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

Lockheed, Aerojet say FTC will likely block merger

Lockheed Martin, ahead of its quarterly earnings call today, said it is "highly likely" the Federal Trade Commission will block the company's proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Raytheon anticipates opportunities for Air Force hypersonics work

Raytheon Technologies' chief executive told analysts during a quarterly earnings call that he hopes the company will "have some interesting opportunities" to partner with the Air Force this year on defensive systems against hypersonics.

TransDigm 'price gouging' controversy spurs new cost transparency bill

Citing the ongoing pricing controversy with Pentagon contractor TransDigm, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has drafted a bill based off a Defense Department legislative proposal that would require contractors provide more cost information to the federal government.

Teledyne FLIR combines surveillance, unmanned divisions

Teledyne FLIR has combined its surveillance and unmanned solutions segments and promoted a pair of executives to vice president roles in the new organization, the company announced.

DARPA looks to solutions for speeding contracting, transition processes

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking at technological fixes and other investments to help quicken defense contracting and bolster existing transition strategies, one of a series of future priorities officials are working on to make progress.

DOD contracting official: Policy for fixing CMMC compliance blind spots to include threshold requirements

The Defense Department's policy for contractors to provide details on how they will address gaps in their Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification assessments will include a threshold on requirements that "need to be" taken "seriously," according to DOD's John Ellis, who leads the office responsible for conducting CMMC assessor audits.

Champoux joins Castellum advisory board

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Bernie Champoux has joined the advisory board of technology services company Castellum, the company announced.

Ostrosky hired as Peraton's chief procurement officer

Dan Ostrosky has been hired to be Peraton's senior vice president and chief procurement officer, the company announced.

The week ahead

Senior military officials are slated to speak during several virtual events this week.

Army to use science fiction to envision information warfare, WMD threats

The Army Cyber Institute is turning to an unusual source to help leaders anticipate future threats: graphic novels.

Navy now eyeing April for LUSV analysis of alternatives completion

The Navy has pushed the target completion date for a mandated study -- exploring potential alternatives to a fleet of Large Unmanned Surface Vessels that include commercial ships and amphibious warships packed with long-range missiles -- until spring, a delay of more than six months compared to the project's original goal.

Biden signs memo extending cyber EO requirements to national security systems

In a recent memorandum, President Biden is extending requirements in a major 2021 cybersecurity executive order to national security systems.