with government debt and escalating federal programming costs.

Twenty of the proposals would affect the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, including a plan to cut the Pentagon budget by 10 percent ($591 billion in reduced budget authority over the next decade). That dramatic cut would “require DOD to decrease the size of its forces, slow the rate at which it modernizes weapon systems, or do both,” which in turn would prompt a host of complaints from military leaders and defense lawmakers.

Still, the size of the savings involved show why the ideas continue to attract debate on Capitol Hill each year, even with the significant disruptions they may bring.

Here is a look at some of the other potential VA and Pentagon moves:

Limit pay raises for troops ($18 billion in savings over 10 years)

The CBO idea would give troops an annual raise of 0.5 percent less than the expected growth in civilian salaries. Service members would still see annual raises, but opponents of the idea argue that those increases wouldn't keep up with the cost of living for military families.

President Barack Obama's Pentagon capped the military raises at this level for three years during his presidency, leading to criticism from advocates that he had created a new gap in military and civilian wages. President Donald Trump suggested a 0.3 percent reduction in the expected raise formula in his first budget, but saw the proposal rejected by Congress.

Narrow eligibility for VA disability benefits ($33 billion over 10 years)

The CBO plan would drop a host of conditions not directly related to military service — illnesses like arteriosclerotic heart disease, hemorrhoids and multiple sclerosis — from the list of claims eligible for disability benefits. More than 750,000 veterans' checks would be affected by the move.

Any such trims in benefits have prompted harsh attacks from veterans groups, who have accused supporters of breaking faith with men and women who were promised lifelong assistance for their military service.

Cancel new F-35 purchases ($16 billion over 10 years), retire the F-22 fleet ($30 billion over 10 years) and delay development of the B-21 bomber until after 2028 ($45 billion over 10 years)

All three ideas would require Air Force officials to continue using aging aircraft, a concern for Pentagon planners who have seen a spike in aviation accidents in recent years.

The CBO report acknowledged that a disadvantage of the idea would be making the military “less flexible against advanced enemy air defense systems” but said the current mix of aircraft types already in use by the services would mitigate some of those concerns.

Stop building Ford-class aircraft carriers ($18 billion over 10 years)

Under this option, the Navy would stop building new aircraft carriers after the USS Enterprise, scheduled to be completed in 2027. A carrier set for the start of construction in 2023 would be scrapped.

The CBO report argues that even with the move, the Navy would still have 11 active carriers until 2036 given its current fleet size. However, defense lawmakers have long argued against any delays in ship building schedules, given the long wait for construction and fielding of new vessels.

End VA's Individual Unemployability program for retirement-age veterans ($48 billion over 10 years)

Trump also suggested this idea in his first VA budget, only to have lawmakers and veterans groups soundly reject it.

The IU program provides extra benefits to veterans unable to work because of disabilities, even if they don't have a 100 percent disabled rating. Supporters have argued that money should stop once Social Security payouts begin. Opponents of the idea could leave as many as 235,000 veterans in dire financial need.

Reduce military housing allowances to 80 percent of rent costs ($15 billion over 10 years)

Under this plan, BAH payments wouldn't change for troops until they move, but it would slowly increase their out-of-pocket costs for housing. The change would also create savings for the VA, since post-9/11 GI Bill housing stipends are tied to the military housing formula.

Similar BAH reform proposals on Capitol Hill have met fierce opposition in recent years. Advocates argue that since military members have little say in their next duty assignment, they shouldn't have to shoulder the costs of unexpected moves and expensive housing costs.

Replace thousands of troops with civilian workers ($17 billion over 10 years)

The CBO idea calls for reducing military end strength by 80,000 over four years and replacing them with 64,000 civilian employees. The work would not be directly related to warfighting, and the health care and ancillary costs of non-military workers would create significant savings compared to service members' benefits.

But Congress has worked to increase the military's end strength in recent years, saying it brings more readiness and flexibility to the overall force. An end-strength cut of that size would represent a major political backtrack for many elected officials.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/12/17/analysts-find-hundreds-of-billions-in-military-savings-by-capping-military-pay-scrapping-aircraft-slashing-veterans-benefits

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28 septembre 2018 | International, Naval, Terrestre

Is this the Marine Corps' next amphibious combat vehicle?
By: Todd South MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. ― The winner of a contract to develop the Marine Corps new amphibious combat vehicle, the first of its kind in four decades, showcased a potential variant that would give commanders eyes on all areas of the littoral battlefield, on-board drones and targeted hand offs to any ACV in their formations. BAE Systems guided reporters through the interior of the vehicle, on display at this year's Modern Day Marine Expo in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday. The variant isn't one that the Marines have yet requested, but John Swift, program director for BAE's amphibious vehicles, said the model was an effort to showcase what's possible with the new vehicle. Marines selected the BAE version earlier this year over SAIC's proposed vehicle. Swift noted that decision keeps BAE as the sole company providing such vehicles to the Corps since 1941. They've got to build 30 vehicles by the end of next summer, Swift said. Those vehicles will then go through testing before modifications and the composition of the fleet is decided. Marines want at least two variants as production begins in the next two years: a turreted assault vehicle and a command and control vehicle. As of now, the Corps' official numbers call for 704 ACVs for the fleet when full rate production begins in 2022. That number is planned to be completed within six years, Swift said. The composition of the fleet is still undecided, so the initial 30 vehicles delivered for testing will be basic platforms. But that was before an announcement reported by Defense News this week that the survivability upgrade contract for the existing AAV fleet of an estimated 392 AAVs was cancelled. The move is in line with larger National Defense Strategy aims to ramp up modernization by prioritizing money for those programs rather than legacy platforms. Marine Corps Program Executive Office for Land Systems spokesman Manny Pacheco told reporters at this week's expo that the early version, or ACV 1.1 outperformed expectations and delivery of the new vehicles would not take much longer than the planned upgrades, which could shorten the calendar. The deliveries were about six months apart, he said. Meaning that the brand-new vehicles would arrives shortly after the upgraded vehicles were planned. Swift and Pacheco said separately that the ACV 1.1 was able to both launch and recover, meaning return to ship. That wasn't an expectation until later versions, which sped up the capability development of the new vehicle, giving the Marines other options in how they would pursue modernizing the fleet. In a question and answer posting about the ACV by the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, officials at the time said they would continue the upgrade program even if the early ACV versions achieved a “self-deployable capability.” The posting noted that the upgraded AAVs will “address capability gaps that need to be closed as soon as possible.” It went on to say that the aged AAV fleet also accounts for one-third of the Corps' lift capacity and “will need to remain operationally effective in the force until their replacements are procured.” Later in production there's also interest in building a recovery ACV, Swift said.https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/09/27/is-this-the-marine-corps-next-amphibious-combat-vehicle The new ACV has a host of differences and capabilities not on the more than 40-year-old AAVs but most immediately noticeable is it is an eight-wheeled vehicle. Gone are the treads of the tracked AAV. When asked about tire performance by reporters, Swift said that in testing the ACV was able to travel another 30 km with three debilitated tires. The same questions and answers list had several reasons for wheels over tracks: Greater mobility in complex, littoral terrain; • Increased IED protection (2X). • Reduced fuel consumption (
4 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Lockheed dives into next-generation missile defense interceptor competition
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin said it will compete to build the Missile Defense Agency's Next-Generation Interceptor designed to protect the homeland against intercontinental ballistic missile threats from North Korea and Iran. The company is “excited to confirm that we are putting in a bid for the Next-Generation Interceptor,” Sarah Reeves, Lockheed's vice president of missile defense programs, told reporters Aug. 3. Bids were due July 31. Boeing and a Raytheon-Northrop Grumman team have already announced their intentions to compete to develop and field the agency's new interceptor following the cancellation of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle meant to replace the warhead on the current Ground-Based Interceptors. Those missiles are part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System, which is operational at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The RKV program was paused in May 2019 and then abruptly terminated in August 2019 due to insurmountable technical issues resulting in delayed schedules and cost increases. The Defense Department announced at the time that it would embark on an entirely new program to field a future interceptor. MDA now plans to downselect to two companies, which will then compete for the right to build the interceptor. While MDA struggled with RKV, Lockheed invested the last two decades on multi-kill vehicle technology,” Reeves said. Lockheed had one of three small contracts to design a kill vehicle that could take out multiple warheads several years ago that would lead to a program that would replace the RKV called the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle (MOKV) program. Raytheon and Boeing had won the remaining two contracts. Reeves stressed the need for the new interceptor to be able to go after threats that disperse multiple objects including decoys. “We are looking carefully at the lessons learned from RKV including parts survivability testing which, in that program, was done too late and caused a major system redesign, as well as ensuring early-and-often testing and fly-before-you-buy mentality,” Reeves said. Lockheed plans to conduct two successful flight tests before going into production, Reeves said, which as an MDA program requirement. “The time is right now,” Reeves said. “We have significant investments and the technology a couple of decades ago, when this was initially a vision of MDA, wasn't quite there, but now it is ready to go.” The company plans to take elements from its existing capabilities such as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which Reeves said has had a 100 percent mission success rate, and the Aegis missile defense system. Lockheed also will garner experience from its partnership with the U.S. Navy on its Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile system, which “has to survive these more hostile environments,” she said. And Lockheed's experience with space is another asset that will contribute to understanding technology needed for an NGI, which will need to travel through space, according to Reeves. Lockheed is also optimistic, Reeves said, that it can meet a faster schedule for NGI than currently planned. Some Defense Department officials said NGI could not be fielded until the 2030s but the MDA director and U.S. Northern Command's commander believe it is possible to move that timeline to at least 2028 or earlier. The company plans to use tools such as artificial intelligence, machine-to-machine learning, big data analytics and 3-D printing to “accelerate the schedule and to deliver products faster than we have had in the past,” Reeves said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/08/03/lockheed-dives-into-next-generation-missile-defense-interceptor-competition
29 juin 2018 | International, C4ISR

A Senate panel wants to spend an extra $400 million on microelectronics
By: Daniel Cebul When the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense released a summary of their spending priorities June 26, the bill included a significant increase for one emerging technology. The panel recommended setting aside an additional $447 million for microelectronics. Specifically, the committee wanted to ensure the Department of Defense has access to trusted microelectronics and can develop manufacturing processes for next-generation microprocessor chips. To do so, the bill raised the fiscal year 2019 research, development, testing and evaluation budget for microelectronic technology from $169 million in the president's fiscal year 2019 budget request to $616 million. Already, concern about the domestic production of microelectronics is expected to be part of a large defense industrial base review now underway. But what exactly are microelectronics, and why is their development worth so much to DoD? Microelectronic chips are essentially integrated electric circuits that regulate energy consumption, and perform complex computations that enable capabilities like global positioning systems, radar and command and control. Imagine all of the components that go into your computer ― memory, graphics processors, wifi modules, etc ― all on a single silicon chip, called a wafer. eading-edge wafers typically are 300 mm in diameter and loaded with transistors, resistors, insulators and conductors that control the flow of electrons (read electrical energy) across the chip. The smaller and smaller these components are, specifically transistors, the more can be fit on a chip, enabling faster and more efficient processing. Transistors themselves are measured in nanometers (nm), and are unfathomably small to most non-scientists and engineers. One nanometer equates to a billionth of meter! To put that into perspective, the average diameter of a human hair is 75,000 nm. The most cutting-edge transistors used in microelectronics measure between 10 and 7 nm, and are expected to get smaller in coming years. Smaller and smaller transistors will contribute to breakthroughs in “machine learning, data sorting for recognition of events, and countering electromagnetic threats,” according to a Defense Advance Research Project Agency backgrounder. Because Pentagon leaders believe this technology is vital for current and future capabilities, technology officials say it is important DoD can trust microelectronics are reliable and secure from adversary attacks and sabotage. For this reason, DARPA launched the five-year, up to $200 million Electronics Resurgence Initiative in September 2017 “to nurture research in advanced new materials, circuit design tools, and system architectures.” A key thrust of this initiative is partnership with top universities through the Joint University Microelectronics Program, or JUMP. The program enlists top researchers to work on proejcts like cognitive computing, secure cellular infrastructure to support autonomous vehicles and intelligent highways and other technologies enabled by microelectronics. Under the Senate defense subcommittee's markup, ERI received an additional $30 million to help “reestablish U.S. primacy in assured microelectronics technology.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2018/06/28/a-senate-panel-wants-to-spend-an-extra-400-million-on-microelectronics/

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