The SIGNAL Blog

The key to doing more with less may lie with innovative thinking applied to existing assets, suggested the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., USN, speaking to a packed house for the morning keynote address at AFCEA/USNI West 2013 in San Diego, said that both the military and industry must be innovative in their approach to readiness.

Adm. Winnefeld cited examples of how innovative applications could enhance existing assets. He mentioned how the littoral combat ship could be adapted for use in missions beyond those for which it originally was designed. The admiral also called for inexpensive, highly adaptive electronics pods for unmanned aerial vehicles.

He singled out industry as a potential source of vital innovation, and he called on the private sector to produce these solutions.

“Bring it on; I want to hear it,” the admiral said.

The latest version of the Apache Block III attack helicopter, the AH-64E, was approved for full rate production in October 2012. Improvements to the aircraft include an Improved Drive System, increased engine capabilities, technologically advanced composite main rotor blades and sensor enhancements. For more information—and some pretty cool video of the AH-64E in action—see the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command YouTube Channel video.

Unless we are existing in a weird parallel universe, the Mayan’s were clearly wrong about the world ending last month,  but the National Intelligence Council’s “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds” does warn the U.S. will likely lose its status as the planet’s only superpower by then.  And how about that fiscal cliff?!?  Lots of drama for New Year’s Day legislation that only raised taxes on those making $400k or more without any meaningful impact on reducing the deficit or dealing with sequestration.  More or less a two month “U” turn at the fiscal cliff or a demonstration of “Democracy Inaction!”
 
The White House and the Congress “agreeing “ to defer dealing with either the debt ceiling or sequestration for two months only insures that budgetary uncertainty for almost all national security accounts will continue until “March Madness.”  Sequestration will then join raising the debt ceiling and extending the Continuing Resolution (CR) for the rest of FY 13 as requiring legislative action of some type in March.  While there could be some kind of grand bargain providing a comprehensive solution to all three of these separate but related tectonic fiscal issues, I remain unable to see what will change between now and March given the political posturing that has been going since 2010 without any significant increases in revenues or cuts in spending.  And as we heard the President and the Republican leaders of Congress publicly “trash talking” with each other on January 14, any discussion about raising the debt ceiling is an opportunity for political brinkmanship regarding shutting down the government.
 

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