Defense
After badgering from House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jeffrey Zients has agreed to testify before his committee on the $500 billion in looming defense cuts, McKeon said Monday. – DEFCON Hill
After a decade of ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — 6,350 Americans killed and more than $1 trillion spent — 44 announced the new strategy in January that looks to counter the rising power of China. The changing role of the B-1 is a prime example of how the Air Force is responding. – USA Today
Pratt & Whitney “has some headwinds” as cutbacks in F-35 procurement and the termination of the F-22 will lead to a 30% reduction next year in production of fifth-generation combat engines, seriously challenging cost-reduction goals for the Joint Strike Fighter’s F135 powerplant. – Aviation Week
The disrupted development of the F-35 stands as a clear lesson for America’s defense planners. Killing needed weapons programs often saves money in the short term, but it creates headaches in the long run when planners are left with sub-optimal choices and no easy way out. Admiral Greenert is to be commended for thinking through issues like the future of stealth in a public forum, but the Navy needs to think very cautiously before signaling to the world they would be just as happy with new capabilities on fifth-generation aircraft rather than the platform itself. – AOL Defense
Cybersecurity
The nation needs cyber-security legislation to authorize sharing of threat data between industry and government in real time, said Gen. Keith Alexander, chief of both the National Security Agency and the US Cyber Command, and it can be done without any danger to individual privacy. – AOL Defense
The loss of industrial information and intellectual property through cyber espionage constitutes the “greatest transfer of wealth in history,” the nation’s top cyber warrior Gen. Keith Alexander said Monday. – The Cable
Missile Defense
Low budget armies can’t afford to buy brand new fighter jets. They want the cheaper unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles. Air defense systems have to adjust and keep up with what might seem like low tech threats, said Tim Glaeser, a Raytheon vice president for Integrated Air and Missile Defense. – DoD Buzz
U.S. arms maker Raytheon Co (RTN.N) said on Monday it had won a $636 million contract to continue work on the key interceptor for the U.S. ground-based missile defense system, despite several intercept failures in recent years. – Reuters
