The DoD appointed Regina Dugan as the 19th director of DARPA. Prior to this appointment, Dugan held several key positions in industry, most recently as president and chief executive officer of RedXDefense, LLC, which she co-founded in 2005, a company that develops defense against explosive threats. She has also served in senior executive positions in several additional companies in roles ranging from global sales and marketing to research and product development. During her first tour at DARPA from January 1996 to May 2000, Dugan received the program manager of the year award for her leadership of the "Dog’s Nose Program," which was focused on the development of an advanced, field-portable system for detecting the explosive content of land mines. She is also the recipient of the deFleury Medal, the office of the secretary of defense award for exceptional service, and the award for outstanding achievement.
NAVSEA recognized the 1,000th Vertical Launch Anti-Submarine Rocket (VLA) (ASROC) missile produced June 30 during a ceremony at Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems, Inc., in Akron, Ohio, the Navy says. The ASROC VLA is a missile designed to deliver either a Mk46 Mod 5A(SW) or a new MK 54 torpedo to an entry point in the water. It is carried by Navy Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers.
The Army selected the Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture under a five-year, $298.6 million contract to provide life-cycle contract support for the Javelin anti-tank missile and command launch unit. "The Javelin Joint Venture is focused on our customer needs throughout the product life cycle," Duane Gooden, Raytheon’s Javelin program director and president of the Javelin Joint Venture, said in a statement. "We are extending the lifetime of our products through upgrades, while supporting the warfighter with training services and technical support." Javelin is a man-portable, fire-and-forget, medium-range missile system. The compact, lightweight missile is designed for one- soldier operations in all environments.
Pentagon budget deliberations are kicking into high gear in Congress. The Senate is set to start debating the FY ’10 defense authorization bill today and continue hashing out amendments all week. After the bill passes, a Senate-House conference committee will convene to negotiate one final bill. The House Appropriations Defense subcommittee is scheduled to mark up its version of the defense appropriations bill on Thursday, before a full House Appropriations Committee markup next week. The Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee, whose Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) also chairs the full committee, is expected to mark up its version of the bill shortly after its House counterpart. Only four weeks, including this week, remain before the four-week congressional recess that starts Aug. 8.
Earlier this month, the Navy officially accepted delivery of the future guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG-108) from General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works, the service says. The Wayne E. Meyer is the 56th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and carries the 100th Aegis Combat System. DDG-108 completed a combined Builder’s and Acceptance super trial June 12 after spending four days at sea off the coast of Maine, the Navy says. DDG 108, the new destroyer, honors retired Rear Adm. Wayne Meyer, who led the development of the Aegis combat system for the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers. In 1963, Secretary of the Navy Fred Korth chose Meyer to lead a special task force for surface guided missiles. The future Wayne E. Meyer is scheduled to be commissioned this fall in Philadelphia, Pa., the Navy adds.