13 Nov 14. Secretary of Defense Hagel Announces Nuclear Force Reforms. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced a comprehensive action plan to reform to the nuclear enterprise and called for additional critical investments in sustainment as well as measures to address longstanding cultural issues that have hurt the morale of the nuclear force. In February of this year, following a series of events involving the nation’s nuclear forces and their leadership, Hagel directed both an internal and external review of the entire Defense Department nuclear enterprise. The reviews concluded that while our nuclear forces are currently meeting the demands of the mission with dedication, significant changes are required to address systemic problems that could undermine the safety, security and effectiveness of the force in the future. Together, the two reviews identified more than 100 recommendations to improve the nuclear deterrent forces. They focus on several key areas, including: oversight, investment and personnel and training and their recommendations range from acquisition investments to cultural challenges that will take time to see through.These investments will cost several billion dollars over the five-year defense spending program in addition to ongoing modernization requirements identified in last year’s budget submission. The Department will prioritize funding on actions that improve the security and sustainment of the current force, ensures that modernization of the force remains on track, and that address shortfalls, which are undermining the morale of the force. The external report, a summary of the internal report, a fact sheet on implementation and the secretary’s message to the force can be found at the following link: http://www.defense.gov/pubs/.(Source: US DoD)
13 Nov 14. South Korea is claiming BAE owes it $43m in punitive costs over a recently canceled F-16 upgrade program, and BAE is taking the Asian country’s military acquisition arm to court in order to block those charges. At the core of the lawsuit is a disagreement about who is to blame for unexpected jumps in cost for the F-16 upgrade program. Military officials in Korea have claimed the US government added about US $470m and BAE Systems about $280m in costs that were not part of the original agreement. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is holding BAE responsible for those costs; BAE, in turn, argues that it had no say in those cost increases, instead putting the blame at the feet of the US government. “DAPA is now impermissibly seeking to require [BAE] to pay $43,250,000 under the April 2014 Letter of Guarantee,” the lawsuit, filed Thursday by BAE’s US arm in Maryland District Court, reads. That $43m is a fee that was built into the F-16 contract in case BAE broke its agreement. But BAE is arguing DAPA is punishing the company for not being able to convince the US government that the extra costs created by government requirements for more testing were unnecessary. In BAE’s eyes, that simply isn’t fair. ‘DAPA bases its claim for payment not on an alleged violation of the terms of the guarantee, but on BAE TSS’s [Technology Solution & Service’s] inability to force the US government contractor for the portion of the work not otherwise performed directly by the US government,’ the lawsuit continues. DAPA canceled the F-16 upgrade program on Nov. 5. If it had stayed on track, the $1.7bn contract would have upgraded 134 KF-16 fighters for Korea, including avionics and radar improvements. The lawsuit was first reported by Flight Global. BAE declined to comment in detail, as is common with legal actions. ‘In response to suggestions of legal action against BAE Systems from the Korean government, the company has asked a US federal court to rule that it does not owe any monies in connection with the F-16 upgrade program,’ a company spokesman wrote in an emailed statement. ‘We are unable to comment further.’ A Pentagon spokesman decli