Friday News Roundup – Memorial Day Edition

I'm going to do some advanced propulsion research this weekend...

It’s the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, which means you are probably reading this on Tuesday, but I don’t mind.  I’m going to the Indy 500 this weekend.  By the time you read this I will have had a fantastic weekend, and I won’t care that you took Friday off.  In the mean time, here’s a snapshot of what’s been going on this week:

• The Pentagon Gives Medical Research a Shot in the Arm [Danger Room]
• Navy: More Bummer for Pricey Boomer (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.) [Defense Tech]
• Congress Sticks it to the Obama Administration, Again [DoD Buzz]
• The Tanker Battle Just Gets More and More Interesting… [Defense News]
• Does Technology Actually Win Wars?  Maybe Not.  [Slate]
• Then again, Maybe so. [Slate]

Don’t forget to take a second over the weekend and quietly thank those who died so we could blissfully barbecue all around this great big country. They earned it.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

You’ve Got to be Kidding Me…

What do you think... Dual Use Item?

For anyone who has dealt with an International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) headache, you may wish to avert your eyes.  Seriously.

Apparently, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force decided to rip off the P-8 Poseidon before it’s even operational (think Soviet Space Shuttle) with this beautiful “new” surveillance aircraft, which is built on a… wait for it… Boeing 737-300 airframe! (Read the complete story here.)

Since the production line for the -300 series ended a long time ago, there isn’t likely anything that can be done about it from an enforcement standpoint, but still.  How bad does this look? (Hint: Pretty Bad.)  No wonder the Chinese looked at picking up the Hummer badge from GM last year.  The People’s Liberation Army must have been shopping for a new ride.

Big props to Stephen Trimble over at The DEW Line for picking this up.

Friday News Round Up

General James Cartwright: He's not pulling any punches

A fine selection of choice news bits for your Friday amusement:

• GEN Cartwright to Services:  Suck it up.  Ouch. [Defense Tech]
• Things on Capitol Hill are a little intrigue-y, and there’s a NW flavor to it. [Politico]
• Another STUAS Tier II rumour.  Yawn. [Flight Global]
• Remainders of FCS take it on the chin.  This is definitely beating a dead horse. [DoD Buzz]
• …because this will make the Tanker fight fairer. [US Senate]
• Congress is finding creative ways to get to a 300+ ship Navy [Defense News]
• F-35 flies, F-35 journalist grounded.  Hell hath no fury like a prime contractor scorned. [Wired Danger Room]

Have a lovely Northwest Weekend!

Big News for Tactical Gear Heads

It was announced yesterday that US Defense giant Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (ATK), has purchased Blackhawk; a Norfolk, VA based tactical gear manufacturer. For anybody that knows gear, Blackhawk has grown into a huge player. This is a pretty bold move on ATK’s part, and it will be interesting to see what the impact of the purchase means to the wider market. For those of you who aren’t kit freaks, Blackhawk has grown into a huge player since their founding in the mid 1990’s, and today enjoys extremely wide brand recognition.

Here’s the whole story:

http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2010/04/12/dai…

Have a great weekend…