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

Senate lawmakers want to review how DOD monitors industry M&A process

The Senate Armed Services Committee has passed a fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill that requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a review of the Defense Department's processes for monitoring mergers and acquisitions in the industry, according to a summary of the legislation.

Following protest denial, Leidos poised for 'robust' resumption of DES work

The Government Accountability Office has denied a protest from General Dynamics Information Technology targeting an $11.5 billion contract awarded to Leidos to unify the Pentagon's Fourth Estate IT environments, ending what amounted to a holding pattern for the Defense Enclave Services effort.

House defense bill includes creation of CISA collaboration environment

The House Armed Services Committee is set to mark up an annual defense policy bill that includes creation of the "Cyber Threat Information Collaboration Environment Program," a reworked version of a Cyberspace Solarium Commission proposal viewed as an important component for government-industry interaction.

Plumb nominated for deputy acquisition chief

President Biden has nominated Radha Plumb, currently the chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, to be deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, according to the White House.

The week ahead

There will be major news from Capitol Hill this week as two House committees debate their annual defense appropriations and authorization bills.

Original GPI fielding target of 2028 in flux; USD(R&E) not convinced of MDA's approach

The Pentagon is backpedaling on plans to accelerate Glide Phase Interceptor development, congressional auditors reveal in a new report, an inauspicious beginning for the high-stakes hypersonic defense project that the independent review calls "highly ambitious" and "technically challenging" as well as saddled with cost and schedule risk.

F-35 full-rate production decision expected by March 2024 under updated APB

The F-35 program is poised to reach its long-delayed, full-rate production decision by March 2024 under an updated acquisition program baseline that recently won approval, a Pentagon spokeswoman told Inside Defense.