The Insider

By Dan Dupont
November 3, 2010 at 2:10 PM

As expected, the Democratic leadership of the House Armed Services Committee took a beating last night, leaving way up in the air the question of what comes next. As Danger Room reports:

Take a last look at the membership list of the House committee. Longtime Democratic leader and outgoing chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri lost his seat. So did next-up John Spratt of South Carolina. So did next-up-next-up Solomon Ortiz of Texas (though a recount is possible). So did naval-subcommittee chairman Gene Taylor of Mississippi. So did Georgia's Jim Marshall, New Hampshire's Carol Shea-Porter, Virginia's Glenn Nye, Maryland's Frank Kratovil, Alabama's Bobby Bright and New York’s Scott Murphy. Three other Democrats retired from the committee -- one of them, Pennsylvania's Joe Sestak, lost a Senate race last night -- and things look tough for Washington's Rick Larsen as well.

So say hello to likely incoming chairman Buck McKeon of California. As we reported last month, McKeon's a big proponent of missile defense, a skeptic of the Obama administration's plan to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan next July, and no great fan of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. One of his key allies, Virginia Republican Randy Forbes, has blasted the administration for neglect of the Navy and Air Force and general "lack of concern . . . for the men and women in uniform." Defense Secretary Robert Gates' plans to cut $100 billion in defense overhead in five years is going to get the fine-tooth-comb treatment from the committee. Expect hearings on all of these issues practically as soon as Speaker-in-Waiting John Boehner gavels the next Congress into session in January.

That's hardly the only upcoming fight. Next month, the Pentagon will complete a military study on repealing the ban on open gay service. Unless the Senate can pass a stalled defense bill during the lame-duck session before January, the ban will remain in place until Congress chucks it. Only now it faces much steeper chances in a GOP-run House: repeal of the ban only passed the House this year after Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania -- who, by the way, just lost his seat -- added it as an amendment to the House version of the defense bill, to much GOP criticism. Forbes, the incoming chairman of the readiness subcommittee, wants to get the results of the military study before considering an end to the ban. But even if the study finds no problems with repealing it, wide GOP House majorities make it unlikely to get through the chamber. (And the Senate isn't so hot on it either.)

More to come.

By Jason Sherman
November 2, 2010 at 7:11 PM

The Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine program is not on the ballot, but its future may hang in the balance of today's midterm election results. If predictions of a Republican surge and takeover of the House come to pass, the political exigencies of the moment -- in particular, pressure to reduce federal spending -- could make it difficult for lawmakers who for the last five years have added money to the budget for the F136 program in the name of sound public policy to continue to do so.

Should control of the House flip, it will likely be many weeks before Congress sorts out how it will proceed with stalled fiscal year 2011 appropriations and authorization bills. Meantime, under a stopgap funding measure the Pentagon is permitting the F136 program to continue development by utilizing carryover fiscal year 2010 funds, a sum that will keep the effort going until early December.

In the event Congress enacts another continuing resolution to fund government operations beyond Dec. 3, the F136 program is in trouble. Under rules issued by Jeffrey Zients, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- who is leading the effort to kill the F136 program -- can unilaterally turn off funding for the F136 because it did not receive support in all four proposals of the FY-11 defense bill proposed by congressional panels that oversee military spending. In a Sept. 30 bulletin to federal department heads, OMB explains:

If either the House or Senate has reported or passed a bill that provides no funding for an account at the time the CR is enacted, the CR automatic apportionment does not apply to the account. Instead, you must submit a written apportionment request to OMB if you want to request funds for the account during the period of the CR. OMB will apportion funds in such a manner as not to impinge on the final funding prerogatives of Congress.

By Thomas Duffy
November 2, 2010 at 2:38 PM

The Defense Department has announced the dates for Empire Challenge 2011, the Pentagon's top intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance demonstration that is held each year. Ft. Huachuca, AZ will host the event starting June 20, 2011, according to a recent notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities. The ISR demonstration will wrap up on July 1, 2011.

According to the notice, EC11 will:

. . . consist of ISR interoperability events using a combination of live, laboratory, and modeling and simulation activities, to demonstrate and assess potential solutions to identified warfighter ISR requirements, including multinational requirements from Afghanistan. EC11 will conduct operations simulating elements of a multinational force, with an emphasis at the Joint Task Force (JTF)-level and below, in an operationally representative, live environment.

This will not be a U.S.-only event. DOD expects participation by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and NATO as well as those nations that are a part of the International Security Assistance Force now operating in Afghanistan.

By Thomas Duffy
November 1, 2010 at 6:57 PM

With election day 2010 less than 24 hours away and a Republican takeover of the House predicted by virtually every political pundit, the top four Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee may not have to worry about minority status. All four may be gone from the House, period.

Notably, committee Chairman Rep. Ike Skelton (MO) is in the political fight of his life. Skelton won reelection two years ago with 66 percent of the votes cast. This year, however, his race against Republican Vicky Hartzler, who served in the state House, is considered a "toss-up" by the political website RealClearPolitics.com, which bases its judgments on national and in-state polls.

John Spratt (SC) is right behind Skelton in terms of seniority among Democrats on the committee. And like Skelton, he won reelection in 2008 by a comfortable margin of 62 percent. But 2010 is a bad year for Spratt's party, and he faces a long day tomorrow against challenger Mick Mulvaney. Mulvaney, like so many Republicans running this year, is criticizing his opponent for supporting the Obama-Pelosi agenda. RealClearPolitics.com says the Spratt-Mulvaney race "leans GOP."

Reps. Solomon Ortiz (TX) and Gene Taylor (MS) -- the third and fourth-ranking Democrats, respectively -- hold subcommittee chairmanships. Taylor has taken a very high profile over the last number of months because of the Gulf oil spill. He has also consistently argued for a larger surface fleet for the Navy. Northrop Grumman's Ingalls Shipyard is in Mississippi. RealClearPolitics. com puts both races in the "toss-up" category.

Maybe their wealth of political skill can get them reelected one more time. But in a year when the word incumbent is being spelled with four letters, each man carries a heavy burden -- their length of service in the House. Skelton was first elected in 1977, Spratt and Ortiz were members of the House freshman class of 1982, and Taylor was sworn in in 1989.

By John Liang
November 1, 2010 at 2:58 PM

A new independent report predicts that the military avionics market through 2020 will total around $12.9 billion.

The report, promulgated by independent research company MarketResearch.com, "examines leading users of military aircraft avionics systems, and explores the operational requirements which are driving global growth in this sector," according to a company statement. "We assess the commercial prospects and outlook for companies offering military aircraft avionics systems. Based on our research, global government spending in 2010 on military aircraft avionics systems, across all platforms, will total $12.9 billion." Further:

This analytical report defines the current state of the military aircraft avionics market and discusses its potential for growth from 2010 to 2020, with market forecasting at the global, national and submarket levels. We analyse, quantify and forecast the global military aircraft avionics markets by sub-sector for fighter jets/training craft, large transporters/airlift, helicopters, manned airborne ISR systems and UAVs. We also analyse, quantify and forecast the global forward-fit and global retro-fit military aircraft avionics markets separately.

Globally there are a multitude of factors which are driving increased research, development, procurement and deployment of military aircraft avionics systems. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and emerging terrorist threats around the world have demonstrated the growing importance of aircraft in military operations. Governments are increasingly aware that increasingly integrated coalition missions of this type require up to date avionics systems in support of these missions. During the next decade, the military aircraft avionics industry is therefore expected to exhibit corresponding growth, driven by the escalating airlift operations and special mission fleets operating worldwide.

We examine the combination of factors that are driving the increased retro-fitting of avionics systems by air forces around the world. The upgrading of military aircraft avionics systems is expected to increase steadily over the next decade, despite general economic uncertainty and pressure on defence budgets. Military decision-makers are developing operational strategies to benefit from the latest avionics technology to maximise the potential of the modern network centric warfare environment.

The increasing investment in military aircraft avionics systems, particularly in emerging nations, has resulted in the global military aircraft avionics market becoming one of the few recession-resistant sub-sectors of the defence industry. We expect the global military aircraft avionics market to flourish from 2010 onwards, with significant rewards for successful companies.

How much are individual countries planning to spend on military aircraft avionics systems between 2010 and 2020? How are new technologies changing the nature of military aircraft avionics systems? Who are the leading companies providing military aircraft avionics systems? Where are the growth opportunities over the next decade - in which geographical region and with which technology? These critical questions and many more are definitively answered in this comprehensive report.

Evidently information like this doesn't come cheap. Click here to shell out the $2,224 you'll need to buy the full report.

By John Liang
October 29, 2010 at 9:55 PM

Most of the data analysis of a successful Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system intercept conducted this week has already concluded, according to a Raytheon official.

An SM-3 Block 1A missile launched from the Japanese destroyer Kirishima successfully shot down a medium-range, ballistic missile target yesterday off the coast of Hawaii, MDA announced early this morning. Kirishima is the fourth of four ships that Japan has retrofitted to carry Aegis BMD missiles.

Frank White, vice president of the company's air and missile defense business unit, said in a brief telephone interview today that "we've gotten pretty good at doing this, and so even within an hour of the mission, we'd done a lot of the data analysis. Essentially within a week, we will have completely run through all of the data there is to run through, but a significant amount of data analysis has already been done in the last 12 hours, and is done real-time."

The next intercept test of the Aegis BMD system -- off a U.S. combat ship -- is scheduled for the spring of next year and will feature an SM-3 Block 1A missile and Aegis Combat System version 3.6.1, according to White.

By Marcus Weisgerber
October 29, 2010 at 9:27 PM

Former Lockheed Martin F-35 boss Dan Crowley has been named president of Raytheon Network Centric Systems effective Nov. 1, according to a Raytheon statement released late this afternoon.

The move comes barely six months after Crowley was appointed as chief operating officer of Lockheed's aeronautics business.

Crowley served as Lockheed's Joint Strike Fighter general manager from 2005 to 2010, and was appointed as COO of the company's aeronautics business in May. At the time, Larry Lawson, who previously led the company's F-22A fighter program, was put in charge of the F-35 program. Crowley had maintained a low profile since his promotion. In late September, he attended a Lockheed ceremony in Marietta, GA, in honor of the company delivering the first production C-5M Super Galaxy cargo aircraft.

Crowley will replace Colin Schottlaender, the Raytheon division's president since August 2002, who is retiring on Dec. 31. "As Crowley transitions into his new role, Schottlaender will work with him during the interim period prior to Schottlaender's retirement date," the announcement reads. The McKinney, TX -based division of Raytheon has more than 13,000 employees.

From the statement:

Crowley brings significant experience in the aerospace and defense industry to NCS' top leadership role, including 27 years with Lockheed Martin Corporation.

"Dan's extensive industry background and deep expertise in operations, engineering, strategic business development and global customer engagement are ideally suited to his new role with Raytheon and I'm pleased to welcome him to the team," said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company.

"I want to sincerely thank Colin for his outstanding service to our company and customers, and congratulate him on his distinguished 33-plus-year career," Swanson continued. "While our company will clearly miss Colin's leadership skills, customer focus and extensive management talents, all of us wish him the very best in his pending retirement."

Earlier this year, Lockheed stood behind Crowley as Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired then-JSF Program Manager Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Heinz and launched a massive overhaul of the multibillion dollar program, which is significantly over budget and behind schedule.

Lockheed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Stevens told reporters on March 4 in a conference call that he had "absolute confidence in him in this role, and I'm going to continue to strengthen Dan and his team." He added: "I have no desire or expectation of removing Dan from the program management responsibilities on the F-35."

By Jason Sherman
October 29, 2010 at 8:42 PM

The managers of some of the Pentagon's largest weapon programs -- including the Joint Strike Fighter, Stryker, CVN-68, C-5 RERP, and P-8A -- did not avail themselves of acquisition rules established by Congress to ensure prime contractors are not thwarting competition when determining whether to may a part in house or subcontract to another firm, according to federal auditors.

The Government Accountability Office, in a new report, concludes that additional Pentagon guidance is required to "improve visibility into the structure and management of major weapon system contracts" in according with the 2009 Weapon System Acquisition Reform Act (WSARA). The GAO report, prepared at the direction of the FY-10 National Defense Authorization Act, concludes:

[P]rogram officials seemed reluctant to use available acquisition provisions, such as the make-or-buy plan, that enable the government to gain visibility into the prime contractor's subcontracting effort, largely because of fears regarding government liability. Further, government officials often questioned the overall purpose of these provisions. Nevertheless, Congress directed DOD in WSARA to ensure that prime contractors’ make-or-buy decisions are fair and reasonable. Provisions such as the make-or-buy plan represent important tools that the government can use to gain insight into the prime contractor’s methods for awarding subcontracts.

Shay Assad, director of defense procurement and acquisition policy, said in an Oct. 22 memo accompanying the GAO finding that the Pentagon will update acquisition guidance for contracting officers by June 30, 2011.

The 2009 Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act directed DOD "to improve competition throughout the life cycle of major defense programs, to ensure that contractors' make-or-buy decisions are fair and objective," GAO notes. "Specifically, the Secretary of Defense was directed to require prime contractors to give full and fair consideration to qualified sources other than the prime contractor for the development or construction of major subsystems and components of major weapon systems."

By John Liang
October 29, 2010 at 3:11 PM

The Pentagon inspector general's office recently audited the Marine Corps Systems Command's undefinitized contract actions (UCAs), which "allow a contractor to begin work and incur costs before the government and the contractor have reached a final agreement on contract terms, specifications, or price."

The IG reviewed 88 UCAs worth about $2.75 billion awarded by MARCORSYSCOM from fiscal years 2004 through 2009, according to the Oct. 27 report, and found that command contracting officials "did not consistently comply with statutory requirements for managing 80 of the 88 UCAs." Further:

Contracting officials did not prepare adequate requests for authorization to issue 34 UCAs, justify the issuance of 34 UCAs, definitize 57 UCAs within time frames, support whether the contactor's reduced risk during the undefinitized period was reflected in profit for 45 UCAs, obligate funds within limits for 54 UCAs, or document that the government received a fair and reasonable price on 15 UCAs.

MCSC contracting officials did not consistently comply with UCA restrictions because they did not follow statutory and DOD regulations for requesting to issue a UCA; they issued UCAs unnecessarily because of poor acquisition planning, and customers changed requirements after the UCA issuance; the contractor submitted inadequate proposals; they did not adequately document the profit determination; they were unaware of funding limits; and they did not adequately document that the Marine Corps received a fair and reasonable price.

As a result, the Marine Corps assumed increased cost risk in the award and negotiation process and may have paid excess profit.

Consequently, the IG recommends:

Marine Corps officials should develop a guide to assist with UCA justification, obligation, and definitization compliance; develop procedures to ensure that all UCAs are approved by the head of the agency or delegate; develop procedures to ensure that UCA requests include the impact on agency requirements if contracting officials do not issue a UCA; develop track methods for definitization of UCAs; better coordinate with customers to identify changes in Government requirements; and require contracting officials to adequately document the profit determination for UCAs.

By Jason Sherman
October 28, 2010 at 9:20 PM

The Pentagon's acquisition executive has set Nov. 22 as a day of reckoning for the Joint Strike Fighter program, according to a Defense Department official. On that day the Defense Acquisition Board will meet and hear from F-35 Program Executive Officer Vice Adm. David Venlet who will present the results of a wide number of initiatives directed by DOD acquisition executive Ashton Carter in June.

At this milestone review, Carter is expected to consider results of a technical baseline review, affordability initiatives -- for a program that in June the Pentagon estimated will cost $382 billion -- as well as an independent manufacturing review, reorganization and manning of the F-35 Joint Program Office, a revised risk management process, intelligence community support to the F-35 program, status of F-35 funding in DOD's FY-12 to FY-16 investment plan, and status of the flight test plan.

By John Liang
October 28, 2010 at 3:40 PM

The total amount of money appropriated by Congress for non-defense intelligence programs in fiscal year 2010 was $53.1 billion, according to a statement released this morning by the office of the director of national intelligence. That figure is $3.3 billion higher than what was appropriated in FY-09.

Don't even think about asking DNI for any additional information on the intel budget, though:

Any and all subsidiary information concerning the NIP budget, whether the information concerns particular intelligence agencies or particular intelligence programs, will not be disclosed. Beyond the disclosure of the NIP top-line figure, there will be no other disclosures of currently classified NIP budget information because such disclosures could harm national security. The only exceptions to the foregoing are for unclassified appropriations, primarily for the Community Management Account.

UPDATE: The Pentagon's FY-10 intel spending was $27 billion, according to a DOD statement.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) vowed in a statement released today that she would cut waste and duplication from the intelligence budget in the next session of Congress.

"The intelligence budget has doubled since 2001, with huge growth in personnel, facilities, and operations costs," Feinstein said. "Given the nation's financial situation, it is my view that the intelligence budget needs to be carefully reviewed and that cuts will be necessary.

"As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I intend to identify and remove any waste and unnecessary duplication in the intelligence budget and to reduce funding for lower-priority activities. It is clear that the overall spending on intelligence has blossomed to an unacceptable level in the past decade," she continued.

In related news, Inside the Pentagon reports this morning that the Defense Department is requiring defense agencies, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the combatant commands to file yearly reports on their efforts to mine information from foreign newspapers and other media, according to new guidance signed by the acting under secretary of defense for intelligence:

DOD instruction No. 3115.12, which went into effect Aug. 24, lays out a series of individual status reports to be filed by the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the COCOMs and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The instruction also establishes the Defense Open Source Council as the "primary governance mechanism" for DOD's open-source intelligence. The council, which is chaired by a senior executive picked by the Defense Intelligence Agency, must also submit a status report to the under secretary of defense for intelligence, or USD(I), by Feb. 28 of each year.

This council's report will assess DOD's open-source intelligence programs and activities, and lay out issues that are hindering the programs' effectiveness and integration into DOD-wide or national programs. These annual reports will also prioritize recommendations concerning policy changes and other initiatives needed for improvement.

By John Liang
October 28, 2010 at 2:29 PM

Questions surrounding the viability of the Medium Extended Air Defense System don't really worry Raytheon CEO William Swanson.

"That's something for the government to sort out," Swanson told Wall Street analysts during a conference call this morning on the company's third-quarter earnings.

Inside the Army reported earlier this month that with the Army's air and missile defense portfolio review in full swing, service acquisition chief Malcolm O'Neill and Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly had met recently to discuss how they might work together on MEADS:

The gathering comes ahead of a meeting of defense acquisition chiefs later this month on the sidelines of a NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors. "I think there will be a frank discussion between us, the Germans and the Italians," O'Neill told sister publication Inside the Army, calling the Oct. 28 meeting on MEADS, set for NATO headquarters in Brussels, an "important milestone."

Topics of discussion, according to O'Neill, include the program's progress, cost, and "options to continue as a team" or otherwise. As for the meeting with O'Reilly, no decisions regarding MEADS have been made, O'Neill stressed.

The Army, which pays for the U.S. contribution to MEADS, has long viewed the program with trepidation and has made several attempts to bow out of it. But MEADS has traditionally enjoyed support from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, raising the question of how much power the Army has to influence its fate.

Swanson said the company's Patriot missile business would likely not be hurt by MEADS, regardless of what decision is made on the latter program, adding that Patriot has 12 customers around the world, compared to three for MEADS. "We expect Patriot to be around for a long time," he said.

Raytheon this morning announced third-quarter 2010 adjusted earnings per share of $1.36 per diluted share, up 9 percent compared to $1.25 per diluted share in the third quarter of last year, according to a company statement.

"The increase was primarily driven by operational improvements," the statement reads.

"Strong program performance and cost reduction activities drove operating margins and earnings for the quarter," Swanson said in the statement. "Our consistent focus on providing our customers with innovative and affordable solutions positions us well to address the future challenges and opportunities in our industry."

Raytheon's net third-quarter sales were $6.3 billion compared to $6.2 billion in the same quarter last year. The company's operating cash flow from continuing operations was $413 million during the quarter, down from $749 million in the same quarter last year, according to the statement. "Operating cash flow from continuing operations in the third quarter 2009 was favorably impacted by the timing of collections on several production programs."

As for the company's individual business segments:

Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) had third quarter 2010 net sales of $1,319 million compared to $1,387 million in the third quarter 2009. The change in net sales was primarily due to lower volume on various U.S. Navy programs and on two joint battlefield sensor programs, partially offset by higher volume on international Patriot programs. IDS recorded $208 million of operating income compared to $217 million in the third quarter 2009.

During the quarter, IDS booked $190 million for a U.S. Army/Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2) radar for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). IDS also booked $104 million on the Zumwalt-class destroyer program and $103 million on the Aegis weapon system for the U.S. Navy.

. . . Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS) had third quarter 2010 net sales of $735 million compared to $805 million in the third quarter 2009. The change in net sales was primarily due to lower volume on various classified programs, on a U.S. Air Force program and on the UK Border Agency program. IIS recorded $60 million of operating income in the third quarter 2010 compared to $68 million in the third quarter 2009.

During the quarter, IIS booked $447 million on a number of classified contracts.

. . . Missile Systems (MS) had third quarter 2010 net sales of $1,391 million compared to $1,396 million in the third quarter 2009. MS recorded $162 million of operating income compared to $145 million in the third quarter 2009. The increase in operating income was primarily due to operational improvements.

During the quarter, MS booked $2,179 million, including $545 million for the production of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) for the U.S. Air Force and international customers, $451 million for engineering and manufacturing development on the competitively awarded Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) contract for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, $237 million for Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and an international customer, $204 million for the production of Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) for the U.S. Navy and an international customer, $119 million for the Javelin program for the U.S. Army and international customers, $112 million for the production of AIM-9X Sidewinder short range air-to-air missiles for the U.S. Navy and international customers, and $106 million for development work on the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) for the MDA.

. . . Network Centric Systems (NCS) had third quarter 2010 net sales of $1,227 million compared to $1,212 million in the third quarter 2009. NCS recorded $172 million of operating income in both the third quarter 2010 and the third quarter 2009.

During the quarter, NCS booked $84 million for airborne tactical communications systems for multiple customers.

. . . Space and Airborne Systems (SAS) had third quarter 2010 net sales of $1,238 million compared to $1,134 million in the third quarter 2009, primarily due to growth on classified business and on an international tactical radar program. SAS recorded $191 million of operating income compared to $159 million in the third quarter 2009. The increase in operating income was primarily due to operational improvements.

During the quarter, SAS booked $87 million for the production of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars for the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard. SAS also booked $265 million on a number of classified contracts.

. . . Technical Services (TS) had third quarter 2010 net sales of $873 million compared to $797 million in the third quarter 2009, primarily due to continued growth in domestic and foreign training programs supporting the U.S. Army’s Warfighter Field Operations Customer Support (FOCUS) activities. TS recorded operating income of $77 million compared to $60 million in the third quarter 2009. The increase in operating income was primarily due to operational improvements.

During the quarter, TS booked $306 million on domestic training programs and $121 million on foreign training programs in support of the Warfighter FOCUS activities.

By Cid Standifer
October 27, 2010 at 8:14 PM

The Navy's energy strategy, which came out this month and was obtained by Inside the Pentagon, takes a closer look at improving fuel efficiency for aircraft.

At the Navy Energy Forum earlier this month, Vice Adm. William Burke, head of N4, talked about expanding initiatives to encourage operators to be more energy-conscious to the service's air platforms, and Rear Adm. Randy Mahr of Naval Air Systems Command talked about future efforts to test biofuels on planes and helicopters.

According to the Navy Energy Vision, the service might also start trying out smaller efforts similar to ones initiated on ships to seek incremental savings.

"Naval Aviation is evaluating proven technology solutions to improve the energy efficiency of currently fielded systems," the document states. "Improved compressor and turbine designs, performance-seeking controls, and advanced materials are under development to reduce the specific fuel consumption of legacy propulsion systems up to 8 percent. Ongoing mission planning database updates and onboard flight performance modules offer an additional 1 to 3 percent reduction in sortie fuel consumption. Drag-resistant aircraft coatings are being evaluated for military applications after demonstrating up to 6 percent fuel savings in commercial aviation."

The report speculates that small and heavy fuel technology could garner 20 percent energy savings for unmanned aerial vehicles, while variable-cycle engines could save airplanes up to 25 percent of their fuel. It also touts simulated training as a way to save millions of gallons of fuel. And according to the document, the Navy's F/A-18s are already saving $250,000 annually by adjusting their flight altitude so that they cruise at heights normally reserved for commercial airliners.

Much of the rest of the report has long been part of the service's well-publicized push toward biofuels and energy savings.

By John Liang
October 27, 2010 at 3:03 PM

How many soldiers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

No one knows that yet, but when the service does find out, the bulb itself will be an energy-efficient one.

According to a Pentagon statement issued this morning, Katherine Hammack, the service's assistant secretary for installations, energy and the environment, has issued a new policy memo mandating that all light bulbs acquired for use in facilities and structures owned, leased or controlled by the Army must meet higher energy efficiency standards. "The goal is a complete replacement of all incandescent lighting on Army installations within five years. New efficient lighting will use three to five times less electricity than an incandescent bulb over the same period," the statement reads. Further:

Hammack issued today a 'Memorandum on the Utilization of Efficient Lighting' to reduce energy consumption and reduce adverse impacts to the environment. The memo establishes policy and guidance to use only efficient light bulbs that meet standards outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. EISA requires the manufacture of energy efficient light bulbs, with efficiency standards phasing in between 2012 and 2014. It also requires the use of energy efficient lighting fixtures and bulbs in buildings constructed by the General Services Administration.

"Lighting efficiency improvements present a clear opportunity to decrease energy consumption, which is a priority for the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense and for the entire federal government," said Hammack. "It’s been over 130 years since Thomas Edison gave birth to the world’s first practical incandescent light bulb, and we’re undeniably overdue for a jump forward."

In order for the Army to capture energy efficiency savings consistent with these provisions, the new policy requires the use of the light bulbs as soon as possible. When installed bulbs fail and existing inventory is depleted, only efficient light bulbs may be purchased. Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) require significantly less energy to produce the same amount of light, and need replacement 6 times less often.  This means a profound reduction in electricity, maintenance and labor costs.

Separately, the Army issued a second memo aimed at improving the service's "high-performance green buildings standards," according to the service statement.

"Energy security, sustainability and efficiency are national security imperatives," Hammack said. "This policy supports the Army's global missions in a cost-effective, safe and sustainable manner that will benefit Army soldiers, families and the entire nation." Further:

The memo, "Memorandum for Sustainable Design and Development Policy Update (Environmental and Energy Performance) (Revision)", changes the way the Army will approach efficient design of Army facilities.  Requirements throughout the planning, programming, budgeting, design and building stages will strengthen the Army's sustainability, energy security, and energy independence through more responsible consumption and planning.

Incorporation of sustainable design and development principles, following guidance as detailed in American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 189.1, will reduce water and energy consumption, optimize energy efficiencies and performance, and reduce negative impacts on the natural environment.  Through strategies such as siting, cool roofs, solar water heating, storm water management and water efficiency, the Army will reduce its impact on the environment.  Options will be investigated and documented for each project to evaluate the Army’s ability to utilize renewable and alternative power sources on its installations in a fashion that is compatible with training missions.

Commissioning, measurement and third-party verification are also required to track progress and identify opportunities for further improvement.  Lifecycle-cost analyses will be mandatory to promote best business practices.

The Army's commitment to sustainable design and development extends beyond construction or renovation savings, Hammack said, "High-performance buildings are critical to cost effective life cycle management of our infrastructure and national energy security. Maintaining access to vital resources, including energy, water and the environment is vital for accomplishing the Army’s global missions."

While the overall benefits gained through efficiencies and reduced consumption will vary based on location, buildings in compliance with the new policy are expected to yield significant energy savings for the Army over current construction standards.  Preliminary analysis by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicates energy savings over current design of 45 percent or greater.

In related news, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli has recently expressed frustration with the Defense Department's slow acquisition process, which he said was preventing the service from rapidly adopting technology that could make it more energy-efficient, Inside the Army reported earlier this month:

"If there's something that concerns me greatly . . . it's our inability to take advantage of rapid technological change," he said at an Oct. 13 energy forum at the Pentagon. "I worry that our acquisition system is too slow."

If the Army planned to replace an old vehicle engine with one that was more efficient, he said, the process as it is would take several years and result in a technological solution that was outdated by the time it was fielded.

Chiarelli also said Army leadership was waging a constant battle with Pentagon programmers who have the tendency to resist projects that do not show immediate benefits. For example, he said the Army wanted to construct new energy-efficient buildings that would not begin to show energy cost savings for 14 years.

"Programmers have this vision of the world that ends every year, every five-year period, and nothing happens after that," he said. "It takes leadership to argue against the programmers who say: 'Why should I build something in this five-year period that won't show savings until a period that I can't even envision yet?' It's not on their radar screen."

By John Liang
October 26, 2010 at 6:34 PM

Reid Davis, Raytheon's manager of air and missile defense programs, has been appointed as the No. 2 person in charge of the Lockheed Martin-Raytheon team bidding for the multibillion-dollar contract to continue developing the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, according to statements from both companies.

The two firms announced their partnership in August. According to today's Lockheed statement, Orbital Sciences Corp. has joined the team as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the GMD boost vehicle, and Northrop Grumman has joined the team as an OEM for the GMD fire control and communications system.

Northrop Grumman announced in June that it had joined Boeing as its strategic partner for the GMD development and sustainment contract.

Mathew Joyce, Lockheed's GMD vice president and program manager, told Inside Missile Defense this morning at the Association of the United States Army's annual convention in Washington that proper firewalls had been set up to make sure there would be no information sharing between workers who worked for the same company but were on different teams, especially since MDA had prohibited potential offerors from forming exclusive teams:

There's several companies responsible for the fielding of the existing system -- Raytheon doing the [exoatmospheric kill vehicle]; Northrop Grumman doing the ground systems; Orbital Sciences doing the boost vehicle; so in order to create as level a playing field as they could for this competition, MDA said, "For you OEMs, no exclusive teaming," which means Raytheon couldn't team with us exclusively.

Both Lockheed and Raytheon officials believe they can successfully support MDA's new testing schedule of one intercept attempt per year, and that enough data from those attempts along with a number of ground-based simulations can be obtained to keep the program from getting delayed. As Lockheed Martin's Joyce tells IMD:

You get data in various methods . . . but you do get a lot of information from ground tests -- stockpile, target reliability. . . . Between the two of our companies, we're pretty proud of our modeling and simulation capabilities and you'll see us coming forward with more information about that over the next couple months which will help you understand why we think [that under the] current constraints we can support the reliability and effectiveness assessments of the system.

Can we test more than once a year? I think if you look at our track records, my most recent history is in THAAD where we flew four times a year, so we obviously have the demonstrated capability to fly more than once a year if that's what the program decides it needs to do.

Reid Davis of Raytheon, who was also at AUSA, says:

I think it's important to strike a balance, because what you've got to do . . . is you do want to prove out those models and simulations but you also have to do the rigorous engineering to make sure that you understand what happened in the flight test. So you’re going to learn something on every test. And so you want to make sure that you learn from [both simulations as well as actual flight tests] and carry those lessons forward so that you don't repeat those same mistakes -- if there were any -- in future flight tests.