Daily Report

April 21, 2014

SAR Details Four Nunn-McCurdy Breaches

The Defense Department’s newest selected acquisition report, released late Thursday, includes four critical or significant Nunn-McCurdy breaches, including the Air Force’s Airborne Warning and Control System Block 40/45 upgrade. The AWACS Block 40/45 upgrade program acquisition unit cost increased 22.5...

F-35 Costs Up and (Mostly) Down

The Pentagon’s official cost scorecard—the just-released selected acquisition report for calendar 2013—show that the F-35’s procurement costs are up but lifecycle costs are down, adding up to a net reduction in program costs. Stated in base year 2012 (when the...

Delays Force F-35 Sticker Up

Deferring buys of F-35s to later years has driven unit recurring flyaway costs up about $1.2 million each, according to the Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office. Providing background information on the Pentagon’s December 2013 selected acquisition report, which are...

It’s Not All Bad News

The most recent selected acquisition report did not contain all bad news for the Air Force. The service’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program costs dropped 4.3 percent, “due primarily to savings realized in the negotiation and award of the new...

That’s Not Your Imagination

Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, head of US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said the “armed masked men” operating in eastern Ukraine are actually part of a “well planned and organized” military operation directed by the Russian government....

Baltic Support

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Poland’s Minister of National Defense Tomasz Siemoniak recently met to discuss ways the two countries can collaborate to safeguard against potential threats in eastern Europe. “The solidarity and partnership roadmap we discussed today identified new...

Time to Get Tough on Russia

The White House must increase pressure on Russia in response to increased attacks on government buildings in eastern Ukraine, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “I would be sending arms to the Ukrainian army. I would encourage the European Union...

Northrop Grumman Opens Aircraft Integration Site

As part of its realignment efforts to consolidate aerospace systems activities, Northrop Grumman dedicated its new Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence in St. Augustine, Fla. The company says the center will “drive efficiency and affordability,” which Maj. Gen. Wendy Masiello...