The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Coast Guard are finalizing test plans for upcoming pilot projects that will use biometric smart card readers to control worker access to secure areas of the nation's ports under the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, ...

The 2nd Infantry Division's 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment (Manchu's) soldiers in Iraq asked for and will receive the ability to pinpoint snipers in the next few weeks for their General Dynamics' [GD]-developed Land Warrior systems, a company official said. "The Manchu's are experiencing ...

By Jen DiMascio The Army's chief of staff has asked the service to look at the possibility of resetting units within six months of their return from deployment. Currently the process takes "too long," according to Lt. Gen. James Thurman, the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations G-3. ...

By Ann Roosevelt The Army's top civilian and military leaders say the Future Combat System (FCS) is a priority, it is "real," and the service will work to "protect" the funding. "The Future Combat System is our number one modernization program and we will work to protect ...

By Geoff Fein Alliant Techsystems [ATK] is planning in 2008 to install its newest lightweight remotely operated 25mm chain gun on a variety of platforms, from Humvees to helicopters and small boats. Additionally, the weapon system will be capable of firing airburst munitions, Brian Grace, an ATK ...

By Calvin Biesecker Textron [TXT] on Monday said it has agreed to acquire United Industrial Corp. [UIC] for $1.1 billion in cash, a deal that gives it a strong platform in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) market while further expanding its portfolio of defense business. The deal is expected to ...

By Geoff Fein Delores Etter, the Navy's acquisition chief, resigned Friday to return to teach at the United States Naval Academy, where she had been a professor before taking the job as the service acquisition czar. "She informed her staff of her intentions to resign," a Navy official ...

By Ann Roosevelt The 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) has filed an Operational Needs Statement (ONS) for improved situational awareness (SA) by requesting nearly 1,000 dismounted soldier systems--either the General Dynamics [GD] Land Warrior or the Sierra Nevada ...

By Jen DiMascio The Army has requested $1.4 billion in supplemental funding to buy a radio for soldiers that the service's own science board recommends it should "stop buying immediately." A briefing from an Army Science Board summer study of the service's plan for future networks urged ...

By Geoff Fein The effort to develop and field a replacement for the Humvee is going to be delayed as both the Army and Navy have been told by the Pentagon's acquisition chief the program needs more work, a Navy official said. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is expected to provide the Army ...