BATTLESPACE BOOK CLUB
18 Sep 08. Strategic Survey 2008: Publication. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published its annual review of world affairs, Strategic Survey 2008, on 18 Sep 08. The Survey assesses global developments over the year to mid-2008 and also includes essays covering intelligence reform in the UK and in the US. A chronology of key events and a 20-page map section are included.
Comment: A copy of the Survey’s Executive Summary is available to subscribers, on request. Individual copies of the book cost £46:00. Additional publication details are available on the IISS website (www.iiss.org). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0837, 22 Sep 08)
02 Sep 08. Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Projects: Report. The Public Accounts Committee published (2 Sep 08) a Report on Making Changes in Operational PFI Projects, which follows on from a National Audit Office report on the same topic. The Report is published with a record of the evidence given by senior HM Treasury officials and others on 6 Feb 08.
Comment: While there is little in the Report which is of value to the Defence community, the sums involved are prodigious. There are now over 500 operational PFI projects with a combined capital value of £57,000m and future payments amounting to £181,000m. During 2006, £180m was spent on changes to three contracts. The Report is published as HC332, for £8:50. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 0837, 22 Sep 08)
Sep 08. The World Military Connector Market. Publication date: 9/1/2007. Bishop and Associates, BIS001 (M-990-07). Bishop and Associates has just released a new 13 chapter research report covering The World Military Connector Market. This report It is an extensive and comprehensive analysis of the current state and future of U.S. military and the applications that drive connector consumption. This new report is designed to help those involved in the military connector business to understand the new direction of the U.S. military and its sub-segments, and to analyze trends and forecasts. The report identifies subsystems poised for high growth and also benchmarks connector market size by category and type for 2005 and 2006, including five-year CAGRs projections to 2011. With a military budget that is approximately equal to the sum of all the rest on the nations in the world, the U.S. is by far the largest single market for military connectors. However, the fastest growing defense budget is that of China. With economic growth bolstering the overall economy, China is busy adding to its military capabilities. The connector industry will see a trend toward increasing numbers of commercial products being used in building-block design approaches. This shift is being fueled by the 1994 Department of Defense (DOD) Commercial off-the-Shelf directive that is now well underway. COTS has allowed the military to move away from the traditional ten-year programs of past decades and embrace the advanced technologies of the commercial sector. Gone are the days of application-specific designs that resulted in the military lagging behind the commercial sector by five to ten years. Although no new military specifications will be issued for connector designs, traditional mil-spec connectors will continue provide military applications with interconnect solutions for decades to come. Circular connectors do a significant business on cables routed through bulkheads and connected to the system I/O. Some benign environments have allowed the use of commercial connectors, but in the field, the mil-spec connector is still required. The conversion to data buses, from conventional wiring harnesses, combined with environmentally controlled electronics bays in aircraft, ships and ground fighting vehicles, allows commercially available (non mil-spec) connectors of various materials to be used in applications that traditionally were reserved for only full mil-spec designs. This was made possible by the DOD