Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Key Issues EPAWSS GAO on HADES Chinese military companies list
The Air Force will hold full and open competitions for the recapitalization of two helicopter fleets rather than obtain a large quantity of Sikorsky Blackhawk choppers through a sole-source deal, according to an Air Force press release issued today.
The Defense Department withheld $28 million from Joint Strike Fighter prime contractor Lockheed Martin last year under a program set up to reward contractors for major accomplishments, according to Vice Adm. David Venlet, the F-35's program executive officer.
The Defense Department and Congress must join together to ensure warfighters get the equipment they need by rapidly funding and procuring urgently needed materials, Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter told a congressional panel this morning.
Members of the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee were given a classified briefing about the Air Force's next-generation bomber this afternoon, directly following an open session in which the committee discussed nuclear deterrence and complying with the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.
The Air Force's B-1 bomber fleet is officially no longer capable of carrying nuclear payloads, in compliance with one of the early stages of the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed with Russia last year, senior service officials told lawmakers today.
The Air Force believes some of its bases in the Great Basin could be ideal locations to use geothermal energy, according to a request for information issued March 25 and an interview with a leading service expert on renewable energy.
The Air Force is close to approving a competitive acquisition process to procure its newest attack and search-and-rescue helicopters, according to two top service officials.
The Air Force will be forced to raid its investment accounts for $4 billion this fiscal year to pay off a budget shortfall if Congress continues to fund the Defense Department under a continuing resolution that sets spending at fiscal year 2010 levels, according to a senior service official.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned military leaders not to revert back to a 20th-century philosophy of warfare after he leaves his post, and predicted difficult budgetary constraints near the end of this decade, in a speech at the Air Force Academy this morning.
The Air Force plans to invest $197 million in maturing technologies for the new long-range penetrating bomber, according to the fiscal year 2012 budget request released today.
The B-2 bomber is getting closer to receiving a radar upgrade, but software problems and other technical issues continue to hold back the aircraft's Radar Modernization Program, according to an annual report released by the Pentagon on Jan. 12.