Defense Watch

Defense Daily, July 7, 2008

The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense

Shelby: Need Tanker Now. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)--a backer of Northrop Grumman's embattled Air Force contract for aerial refueling tankers-- calls on Defense Secretary Robert Gates in a June 2 letter to quickly move forward with the tanker acquisition following the GAO's recommendation to recompete the contract between Northrop Grumman and Boeing. Shelby says the GAO's analysis does not reflect the merits of the Northrop Grumman plane's capabilities, and criticizes congressional

calls to outright award the contract to Boeing. "Parochial interests should not cloud the decision-making process of our defense acquisitions," the defense appropriator writes. "Acknowledging GAO's recommendation that a full re-competition is not warranted, I urge the Department to quickly move forward with an acquisition strategy that follows the established competitive process."

DDG Light My Way. Senate defense authorizer Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)- -who faces a close reelection battle in a state dependent on shipbuilding contracts for Bath Iron Works--continues to fight House authorizers' attempts to truncate the Navy's DDG-1000 destroyer program at the two ships already on contract. Collins and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) last week mailed another plea for continuing with the DDG-1000 to Senate defense appropriators, similar to one sent last month. The latest letter carries a bipartisan mix of seven co-signers with parochial interests in the destroyer effort: Sens. Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.), John Kerrry (D-Mass.), John Sununu (R-N.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla), and Mel. Martinez (R-Fla.).

... Collins' Opponent In On The Action. Collins's opponent, Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), is weighing in on the destroyer battle, lobbying his fellow congressmen as they prep for House-Senate negotiations, reports the Brunswick Times Record newspaper. Collins' lead in her reelection bid is fading, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports phone survey results announced June 16. Collins led Allen by 16 percentage points in April, but her advantage dipped in June to seven points--49 percent to 42 percent--dropping her below 50 percent for the first time, the survey showed. Rasmussen dubs her one of the Republican senators at risk this November.

... Other Hot Seats. Additional Rasmussen Reports survey results announced last month show several senators who control the Pentagon's purse strings in tenuous spots against challengers this fall. Rasmussen polls for the following incumbents reveal support below 50 percent--thus making them viewed as "vulnerable:" Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), ranking member on Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee (SAC-D); Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate minority leader and SAC-D member; John Cornyn (R-Texas), ranking member on the Senate Armed Service airland subcommittee; Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) member; and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a SAC member. Also, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) member appointed to the Senate, is "in a pure toss-up" with former Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove for his seat, Rasmussen reports June 26.

... Retiring. Of course, some powerful defense-money-linked senators are retiring: Sens. John Warner (R-Va.), the second-most ranking SASC member; Peter Domenici (R-N.M.), a SAC-D member; Larry Craig (R-Idaho), a SAC member; and Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), also a SAC member.

Eyes on Lithuania. As some in the Beltway eye Lithuania as an alternative spot to Poland for U.S. missile-defense interceptors, because of rocky negotiations with the Poles over putting a site there, the State Department is trying to quell speculation about the Baltic state. "There are no negotiations with any other country than Poland and the Czech Republic," Sean McCormack, spokesman for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, says July 2 after his boss met with Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas. Rice and Kirkilas "did talk a little bit about missile defense, just where we stand on the effort," McCormack says. He adds the United States will keep "open channels of communication" with NATO allies and Russia over missile defense, yet added: "When you're talking hardware, we're really only now talking to the Czech Republic as well as Poland." U.S. negotiations with the Czech Republic over a radar site there are in the latter stages.

ISR Boost. The Pentagon is rejiggering $145.5 million to fund the rapid acquisition of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft and equipment--an urgent warfighter need ID'd by the ISR Task Force Defense Secretary Robert Gates created in April. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England signed off on a $145.5 million internal reprogramming action on June 23, allowing the FY '08 monies to come out of the Iraq Freedom Fund. The money shift sends $102.8 million to defense-wide operations and maintenance to provide U.S. Special Operations Command with 12-month leases for ISR aircraft and supporting processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) capability. Another $42.7 million goes to defense-wide procurement of government-furnished equipment consisting of sensor suites, communications, payload integration, and PED workstations and computers.