Military

July 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – A retired U.S. military official pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy charges relating to Department of Defense (DOD) contracts in Afghanistan, the Department of Justice announced today.    » read more »

Raytheon awarded $154.8 million Phalanx weapon system overhaul and conversion contract

CALGARY, Alberta, June 23, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $154.8 million contract from the Canadian Navy to conduct 30 sets of overhauls and convert 21 Phalanx close-in weapon systems.

The contract calls for Raytheon to convert the Phalanx Block 1B Baseline 0 to a Baseline 1 configuration and to provide repair services and spares, as well as additional engineering and technical support. The work will be performed at Raytheon Canada Limited Support Services in Calgary, Alberta.    » read more »

MESA, Ariz., June 23, 2009 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that the AH-64D Apache Block III prototype helicopter successfully demonstrated Level IV unmanned aircraft system (UAS) connectivity on June 8 during a flight test over the Arizona desert.    » read more »

INDIANAPOLIS, June 22, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and Ultra Electronics Precision Air Systems have teamed to pursue the BRU-69/A Multi-Purpose Bomb Rack (MPBR) program for the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Systems Command.

MPBR is a twin-store, non-pyrotechnic carriage system that will replace several legacy bomb racks currently deployed on the F/A-18 E/F. Advanced on-board avionics will ensure that MPBR is compatible with current and future "smart weapons." Use of a common, non-pyrotechnic bomb rack will provide substantial life-cycle cost savings.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today sent a letter to Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn asking for an update on and an estimated timeline on completing investigations into the electrocution death of Staff Sergeant Ryan Maseth in Iraq in January 2008. Senator Casey’s letter was prompted by concerns over the slow pace of the inquiries from Staff Sergeant Maseth’s mother, Cheryl Harris.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – After last week’s victory to reverse the President’s decision to eliminate the C-17, U.S. Senator Kit Bond today renewed efforts to increase funding for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

“Underfunding the Super Hornet gambles with our ability to project U.S. power from aircraft carriers, damages our security in the long run by eroding our competitive domestic industrial base, and puts more than 110,000 American jobs at risk,” said Bond. “I’m not willing to make this risky bet which is why I’ve joined with Senator Kennedy to restore funding for this critical program.”    » read more »

Secretary Donovan Elected New Chair of the Council; HUD and VA announce $75 million for HUD-VASH program to provide rental housing and support for homeless veterans

June 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) met today for the first time under the Obama Administration. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki chaired the meeting, at which U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was elected rotating Chair for the upcoming year and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was elected Vice Chair. U.

S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, attended the meeting.    » read more »

June 18, 2009 -- (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter today issued the following statement applauding the Air Force’s final selection of Barksdale Air Force as the home of the new Global Strike Command.

“This is certainly great news for Barksdale Air Force Base and for Northwest Louisiana in particular. I have been meeting throughout the year with Air Force officials to encourage them to come to the right decision on Barksdale. As recently as June 3, I asked them to move ahead with their final announcement and they followed through and delivered this great news a little more than two weeks later.    » read more »

Vehicles Engineered For The Tough Terrain Of Afghanistan

WASHINGTON -- June 18 – The U.S. Senate late Thursday passed and now will send to the President a funding bill that reflects a push by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to boost development of tougher and more agile armored vehicles and other equipment needed by U.S. troops in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan.    » read more »

Provision Now Goes to President; Would Provide Payments to Service Members Held Beyond Enlistment Between 2001-2008

June 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate yesterday approved a spending bill which includes $534.4 million to pay retroactive bonuses for troops affected by “stop loss,” a policy which involuntarily extends military service beyond an enlistment contract, between 2001 and 2008.

The funding for the retroactive bonuses was included in the Fiscal Year 2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act, which a key conference committee Lautenberg served on passed last week and the House of Representatives passed earlier his week. The bill will now be sent to President Obama for his signature.    » read more »

Jun 18, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal released the following statement on the U.S. Air Force’s announcement that Barksdale Air Force Base (BAFB) will definitely be the permanent location for the new Air Force Global Strike Command.

“We received great news today that the environmental impact assessment has been successfully completed. There are no more hurdles for BAFB and now Global Strike Command will be activated in short order. Indeed, today’s news marks the final step towards a significant economic boost for Northwest Louisiana.    » read more »

PARIS, June 18, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) delivered its first Miniature Air Launched Decoy initial operational test and evaluation unit to the U.S. Air Force.

During IOT&E, the U.S. Air Force will conduct numerous flight tests on the MALD™ to evaluate the system in operationally realistic and demanding scenarios.

MALD is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 575 statute miles). MALD protects aircrews and their aircraft by duplicating the combat flight profiles and signatures of U.S. and allied aircraft.    » read more »

Text Of A Letter From The President To The Speaker Of The House Of Representatives And The President Pro Tempore Of The Senate

June 16, 2009 -- Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

I am providing this supplemental consolidated report, prepared by my Administration and consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148), as part of my efforts to keep the Congress informed about global deployments of U.S. Armed Forces equipped for combat. This supplemental report covers ongoing U.S. contingency operations overseas.    » read more »

Yesterday, Lockheed Announced Plans To Cut Up To 750 Jobs In New York

June 17, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - In the wake of yesterday's announcement that Lockheed Martin Corp. plans to cut up to 750 jobs in New York, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today called for sustained funding for the Increment One phase of the Marine One program.

The presidential helicopter program has already produced nine aircraft that are in varying stages of test or integration. In addition, according to current Navy estimates, the cost of a new Marine One program could be as high as $17 billion, not including the cost of extending the life of the current fleet, essentially putting the estimated cost exactly where the current project stands.    » read more »

PARIS, June 17, 2009 – The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] will dedicate funding to further development of the F-15 Silent Eagle program, with the goal of a flight demonstration in the third quarter of 2010. The announcement came at the Paris Air Show following meetings with potential customers and reaffirmed a commitment to the prototype program made by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems President and CEO Jim Albaugh at the air show on June 14.    » read more »