A very short summary:
Special Ops, drones, and cybersecurity. Out of Iraq, but not the Middle East. No more "prolonged" stability operations. Instead, “tailored capabilities appropriate for counter-terrorism and irregular warfare.” One war at a time. Expect veterans -- especially Soldiers and Marines -- to get shafted on pay & benefits.
Meanwhile, oil could jump to $210 as the "Great Prophet" moves into the Straight of Hormuz.
]]>If this overhead burden prevents $80 billion worth of waste, fraud or abuse annually, it would at a minimum be a wash. But there is no evidence of this. In fact, there appears to be an inverse relationship between the growth in regulations and oversight and problems with acquisition programs and DoD contracting. There has been no reduction in cost overruns, performance snafus, Nunn-McCurdy breaches and procurement/contracting scandals over the past 20 years. Acquisition programs now take two, three and even four times as long to reach fruition as they did in the era before all the regulations were imposed. What are the costs associated with stretching out programs? I bet it is a lot more than any savings that might have been realized through tighter controls over the acquisition process. It is fair to conclude that DoD is suffering from both a surfeit of regulations and continuing problems of waste, fraud and abuse.
Cheer! Too bad no one will listen.
]]>"Every year since 1996, the Army has spent more than $1 billion annually on programs that were ultimately cancelled. Since 2004, including FCS, $3.3B to $3.8B, or 35% to 42%, per year of Army DT&E funding has been lost to cancelled programs. The Army cannot afford to continue losing funds in this manner."
(via Battleland)
]]>The six Republicans and six Democrats represent states where the biggest military contractors — Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co. and Boeing Co. — build missiles, aircraft, jet fighters and tanks while employing tens of thousands of workers.
but still:
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, Osama bin Laden is dead, and the federal government is deeply in debt. This spells the end of what was a golden decade for the defense industry.
What's the truth? Frankly, the defense market is likely overreacting just as much as the rest of the market. The initial announced cuts of $350B will almost entirely come from planned, gradual troop reductions in Iraq and Afghanistan. More cuts could happen without destroying the cash-rich defense giants at the top of the league tables. Cut the (still highly notional) Ground Combat Vehicle ($1.3B). The JLTV. Sell the deployed MRAP fleets. Cut one tactical platform each from the Navy and Air Force. Overhaul the military's broken retirement pay system. Make Lockheed and Boeing pay for overruns on the F35 and KC-X (I think this is a done deal, actually). Billions. Very little of that will cut deeply into the multi-year backlogs of major defense contractors -- and there will still be plenty of funding for counterterrorism, unmanned systems, cybersecurity, improved soldier systems, TTL, biodefense... and other new technologies that can be fielded fast and can make a real difference in DoD's mission.
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