News
New Pentagon chief under scrutiny over perceived Boeing bias –
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan’s private remarks during his 18 months at the Pentagon have spurred accusations that he is boosting his former employer Boeing, people who have witnessed the exchanges told POLITICO — fueling questions about whether he harbors an unfair bias against other big military contractors.
U.S. Navy veteran imprisoned in Iran, 1st arrest of Trump era –
Iran confirmed Jan. 9 it is holding U.S. Navy veteran Michael R. White at a prison in the country, making him the first American known to be detained under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Business
MBDA says its Mistral missile can also blow up small boats –
Eying another export application of its Mistral missile, European missile maker MBDA on Wednesday announced a successful test of the weapon against a small, fast-moving surface target.
Navy test-fires low-cost, hypersonic-speed projectiles –
The Navy said it test-fired 20 high-velocity projectiles from the USS Dewey’s standard Mk45 main deck gun during an exercise last summer.
Parsons acquires geospatial intelligence provider OGSystems –
California-based Parsons Corp. announced Jan. 8 it has acquired OGSystems, which provides advanced technologies in geospatial intelligence, big data analytics and threat mitigation.
Russian missile troops, artillery to be rearmed with Iskander-M –
Russia’s Missile Troops and Artillery will be completely rearmed with the 9K720 Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile system in 2019, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Jan. 1.
SAIC’s got no regrets on armored vehicle losses –
SAIC not a traditional heavy-metal manufacturer and it shouldn’t be judged like one, CEO Tony Moraco and COO Nazzic Keene told me.
Services wargaming multi-domain consensus: Army 3-star futurist –
“All the services understand the need to move to Multi-Domain Operations,” Lt. Gen. Wesley said. “Second, we all agree that MDC2 [Multi-Domain Command & Control] is the most important joint problem that we have to solve. After that, the specifics of how you conduct MDO – that’s where the variance is that we’ve got to converge on.”
Defense
DOD has its topline budget figure –
The Pentagon has officially received its topline budget figure for fiscal year 2020, according to acting Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist.
Pentagon owns fewer buildings than previously thought: Audit –
The Pentagon doesn’t appear to have as many facilities as it had thought, a recent government audit found, calling into question whether it needs a new round of base closures, as frequently requested by U.S. Defense Department leaders in recent years. That emerged from last year in the Pentagon’s much-publicized first-ever financial audit.
Past decade of war has eroded decision-making confidence of young leaders, Army general says –
Young Army leaders are suffering from America’s long wars spent building partner forces, the commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command said Jan. 7.
Army, Marine Corps are looking at what troops will need to fight in megacities, underground –
A recent Army and Marine war game that included engineers, academics and other defense representatives evaluated how troops could use experimental technologies to fight in dense urban areas and underground.
U.S. Army’s three focus areas to avoid protracted combat –
As the U.S. Army’s Multi-Domain Operations concept continues to evolve and be tested, the service is finding three key areas to focus on ahead of any major conflict.
This new tool lets Army leaders see battlefield from anywhere in world –
Soldiers recently tested software that would allow commanders to plug into the battlefield picture being seen by their soldiers in remote locations from across the globe, providing mission command from home station.
Marine Corps is moving forward with a new parachute. This is why –
The Corps’ multimission parachute system, or MMPS, has been in service for over a decade.
Veterans
Vets working without pay: Government shutdown leaves hundreds of thousands in the lurch –
Nearly a third of the federal workforce is made up of veterans — an estimated 248,400 of whom are not getting paychecks as the government is three weeks into a partial shutdown, according to the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council.
USS Indianapolis survivors recount their harrowing battle for survival in a new documentary –
“You’d hear shipmates screaming for help — you really couldn’t tell where the screaming was coming from.”
America’s veterans said to be disproportionately affected by government shutdown –
As the partial government shutdown continues for a third week, veterans groups are sounding the alarm because of what they say is the disproportionate impact on America’s veterans and a growing fear that financial uncertainty could lead to self-harm.
Space
Elon Musk unveils assembled SpaceX Starship and it’s glorious –
Elon Musk and SpaceX’s ambitious plans to reach around the moon and all the way to Mars require a big effin’ rocket. Now we know what it looks like.