Welcome to today's Defense Business Briefing, your weekly roundup of the latest defense industry news.
LaPlante advises weapons makers to ask what a five-fold boost in production would take
Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante said the U.S. defense industrial base and that of its allies needs more money to produce weapons at much higher rates if it wants to compete with China and Russia and exit a "vicious circle" of cost cutting and reduced capacity.
DIU targeting U.S. industrial base expansion to deter China
The Defense Innovation Unit is pushing to rapidly expand the Pentagon's domestic supply chain to better deter China, according to senior DIU officials, who highlighted ongoing work with the Replicator drone program and other efforts.
New $3.9B T-AGOS 25 faces delays as Austal works to deliver new SWATH design
The Navy plans to spend more than $3.9 billion on a new fleet of T-AGOS 25-class Auxiliary General Ocean Surveillance ships, crucial for detecting and tracking submarine activity in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and for strengthening anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Test flight for AI-enabled KC-135 planned for next year
The Air Force has accepted Merlin's airworthiness plan to add its autonomous pilot to an operational KC-135 Stratotanker, putting the project on track for ground testing, flight testing and other demonstrations in 2025, according to a company news release.
Lawyers argue for allowing plan of action and milestones to address security lapses in CMMC compliance
The American Bar Association's Public Contract Law section is urging the Defense Department to consider allowing a plan of action and milestones for contractors to address ongoing compliance issues with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, as the Pentagon works to finalize a rulemaking to change its acquisition regulations.
The week ahead
Senior defense officials are slated to speak at a variety of events this week.
Army Science Board calls on service to heavily invest in EW capabilities
The Army has "significantly underinvested" in electronic warfare operations up to this point, a recently released Army Science Board white paper found.
DOD touts progress as it seeks elusive 'clean' audit
The Defense Department has failed to achieve a "clean" financial audit for the seventh consecutive year, though outgoing Comptroller Mike McCord highlighted progress that has been made in accounting for the funds of all the military services.