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Defense Industrialist

Mar 27, 2015

TXT Loves Helos; UTC Not So Much

By James Hasik

What accounts for two multi-industrial companies’ differing views of the attractiveness of similar subsidiaries? I do not own shares in Sikorsky. None of my friends own shares in Sikorsky. That’s because, since 1929, United Technologies Corporation has in effect owned all the shares in Sikorsky. Indeed, the other four of the world’s five largest helicopter manufacturers are […]

Defense Industrialist

Mar 23, 2015

Why Can’t More Agencies be like DARPA or SOCOM?

By James Hasik

Thornberry’s aim for agility may mean more agency, with faster-better-cheaper results. David Ignatius thinks that the “federal government could use more agencies like DARPA”. Earlier this month in the Washington Post, he wrote that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency “behaves more like a Silicon Valley start-up than a bureaucracy.” Alex Haber and Jeff Jeffress […]

Defense Industrialist

Mar 11, 2015

Treaty Limitation Spurs Military Innovation

By James Hasik

Boeing and Saab’s ground-launched glide bomb is quite possibly a brilliantly cost-effective supplement to close air support. The defense trade press has devoted a flurry of coverage over the past two days to Boeing and Saab’s announcement that it recently tested a ground-launched version of the GBU-39B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). The 250-pound unitary is a clean replacement of the cluster munitions on […]

Defense Industry Security & Defense

Defense Industrialist

Mar 10, 2015

Why a Cost-Plus LRS-B Contract?

By James Hasik

Northrop, Lockheed, or Boeing may be about to debut a radical new manufacturing technology. The Senate Armed Services Air-Land Subcommittee will be holding a hearing next week on structure and modernization in the US Air Force. One of the issues sure to arise is the Air Force’s procurement plan for its long-planned Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B). William LaPlante, assistant secretary for […]

Defense Industrialist

Mar 5, 2015

How can small powers manage disruptive military technologies?

By James Hasik

Some thoughts at the 2015 EASO seminar in Brunei. I’m in Brunei today for the 7th annual East Asia Security Outlook (EASO) seminar, held for the Ministry of Defense by the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Defense and Security Studies. To close the day, I was asked to deliver a talk applying our work at the Atlantic Council […]

Defense Industry Indo-Pacific

Defense Industrialist

Feb 26, 2015

The Ukrainian-Emirati Connection

By James Hasik

Sharply different histories of two armaments industries have led to a confluence of political and commercial opportunity.   No doubt, as Derek Chollet wrote Tuesday on Defense One, “Ukraine’s Military Needs More Than Just Arms”. Training and organizational reform will be essential for recovering its fighting efficiency. But as we should remind Washington and Paris and Berlin, […]

Defense Industry Security & Defense

Captains of Industry Series

Feb 24, 2015

Sooner Rather than Later

By Alex Haber

The Pentagon is seeking a way through its “very challenging fiscal environment” Last week, the attention of the defense sector turned to San Diego for AFCEA WEST. Co-hosted by the US Naval Institute and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), the conference convened leaders across the armed services and private industry to address […]

Defense Industry Security & Defense

Defense Industrialist

Feb 21, 2015

Architecting Poland’s New Tank Project

By James Hasik

Every morning’s news from Ukraine reminds us of the continued relevance of heavy armor on modern battlefields. Russian T-72s aren’t the most modern tanks, but they’re effective enough against an underprepared enemy. What’s more alarming is what’s under development to the east—Uralvagonzavod’s T-14 Armata project. In response, Poland’s Ministry of Defense is aiming to replace […]

Defense Industry NATO

Defense Industrialist

Feb 11, 2015

Rescuing Pilots, Selling Airplanes

By James Hasik

The UAE’s demand for rescue V-22s is a marketing triumph that recalls a procurement failure.   The United Arab Emirates were in, bombing northern Iraq and western Syria with their widely praised Air Force, and allowing Major Mariam al Mansouri to strike a small blow for Arab women’s rights along the way. But then the Emirates were out, after […]

Defense Industry Iraq

Defense Industrialist

Feb 5, 2015

Hauling Concrete with Cadillacs

By James Hasik

The gradual decline of stealth may call for a high-low mix in airpower strategy.   In the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2016 budget request, the Long-Range Strike Bomber is a big deal. At $1.2 billion, LRS-B development would account just under 7 percent of next year’s unclassified R&D spending. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a similarly big deal, ramping […]

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