Defense Business Briefing -- Oct. 9, 2018

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

This week's top story

Pentagon targets China in new defense industrial base report

The U.S. defense industrial base is increasingly at risk, specifically from China, and in need of new, direct investments at the subcontractor level to prevent single points of failure and dependence on foreign sources, according to a long-awaited Pentagon report commissioned by President Trump.

News & notes

Pentagon postured to 'selectively intervene' in U.S. supply chain to block China

Senior Pentagon officials say they are prepared to spend new money and take other actions to "selectively intervene" in the U.S. defense supply chain if they deem it necessary to protect the industrial base from "predatory" Chinese influence or market-driven failures.

Harris planning new office near Army Futures Command

Harris is in the "final stages" of finding a new office location near Army Futures Command, a company executive told Inside Defense.

Huntington Ingalls closes sale of Avondale

Huntington Ingalls Industries said it has closed the sale of its Avondale facility to Avondale Marine, a joint venture of T.P. Host and Hilco Redevelopment Partners.

Appointments & promotions

ManTech promotes Vervaet

ManTech International said it has named Yvonne Vervaet senior vice president of growth and capabilities, a newly created position.

Novetta names Logue to board

Novetta said it has named Joe Logue, a former Booz Allen Hamilton executive, to its board of directors.

What's happening

The week ahead

The Association of the United States Army holds its annual convention in Washington this week, featuring an array of senior Pentagon officials.

For Inside Defense subscribers

Navy official: Service must ramp up enforcement of data protection at subcontractor level

The Navy should increase its enforcement efforts focused on subcontractors to protect the service’s data, Navy Under Secretary Thomas Modly said.

Former federal CIO Scott praises Pentagon's cloud plan as jump-starting IT modernization

Tony Scott, the federal government's former chief information officer, praised the Defense Department's proposal for consolidating its cloud computing operations, known as JEDI, as a significant move in addressing longstanding issues related to IT modernization, including cybersecurity.