Saturday, June 3, 2023
Key Issues AUKUS & AI EXX-TACAMO Ukraine equipment
Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter yesterday signed a memo allowing the Army to proceed with awarding technology-demonstration contracts for the Ground Combat Vehicle program, according to Defense Department officials and documents.
The Defense Department has shifted $870 million to fund the purchase of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles along with additional upgrades for existing models and research efforts for ultra-light armor solutions, according to an Aug. 17 reprogramming document.
The Army's plans to press ahead with ground vehicle modernization initiatives this month encountered a pair of setbacks this week triggering speculation from industry teams vying for tens of billions of dollars in development, procurement work that marquee service programs -- ranging from the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program to the Ground Combat Vehicle program -- could face the budget ax.
The Army today kicked off its long-awaited humvee recapitalization effort with the release of a draft request for proposals.
Army Secretary John McHugh announced today that the service would soon establish a special Energy Initiatives Office Task Force aimed at aggressively engaging private industry to better streamline large-scale, renewable energy projects at U.S. installations.
On Friday, the Army is slated to review modernization decisions for its entire combat vehicle portfolio including the Abrams tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Stryker and the new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle intended to replace the M113 carrier.
Boeing Energy and Siemens today announced the formation of a strategic alliance that will offer microgrid technology to Defense Department installations based in the United States.
A family of unmanned ground vehicles and their associated technologies left over from the failed Future Combat Systems effort have been scrapped by the Army as result of a capability portfolio review, according to a letter sent to Congress last week.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning for his confirmation hearing as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he would be open to having a larger role for the service chiefs in acquisition matters.
Although a key memo has not yet been signed, a Defense Acquisition Board review has cleared the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle to proceed into its technology-development phase, according to sources with knowledge of the decision.
Senior Army leaders today presented the service's plan to implement most of the recommendations from an acquisition reform review that was commissioned last year and delivered in February.
While the Army has yet to properly incorporate energy efficiency into its acquisition requirements model, a senior-level service official says a new approach is on the way, specifically for the anticipated Ground Combat Vehicle.
The Army's chief information officer said this morning that industry should expect a request for information seeking solutions to replace the Defense Department's Common Access Card.
Officials from Army Contracting Command and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles program office allowed government contractors to violate conflict-of-interest regulations as well as perform inherently governmental tasks, such as monitoring their own performance and directing Defense Department personnel, according to a DOD inspector general report released on July 11.
The Army and Navy today released a joint request for information on design solutions for a vertical-take-off-and-landing unmanned aerial vehicle.
The commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq is being discussed as a possible nominee to become the next vice chief of staff of the Army, according to a service source.
The Pentagon's premier program for handheld and manpack radio variants was approved for low-rate initial production June 17 -- two months ahead of schedule, according to an announcement released today from the Joint Tactical Radio System program office.
The Defense Department released its first-ever operational energy strategy today, promising the creation of new policies that will turn the Pentagon, the government's largest gas guzzler, into a more efficient energy consumer.
The House Appropriations Committee has approved an additional $272 million for the Abrams tank upgrade program despite the Army's to desire cease tank production for three years, according to documents reviewed by Inside the Army.
The House Appropriations Committee has cut $25 million from the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program request, citing requirement concerns, and has instead increased humvee recapitalization funding by $50 million, according to documents reviewed by Inside the Army.