3. QDR Draft Includes 10 Or 11 Carriers, Few Surprises(NAVY TIMES 08 FEE JO) ... Philip EwingThe Pentagon's latest vision for the Navy of tomorrow doesnot change dramatically from its current goals - and keeps afleet of at least 10 aircraft carriers - according to an earlydraft version of the Quadrennial Defense Review obtained byNavy Times.The report, a final version of which is expected early thismonth along with the Navy Department's budget submission,calls for now-familiar incremental additions to the fleet, and itgenerally reaffirms the utility of the sea service in defendingthe U.S., projecting power abroad without land bases andworking with the other branches of the military.The version of the report obtained by Navy Times is datedDec. 3, and a person familiar with the review says the finalversion will likely include updates and edits.The Navy's biggest new mission or commitment in the QDR isthe standing ballistic-missile defense patrols that warships willbegin off Europe next year. As a part of that mission, the

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4. Mayport To Get Nuclear Aircraft CarrierUS Department Of Defense Announced Decision Friday(WJXT-TV JACKSONVILLE (FL) 29 JAN 10)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A major review of the UnitedStates military forces released late Friday by the Departmentof Defense said the U.S. Navy will homeport a nuclear aircraftcarrier in Mayport.

The DoD said the decision will protect the fleet against apotential terror attack, accident or natural disaster, sincecurrently all East Coast aircraft carriers are based at NorfolkNaval Station.

The Quadrennial Defense Review Report will besubmitted to Congress on Monday and additional funding willhave to be approved, but preliminary work on the Mayportbasin was funded late last year and is under way.

Mayport has been without a carrier since the USS John F.Kennedy was decommissioned in 2007. Since then, there'sbeen a push by Jacksonville and Florida lawmakers to bring astate-of-the-art nuclear carrier to Mayport. But the move wasopposed at ever step of the way by elected officials inVirginia.strengthening the fabric of our national security, this willmean thousands of jobs and families for this region."

LeMieux said members of the Navy and local officialswere elated by the announcement.

review calls for increasing the number of Aegis BMD-equipped warships to as many as 32 by fiscal 2015, up fromthe current goal of27 by fiscal 2013.The review also recommends continuing U.S. presence andengagement in the Pacific, Africa and Europe; reforming theprocess for fielding new weapons; and "strengthening" theindustrial base, a constant concern in Navy shipbuilding.Significantly, the draft document does not answer or addressmany of the questions that senior Navy decision-makers havedeferred it for months, including what the Navy should doabout its projected "fighter gap" - the period in whichplanners say the fleet will have too few aging F/A-18 -Hornets and not enough new F-35C Lightning lIs for all itsmissions - and whether the Navy should move an aircraftcarrier from Naval Station Norfolk, Va., to Naval StationMayport, Fla., in the interest of "strategic dispersal."

"While I believe the Navy was right on the money whenthey made the decision to homeport a nuclear aircraft carrier atMayport last January, I am glad to see that national security,not politics, stands victorious in the latest Pentagon's review,"said Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Jacksonville.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla, said the decision is big forthe north Florida economy.

"This is something Ander and (Rep.) Corrine Brown and Ihave been fighting for for almost 10 years," said Nelson, amember of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "This willcement Jacksonville's and Mayport's place in our nation'sdefense."

It's not clear if Mayport would get an older carrier or thenewly commissioned USS George H. W. Bush, which iscurrently homeported in Norfolk, Va.

Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fla., said the announcementmarks a historic day for the Jacksonville Naval Station.

"A nuclear carrier homeported here is the right decisionLeMieux said the next step is to look at what will be

necessary for Mayport to serve in its new role."What President (Barack) Obama includes in his fiscal

year 20 II budget due out next week will give us a clearerpicture of that schedule," LeMieux said.

35. Defense Review Urges 'More And Better' Capabilities(NATIONAL JOURNAL CONGRESS DAILY 31 JAN 10) ... Megan Scully

The Pentagon's much-anticipated Quadrennial DefenseReview calls for heavier investments in helicopters, long-range strike aircraft and a slew of new technologies, includingunmanned air, underwater and other vehicles, according to acopy of the report obtained by CongressDaily.

The lO5-page blueprint of the capabilities andrequirements for the U.S. military going forward, which thePentagon plans to release Monday, demands "more and betterkey enabling capabilities" to help u.S. forces in their currentmissions in Iraq and Afghanistan and provide a hedge againstpotential future adversaries.

"These enablers include rotary-wing aircraft, unmannedaircraft systems, intelligence analysis and foreign languageexpertise, and tactical communications networks for ongoingoperations, as well as more robust space-based assets, moreeffective electronic attack systems, more resilient baseinfrastructure, and other assets essential for effectiveoperations against future adversaries," according to the report.

The QDR stresses the need for several types of long-rangestrike capabilities -- rather than specifYing a requirement for anew bomber or another single platform -- to counter growingthreats to forward-deployed u.S. forces and overseas bases.

But the department also plans to experiment with"conventional prompt global strike prototypes" -- an apparentindication the Air Force still plans to pursue a new bomber.

"Building on insights developed during the QDR, theSecretary of Defense has ordered a follow-on study todetermine what combination of joint persistent surveillance,electronic warfare, and precision-attack capabilities, includingboth penetrating platforms and stand-off weapons, will bestsupport U.S. power projection operations over the next two tothree decades," according to the report.

The review calls for increasing the number of airborneelectronic warfare assets, which have been used to counterroadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The report says theNavy will buy more EA-18G Growler aircraft but does notstate how many more of the Boeing Co. planes it will procure.

The Marine Corps, meanwhile, will take steps to keep itsEA-6B electronic warfare aircraft in service longer.

The QDR also asserts the need to buy more manned andunmanned aircraft for intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance missions. The Air Force is on track to increaseits ability to operate round-the-clock combat air patrols to 50sustained "orbits" or 24-hour combat flights by Predator andReaper drones by fiscal 20 II and plans to expand that to 65orbits by fiscal 2015, according to the report.

The report also appears to put new focus on the Navy'sefforts to develop unmanned underwater vehicles, stating thatthe military should "exploit advantages in subsurfaceoperations. "

In terms of helicopters, the report points to lessonslearned in the last nine years of overseas combat operationsand places emphasis on increasing the availability of rotary-

wing assets t.o deployed forces. "Vertical left has beenindispensable to successful counterinsurgency andcounterterrorism operations in Iraq, Afghanistan andelsewhere," the report states.

The QDR adds a company of upgraded MH-47G cargohelicopters to the Army's Special Operations AviationRegiment. Other forces, meanwhile, will take steps, includingexpanding pilot training, to make helicopters more readilyaccessible to deployed forces, according to the report.

Despite fears that the QDR would dramatically scale backthe size ofthe Navy's aircraft carrier fleet, it says 10 to IIcarriers should remain in operation between fiscal 20 II andfiscal 2015. Congress has required the Navy to keep 11carriers in service -- one of which is customarily used only fortraining -- but last year gave the service the temporaryauthority to go down to 10 ships between the retirement of theUSS Enterprise in 2012 and the commissioning of the USSGerald R. Ford in 2015.

The report also recommends that one carrier should bebased in Mayport Naval Station in Florida -- a homeportpreference that will renew a heated political battle between theFlorida and Virginia delegations in Congress.

All carriers assigned to the East Coast are now stationedin Norfolk, Va. after the 2007 decommissioning of the USSJohn F. Kennedy, which called Mayport home.

"The reason for moving one of the nuclear carriers fromNorfolk to Mayport is so they're not all lined up in one placelike sitting ducks," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said in astatement after CongressDaily posted the QDR Friday night."Beyond that, this is huge for the North Florida economy."

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., issued a statement Saturdayemphasizing that the QDR is a planning tool that does nothave the force of law. "I continue to believe that removing anaircraft carrier from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, wouldnot be justified on either a strategic or fiscal level," he said.

The issue is a dicey political one for the Obamaadministration. Obama won both Florida and Virginia, twotraditionally Republican states crucial to his 2008 victory - inpart, thanks to help from Webb and Nelson.

Meanwhile, the exhaustive defense review devotes twopages to strengthening and changing the military's relationshipwith the u.S. industrial base, which was largely ignored inprevious QDRs.

The Pentagon, according to the QDR, has not adequatelyaddressed changes within industry or changes in the military'sown needs. As a result, industry has consolidated andcontracted around 20th century platforms rather thandeveloping a broader and more flexible portfolio of systemsthe military needs.

"Remedying the outdated -- for decades, largely hands-off-- attitude toward the U.S. defense industrial base cannot bedone quickly, and change will require a long-term approachundertaken in partnership with industry and Congress," the

report states. "The range of products and services on whichour forces depend requires that the department develop a moresophisticated relationship with the industrial base, one thattakes into account the rapid evolution of commercialtechnology, as well as the unique requirements ofthedepartment. "

The QDR acknowledges that the Pentagon must beprepared to intervene when "absolutely necessary" to create orsustain competition, innovation and essential capabilities. But,the report adds, the Defense D~partment will not "underwritesunset industries or prop up poor business models."

In another area of interest to the defense industry, thereport addresses reforms to the U.S. export-control system andendorses sweeping changes to decades-old policies.

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"The u.~.export control system itself!oses a potentialnational security risk," the report states. "Its structure is overlycomplicated, contains too many redundancies and tries toprotect too much."

This view is in line with the message the Obamaadministration took to Capitol Hill Wednesday, when DefenseSecretary Robert Gates, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke andothers met with key lawmakers to discuss sweeping changes tothe current export-control regime. Obama also referred brieflyto the issue in his State ofthe Union address that night, sayinghe wanted to "reform export controls consistent with nationalsecurity."