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Virginia-class submarine
Since coming into office, the Obama Administration has been focused on making military procurement more efficient. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics has formulated a wide range of policies and initiatives designed to streamline the acquisition process and rein
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Date:
9/12/2011
The Navy's long-range plan for its undersea warfare fleet is overdue for an update. The current plan contains major gaps that could leave the undersea fleet unable to maintain an adequate level of forward presence or cope with emerging adversaries such as China. First, the service has failed to
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Date:
7/14/2011
On July 6 the Center for American Progress (CAP) issued a policy paper entitled "Sensible Defense Cuts" that provided recommendations for saving $400 billion in defense spending through 2015. Some of the recommendations really are sensible, and the authors clearly are correct in their view that
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Date:
7/8/2011
The Pakistani military has been detaining locals who may have helped the CIA monitor activities around Osama bin Laden's compound. The move isn't likely to improve relations with Washington, but it's understandable in light of how the raid that killed bin Laden unfolded. Pakistan's military leaders
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Date:
6/16/2011
One of the favorite sayings in the news business is “if it bleeds it leads.” That is why car wrecks, natural disasters and government crises are always front page news. Good news stories are relegated to the inside pages or the second half of the news programs.
The same phenomenon is true regarding
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Date:
4/12/2011
In the world of federal contracting, success seldom goes unpunished. Take the Virginia-class attack submarine, currently the U.S. Navy's only undersea-warship construction program. Since the program began in the 1990s, prime contractors General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman have gradually cut
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Date:
3/11/2011
Yesterday I had the honor of testifying before the Seapower & Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee concerning Navy shipbuilding plans. My prepared remarks are below. In general, I agreed with Navy plans for submarines, carriers and surface combatants while
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Date:
1/21/2010
Here's a paradox from the world of naval shipbuilding. The Navy's need to begin development of a new ballistic-missile submarine in 2012 virtually guarantees that the Virginia-class attack sub will stay in production through 2025 -- even though Virginia has been disqualified as a candidate for
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Date:
1/8/2010


