Daily Report

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley bid farewell to airmen during a departure ceremony at JB Andrews, Md., on June 21. Donley was confirmed as the 22nd USAF Secretary on Oct. 2, 2008—a contentious point in the Air Force’s history. He...

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $1.058 trillion spending ceiling for Fiscal 2014 on June 20. The guidance—like its counterpart in the House—ignores additional rounds of sequestration. “An allocation of $1.058 trillion is consistent with the American Taxpayer Relief Act—the...

The third Predator C Avenger jet-powered remotely piloted aircraft to come off of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ production line in southern California is scheduled to begin flight testing in July, said Frank Pace, president of the company’s Aircraft Systems Group....

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is gearing up to integrate the SYERS-3 multispectral imagery sensor on the Predator C Avenger jet-powered remotely piloted aircraft, said Frank Pace, president of the company’s Aircraft Systems Group. SYERS-3, built by UTC Aerospace Systems, is...

A Government Accountability Office report, released on June 20, found there are “limitations” to the Defense Department’s method for estimating excess infrastructure. Pentagon leaders have repeatedly called for an additional round of BRAC, saying it was left with a 20...

Canada has become the first international partner to communicate using the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite system, announced manufacturer Lockheed Martin. A U.S.-Canada team recently made contact with the AEHF-1 satellite from a SMART-T terminal near Ottawa, Canada, allowing them...

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Fiscal 2014 military construction and Veterans Affairs bill by a vote of 23 to 6 on June 20. The bill includes $158.8 billion for military construction, Veterans Affairs and related agencies,...

Though furloughs begin July 8 for Defense Department civilian employees, 37 out of 66 overseas commissaries will remain open in Europe and the Pacific region, announced Joseph Jeu, the director of the Defense Commissary Agency, in a June 18 release....

The Kyrgyzstan parliament voted to close Manas AB—often used as a stopping point for troops and equipment supporting operations in Afghanistan—rather than renew the lease when it expires in 2014, reported Defense News. There are about 1,500 US troops and...

As part of an effort to cut costs and attract new autonomous technology ideas from in-house researchers, the Defense Department has selected seven proposals to be tested in the Autonomy Research Pilot Initiative, according to a Pentagon release. Chosen from...

One of the more interesting static displays at last week’s Paris Air Show was AgustaWestland’s all-electric tiltrotor technology incubator called Project Zero. According to the company, “Project Zero features the unique combination of airplane performance and rotorcraft flexibility typical of...

The first C-130J Super Hercules from the Republic of Korea debuted its new camouflage paint scheme at the Lockheed Martin production facility in Marietta, Ga., according to a June 20 release. The C-130J—Lockheed Martin number 5730—bears a striking resemblance to...