WASHINGTON (Reuters) – House of Representatives and Senate negotiators on Tuesday defied the White House and passed a defense budget bill that bans funding for the final year of a joint ground-based missile defense program with Italy and Germany.

The lawmakers prohibited a final U.S. payment of $400.9 million for development of the Medium Extended Air and Missile Defense System (MEADS), saying Washington has no plans to produce the system being built by Lockheed Martin Corp and its partners in Italy and Germany.

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – House of Representatives and
Senate negotiators on Tuesday defied the White House and passed
a defense budget bill that bans funding for the final year of a
joint ground-based missile defense program with Italy and
Germany.

The lawmakers prohibited a final U.S. payment of $400.9
million for development of the Medium Extended Air and Missile
Defense System (MEADS), saying Washington has no plans to
produce the system being built by Lockheed Martin Corp
and its partners in Italy and Germany.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The death of Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye marks another significant reduction in Congress’ troop of defense champions, but experts say the Pentagon will still face big obstacles any time it tries to scrap arms programs or cut military bases.

Inouye, who chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, died on Monday. Other high-profile hawks are leaving Congress in coming weeks after losing elections or announcing their plans to retire.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Air Force on Monday approved the formal start of pilot training on the A-model of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at a Florida military base, paving the way for 36 expert pilots to be trained next year as instructors for the new stealth warplane.

Air Force General Edward Rice, the four-star general in charge of Air Education and Training Command, said an operational evaluation completed this fall showed that Eglin Air Force Base was ready to start training pilots to fly the radar-evading Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 jet in January.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Air Force on Monday approved the formal start of pilot training on the A-model of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at a Florida military base, paving the way for 36 expert pilots to be trained next year as instructors for the new stealth warplane.

Air Force General Edward Rice, the four-star general in charge of Air Education and Training Command, said an operational evaluation completed this fall showed that Eglin Air Force Base was ready to start training pilots to fly the radar-evading Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 jet in January.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is poised for strong economic growth if political leaders can just move the nation beyond the current “debilitating” budget uncertainty, the chief executive and chairman of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday.

“I see an enormous opportunity for the country to step forward with a more positive growth agenda if we can get resolution for these policy issues,” Robert Stevens said, citing promising trends in manufacturing, housing, the energy sector and even consumer sentiment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon will pay about 4 percent less for each new Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) F-35A fighter jet when it signs a deal worth $3.8 billion with the No. 1 U.S. defense contractor on Friday, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Each of the 22 conventional takeoff and landing jets in the fifth production contract will cost around $107 million, excluding the engine, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon on Wednesday backed the Air Force’s handling of a $6.8 billion helicopter competition but said it may have to use other tools to ensure a good price, after five of the six potential bidders pulled out, according to a senior defense official.

A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon helped shape the terms of the competition because it insisted that the Air Force clearly spell out the requirements for the new helicopters and let potential bidders know how they would value any additional capabilities.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Defense Department
said it will sign a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp
on Friday for a fifth group of 32 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
jets, a long-awaited deal that moves forward the most costly
weapons program in U.S. history.

The Pentagon also expects to reach an agreement soon with
Lockheed on early funding for a sixth group of F-35s, a step
that could help reduce a potential $1.1 billion liability the
weapons maker faced from work it had already done on the jets
without a signed contract, a senior defense official said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five big defense contractors on Tuesday withdrew from the U.S. Air Force’s latest attempt to replace its aging fleet of HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters, leaving just Sikorsky Aircraft in line for a deal whose valued is capped at $6.84 billion.

Northrop Grumman Corp, which was teamed with Italy’s Finmeccanica SpA; Boeing Co; Textron’s Bell Helicopter unit; and the U.S. unit of Europe’s EADS all said they would not compete to build 112 new helicopters for the Air Force, raising questions about whether the contest can proceed as planned.