The INSIDER daily digest

By John Liang / July 27, 2016 at 3:35 PM

Air Force news -- including an IOC date for that service's variant of the F-35 -- leads off this Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest.

Inside Defense has the scoop on the IOC date for the Air Force's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter variant:

Air Force expects to declare F-35 IOC Aug. 2

The Air Force expects to declare initial operational capability for its variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter next Tuesday, Aug. 2, multiple sources confirmed to Inside Defense.

Related JSF news:

Navy will begin the third phase of JSF developmental testing in August

The Navy will begin the third and final phase of Joint Strike Fighter aircraft carrier taking off and landing tests aboard the George Washington (CVN-73) in August.

A look at the Air Force's "superior supplier" rankings:

Sixteen defense contractor business units climb higher in 2016 Air Force 'superior' supplier rankings

More than a dozen business segments from major defense contractors muscled their way to a privileged Air Force supplier status in 2016 compared to 2015 in the service's third annual ranking of so-called "superior suppliers" -- a new positioning that also included downgrades, including eight business units that were dropped entirely.

Document: Air Force 2016 Superior Supplier Ratings - Systems

Defense contractor earnings news:

Northrop CEO says company is 'tuning' technology services business

Northrop Grumman is considering the best way to reshape its technology services business, seeking to move it away from providing commodity services, according to the contractor's chief executive.

Defense contractors report boosts in profit

Some of the largest defense contractors said Wednesday that profits grew in their most recent quarter.

The Army has revamped its five-year business strategy:

Army revamps business strategy for near term

The Army has updated its approach to business, codifying the changes in a new document to govern the next five years.

Document: Army Business Strategy 2017-2021

More Army news:

Army to detail GMV plans at August industry day

The Army plans to host an industry day next month to outline its plans for procurement of the Ground Mobility Vehicle. The Army is slated to make its first budget outlays for GMV in fiscal year 2017. Army Under Secretary Patrick Murphy highlighted GMV as one of the service's top priorities during a speech this month at the New America Foundation.

News from this week's Inside the Navy:

Navy seeks outside input on implementing cloud-based services

The Navy is seeking advice on how to best transition network services to the cloud, as the service continues to mull an acquisition strategy for the follow-on contract for its Next-Generation Enterprise Network.

NAVSEA will host an industry day in August on vertical launch payloads

Naval Sea Systems Command will host an industry day in early August for vertical launch payloads that will help the service to understand the integration of the systems on submarines, according to a special notice.

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