Welcome to today's Defense Business Briefing, your weekly roundup of the latest defense industry news.

Questioned about Raytheon ties, Esper and GOP point to Obama picks

Army Secretary Mark Esper, nominated to be defense secretary, defended his time as a senior Raytheon executive as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) argued that his failure to commit to several of her recusal proposals "smacks of corruption, plain and simple."

Leidos to hire about 700 to staff Air Force Air Combat Command win

Leidos is hiring about 700 employees following its win of a task order by Air Force Air Combat Command to support ACC's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support services program, according to a top executive.

Parsons to acquire QRC

Parsons said it has agreed to acquire QRC Technologies, a Fredericksburg, VA-based company focused on products for the radio frequency and signals intelligence market, for $215 million in cash.

Trump may look into Pentagon's JEDI cloud contract

President Trump said he may look into the Pentagon's pending Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract competition in the wake of complaints from Microsoft and Oracle, according to a White House pool report.

DOD to host public meetings on technical data rights

The Defense Department will host a pair of meetings in September to discuss statutory changes to the way DOD acquires technical data rights, according to a notice in the Federal Register.

Textron says winning one or two new helicopter programs 'would drive significant growth' for Bell

Textron reported lower quarterly sales and profit in its Bell Helicopter business, but said new opportunities from the Army and Marine Corps could provide growth.

BAE adds three to leadership team

BAE Systems' U.S. business said it has made three new appointments to its senior leadership team.

NCI taps Hicks to be CFO

NCI Information Systems said it has named Chuck Hicks chief financial officer.

SOS International hires Gray

SOS International said it has named Heather Gray vice president of capture, proposals.

The week ahead

The Senate is scheduled to vote this week on the nomination of Army Secretary Mark Esper to become defense secretary, while a nomination hearing has been scheduled for Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist to become deputy defense secretary. Top defense contractors will also hold a host of earnings calls.

Federal acquisitions meeting on Huawei provides more questions than answers

Federal acquisition officials including from the Pentagon held a public meeting Friday that did more to frame the questions, than to provide answers, for upcoming regulations on banning Huawei and other China-based companies from the government's information technology supply chain, including such basic issues as who is in charge of enforcing the new rules.

Pentagon says shifting F-35 supply chain after Turkey's ouster will cost $500M to $600M

The Pentagon's chief weapons buyer says it will cost between $500 million and $600 million to relocate the supply chain for more than 900 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter parts out of Turkey after the country's expulsion from the program.