SEATTLE, 10 Feb. 2012. The Boeing Company in Seattle revealed a team of suppliers that will provide key components for the U.S. Air Force's KC-46A tanker. The aircraft manufacturer won a U.S. Air Force contract valued at more than $30 billion last year.

SIDNEY, N.Y., 9 Feb. 2012. Amphenol Aerospace, a provider of interconnect systems, has unveiled a series of rugged, micro-miniature connectors designed to maximize size, weight, and power (SWaP) in high-reliability, harsh environments, as well as to deliver power throughput and consistent coupling by incorporating more electrical connections in a compact form factor. The company’s new 2M Series are available in shell sizes from 5 to 23, weigh 72 percent less and is 52 percent smaller than standard MIL-DTL-38999 connectors, and are intermateable and intermountable with existing micro-miniature, high-density connectors typically used in aerospace and defense applications.

NEW YORK, 9 Feb. 2012. PwC analysts—having released “Mission Control,” a quarterly analysis of activity in the global mil/aero sector—anticipate that a high production rate ramp-up may be needed across much of the aerospace and defense sector in 2012 and beyond. “Managing risk in the supply chain will likely become more important in commercial aerospace where the industry operating model has pushed much of the design and manufacturing work to suppliers, often in the form of risk sharing partnerships,” says a PwC spokesperson.

NEW YORK, 8 Feb. 2012. Global aerospace and defense merger and acquisition value reached a record level in 2011--$43.7 billion in 341 deals--according to PwC U.S analysts in “Mission Control,” its quarterly analysis of activity in the global mil/aero sector. The 2011 figure surpasses the total deal value of $21.9 billion and 332 deals in 2010, as well as the previous record of $42 billion in 2007.

HOLON, Israel, 8 Feb. 2012. Innocon's MicroFalcon miniature unmanned aerial system (UAS) has completed flight tests in extreme weather conditions, a snowstorm in cold temperatures (-15 degrees Celsius) and 35-knot wind velocity. Innocon's lightest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) provides intelligence and surveillance information for defense and homeland security applications, including military over-the-hill missions. It features boxed-type wings with a belly-mounted payload, which contributes to high survivability and a fast redeployment time cycle. 

SPECIAL REPORT, 7 Feb. 2011. Despite budget cutbacks and a lack of support, U.S. military officials have pushed through upgrades and technology insertion for the nation's land- and sea-based atomic missiles, as well as for the nuclear arsenal's multi-layer command-and-control systems.

BOHEMIA, N.Y., 7 Feb. 2012. Data Device Corp. (DDC) in Bohemia, N.Y., is introducing the BU-67401L low-power dual MIL-STD-1553 transceiver for avionics and other military networking and communications applications. the device measures 7 by 7 millimeters. The BU-67401L transceiver offers options for MIL-STD-1553A/B, MIL-STD-1760, and McAir compatibility to fit a wide range of ground and aerospace applications from mission computers and displays to ground vehicles and commercial aircraft.

WASHINGTON, 7 Feb. 2012. U.S. Air Force officials look to cut 280 aircraft and 9,900 airmen under guidance from U.S. Department of Defense officials and their defense budget priorities and choices for fiscal year 2013. In a question-and-answer session, Air Force officials—including Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz--reveal that all 50 U.S. states will be affected by the suggested cuts.

WASHINGTON, 7 Feb. 2012. Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley held a briefing at the Pentagon to outline U.S. Air Force priorities and choices in response to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) strategic guidance, as well as the Air Force's pieces of the Budget Control Act. “Air Force Priorities for a New Strategy with Constrained Budgets,” the organization’s fiscal 2013 budget submission, identifies for elimination more than 280 aircraft over the next five years.  

AVIONICS INTELLIGENCE REPORT, 7 Feb. 2012. U.S. Air Force officials outlined—in a briefing and associated white paper, titled “Air Force Priorities for a New Strategy with Constrained Budgets”—the organization’s fiscal 2013 budget submission. The submission identifies for elimination more than 280 aircraft over the next five years; included are 123 fighters (102 A‐10s and 21 older F‐16s), 133 mobility aircraft (27 C‐5As, 65 C‐130s, 20 KC‐135s, and 21 C‐27s), and 30 select ISR systems (18 RQ‐4 Block 30s, 11 RC‐26s, and one E‐8 damaged beyond repair). 

WASHINGTON, 6 Feb. 2012. Retired Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett, Jr., president of the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), anticipates the Air National Guard to bear the brunt of anticipated U.S. Air Force budget cuts. In a statement, Gen. Hargett admits, "We still only know a few details of the Air Force's fiscal 2013 budget request. Nevertheless, this much is painfully apparent: the Air Force's definition of 'balanced' cuts tilts heavily against the nation's most experienced and cost-effective flying units. Despite claims last week that reductions to Air Force aircraft and personnel would be 'balanced' across the active component, the National Guard and the Reserves, the Air National Guard is apparently taking the bulk of the cuts.”

WASHINGTON, 4 Feb. 2012. U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials are holding the organization’s first town hall event on Twitter. The event--scheduled for Mon., 6 Feb. 2012--includes George Little (@PentagonPresSec), Pentagon press secretary and spokesman for U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

NASHUA, N.H., 3 Feb. 2012. U.S. Army officials have named BAE Systems in Nashua, N.H., and Northrop Grumman Corp. in Manassas, Va., as the contractors, under a 21-month technology demonstration award valued at $38 million, to develop the next-generation Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) solution. U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine rotary-wing aircraft will employ the lightweight, directed infrared countermeasure system.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio, 3 Feb. 2012. Aircraft manufacturers at the Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) Defense, Space & Security segment in Long Beach, Calif., will build 10 C-17 Globemaster III military cargo jets for the Indian Air Force in New Delhi, India, under terms of a $1.8 billion contract modification announced Thursday from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The aircraft sale is part of the Foreign Military Sales program.

TEMPE, Ariz., 2 Feb. 2012. GE Aviation and StandardAero have opened a $50 million aircraft engine testing, research, and development center (TRDC), capping off a 12-month developmental partnership launched in Feb. 2011. The new centre will perform icing certification testing on GE jet engines, as well as develop advanced testing methodologies and equipment for GE Aviation commercial and military aircraft engines. The 122,500 square-foot facility is located at the James A. Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

SAN FRANCISCO, 1 Feb. 2012. A news story about the FACE Consortium’s debut of the long-anticipated FACE technical standard inadvertently omitted three of principal members: GE Aviation Systems, Textron Systems, and BAE Systems.

IRVINE, Calif., 1 Feb. 2012. The United States Air Force has, for its Quantum Enterprise Buy (QEB) program, selected the Getac B300 rugged notebook computer from Getac, maker of rugged computers for field-based applications, and NCS Technologies, a manufacturer of mission-specific computers and some Getac products under a licensing agreement.

REDONDO BEACH, Callif., 1 Feb. 2012. Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) has released a statement related to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) report, “Defense Budget Priorities and Choices,” which calls for the termination of  the Global Hawk Block 30 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program.

WASHINGTON, 1 Feb. 2012. Defense budget cuts are looming large, with U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials unveiling their “Defense Budget Priorities and Choices” report for 2012. The budget recommendations, as presented by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, include the termination of the Global Hawk Block 30 program, which directly affects prime contractor Northrop Grumman and its team of industry subcontractors. Northrop Grumman