TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Russia targets space projects in response to U.S. high-tech sanctions
(Reuters) Moscow will bar the US from using Russian-made rocket engines for military satellite launches and suspend the operation of GPS satellite navigation system sites in Russia, retaliating for sanctions on high-tech equipment which Washington has imposed over the Ukraine crisis.
2. Climate Change Deemed Growing Security Threat by Military Researchers
(New York Times) The accelerating rate of climate change poses a severe risk to national security and acts as a catalyst for global political conflict, concludes a report published Tuesday by the Center for Naval Analyses, a leading government-funded military research organization.
3. Perimeter Defense
(Stephen Rodriguez in War On The Rocks) The Economist and other critics of this administration's inaction over Ukraine seem unable to distinguish between our peripheral interests and vital interests.
4. Foreign Minister Says France Will Sell Warships To Russia
(Wall Street Journal) French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Tuesday his government would move forward with the sale of two assault ships to Russia, despite strong opposition from the Obama administration.
5. Kyle White receives Medal of Honor, says his battle buddies are the 'real heroes'
(Army Times) "One battalion commander remembered that 'all of Afghanistan' was listening as a soldier on the ground described what was happening," President Obama said at the medal ceremony.
INDUSTRY
US OKs Nearly $1 Billion Deal With Iraq
(Defense News) The Pentagon has cleared a nearly $1 billion package of aircraft trainers, surveillance aerostats and up-armored Humvees for the Iraqi military.
Airbus Defense Sees Decreased Orders Like Its American Competitors
(Defense Industry Daily) The Defense and Space division grew sales by 3% to 2.7 billion euros, though order intake retreated by 4.3% to 2.07 billion. This helps make the case that some sort of restructuring of Airbus' defense business was necessary.
Canadian Army, Navy Develop Ambitious Plans; AF Fights Delays
(Defense News) While the Canadian Air Force struggles with a long-delayed UAV project, the Army and Navy are making steady progress in developing plans for a variety of unmanned systems.
Billion pound contract to run MoD sites in the West
(Western Daily Press) Three huge military contracts with a combined value of around £1.1 billion have been given to two different firms, who will now take over the running of the UK Ministry of Defence's vast land and buildings in the West.
2015 defense proposal mostly spares Hampton Roads
(Virginian-Pilot) The defense industry in Hampton Roads - jittery about big reductions in military spending - likes what it sees in Congress's first attempt to draft a defense spending plan for 2015.
Nation's Biggest Unmanned Systems Conference Kicks Off Amid Changing Market
(National Defense) Industry is eager for sales globally and to the civil sector, but experts predict UAS integration into the national airspace is still years away. And just as companies are facing more competition worldwide, U.S. military procurement is dropping off.
Saab Expects Increased Sales of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
(Defense News) Saab's open ambition to acquire ThyssenKrupp's Sweden-based submarine and naval shipbuilding facilities should strengthen the strategic importance of the group's lower-profile naval business and Underwater Security division.
That's what I call confidence
(Aviation Week) Saab pulled off a bit of technological surprise in rainy Gothenburg on Monday. I had shown up expecting something new, but not the first-off-the-line Giraffe 4A radar, complete with gallium-nitride (GaN) active electronically scanned array technology.
European Groups Vie for Mine-Hunting Study
(Defense News) Two industrial consortiums are competing for a contract worth ?10 million (US $16.9 million) to study how unmanned underwater vehicles can fight sea mines, three industry executives said.
CONGRESS
Obama asked to create commission to investigate VA
(USA Today) The Obama administration was asked Tuesday to set up a special, bipartisan commission to investigate accumulating allegations of health care delays at VA hospitals, dozens of the cases linked to findings or allegations of patient deaths.
Homeland Security chief sees U.S. cyber legislation this summer
(Reuters) Congress is likely to agree on cybersecurity legislation this summer, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Tuesday, citing growing consensus among lawmakers on the need to help industry share data with government about attacks on computer networks.
Sen. Levin: House Panel's A-10 Plan Not 'Legitimate'
(Defense News) The US Senate Armed Services Committee will reject a plan approved by its House counterpart to use emergency funding to keep alive the A-10 attack plane.
Data lacking on success outcomes for student vets
(Military Times) Prospective students and the public have more information now than ever on how well schools perform in educating veterans, and at what cost. But despite recent improvements, much less is still known about vets in higher education than nonvets.
Graham Expected to Win Re-election, Gain Clout in US Senate
(Defense News) Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who sits on two key defense committees, appears poised to cruise to re-election in South Carolina after a shaky start to his campaign.
Dems debate mixing immigration, defense
(The Hill) Senate Democrats are debating whether to use the defense authorization bill to give legal status to young people who are illegal immigrants but serve in the military. The idea has broad Democratic support, but it could derail the bill.
Rep. McIntyre takes $50,000 trip to Australia
(WWAY-TV) The trip was paid for by the Defense Teaming Center, a defense industry non-profit.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon Backtracks on Goals for First Audit, GAO Says
(Bloomberg) The Pentagon has backtracked from a pledge to have all budgetary accounts ready by Sept. 30 for the initial step toward its first-ever full financial audit.
The Pentagon Has a Plan to Stop the Zombie Apocalypse. Seriously.
(Foreign Policy) CONOP 8888, otherwise known as "Counter-Zombie Dominance" and dated April 30, 2011, is no laughing matter, and yet of course it is. As its authors note, "this plan was not actually designed as a joke."
Can JIE take cyber awareness 'beyond the foxhole'?
(C4ISR and Networks) If it's done right, DoD's Joint Information Environment could provide increased situational awareness for cyber operations, helping to inform decision-making as warfare takes on the cyber domain, according to one DoD official.
Service members allegedly were cheated on student loans
(USA Today) Federal authorities announced a proposed $60 million settlement Tuesday in a lawsuit alleging that thousands of military service members were charged excessive interest rates for student loans.
Arlington marks 150th anniversary of first burial
(Military Times) The ceremony at the grave of Union Pvt. William Christman kicked off a month of activity marking the sesquicentennial of the cemetery, across the Potomac River from the nation's capital.
Where JIE and ICITE intersect - and where they diverge
(C4ISR and Networks) On their faces, the Defense Department's Joint Information Environment and the intelligence community's IC Information Technology Enterprise seem similar: Both seek to consolidate IT, improve information-sharing and save money.
ARMY
Army Grapples With Cyber Age Battles In Megacities
(Breaking Defense) This August, after months of seminars, simulations, and study, the Army War College will host a "deep future wargame" set in a megacity, probably a coastal one, circa 2035.
Pentagon OKs Manning transfer for gender treatment
(Associated Press) In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon is trying to transfer convicted national security leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison so she can get treatment for her gender disorder, defense officials said.
US Army's Unmanned Ground Vehicle Research Creeps Along
(Defense News) Having completed several initial tests of automated transport vehicles at Fort Hood, Texas, and elsewhere, the service expects to have a finished requirements document ready by fall in order to advance a "leader-follower" semi-automated technology.
Fort Hood-based soldier dies in Kosovo
(Associated Press) A soldier originally from Wisconsin has died while serving on a U.S. Army base in Kosovo, and her father said he and other relatives have questions about what happened.
Army colonel testifies on ex-wife's mental illness at murder trial
(Associated Press) The Army officer ex-husband of a woman accused of killing their two teenagers while he was deployed told a jury on Tuesday that her mental illness was a constant "drum beat" in their 20-year marriage.
Former Fort Campbell assistant IG pleads guilty to ID theft, bank fraud
((Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle) A Fort Campbell active duty officer entered a guilty plea to stealing the identity of other soldiers, applying for loans and using the money for his personal benefit.
NAVY
Submarine Tech Outpacing ASW
(Aviation Week) The best deterrent against submarine attack is robust defense--but as little as surface sailors like to discuss it, that defense has seldom been less assured.
Hagel to speak at Naval Academy graduation
(Associated Press) The academy announced the speaker for the commencement ceremony on Monday. Hagel became the first enlisted combat veteran to lead the Department of Defense when he was sworn in February last year.
Know your NeRD: What submariners can expect from their new e-readers
(Navy Times) Each sub in the fleet will get five NeRDs, or Navy e-Reading Devices. Each tablet will arrive packed with some 300 books for pleasure reading.
AIR FORCE
Ready for Retirement, Can Predator Find New Home?
(Defense News) With one military drawdown complete and another one ongoing, coinciding with severe budget constraints, the US Air Force is looking to cut the number of UAV combat air patrols by almost 10%, or maybe more.
AFRL targets seamless human-machine interaction
(C4ISR and Networks) For a combat air patrol, "we have as many as 250 individuals involved in order to operate four unmanned vehicles," an Air Force official said. "We can't keep on ... throwing more humans at the problems."
Air Force: Military should expand training into Florida state forests
((Fort Walton Beach) Northwest Florida Daily News) Officials warned in a recently released report that if the proposal does not go through, the region likely will not be able to sustain the increased demands for training space in the coming years.
MARINE CORPS
US crisis response Marines mobilized for north Africa threat
(Stars and Stripes) A team of crisis response Marines has moved from Spain to a U.S. base in southern Italy in response to new security concerns in northern Africa, according to U.S. European Command.
Old Soldiers: USMC Amtracs Getting Survivability Upgrades
(Defense Industry Daily) Iraq taught the USMC that the Amtracs didn't offer enough protection, and so the latest refurbishment effort plans to improve the AAVP-7A1 personnel carrier's protection levels. Deliveries are expected in 2018-23.
Navajo Code Talker, Tom Jones Jr., dies
(Associated Press) Jones served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1943 until 1945, serving as a messenger for the U.S. Marine Corps 3rd Division, Unit 297, and Navajo Code Talkers 642 Platoons at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, Ca.
VETERANS
House VA chairman asks Obama to create medical care panel
(The Hill) House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) called on President Obama Tuesday to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate reported lapses in veterans' access to medical care.
2 more VA health care workers put on leave
(USA Today) Two more Department of Veterans Affairs workers at a hospital in Durham, N.C., were sent home on administrative leave this week amid allegations linked to delay of health care in another part of a spreading pattern of investigations.
St. Louis VA doctor: I was demoted for trying to improve productivity
(Associated Press) The VA hospital in St. Louis is investigating claims by the former chief of psychiatry that veterans often wait a month or more for mental health treatment because psychiatrists and other staff members are so lax in their work.
For now, Justice won't intervene in VA care problems
(Military Times) Justice Department officials have no immediate plans to get involved in the widening Veterans Affairs Department care-delay scandal, but Attorney General Eric Holder said Justice officials are closely monitoring the problems.
MIDDLE EAST
Iran Continues Operations at Military Site: Report
(Global Security Newswire) Washington-based analysts say Iran has pressed ahead with operations at a military base suspected to have hosted nuclear weapon-related experiments.
Syrian opposition cites 'significant headway' after meeting with Obama in Washington
(Washington Post) Ahmad al-Jarba, head of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, met with President Obama on Tuesday at the end of a lengthy Washington visit during which opposition leaders said they had laid the groundwork for more substantive U.S. assistance.
Saudis Invite Iran Foreign Minister to Talks
(Defense News) Saudi Arabia has extended an invitation to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to visit the kingdom, Reuters reported today -- an indication that political hardliners within the Saudi government have stepped back and are allowing moderates to push their agenda.
Elbit Profit Rises on Contract Wins
(Wall Street Journal) Israeli defense electronics maker Elbit said first-quarter profit rose following contract wins with Asian and Latin American customers. Year-over-year net profit for the quarter rose $7 million to $48 million.
A Dispatch From the Counterterrorism Olympics
(The Atlantic) Is there value in a six-day warrior-fest in the middle of the Jordanian desert?
EUROPE
At Center of Ukraine Talks, Degrees of Decentralizing
(New York Times) National "round-table" talks seeking to resolve Ukraine's six-month political crisis by finding a formula for decentralizing power will begin Wednesday against a seemingly formidable array of obstacles.
Ukraine Crisis Speeds E. European UAV Efforts
(Defense News) Some Eastern European countries aim to boost their UAV fleets following Russian intervention in Crimea, local analysts say, as Moscow also increases its UAV capabilities.
U.S. releases satellite images of Russian forces near Ukraine
(Reuters) The U.S. government released new satellite pictures on Tuesday which it said showed Russian forces were still near the Ukrainian border in recent days, contradicting Russian assertions they had been withdrawn.
Italy Tailors Rules To Allow UAVs, Military Aircraft in Civil Airspace
(Defense News) While many UAV users are content to focus on how to fly their drones in war zones, where flight regulations are lax or nonexistent, the Italian Air Force has teamed with local civil aviation authorities over the past decade to work out UAV regulations for peacetime.
Ukrainian Soldiers Killed in Militia Ambush
(New York Times) Antigovernment forces ambushed a Ukrainian Army convoy outside a village west of Kramatorsk on Tuesday afternoon, further intensifying tensions in Ukraine's restive eastern regions.
Turkey Steadily Builds UAV Capabilities
(Defense News) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the Anka, Turkey's first homegrown UAV, "as one of his signature projects in national defense modernization," one aide said.
Poland said to be eyeing missile defense decision in June, July
(Reuters) Poland may choose a single winning bidder by June or July in a multi-billion dollar missile defense competition, months earlier than planned due to the crisis in Ukraine, a senior Lockheed Martin Corp executive said Tuesday.
AFRICA
AFRICOM Chief to Aid Search for Nigerian Schoolgirls
(Agence France-Presse) Gen. David Rodriguez flew to Nigeria on Monday as the United States confirmed it was flying manned surveillance aircraft over the country and sharing commercial satellite imagery to aid the hunt for the abducted girls.
Possible Trajectories of the Boko Haram Conflict in Nigeria
(Brookings) Analysis of possible trajectories of the conflict in Nigeria: Can the conflict abate? Will current patterns hold steady? Or will the violence accelerate, and why?
3 UN peacekeepers wounded by land mine in Mali
(Associated Press) Spokesman Olivier Salgado said a U.N. vehicle hit a land mine Tuesday morning near the peacekeepers' base in Kidal. He said they were lightly wounded and being taken to Gao for medical treatment.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Japan, China to square off at regional security forum
(Reuters) A regional security conference is shaping up as a face-off between Asia's two biggest powers, as Japan sends its hawkish prime minister and China dispatches a feisty diplomat to counter Tokyo's more assertive message.
US warns Beijing on South China Sea tensions
(BBC) In a telephone call, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi the US had "strong concerns" over recent developments, including China's moving a drilling rig into seas disputed with Vietnam.
China's Top Commander Tours San Diego
(DoDBuzz) China's top general arrived at Naval Base San Diego Tuesday to be welcomed aboard two warships ahead of meetings later this week with Gen. Martin Dempsey on rising tensions in the South China Sea over Beijing's territorial claims.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Excerpt: 'No Place to Hide'
(Glenn Greenwald in The Guardian) That the NSA targets such broad categories of people is tantamount to allowing it to spy on anyone anywhere, including in the US, whose ideas the government finds threatening.
Review: 'No Place to Hide' by Glenn Greenwald, on the NSA's sweeping efforts to 'Know it All'
(David Cole in the Washington Post) This is an important and illuminating book. It would have been more important and illuminating were Greenwald able to acknowledge that the choices we face about regulating surveillance in the modern age are difficult and that there are no simple answers.
Taking China's Carrier Operations Seriously
(Dean Cheng in War On The Rocks) China may build several aircraft carriers, but its navy may not emulate the US fleet. Instead, Beijing's new naval strategy will reflect Chinese requirements and conditions; in short, there will be Mahan "with Chinese characteristics."
Questions About CIA v. DOD Drone Strikes
(Jack Goldsmith in Lawfare) Two reasons often given for transferring targeting killing by drone from CIA exclusively to DOD are i) collateral damage reduction, because DOD supposedly has stricter targeting criteria and better law-of-war compliance; and ii) more robust oversight. Neither is sound.
These Aren't The Defense Job Cuts You're Looking For
(Thomas Lynch in War On The Rocks) Various critics wrongly assert that the Pentagon has been failing to proportionally and responsibly downsize civilian employees, and they dodge the dead skunk in the road: more cuts can occur only after another BRAC round.
Ctrl + Alt + Delete
(Shawn Brimley and Paul Sharre in Foreign Policy) As budgets tighten, other powers rise, and technologies proliferate, we should stop and ask: Is there a better way? Here is a thought experiment about what the U.S. military might look like if we started today with a blank slate.
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