Washington pulse

February 2008

By Sandra I. Erwin, Grace V. Jean & Breanne Wagner

Army, Air Force UAV Spat Far From Over

The bureaucratic brawl that began last year at the Pentagon over the control of unmanned aircraft programs is not about to be settled any time soon. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England directed the Air Force and the Army to merge their Predator and Sky Warrior programs, which share common features and are made by the same manufacturer. But the services seem far from reaching a compromise. A review panel chaired by the Pentagon’s top acquisition executive, John Young, is scheduled for this spring. In the meantime, the two programs will continue on their separate ways.

Asked to provide an update on the issue, Dyke Weatherington, deputy director of the Pentagon’s unmanned aerial systems task force, said things are still in flux. “We’re attempting to better synergize and coordinate those development and procurement activities,” said Weatherington.

Pentagon Cracking Down On Technology Leakers

The crackdown on unauthorized transfers of U.S. military technology is gaining strength, and it will continue to intensify, warns the Defense Department inspector general in its latest semiannual report to Congress.

The “technology protection program” has become the fastest growing arm of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the IG says. Investigations under this program involve the transfer of weapons technology and other sensitive information to foreign organizations or governments without proper State Department export licenses. Last year, DCIS probed illegal exports of missile technology, military night vision data, fighter jet components and helicopter technical data.

Army Not Ready to Surrender Heavy Chopper

Helicopter manufacturers have patiently been waiting for two decades for the Army to make up its mind on whether and when it will build a new heavy-lift chopper. This big-ticket acquisition — estimated to cost as much as $85 billion for 500 aircraft — may finally be showing signs of life.

The Army has budgeted more than $20 million over the next two years to begin designing a new heavy-lift helicopter, said Paul Bogosian, Army program executive officer for aviation. But officials acknowledge that the project will not go far unless the Air Force agrees to participate. The new chopper potentially could replace the Army’s Chinook and also supplement the Air Force’s C-130 fleet. “We’re waiting to see when the stars align to allow us to take the next step,” Bogosian told an industry conference.

The Congressional Budget Office calculated that development costs for the “joint heavy lift” aircraft will be about $14 billion over a period of 17 years. To produce 500 aircraft at a rate of 32 per year, the price tag would average about $170 million per aircraft.

We Told You So: Warships Ain’t Corporations

Navy leaders finally have acknowledged that military commanders should not be expected to think and operate like business executives.

As a result of a drastic post-Cold War downsizing in the Navy, the service began to send officers to the nation’s top business schools, hoping that by learning how major corporations are administered, they could figure out how to run the Navy more efficiently and save money. The truth is that commanders at sea don’t want to be business people, says Vice Adm. Terrance T. Etnyre, commander of naval surface forces. So the Navy decided to follow a different path and created a “surface warfare enterprise” that oversees the business side of the fleet, and leaves fleet commanders free to do what they do best.

Please email your comments to SErwin@ndia.org

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