Daily Report

US defense-related job losses would amount to 1,010,000 in the private sector, including 130,000 manufacturing positions, by 2014, if sequestration kicks in under the Budget Control Act, according to a newly issued report by the National Association of Manufacturers. "This job loss will increase the unemployment rate by 0.7 percent and decrease GDP by almost 1 percent by 2014," states NAM's June 21 release on the report, which came out that same day. "This report makes it clear that these cuts will punish the businesses that create the cutting-edge products keeping us safe at home and abroad, creating a negative effect on the supply chain between large and small manufacturers," stated NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. The largest losses would be in large non-durables and transport equipment, including the aerospace industry that would lose 3.4 percent of its jobs, according to the release. The ships and boats industry would lose 3.3 percent of its jobs and the search and navigation equipment industry would lose 9.3 percent of its jobs, states the release. (NAM report; caution, large-sized file.) (See also The Cost of Losing Business and The Outside View.)

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) filed a federal lawsuit to place on hold the permanent transfer of the Montana Air National Guard's F-15s to California. "The State of Montana is left with no choice but to act to prevent a mission gap that would leave the Montana Air National Guard at enormous risk," stated Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock in the release explaining the complaint against the Pentagon and Air Force civilian leadership. The 120th Fighter Wing in Great Falls operates 15 F-15s. Under the Air Force's proposed Fiscal 2013 force-structure changes, these F-15s would transfer to the California Air Guard. In return, Great Falls would get eight C-130s from the Texas Air Guard. However, the F-15s might leave "up to 18 months" before the C-130s arrive, states the complaint. That would leave an unacceptable gap that "would cause irreparable harm" to the wing's operations, said Bullock. Accordingly, Schweitzer wants the federal court to declare that any F-15 transfer may only occur with the governor's consent and not until the C-130s are ready to come to Great Falls, according to the June 15 complaint (caution, large-sized file). (See also Schweitzer's earlier release.)

Jason Healey, director of the Atlantic Council’s cyber statecraft initiative, said the Air Force must be both air- and cyber-minded. “We learn heritage to understand the future, but we ignore this when it comes to cyber,” said Healey during a...

Cannon AFB, N.M., last week received its seventh new-built MC-130J Commando II aircraft, announced manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The special-mission airplane arrived on June 20 direct from the company’s production facility at Marietta, Ga., states the company’s June 21 release. Assigned...

It’s not yet clear precisely how the possible budget sequester would affect the F-35 strike fighter program, said Larry Lawson, executive vice president of the company’s Aeronautics business area. But it would certainly cause Lockheed Martin to cut workforce and...

The armed services have been remarkably disciplined about not fiddling with the requirements of the F-35 strike fighter, said Larry Lawson, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, in an interview. “They’ve been pretty solid on holding requirements steady,” said...

One of the reasons Congress barred Japan—or any other ally, for that matter—from buying the F-22 Raptor was concern over attempts to back-engineer the aircraft and develop competitive products. Apparently, that’s not an issue with the F-35 strike fighter. Larry...

Pitting defense expenditures against entitlement spending doesn’t add up, said Todd Harrison, senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. There’s an “underlying structural deficit” that the United States has to address to resolve the current budget quandary,...

Sanctions and cyber espionage, such as the Flame and Stuxnet computer viruses, don’t seem to be deterring Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, several outside policy experts told the House Armed Services Committee last week. Accordingly, preparing a military option is...

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a pact enhancing security cooperation and strategic dialogue with New Zealand, announced the Pentagon. The Washington Declaration, inked on June 19 with New Zealand defense minister Jonathan Coleman during the latter's visit to Washington, D.C., "reflects a shared commitment to a stable and peaceful Asia-Pacific region," states the Pentagon's release that day. The two nations committed to increasing maritime security cooperation to combat piracy, terrorism, and illicit trafficking; and to strengthening joint humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts, according to the declaration text. "New Zealand’s relationship with the US has advanced significantly in the last three years," stated Coleman in a New Zealand defense release June 19. The declaration highlights the "significant security cooperation that exists . . . within the context of our independent foreign policy, and seeks to build upon that cooperation in the years ahead," added Coleman.