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

Pentagon seeks to further develop, integrate DIBNow system to manage supplier information

The Pentagon is seeking to bolster its DIBNow system, a business intelligence and analytics capability focused on the industrial base, according to the head of the Defense Department's manufacturing and industrial base policy shop.

NCI zeroes in on artificial intelligence

IT services contractor NCI is launching an artificial intelligence technology meant to help the government address mundane and repetitive tasks, from data entry to service desk support.

MDA's reliance on undefinitized contract actions skyrockets, GAO finds

The Missile Defense Agency's reliance on undefinitized contracts -- which the military uses to authorize companies to begin work on weapons projects before agreeing to final terms -- has increased dramatically over the last five years, according to a congressional audit.

'Damage assessment' ongoing in hack of Navy contractor

The Pentagon has an ongoing damage assessment into the hack of a Navy contractor's networks that reportedly saw China steal troves of data on a sensitive program to outfit submarines with a supersonic, anti-ship missile.

Pentagon plans review of U.S. 'technology industrial base'

The Pentagon, on the heels of completing a review of its manufacturing industrial base, will soon begin studying whether U.S. industry is prepared to deliver the game-changing technologies the Defense Department seeks to field in the future.

VStar Systems opens new office in San Diego

Aerospace and defense systems company VStar Systems has opened a corporate office in San Diego.

SAIC reports increased sales, flat profit

Science Applications International Corp. said sales in its most recent quarter reached nearly $1.2 billion, up 7 percent from the same three-month period a year earlier.

The week ahead

Senior Pentagon officials are scheduled to appear at a variety of events around the Washington area this week.

Air Force sustainment chief stresses importance of intellectual property

The head of the Air Force Sustainment Center told lawmakers Thursday the intellectual property that supports weapon system development has become more valuable than the actual hardware -- a shift that has sparked some concern among lawmakers and the Defense Department as they struggle to negotiate with industry for access to those data rights.

Lawmakers move to tighten OTA production authorities after REAN Cloud controversy

House lawmakers are moving to restrict how quickly the Defense Department can shift other transaction agreements from prototype work to production after government auditors ruled DOD improperly awarded a nearly $1 billion follow-on production agreement earlier this spring.