Taxpayers face $1.7 billion bill as nuclear lab pensions soar - The Washington Post

Taxpayers face $1.7 billion bill as nuclear lab pensions soar - The Washington Post: "Lockheed Martin and other contractors that manage U.S. nuclear facilities stand to reap $1.7 billion in savings next year while the Energy Department pays for their ballooning employee pension costs."

NationalJournal.com - Tanker Fight Highlights Washington's Expensive Influence Game - Friday, February 25, 2011

NationalJournal.com - Tanker Fight Highlights Washington's Expensive Influence Game - Friday, February 25, 2011: "The Air Force has been trying to award the contract since 2001, but a surreal mix of outright criminality, corruption, and government incompetence derailed the two prior attempts to finalize a deal to replace the military’s aging fleet of tankers, which are used to refuel jets, bombers, and other planes in mid-flight."

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards : Veterans Today

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards : Veterans Today: "Pratt and Whitney, East Hartford, Conn., was awarded a $272,552,404 contract modification to provide for 30 F117-PW-100 engines, spare engines, and associated data for the C-17 aircraft. At this time, the entire amount has been obligated. ASC/WNWK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8750-11-C-0045).
ARMY
The Boeing Co., Ridley Park, Penn., was awarded on Dec. 22 a $241,957,000 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for 11 CH-47F Chinook remanufactured aircraft. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Penn., with an estimated completion date of Sep. 30, 2013. One bid was solicited with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Contracting Center Aviation and Missile, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0098)."

Defense firms lure retired generals - The Boston Globe

Defense firms lure retired generals - The Boston Globe
An hour after the official ceremony marking the end of his 35-year career in the Air Force, General Gregory “Speedy’’ Martin returned to his quarters to swap his dress uniform for golf attire. He was ready for his first tee time as a retired four-star general.

But almost as soon as he closed the door that day in 2005 his phone rang. It was an executive at Northrop Grumman, asking if he was interested in working for the manufacturer of the B-2 stealth bomber as a paid consultant. A few weeks later, Martin received another call. This time it was the Pentagon, asking him to join a top-secret Air Force panel studying the future of stealth aircraft technology.

Martin was understandably in demand, having been the general in charge of all Air Force weapons programs, including the B-2, for the previous four years.

He said yes to both offers.

Management blamed for space telescope cost overrun | The Space Shot - CNET News

Management blamed for space telescope cost overrun | The Space Shot - CNET News: "NASA management miscues threaten to drive up the cost of the agency's next generation space telescope by some $1.5 billion, an independent review panel reported today, pushing the overall cost of the project into the neighborhood of $6.5 billion. That's a best-case assessment that assumes the agency launches the observatory in 2015, the earliest realistic target."

Contracting market set to shrink in fiscal 2011 (10/7/10) -- GovExec.com

Contracting market set to shrink in fiscal 2011 (10/7/10) -- GovExec.com: "Overall, FedSources expects an increase in the cybersecurity, health information technology and energy markets, with a declining emphasis on major weapons, aircrafts and NASA space programs. INPUT also is forecasting an uptick in emerging technology approaches, such as cloud computing.
'Any expectations industry may have had regarding a shift in focus to social programs under the Obama administration have not yet materialized in major contract opportunities,' INPUT wrote.
INPUT, recently purchased by Deltek, examined the top 20 upcoming contract opportunities in fiscal 2011, accounting for about $140 billion -- a nearly $40 billion decrease from fiscal 2010. Most of the major acquisitions are at Defense, because civilian agencies already awarded many high-value contracts last fiscal year, the group said."