Defense Business Briefing -- Sept. 4, 2018

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

This week's top story

Lockheed Martin Ventures invests -- again -- in Ocean Aero

Lockheed Martin Ventures has made a second investment in Ocean Aero, the developer of the Submaran unmanned maritime vehicle.

News & notes

Contractors await further clarity from DOD on 'deliver uncompromised'

Pentagon officials have been mulling over a new initiative aimed at raising the importance of security in acquisition for at least two months, but industry groups are awaiting further clarity on how the Defense Department will implement the "deliver uncompromised" effort.

SMC to establish contractor watch list in late September

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center expects by September to begin implementing new procedures to hold contractors responsible for poor performance.

Arlington Capital picks up government solutions division of Black Box

Private-equity firm Arlington Capital Partners has acquired the government solutions division of Black Box, and the business will now operate as Tyto Athene.

Appointments & promotions

Raytheon promotes Azevedo

Raytheon said it has named Roy Azevedo president of its space and airborne systems business.

What's happening

The week ahead

The week ahead will be a busy one for the Washington defense community. Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to speak at several area conferences, while Congress returns to work on final appropriations bills.

For Inside Defense subscribers

Pentagon's chief management officer looks to IT and business systems for budget savings

The Pentagon is reviewing its $35 billion information technology and business systems enterprise for savings opportunities and has found several areas where it can shave millions in spending, according to the officials in charge.

Pentagon's cloud strategy 'continues to evolve' as Oracle protests JEDI solicitation

The Defense Department maintains it will have multiple cloud computing providers in the future and is telling companies its cloud strategy "continues to evolve," as DOD prepares to respond to a protest against a potentially $10 billion solicitation.

Pentagon's new 30-year unmanned systems roadmap charts course for AI, weaponization

The Defense Department's new 30-year unmanned systems plan -- the first update on the long-range roadmap in four years -- grapples with the "massive potential" of artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as the tricky policy challenges of weaponizing these systems.