DEFENSE WATCH The First Word On Trends And Developments In Defense And Aerospace

On Hold. The Senate Armed Services Committee is awaiting more information before acting on the nomination of Daryl Jones for Air Force secretary, says Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) According to Coats, some committee members would like to wait until the Securities and Exchange Commission completes its investigation into the financial dealings of Douglas James Securities, a Miami firm that employed Jones. Senators also would like to see the complete FBI background file on Jones before voting on whether to recommend his confirmation by the Senate, Coats says.

Summer Break. Congress adjourned last week for the 4th of July recess. The Senate returns Monday, July 6, and the House returns Monday, July 13. One of the first items the Senate plans to take up after returning is the FY '99 Defense Appropriations Bill.

Guessing Games. With Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dennis Reimer's four-year tenure up next summer, speculation has already begun as to who will succeed him as the service's top officer. The most frequently mentioned candidate is Gen. Eric Shinseki, commander in chief of U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army. While it's uncommon for future chiefs to come from Europe, Shinseki, a West Point graduate, served as the deputy chief of staff of operations (DCSOPS) at the Pentagon before going overseas. Both Reimer and his predecessor, Gen. Gordon Sullivan, also did tours as the DCSOPS.

...Rising Stars. Aside from naming the next chief, the most popular guessing game among Army observers is figuring out what three- star generals are likely to get their fourth star. Those considered most likely to receive a fourth star in the next year include: Lt. Gen. Edward Anderson, Space and Missile Defense Commander, Lt. Gen. Paul Kern, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for research, development and acquisition, Lt. Gen. John Abrams, deputy commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command and Lt. Gen. John Hendrix, commander of the V Corps.

On New Ground. Several key personnel changes will occur this summer in the Army's ground combat vehicles programs. Abrams Tank project manager Col. Chris Cardine will retire and will be succeeded by Col. Jamie Moran. Also retiring is Col. William Sheaves, Crusader program manager, who will be replaced by Col. Charles Cartwright. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Joseph Yakovac, Tank-automotive and Armaments Command deputy for systems acquisition, will move to the Pentagon as deputy director for systems management and horizontal technology integration in the office of the assistant secretary of the Army for research, development and acquisition.

Holding the Line. Crusader field artillery system supporters were pleased, and a bit surprised, that defense appropriators fully funded the Army's $313 million FY '99 budget request for the next- generation howitzer. On the authorization side, the House cut about $60 million, while the Senate withheld about $90 million until a report is delivered to Congress that would answer questions about whether Crusader is a truly leap-ahead system. While final funding will not be settled until the House and Senate confer on the defense budget later this year, observers says a cut is unlikely as appropriators control the congressional purse strings. But, sources say, a report may still have to be submitted to Congress for some of those dollars to appease authorizers.

Treading Deepwater. Congressional efforts to snuff out a presidential study on the roles and missions of the Coast Guard are gathering steam. Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Don Young (R-Alaska), Robert Borski (D-Pa.), and Jay Johnson (D-Wis.) write in a June 22 letter to Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Marine Transportation, that the study could hamper Coast Guard's Deepwater Project, a comprehensive modernization program. A similar letter was recently circulated in the Senate.

Little Bird, Big Boom. The Persian Gulf War and recent experiences of U.S. forces training at the National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, Calif., have conditioned soldiers to expect an attack whenever a UAV is spotted, observers say. Col. Mike Howell, Program Manager for Joint Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles at the Joint Cruise Missile and UAV Program Executive Office, says that kind of association should enable commanders to employ UAVs for deception operations, such as sending UAVs into non-critical areas to lure attention from impending operations.

...Crowded Airspace. Testing and development of UAVs has sometimes clashed with FAA concerns about operating UAVs in controlled airspace, most recently during tests of the Outrider UAV in Texas, where an FAA altitude restriction caused the aircraft to lose its datalink due to horizon masking. The problem is not as much of a concern in the United States, however, as it is in Europe, notes one European observer. Not only is free airspace limited in the crowded European skies, but many countries have very stringent aviation administration rules that basically stymie unmanned test flights. This limits the ability of some foreign countries to press ahead quickly in the development of UAVs and is a potential factor in the success of already proven systems abroad.