WASHINGTON: Congress sometimes has a strange way of rewarding the armed services when they actually manage to save some of the taxpayers’ money. For example, when an Air Force program manager managed to reduce the expected cost of a program in half Congress cut half the funds allocated for his program. That was the complaint… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The overall balance of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees will shift little in the 113th Congress, but individual causes and companies have lost important advocates as individual legislators went down to defeat. This may have been a banner year for incumbents– as most years are — but the House Armed Services Committee… Keep reading →

CORRECTED: Loren Thompson Now Says Moran Not Likely To Take HAC-D WASHINGTON: While most media watch the White House race, defense contractors and Pentagon bureaucrats are keeping a close eye on a few key chairmanships on Capitol Hill who will control billions of dollars in funding for weapons and services. Todd Akin currently chairs the… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Added Comment By GOP Strategist John Ullyot About Obama Being In Strong Spot To Negotiate End of Sequestration If Reelected. WASHINGTON: All eyes are on the presidential vote tomorrow, with the country seeming to thrum with anticipation, fear and relief. What will all this sturm und drang mean for defense? Before we reveal our… Keep reading →

Levin calls SASC hearing 11/15 to confirm Dunford, Allen — assuming he’s still chairman…. This was Panetta’s agenda: http://aol.it/RAUAoq SydneyFreedberg

If the election results are pretty clear next week, expect to hear two things: the sounds of snoring from an exhausted Washington political class and the first tentative mentions of the shape of a solution to the dire fiscal cliff our country may fall off of in January. Given the enormity of the repercussions facing… Keep reading →

[updated 3:45 pm with Todd Harrison’s analysis] CAPITOL HILL: Last month’s congressionally mandated OMB report on the impact of sequestration omitted an obscure provision that would slice another $10.1 billion from Defense Department programs in 2013. Because of that the Pentagon would have to cut $60.6 billion instead of $50.5 billion, a 20 percent increase.… Keep reading →

ORLANDO: The terrorists who attacked the Benghazi consulate, killing US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and four others, apparently maintained web, cell and radio silence before they acted, giving the US no hint an attack was imminent. “If people do not emit or discuss their behavior, it’s hard to find out what they are going… Keep reading →

This November, the Defense Logistics Agency will require companies selling microcircuits to the military to stamp their products with an unlikely seal of authenticity: plant DNA. It’s an innovative initiative in the fight against counterfeit computer chips, which has been a major concern in the Senate, but it’s only one piece of the answer. DLA… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House intelligence committee, slammed the administration’s cybersecurity approach today but expressed guarded optimism that his own stalled legislation — which the White House has threatened to veto — might be revived when Congress reconvenes after the election. “There was a very good meeting with some members of the… Keep reading →