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

Vectrus CEO says company sees opportunity to grow work with Navy in INDOPACOM region

The chief executive of Vectrus said this month the company is optimistic it will be able to expand its work through the Army's Logistics Civil Augmentation program in the Indo-Pacific Command region, particularly with the Navy.

Congress extends DOD authority to reimburse pandemic-related costs, but leaves out funding

Congress has voted to extend the Defense Department’s authority to reimburse defense contractors for COVID-19 pandemic-related costs, but lawmakers have yet to provide billions in supplemental funding the Pentagon says it will need to fully cover those costs.

After 'searing' COVID shortfalls, House lawmakers eye foreign dependencies in defense supply chain

A group of House Armed Services Committee members will develop legislative proposals in the coming months to address critical foreign dependencies in the U.S. defense supply chain.

L3Harris executives say company will maintain 4% investment in research and development

The top executives at L3Harris Technologies said the company plans to continue spending about 4% of its annual sales on research and development "for the foreseeable future."

Roper says he seeks to help Red 6 address 'color of money' challenges

Will Roper, the former top Air Force acquisition official who has now joined the advisory board of Red 6, told Inside Defense last week he wants to help the training startup address the challenge created by the military's "color of money" budgets.

Defense industry tabletop exercises show gaps in understanding certain CMMC requirements

Tabletop exercises conducted by the National Defense Industrial Association in coordination with Pentagon cyber certification leaders found areas of improvement are needed to clarify CMMC requirements for industry around operational technology and the marking of controlled unclassified information.

BAE promotes Stoneman

BAE Systems said it has named Shelly O'Neill Stoneman senior vice president for government relations, effective April 17.

The week ahead

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak on Capitol Hill this week and executives from several defense companies are slated to make conference presentations.

FCC to vote on key block of mid-band spectrum used by military, defense contractors

The Federal Communications Commission this week will vote on an order outlining how a key slice of spectrum currently set aside for military use will be opened to commercial, fifth-generation wireless networks.

Lawmakers coalesce around AI commission recommendations on talent, education

House lawmakers signaled broad support today for recommendations from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence on developing, attracting and retaining AI talent, while further probing the Defense Department’s digital shortcomings.

DOD CIO's office to evaluate need for potential rule addressing high-level assets in CMMC program

The Defense Department chief information officer is exploring if changes need to be made to the Pentagon's acquisition rules to take into consideration recent National Institute of Standards and Technology guidance for advanced persistent threats and the protection of high-level assets.