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Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV): Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report includes background on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, which is is currently being developed by the Army and the Marine Corps as a successor to the 11 different versions of the High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) that have been in service since 1985. It includes a discussion of recent program activities, foreign participants, budgetary issues, and potential issues for Congress.
Date: August 3, 2009
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report covers the 2007 Department of Defense (DOD) major procurement initiative to replace most up-armored High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) with Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles. It looks at the cost and subsequent budgets of this initiative.
Date: August 3, 2009
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Force KC-X Tanker Aircraft Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses proposed FY2010 defense budget requests $439.6 million in Air Force research and development funding to begin a new program for acquiring new 179 KC-X aerial refueling tankers. The issue for Congress in FY2010 is whether to approve, reject, or modify the Administration's request for FY2010 research and development funding for the new KC-X program, and whether to take any action to define the acquisition strategy for the new KC-X program.
Date: July 30, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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China and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Missiles: Policy Issues

Description: Using a variety of unclassified consultations and sources, this report discusses the national security problem of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response, including legislation, since the mid-1990s.
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: Kan, Shirley A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Reliable Replacement Warhead Program: Background and Current Developments

Description: This report describes the Life Extension Program (LEP), difficulties ascribed to it by its critics, and their responses; shows how changed post-Cold War constraints might open opportunities to improve long-term warhead maintenance and reach other goals; describes the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) and its pros and cons; tracks RRW program developments and congressional action on budget requests; and presents options and issues for Congress.
Date: July 27, 2009
Creator: Medalia, Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Navy's proposal to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN) at Mayport, Florida. Transferring a CVN from Norfolk, Virginia, to Mayport would also shift the local economic activity associated with homeporting a CVN, which some sources estimate as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Date: July 17, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Nuclear-Powered Surface Ships: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report discusses the possibility of increasing the number of Navy surface ships powered by nuclear energy, including the Navy's planned CG(X) cruiser. The report explores a 2006 Navy study that discusses budget considerations, the cost of a nuclear-powered ship compared to a ship powered by crude oil, and other suggestions relating to this proposed expansion. The overall report has a specific emphasis on the planned CG(X) cruiser, and how the implementation of this cruiser may be delayed b… more
Date: July 17, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Force F-22 Fighter Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The Air Force F-22 fighter, also known as the Raptor, is the world's most capable air-to-air combat aircraft. The administration wants to end F-22 procurement at 187 aircraft, and the administration's proposed FY2010 budget does not request funding for the procurement of additional F-22s in FY2010. The administration argues, among other things, that 187 F-22s will be sufficient in conjunction with other U.S. tactical aircraft. The issue of F-22 procurement has emerged as one of the highest-prof… more
Date: July 16, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential oversight issues for Congress on the CVN-78 program, which includes the CVN-78 and CVN-79 as the first two ships in the Navy's new Gerald R. Ford (CVN- 78) class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs).
Date: July 16, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues

Description: This report reviews the ongoing programs that will affect the expected size and shape of the U.S. strategic nuclear force structure. It begins with an overview of this force structure during the Cold War, and summarizes the reductions and changes that have occurred since 1991. It then offers details about each category of delivery vehicle, focusing on their current deployments and ongoing and planned modernization programs. The report concludes with a discussion of issues related to decisions a… more
Date: July 14, 2009
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues

Description: This report reviews the ongoing programs that will affect the expected size and shape of the U.S. strategic nuclear force structure. It includes an overview of this force structure during the Cold War, and summarizes the reductions and changes that have occurred since 1991. It also offers details about each category of delivery vehicle--land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine launched ballistic missiles and heavy bombers--focusing on their current deployments and ongoing and p… more
Date: July 14, 2009
Creator: Woolf, Amy F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), also called the Lighting II, is a new strike fighter being procured in different versions by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. The F-35 program is the Department of Defense's (DOD's) largest weapon procurement program in terms of total estimated acquisition cost. This report details the Obama Administration's proposed FY2010 defense budget requests for F-35 program funding and outlines the issues that Congress must consider when deciding whether to appr… more
Date: July 13, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview discussion on the modernization of U.S. military tactical aircraft, meaning fighter aircraft, strike-fighters, and attack planes. This CRS report discusses and presents FY2010 legislative activity on issues relating to U.S. tactical aircraft in general. For several years now, a central issue relating to tactical aircraft in general has been the overall affordability of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) plans for modernizing the tactical aircraft force. A secon… more
Date: July 9, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview discussion on the modernization of U.S. military tactical aircraft, meaning fighter aircraft, strike fighters, and attack planes. Tactical aircraft are a major component of U.S. military capability, and account for a significant portion of U.S. defense spending. In early 2009, the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps collectively had an inventory of about 3,500 tactical aircraft.
Date: July 9, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Project BioShield: Purposes and Authorities

Description: Many potential chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism agents lack available countermeasures. In 2003, President Bush proposed Project BioShield to address this need. The Project BioShield Act became law in July 2004. This report discusses the three main provisions of Project BioShield, funding for Project BioShield, and additional measures that Congress has considered since Project BioShield's implementation to further encourage CBRN countermeasure development.
Date: July 6, 2009
Creator: Gottron, Frank
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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North Korea's Nuclear Weapons: Technical Issues

Description: This report summarizes what is known from open sources about the North Korean nuclear weapons program - including weapons-usable fissile material and warhead estimates - and assesses current developments in achieving denuclearization.
Date: July 1, 2009
Creator: Nikitin, Mary Beth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Manhattan Project, the Apollo Program, and Federal Energy Technology R&D Programs: A Comparative Analysis

Description: Some policymakers have concluded that the energy challenges facing the United States are so critical that a concentrated investment in energy research and development (R&D) should be undertaken. The Manhattan project, which produced the atomic bomb, and the Apollo program, which landed American men on the moon, have been cited as examples of the success such R&D investments can yield. Investment in federal energy technology R&D programs of the 1970s, in response to two energy crises, have gener… more
Date: June 30, 2009
Creator: Stine, Deborah D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Long-Range Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe

Description: Successive U.S. governments have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against long-range ballistic missile threats from adversary states. The Bush Administration proposed deploying a ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) element of the larger Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) in Europe to defend against an Iranian missile threat. The proposed U.S. system has encountered resistance in some European countries and beyond. The GMD plan has also affected U.S.-Russia relation… more
Date: June 22, 2009
Creator: Hildreth, Steven A. & Ek, Carl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Homeporting at Mayport: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: On January 14, 2009, the Navy announced that it wants to transfer one of its nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) to the Navy home port at Mayport, FL, known formally as Naval Station (NAVSTA) Mayport. The Navy's proposed FY2010 budget requests $46.3 million in Military Construction (MilCon) funding for channel dredging at Mayport. The Navy states that a key reason it wants to transfer a CVN to Mayport is to hedge against the risk of a catastrophic event that could damage the Navy's CVN hom… more
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), also called the Lighting II, is a new strike fighter being procured in different versions by the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. The F-35 program is the Department of Defense's (DOD's) largest weapon procurement program in terms of total estimated acquisition cost. The issues for Congress for FY2010 are whether to approve, reject, or modify the administration's funding request for the F-35 program, and whether to approve or reject the administration's pro… more
Date: June 18, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Prtected (MRAP) Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: In late 2007, the Department of Defense (DOD) launched a major procurement initiative to replace most uparmored High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) in Iraq with Mine- Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles by FY2009. MRAPs have been described as providing significantly more protection against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) than uparmored HMMWVs. DOD's decision to acquire a new, smaller MRAP variant, the M-ATV, for use in Afghanistan; the disposition of MRAPs no longer neede… more
Date: June 15, 2009
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Iran Sanctions Act (ISA)

Description: This report discusses the increasing international pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear program and how that pressure discourages foreign firms from investing in Iran's energy sector, hindering Iran's efforts to expand oil production. This report discusses the history and progress of the formal U.S. effort to curb energy investment in Iran, which began with the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) in 1996. This report also discusses U.S. concerns that other nations, e.g., U.S. allies, Russia, and China, ar… more
Date: June 4, 2009
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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