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The Virginia Contracting Activity awarded a contract for support systems training services at the Regional Joint Intelligence Training Facility, Royal Air Force, Molesworth, United Kingdom. The b

In this brave new defense acquisition world, opportunities abound not only for prime contractors, but for subcontractors as well.

Shipyards must apply old and new lessons to give the Navy what it needs and can afford.

The national security strength of the United States is inexorably linked to its fiscal health, according to a high ranking member of the Joint Staff. Accordingly, the Defense Department must do its part in nationwide belt-tightening.

Top U.S. military officials are warning that the current fiscal crisis is the single biggest threat to the country’s national security. And, the most critical concern facing the United States is ensuring that it has the resources necessary to maintain its security globally—and that it is prepared for the challenges ahead.

Members of today's industry panel at LandWarNet discussed many of the issues that have long been a source of consternation to military contractors including the need for a level playing field and better, more agile acquisition policies especially for information technology. However, one person added a slight twist to the discussion by stating that not only do many in government not understand the acquisition process and its difficulties, but industry does not do a good job educating them.

The U.S Army signal community is preparing for budget cuts and a drawdown of personnel that includes reducing the number of contractors supporting the military branch by 30 percent without any replacement by military or government employees. However, with the Army's current plan only the officer corps would face reduction through means other than attrition; more drastic cut mandates could alter future decisions.

Ships and submarines being built by the U.S. Navy today will be in service 40 to 50 years from now, according to the commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Adm. John T. Harvey, USN, explained that the Navy cannot afford to re-procure its fleet, so it must ensure that its platforms last for several decades.

As the U.S. Coast Guard examines new ways to consolidate its logistics systems into a single business model, it is using social media platforms to open a dialogue with government and industry.

This month, Capt. Joseph A. Grace Jr., USN (Ret.) likens the state of government technology to that of an 8-track tape player--"now DIACAP-certified, ruggedized, encrypted and able to be thrown out of the car window at 60 miles per hour unharmed"--in an iPod world, thanks to a bloated procurement process.