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Defense Industrialist

Aug 18, 2016

Supplier of the year, or big supplier of the year?

By James Hasik

The Pentagon’s “Superior Supplier” rankings need an overhaul For Inside Defense, Jason Sherman wrote three articles at the beginning of the month about the “Superior Supplier” rankings at the Army, Navy, and Air Force Departments. The assessments are undertaken “on a contract-by-contract basis” by individuals acquiring the actual goods and services, and thus “reflect customer […]

Defense Industry Entrepreneurship

Defense Industrialist

Aug 17, 2016

On battlecruisers, blockades, and Donald Trump

By James Hasik

Whatever administration takes office, the US needs to better match its procurement plans to its operational strategies. Writing this week for Chatham House, Julianne Smith, Rachel Rizzo and Adam Twardowski find that one military topic on which Donald Trump may offer views significantly differing from those of the other presidential candidates is procurement. In their […]

China Conflict

Defense Industrialist

Aug 11, 2016

A modest arms sale of obsolete aircraft to India?

By Danny Lam

There may be more to Lockheed’s made-in-India deal than first meets the eye. The US Air Force and those of other NATO countries are phasing out F-16s much sooner than anticipated. This implies that performance of F-35s has met expectations, and that there are no obvious show-stoppers to ramping up production as fast as budgets […]

China Defense Industry

Defense Industrialist

Aug 8, 2016

Don’t let pre-decisional become the enemy of good enough

By James Hasik

Early discussions between the military and industry are essential for finding financially sustainable ways of war. It’s a pretty big mess when the service secretary hasn’t heard about the latest procurement programs—which means that they’re maybe not really procurement programs. They’re at best, as Deborah James recently said with that awkward Washingtonian word, “pre-decisional.” As […]

Defense Industry Drones

Defense Industrialist

Aug 3, 2016

A Franco-Polish-German tank

By James Hasik

The Polish Defense Minister’s interest in a trilateral development program is sound in many dimensions. For Defense News today, Aaron Mehta, Pierre Tran and Jaroslaw Adamowski report how the Polish Army is edging closer to getting new tanks. During an interview back on July 22, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz told the reporters that his […]

Defense Industry Europe & Eurasia

Defense Industrialist

Aug 2, 2016

How soon is too soon for new weapons?

By James Hasik

Historical perspective should inform the aims of the Pentagon’s Third Offset strategy.  RAND has just released a public version of its study War with China: Thinking Through the Unthinkable (hat-tip to Council member Byron Callan for bringing that to my attention). For the Army, which sponsored and took in the report last year, authors David Gompert, Astrid Cevallos, […]

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

Defense Industrialist

Jul 28, 2016

Dry powder on stormy seas

By James Hasik

Several large contractors’ quarterly results may indicate a state change in their treatment of investable cash. For about fifteen years now, defense contractors have been reliably generating piles of cash. What to do with all that money? Assuredly, as I wrote in 2013, something with an incentive behind it—and that hasn’t meant investment. Back then, […]

Defense Industry Security & Defense

Defense Industrialist

Jul 24, 2016

Starting with the answer in procurement

By James Hasik

The USAF’s plans for new close support aircraft show an unusual willingness to move out quickly. Earlier this week, the Atlantic Council and other institutions around Washington were briefed on how the Air Force plans a two-phased approach to the recapitalization of its close air support (CAS) fleet. In the next two years, the USAF […]

Defense Industry Economy & Business

Defense Industrialist

Jul 20, 2016

Why not mobile ICBMs?

By James Hasik

Congressman Smith’s call for new thinking on nuclear weapons may actually require some fresh ideas. This week’s Republican National Convention has reminded me again that knowing your nuclear triad is important. Some of the malcontentedness after last month’s Brexit referendum is a reminder that the Scottish Nationalists don’t like nuclear weapons, triad or not. Earlier […]

Nuclear Deterrence United States and Canada

Defense Industrialist

Jul 14, 2016

An Arrow II for Canada?

By James Hasik

The RCAF’s divergent commitments to NORAD and NATO suggest that none of the fighters on offer are quite right for its needs. Canada’s Department of National Defence has had quite a time over the past two weeks at both the NATO Summit and the Farnborough Air Show. The DND is now preparing to deploy 450 […]

Defense Industry Security & Defense
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