http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA-U5DhtO1w&context=C3601f45ADOEgsToPDskJkRGqi-R-y6oOUEiknMM9z
News
Defense Week Ahead: Lobbyists Reveal Spending to Thwart Cuts
David Lerman
Bloomberg Government
January 17, 2012
(Bloomberg) — After a year consumed by talk of deep budget cuts, defense companies and their lobbying firms will disclose this week how much they spent trying to protect vulnerable weapons programs.
The fourth-quarter disclosure reports, due on Jan. 20, will tote up how much contractors spent lobbying to avert defense cuts as a congressional “supercommittee” tried — and failed – - to cut future spending by $1.2 trillion over a decade.
That failure triggered automatic cuts to most defense programs, which, when combined with already planned cuts, would reduce future spending plans by almost $1 trillion over the next decade unless Congress overturns the plan.
Need a subscription to read full article
Embraer Runs Into U.S. Defense Wall
By Nathan Hodge
The Wall Street Journal
January 10, 2012
Brazilian-based aircraft manufacturer Embraer SA won an important victory in late December, when the U.S. Air Force picked one of its planes to equip Afghanistan’s military.
But Embraer’s foothold in the U.S. defense market is now in question: rival Hawker Beechcraft Corp. is fighting in court to keep the Air Force from moving forward with the project. Defense analysts and observers say the legal tussle over the warplanes underscores how difficult it can be for foreign-based firms to crack the U.S. military market.
At stake is a contract worth $355 million to Embraer and its Nevada-based partner, lead contractor Sierra Nevada Corp., to deliver a fleet of 20 Embraer Super Tucano single-engine, turboprop planes that will fly training missions for Afghanistan’s nascent air force and attack insurgents on the ground.
Obama’s Defense Strategy May Benefit Northrop, Huntington
By Roxana Tiron and Tony Capaccio
Bloomberg Businessweek
January 9, 2012
Builders of naval vessels led by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. and makers of surveillance aircraft such as Northrop Grumman Corp. may benefit once President Barack Obama’s new military strategy is translated into dollars.
The strategy presented by Obama and military leaders at the Pentagon yesterday emphasizes “the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a news conference. Specifics won’t come until Obama presents his budget proposal next month, the first step in an effort to cut Pentagon spending by almost $490 billion through 2021.
The approach is likely to place a premium on naval power and drones, radar, tactical missiles and aircraft in order to thwart any effort by nations such as China or Iran to deny U.S. access to strategic regions including the South China Sea or the Persian Gulf, according to Jim McAleese of McAleese & Associates, a government-contracts consultant in Sterling, Virginia.
