It is now four years since the defense department decided it didn't need to develop two different engines for its single-engine F-35 fighter, and stopped requesting money for the second engine. Since that time, the United Technologies engine that it decided to stick with

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Features

Gates Struggling To Prevent Defense Cuts By Congress

Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D.

8/10/2010

Issue Brief

History will remember Robert Gates as the defense secretary who averted U.S. military defeat in Iraq. Right now, though, he is struggling to prevent a different kind of military setback: congressional

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The Defense Industry's Summer Of Discontent

Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D.

8/4/2010

Issue Brief

Last week, the top executives of the U.S. defense industry met with defense secretary Robert Gates and his key subordinates to discuss Pentagon plans for reducing the cost of doing business. Gates told

. . . Read more.

Pentagon Efficiency Drive Neglects Its Best Tool

Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D.

7/20/2010

Issue Brief

Defense department acquisition chief Ashton Carter has begun an efficiency initiative aimed at reducing overhead costs by $100 billion during the 2012-2016 period. Carter notes that most of the Pentagon's

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Defense Articles

9/1/2010	Gates Is Right: An Extra Engine For F-35 Wastes Money Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It is now four years since the defense department decided it didn't need to develop two different engines for its single-engine F-35 fighter, and stopped requesting money for the second engine. Since . . . Read more.
8/10/2010	Gates Struggling To Prevent Defense Cuts By Congress Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief History will remember Robert Gates as the defense secretary who averted U.S. military defeat in Iraq. Right now, though, he is struggling to prevent a different kind of military setback: congressional . . . Read more.
8/4/2010	The Defense Industry's Summer Of Discontent Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Last week, the top executives of the U.S. defense industry met with defense secretary Robert Gates and his key subordinates to discuss Pentagon plans for reducing the cost of doing business. Gates told . . . Read more.
7/20/2010	Pentagon Efficiency Drive Neglects Its Best Tool Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Defense department acquisition chief Ashton Carter has begun an efficiency initiative aimed at reducing overhead costs by $100 billion during the 2012-2016 period. Carter notes that most of the Pentagon's . . . Read more.
7/13/2010	EFV Debate Is Really About The Future Of The Marine Corps Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Inside the Navy, a defense newsletter, reported last week that Pentagon policymakers have decided to take the advice of the Government Accountability Office and review whether the business case . . . Read more.
6/28/2010	Tanker Deadline Arrives With Key Concern Unresolved Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Sometime in the next two weeks, the Boeing Company and European aerospace giant EADS must submit their proposals for the next round of competition in the Air Force tanker solicitation. The deadline is . . . Read more.
6/22/2010	Changing Defense Budget Environment Drives Shift In Company Strategies Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Remarks to the BB&T Capital Markets Defense Teleconference The defense business isn't like other sectors of the U.S. economy. There is only one customer that matters -- the federal government -- and that customer's behavior often diverges from what we would . . . Read more.
6/14/2010	Pentagon Insourcing Undercuts Search For Savings Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates has delivered a series of speeches this year stressing the need to eliminate unnecessary military spending. Gates claims to have slashed future weapons spending by . . . Read more.
6/8/2010	White House Export Goals Require More Weapons Sales Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief On March 11, President Obama signed an executive order establishing a "national export initiative." The order implements his commitment in the State of the Union address to double U.S. exports over the . . . Read more.
6/2/2010	Boeing 737 Emerging As Centerpiece Of Future Joint Fleet Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The U.S. Navy is conducting a highly successful effort to replace its aging fleet of maritime patrol planes with a military version of the Boeing 737 passenger jet. The planes will perform anti-surface . . . Read more.
5/25/2010	Buying Second Engine For F-35 Wastes Money, Hurts Military Lawrence Korb, Center for American Progress, and Loren Thompson, Lexington Institute Issue Brief The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is being developed to replace most of the Cold War tactical aircraft operated by three U.S. military services and nine allies. The success of the program depends on holding . . . Read more.
5/19/2010	Back To The Future -- The Perils Of Insourcing Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Executive Summary Faced with the need to control the costs and improve the performance of its logistics and sustainment system, the Department of Defense has pursued a deliberate strategy of integrating better the private . . . Read more.
5/19/2010	Why Defense Demand Will Weaken -- And How Military Contractors Can Cope Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Remarks to the Price Waterhouse Coopers Executive Roundtable Price Waterhouse Coopers has asked me to speak for the next hour about the defense outlook, which I have interpreted to mean the business outlook for U.S. military contractors over the next few years. . . . Read more.
5/10/2010	Austerity Week Ends At The Pentagon Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The only people celebrating at the Pentagon last week were the Mexicans working on renovating the building. Wednesday was Cinco de Mayo, a holiday for honoring Mexican history and culture. But our notoriously . . . Read more.
5/5/2010	Gates Signals Tough Budget Season For Sea Services Loren B. Thompson Issue Brief It says a lot about the parlous state of federal finances that defense secretary Robert Gates thinks the Navy can't afford to keep buying the kinds of warships that currently populate its fleet. The . . . Read more.
4/27/2010	Cyber Remedies Likely To Limit Liberties Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief We certainly have come a long way since the first computer virus was created in Lahore, Pakistan in 1986. Today, some experts believe that a majority of all new software releases around the world involve . . . Read more.
4/21/2010	EADS Returns To The Tanker Race -- With Pentagon Help Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Company (EADS) is back in the race to supply the Air Force with a next-generation aerial refueling tanker, announcing on April 20 that it would once again bid . . . Read more.
4/13/2010	The F-35 Will Cost About What An F-16 Costs Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief With the best of intentions, Congress and the Obama Administration have implemented a series of acquisition-reform measures that are making the problem worse. Efforts to clarify the cost of programs . . . Read more.
4/5/2010	Northrop Backed Into Shipbuilding, And It Can Back Out Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief A recent story in Defense News by respected naval analyst Christopher Cavas has investors speculating about the future of Northrop Grumman's Avondale shipyard near New Orleans. The yard faces . . . Read more.
3/29/2010	"V" For Versatility: Osprey Reaches For New Missions Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief After a long wait, the joint force is growing accustomed to using the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor in operational missions. However, it will probably take a good deal longer before Osprey missions become routine, . . . Read more.
3/22/2010	F-35 Cost Rise Is Speculative, But Progress Is Real Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Last week brought both good news and bad news for the F-35 joint strike fighter, the biggest weapons program currently being funded by the Pentagon. On the plus side, the Marine version of the plane . . . Read more.
3/17/2010	Study: European Aircraft Subsidies Have Harmed America Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Lexington Institute today is releasing a study of European commercial-aircraft subsidies that documents the severe damage they have done to the U.S. aviation industry, and calls on the federal government . . . Read more.
3/12/2010	Countering The Asymmetric Threat From Sea Mines Executive Summary Sea mines have long posed a threat to the operations of U.S. sea-based forces. Since World War II, sea mines have damaged four times the number of U.S. naval vessels as all other means combined. The . . . Read more.
3/8/2010	Bottom Line On The Alternate Engine: A Waste Of Money Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Three U.S. military services are developing the F-35 joint strike fighter to replace their aging cold war aircraft and those of allies. The program is performing well in tests, but the key to its success . . . Read more.
3/1/2010	Search And Rescue: Another Blow To U.S. Air Power? Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The U.S. Air Force is at the lowest ebb in its 63-year history. Although its capabilities still far surpass those of other air services around the world, it is gradually using up the arsenal it acquired . . . Read more.
2/22/2010	Is America Entering A Period Of Political Instability? Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Remember the optimism with which Americans greeted the new millennium? Everything seemed to be going our way: the U.S. economy was nearly a third of global output, household net worth was rising fast . . . Read more.
2/16/2010	Americans In Space: The Final Act Begins Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It is now nearly a quarter century since the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded, handing America's manned space flight program its first big setback after a long string of successes. The years since then . . . Read more.
2/8/2010	Defense Industrial Base: Second Sources Not Affordable Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review has produced the most competent, coherent report ever generated in the history of that much-maligned process. It is not a sweeping vision of military transformation, . . . Read more.
2/1/2010	Tanker Contest Headed For Sole-Source Award Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Senior executives at Northrop Grumman have made a tentative decision not to bid in the Air Force's pending re-competition of its KC-X aerial-refueling tanker. Only a year ago, Northrop looked like the . . . Read more.
1/25/2010	GD Acquires Crucial Tactical Intelligence Tool Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief On January 8, General Dynamics acquired a little-known product from a Virginia-based tech company that could prove to be one of the most valuable tactical intelligence tools the U.S. Army possesses. . . . Read more.
1/20/2010	The Three Biggest Challenges Facing Naval Shipbuilding Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief You could say that the three biggest challenges facing the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding program are money, money, and money. The service has a clear vision of how to construct a networked, flexible fleet . . . Read more.
1/11/2010	Why QDR Can't Be What Conservatives Want It To Be Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Heritage Foundation's first security backgrounder of the new year says the Quadrennial Defense Review process is broken: "Instead of establishing a road map for defense programs for the next 20 years, . . . Read more.
1/4/2010	Each Big Defense Company Faces A Key Challenge In 2010 Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Obama Administration's fiscal 2011 defense request will exceed $700 billion. With $547 billion likely to be sought for regular defense spending and another $163 billion for overseas contingencies, . . . Read more.
12/14/2009	Defense Acquisition Reform Conference -12-1-09 . . . Read more.
12/14/2009	Budget Moves Buoy Defense Industry Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It has been an unsettling year for defense contractors. While industry profitability continues to ride the crest of record post-cold-war military spending, the Obama Administration has sent numerous . . . Read more.
12/8/2009	The Cyber Goldrush Begins Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief When Chinese agents penetrated the computers of the Obama campaign during the recent election season and stole many sensitive files, they pretty much guaranteed that the nation's next president would . . . Read more.
11/30/2009	FOUR REASONS FOR CONFIDENCE IN THE F-35 Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief If you don't follow the defense business closely, then you can be excused for believing that the F-35 joint strike fighter is in trouble. The $300 billion program to develop a stealthy, multirole tactical . . . Read more.
11/17/2009	Defense Acquisition Reform Conference - 12.1.09 The Lexington Institute is organizing a Capitol Hill panel on defense acquisition reform on December 1, 2009. Confirmed speakers to date are: • Mr. David Berteau, Senior Advisor, Center for . . . Read more.
11/17/2009	Alternate Engine Problems Prove Critics Were Right Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief After ten months of testing, the alternate engine that General Electric and Rolls Royce are building for the F-35 joint strike fighter has managed to run for a grand total of 52 hours, during which time . . . Read more.
11/11/2009	THANK OUR WWII HEROES WHILE WE CAN James A. Courter The Star-Ledger (NJ) Today marks the 90th anniversary of Veterans Day in America, and I would like to encourage all New Jersey residents to seek out and thank military veterans for their service to our country, especially . . . Read more.
11/9/2009	Tanker Wars: Why Boeing Thinks Subsidies Matter Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Air Force's plan to conduct an expeditious re-competition of its future tanker program has run into trouble. An initial award was overturned when the Government Accountability Office found major . . . Read more.
11/2/2009	Tanker Wars: Why Northrop Grumman Thinks It Can't Win Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Last week, one of the two teams competing to provide the Air Force's future aerial-refueling tanker launched an unusual campaign to overturn the service's strategy for buying the plane. Northrop Grumman . . . Read more.
10/27/2009	The Army Needs To Ensure Continuity Of Operations At The Radford Ammo Plant Daniel Goure, Ph.D. Issue Brief The Army is in the process of recompeting the contract for a private company to operate and maintain what is the foundation of its ammunition supply chain, the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RFAAP) in . . . Read more.
10/26/2009	Army WIN-T Must Keep Evolving To Meet Warfighter Needs Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief When the U.S. Army marched off to war earlier in this decade, it took with it communications gear that was woefully inadequate for the demands of irregular warfare. Battlefield communications systems . . . Read more.
10/19/2009	The Age Of Robotic Combat Systems Has Not Arrived Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Ever since Czech playwright Karel Capek introduced the concept of mechanical men in his 1921 drama, Rossum's Universal Robots, prophets have been predicting the imminent arrival of machines that . . . Read more.
10/13/2009	Osprey Belongs In The Combat Search And Rescue Mix Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Few military missions are more dangerous than combat search and rescue (CSAR). Warfighters and noncombatants stranded in remote locations must be found and retrieved, often while enemies are doing their . . . Read more.
10/7/2009	Democrat Views Of Defense Industry Are Self-Defeating Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief It is now 20 years since the Soviet Union began breaking up, removing the threat to American survival that spawned the modern defense industry. Industry fortunes have oscillated wildly in the post-communist . . . Read more.
10/2/2009	Strategic Surprise and Tactical Warning: A Personal View Merrick “Mac” Carey Presentation to the Gyro Club Denver Athletic Club Thank you for inviting me here today and making such good arrangements for my visit. I am always happy to be in Denver, where I have lots of family and friends and have spent a great deal of time since . . . Read more.
10/1/2009	Why Ten More C-17s Are Important To America Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief Debate is raging on Capitol Hill about whether to buy ten more C-17 military airlifters. It’s astonishing, given that the C-17 is perfect for “the wars we are in” as the Pentagon likes to say. Right . . . Read more.
9/28/2009	Politics Will Decide The Outcome Of The Tanker Competition Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief The first thing to understand about the Air Force plan to buy a new aerial-refueling tanker is that it is just a tanker. A flying gas station. Either of the planes being proposed for the mission . . . Read more.
9/22/2009	The All-Volunteer Force Is Becoming Unaffordable Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently cited an estimate that the United States accounts for nearly half of all global military spending. What he didn't mention was that since the current decade . . . Read more.
9/17/2009	Details Of Army Truck Award Reveal Numerous Errors Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief On August 28, the U.S. Army's Tank, Automotive & Armaments Command awarded a $4 billion contract to the Oshkosh Corporation to build 23,000 medium-size trucks. The award was an upset win for Oshkosh, . . . Read more.
9/10/2009	New Global Hawk Undercuts Insurgent Advantages Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief If you are a paid Taliban operative or an Iraqi insurgent you may think you know how to slip through the mountains or skulk in the desert without U.S. forces noticing. Guess again. There’s a little . . . Read more.
9/8/2009	Gates Signals F-35 Fighter Will Be Administration Priority Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief Defense secretary Robert Gates has finally found a weapons system he likes. After canceling or cutting back over a dozen major programs in April -- and setting the stage for additional cuts in the fiscal . . . Read more.
9/3/2009	Failure To Use Radar Planes Against Taliban Is Foolish Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Issue Brief U.S. commanders in Afghanistan are reporting worrisome advances in the battlefield performance of Taliban insurgents. Enemy discipline and morale seem to be improving, encouraged no doubt by the inability . . . Read more.

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