Union Bonus. As part of its new long-term contract with its machinists workers, Boeing will be paying each worker a $10,000 upfront bonus, which amounts to about $300 million, according to company officials on Wednesday’s fourth quarter earnings call. Asked by Jefferies & Co. defense analyst Howard Rubel what Boeing expects to get in return for the upfront cash bonus, Jim McNerney, the company’s CEO, says that the new contract gives the company “10 years of stability” versus having a “dramatic event” every few years, referring to threats of strikes and strikes over labor negotiations. He also says that the lengthy contract allows time for relationship building between management and workers and allows them to focus 
on “business opportunities.”
Firepower for M&A. Raytheon Chairman and CEO William Swanson says with the company’s strong balance sheet it has plenty of “firepower” for acquisitions, and it remains open to deals where there are future growth opportunities. Raytheon isn’t interested in acquisitions just to add to the top line, he says. In the current challenging federal budget environment, Swanson says some low and mid-tier companies are facing pressure and will have to decide on what “path” to take, which may include mergers and acquisitions.
Immigration Reform. Prospects for immigration reform got a boost this week when House Republican leaders agreed on a set of principles to consider in debate on the issue and to stake out positions separate from a Senate bill that passed last June on comprehensive immigration reform. The “Preamble” to the list of principles says that the House will not go to conference with the Senate because its bill is too big and that that immigration challenges can’t be solved with one piece of legislation.
…Primacy of Security and Enforcement. Not unexpected, the first principle is about “border security and interior enforcement” to ensure that the border is secure and that people who come to the country illegally or overstay their visas will answer to immigration laws. The Senate bill proposes $40 billion over 10 years for additional technology and personnel to boost security along the nation’s borders although some House Republicans sympathetic to immigration reform have balked at this cost.
…Support for Biometrics. The new House Republican leadership standards and the Senate bill both support the implementation of biometric technology to verify that foreign nationals have left the country. The Senate bill would begin a biometric exit program at the nation’s 10 largest airports and eventually expand to additional airports and seaports. However, that bill excluded land ports of entry, a gap that many congressional Republicans would like to see closed. A bill introduced last fall by Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), calls for the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a pilot test of a biometric exit system on non-pedestrian out-bound traffic at three land ports of entry where there is significant traffic. The bill also calls for expanding the pilot to pedestrians.
New Appropriators. Two lawmakers joined the House Appropriations defense subcommittee as Chairman Hal Rogers finalized the subcommittee membership lists for 2014. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) and John Carter (R-Texas) will serve on the panel now, under new chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), who took over when former chairman Bill Young died in October. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) left the subcommittee when he retired from Congress in August to join the University of Alabama system. “Our members each have priorities and concerns that are unique to them and their districts, but we are united behind the common goal of protecting the prosperity of our nation, providing the federal government with responsible levels of discretionary funding, and doing so under regular order,” Rogers says in a statement accompanying the subcommittee membership list.
Sequester Review Requested. The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee leadership asked committee chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) to formally request the Government Accountability Office to study the full impact of sequestration on the Defense Department. The tactical air and land subcommittee last year requested a GAO report on sequestration’s impact to military modernization efforts, but “during an interim update by the GAO it became apparent to us that the impacts of sequestration go well beyond the programs within our jurisdiction to include military personnel, sea power and readiness,” subcommittee chairman Michael Turner (R-Ohio) and ranking member Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) write in a Jan. 23 letter made public Jan. 30.
Check It Out. Picatinny Arsenal engineers are evaluating the life span of the Canadian Royal Army World War II-era C-3 howitzer. “We are looking for engineering data that, unfortunately, we’re missing right now,” says Canadian Army Maj. David Lebel, Equipment Management team leader for Field Artillery Systems. The C3 howitzer is a 1950s technology that the Canadian Army is trying to keep in service for 10 or 11 more years. “Now that it’s been around for 60 years, we’re starting to experience a few cracks here and there, but we can’t explain how these cracks are being made,” Lebel says. “We need to be able to find solutions without having to ground the fleet for a long amount of time.” The howitzers are used for training, though the modern 155mm M777 is used in combat. The C3 is also used for avalanche control in the snow-covered Canadian mountains.
Super Scrapping. The Navy’s first super-carrier, the retired Forrestal (AVT-59), is set to begin its final journey on Tuesday. Naval Sea Systems Command said the ship will towed from Philadelphia down the Delaware River and then along the East Coast to the Gulf Mexico, with its last stop at All Star Metals’ recycling facility in Brownsville, Texas. All Star Metals won the contract to dismantle and recycle the ship’s parts with a one-cent bid in October. The conventionally powered Forrestal was decommissioned in 1993 after more than 38 years of service. The Navy originally sought to donate the ship for use as a museum or memorial but received no “viable” applications and therefore proceeded with plans to scrap it. All Star Metals has the right to sell the scrap to offset its dismantling cost–minus the copper penny covered by the Navy.
Training Assistance. DynCorp International receives a one-year, $6.4 million subcontract in support of the Afghan Engineer Training Security Assistance Team. DynCorp will be a subcontractor to GovSource Inc., a provider of professional and training services to the U.S. government, on the U.S. Army Security Assistance Training Management Organization (USASATMO) task order under the SATMO indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. George Krivo, DynLogistics senior vice president, DynCorp International, says: “Through this program we hope to enhance, increase and make more effective the ANA’s military engineering capability, providing a safer and more secure environment in Afghanistan.” Di will provide trainers and interpreters to provide practical exercise training in the areas of project planning, survey and design, heavy equipment utilization and maintenance, as well as basic electrical, carpentry, masonry and plumbing skills.
Lethal. In its first annual report on the Army’s new sniper round, “DOT&E assessed the Mk248 Mod 0 as lethal.” The round was developed by ATK in the wake of an Army determination during Operation Enduring Freedom that there was a need for an upgraded sniper rifle able to shoot with improved accuracy over longer distances than current models. The solution was the M2010 ESR, a reconfigured M24 Sniper Weapon System modified, to fire a .300 caliber Winchester magnum cartridge. The Mk248 Mod 0 .399 caliber cartridge and M2010ESR will replace the current 7.62 mm M1 18LR cartridge fired by the M24 Sniper Weapon System. Live fire tests were done in March 2013 and DOT&E published a classified lethality report on the round in June. The FY ’13 recommendation from DOT&E is that the Army should continue to improve the complex computer models it uses to model small caliber ammunition performance.
O3b 4G/LTE Test. O3b Networks completes a successful live test of broadband voice and video on a 4G/LTE mobile wireless solution, showing that O3b’s medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation can support the low latency required on cutting edge 4G/LTE technologies, according to a company statement. The interoperability testing was conducted between Oceus Networks and its Xiphos 4G/LTE mobile network equipment and both an O3b Lab Simulator and over-the-air testing through the O3b gateway in Lurin, Peru. In these tests, the O3b network supported latency-sensitive 4G traffic with round trip latency over the satellite link below 150 milliseconds. O3b stands for the “other three billion” people in recognition of the world’s population who either don’t have, or have severely limited, high-speed connectivity to the internet.
Obama Nominations… President Obama nominates Miranda Ballentine to become assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics; Michael McCord to become under secretary of defense (comptroller); Brian McKeon to become principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy and Christine Wormuth to become under secretary of defense for policy, according to a White House statement. Ballentine is director of sustainability, renewable energy, sustainable facilities and stakeholder engagement for Walmart, a position she has held since 2008. McCord is principal deputy under secretary of defense (comptroller), a position he has held since 2009. He would replace Robert Hale. McKeon is deputy assistant to the president, executive secretary of the National Security Council and chief of staff for the national security staff at the White House, a position he has held since 2012. Wormuth is deputy under secretary of defense for strategy, plans and forces, a position she has held since 2012. All nominations are subject to Senate confirmation.
…SASC Confirms. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Jan. 28 votes for confirmation of Madelyn Creedon to be principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and William LaPlante to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. Their nominations now move to the full Senate.
Paveway Contract. The Air Force awards Lockheed Martin $31 million for follow-on production of Paveway II Plus laser guided bomb (LGB) kits, according to a Lockheed Martin statement. The contract represents the majority share award of the available fiscal year 2013 funding. Production deliveries under this contract will include computer control groups and air foil groups for GBU-10 and GBU-12 bombs. The Paveway II Plus LGB uses an enhanced laser guidance package, significantly improving precision when compared to existing Paveway II LGBs. The contract represents the seventh Air Force award for Paveway II Plus and extends production at Lockheed Martin’s Archbald, Pa., facility through the end of 2014, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Precision Guided Systems Manager Joe Serra said in a statement. The kit consists of a MAU-209C/B computer control group containing the electronic guidance system and an airfoil group to provide lift and stability to the weapons in standard GBU-10 MK-84 (2,000 pound), GBU-12 MK-82 (500 pound) and GBU-16 MK-83 (1,000 pound) series configurations.