Defense

Coast Guard considering drones to watch long coastlines

Planes would be able to linger over stretches of coast and improve the tracking of small vessels that are less than 300 gross tons, official says.

Defense

Committee draft of terrorism coverage bill divides industry

Measure would reauthorize federal risk insurance program for 10 years and lower the program's trigger from the current $100 million to $50 million.

Defense

House, Senate security bills differ on tech projects

Senators opt to provide only $362 million for visitor tracking program, $100 million less than the House.

Defense

TB incident highlights gaps in response to irrational behavior

While some blame can be placed with a single border officer, U.S. officials made the broader mistake of assuming Andrew Speaker would act predictably.

Defense

Security focus driving away foreign tourists, former DHS chief says

The government needs to strike a new balance between having security while welcoming travelers and tourists, Tom Ridge says.

Defense

Lawmaker pressures Navy to use unwanted catamaran

Ranking Republican on House Armed Services panel encourages the service to move the ship from research to real-world operations.

Defense

House blocks funding for DHS personnel reforms

Senate committee approves only $5 million of $15 million President Bush requested for the system in fiscal 2008.

Defense

ADVICE+DISSENT: Intelligence File The Contractor Conundrum

Intelligence agencies won’t say how many contractors they’ve hired. But we’ll give it a shot.

Defense

Staunch earmark opponent in Senate probes House add-ons

Senator has threatened to block House-Senate conference negotiations on spending bills if they do not meet new standards for earmark disclosures.

Defense

Senators eye funding to save immigration reform bill

Negotiators favor adding $4.4 billion in funds immediately upon enactment; Republicans outside the negotiating team prefer an emergency supplemental.

Defense

House Democrats seek to restructure Coast Guard modernization

Bill would force agency to take over as lead systems integrator for the $24 billion program within two years of enactment.

Defense

GAO urges external reviews of Homeland Security acquisition

Department to explore the possibility of establishing such reviews, performed by groups with experience in federal contracting.

Defense

Democrats try to reshape security spending debate

Republicans want to discuss earmarks on the House floor before passing any spending bill.

Defense

Air Force envisions stealthy long-range bomber for 2018

The service’s B-2 bomber -- the youngest aircraft in the bomber fleet -- was fielded in 1989 and features only second-generation stealth capabilities.

Defense

Army, Air Force seek to go on offensive in cyber war

Services ask for technology industry’s help in launching attacks on enemy systems.

Defense

Doubts remain over management of Coast Guard fleet upgrade

Lawmakers and witnesses question whether the agency has enough contracting officials to oversee the project.

Defense

Veto threatened over Homeland Security spending bill

Spending levels and provision requiring federal contractors to pay local prevailing wages drew the threat, but administration also opposes language limiting personnel reform.

Defense

Army weighs using RFID network partially owned by Chinese firm

Radio frequency identification network in Pakistan would track shipments to American forces in Afghanistan.

Defense

Lawmaker backs 19-year aircraft project that has yet to fly

Vertical take-off and landing aircraft may yield technology breakthroughs and deserves continued support, ranking member of Armed Services panel says.

Defense

Homeland Security under fire for plans to finance new facility

Appropriators say they were unaware until March that the department intended to provide such direct support to the computer investigations institute.