i'm vago muradian. electronic war fire is increasingly important to how america's soldiers fight. the chief of the army warfare division tells us what his service is doing to prepare its troops for future challenges. but first, the united states marine corps is wrapping up its decade long involvement in afghanistan. at the same time, the marines are retrimpg r thinking their doctrine and equipment news. they want light armored vehicles while shaping its new amphibious tractor to replace the vehicle that was canceled early last year. as the marines develop the requirements for their new fighting vehicle, they face challenges. first the new generation of precision weapons is pushing the marines farther out to sea than ever before complicating future amphibious operations. new vehicles and aircraft are steadily getting bigger making existing ships increasingly camped when fully loaded out. the man leading the process of shaping the future of the marine corps is lieutenant general richard mills charged with developing tactics and doctrine for the service. welcome to the program. >> th

i'm vago muradian. general mark welsh took command as the 20th chief of staff of the united states air force. faced with decisions and a mission to reenergize the service that's been at war for more than 20 years and shrinking for the past decade as the equipment has aged. the top priority is a resolve a bitter dispute with congress over proposed cuts to the air national guard. lawmakers are blocking $9 billion this cuts from the services proposed budget. general welsh joins us now as the air force association's air and space conference here at the gay lord convention center in maryland, just south of washington, d.c.. thanks for taking time our your schedule to be with us. >> thank you vago. >> and there's very little that you can do to prepare for it in many respects aside from that it's 9.4% pretty much across everything. but there are things that can be cut and there are things that can't be cut. what are the things -- or areas that you're most concerned about in a sequestration environment? >> vago

. >>> welcome to this week in defense news i am vago muradian. the air force celebrates the 61st birthday with a new chief of staff a top retired airman talks to us about the general's challenges and priorities and how sweden's top company plans to grow in the united states. britain's's pan european disclosed discussing a union to create a 93 billion dollar titan that would be the world's largest aerospace and defense company. deal if approved by global regulators would join europe's leading military and aerospace contractors into a new giant that builds commercial cargo fighter trainer aircraft helicopters and rockets and saturdayel lights missiles and radars and other sophisticated electronics communication systems and security products. the companys proprosed the -- proposed complex ownership ada holding 68% and bae40%. to alie security concerns executives have promised to operate bae's vast operation independently of the new parent. what does the deal mean globally what's next and what will government regulators be focusing on. join us is ste

i'm vago muradian. you can watch this program online or e-mail me. i'll be back next week at the same time. until then, have a great week. >>> how will congress, industry and universities respond to the science funding squeeze? i'm steve usdin. welcome to "biocentury this week." >>> your trusted source for biotechnology information and analysis. "biocentury this week." >>> science is under stress as fiscal austerity forces governments to make tough decisions. last week we heard from n.i.h. director francis collins who oversees the world's largest medical research budget. > i've been been involved in this enterprise now for 30 years, and the pace of discovery is accelerating at really remarkable pace. it allows us to make things possible that we wouldn't have dreamed up a decade ago. at the same time, neither i nor anybody else who's been aen for a long time in biomedical research can remember a time where the enterprise felt under such stress in terms of whether the resources will be there to allow these discoveries to continue to happen. >> colin sa