The Insider

The Pentagon is poised to launch a new federal advisory committee tasked with providing recommendations to strengthen the defense industrial base, according to a Federal Register notice published Monday.

The Strategic and Critical Materials Board of Directors (S&CM BOD) will focus on addressing “challenges and opportunities concerning the National Defense Stockpile program,” according to the notice.

The panel will consist of 13 to 20 members and will be chaired by the assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy. Four other cabinet secretaries -- commerce, state, energy and interior -- will each appoint a member to the board. The chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittees will each designate someone for board membership as well.

The establishment of the board, which was directed by the FY-23 National Defense Authorization Act, follows the release of an implementation plan for DOD’s first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy.

The board’s requirements are detailed in a subsection in the Strategic and Critical Materials Stockpiling Act -- Title 50 of the U.S. Code, Chapter 5, Subchapter III, Section 98.

The Defense Department is granting Canada's Fireweed Metals Corp. $15.8 million to accelerate the company's development of a tungsten mine, according to a Friday DOD release.

“The United States is overly reliant on overseas sources of tungsten,” Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, said in a statement accompanying the release, “and a secure North American supply for this commodity will mitigate one of our most critical material risks.”

Tungsten’s application as a “critical input for military-grade steel production, aerospace components, munitions and ground vehicle armor” makes it critical to national security, according to DOD.

Authorities granted under the Defense Production Act consider Canada a domestic source, meaning the investment “supports the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy goal of expanding support for domestic production of critical minerals,” DOD said.

Canada’s Department of Natural Resources has also granted a conditional approval to contribute up to approximately $9.2 million for Fireweed’s tungsten mine development, according to the release.

The mine will be established at the Mactung site in the Yukon, Canada -- “one of the world’s largest underdeveloped high-grade deposits of tungsten,” DOD said.

The award, which uses funds from the 2022 Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act and is executed via the OASD(IBP)’s Defense Production Act Purchases office, aligns with the U.S.-Canadian Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals announced in January 2020.

The plan “advances both countries’ common interest in strengthening North American critical mineral production needed for defense, aerospace, clean energy, communication and other key industries,” DOD said.

The joint action plan enables those goals through an outline of “bilateral commitments to collaborate on industrial base investments, public-private partnerships and other projects to onshore and expand these capabilities,” according to the release.

The $15.8 million investment marks the latest of two awards from the DPAP office, totaling $22.4 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2025, the release said. It’s also the latest of six awards made to Canadian companies using DPA funds to implement a Canada-based project, according to DOD.

The Army wants industry feedback on a pilot program it hopes will inform its requirements for developing a secure, cloud-based enclave for small businesses, according to a Dec. 12 request for information.

“The Army seeks your input on proposed contract strategies and technical considerations that should be considered both for the Service/Solution Providers and the Small Business Users,” the RFI says.

The Next-generation Commercial Operations in Defended Enclaves, or NCODE, will provide small businesses with a safe space to share information and work together without having to worry about cybersecurity threat actors lurking in the same environment, Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo said at the Association of the United States Army’s annual trade show Oct. 15, when he announced its launch.

The Army wants to hear back about its two-year, “agile” NCODE Pilot, which is designed to undergo a series of competitions to “refine the NCODE concept” and turn it into a “potential enduring program,” according to the RFI.

The service wants potential service/solution providers to give input on a contracting strategy and asks them to provide a rough order of magnitude (ROM) cost estimate to help inform the requirements of the pilot. Small businesses are asked to give their take on the features of the pilot, which “will inform what capabilities the Army solicits as part of the following contract solicitation,” the RFI says.

The pilot falls under the purview of the office of the deputy assistant secretary of the army (data, engineering and software). The Army Contracting Enterprise held an NCODE industry day on Dec. 10 to let small businesses and potential service/solution providers know how they can meet the security certifications to take part in it.

The Army has inked a $656.2 million contract with BAE Systems Land & Armaments for two variants of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.

The fixed-price contract, devised by Army Contracting Command, will fund production of the M2A4 and M7A4 variants of the vehicle. BAE has until Nov. 30, 2027 to complete the order.

The York, Pennsylvania-based vendor won contracts in September and December of last year to build M2A4 and M7A4 versions using “legacy source variants” stripped from Bradley vehicles that fought in the Persian Gulf War.

The Army has supplied Ukraine with more than 300 Bradley vehicles since Russia’s invasion in 2022, according to a Defense Department fact sheet released Nov. 20.

The service plans to eventually replace the Bradley with the XM30, previously called the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle.

The Biden administration today announced a $500 million aid package for Ukraine that includes air defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, anti-tank weapons and more.

The package is being provided under Presidential Drawdown Authority "as part of the surge of security assistance the president directed to put Ukraine in the best possible position."

The package would include:

• Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) munitions;
• Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition;
• High-speed Anti-radiation missiles;
• Unmanned Aerial Systems;
• Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles;
• Humvees;
• Light tactical vehicles;
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment;
• Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
• Tube-launched, Optically guided, Wire-tracked missiles;
• Small arms ammunition;
• Demolitions equipment and munitions; and
• Spare parts, ancillary equipment, services, training and transportation.

The package is the 72nd tranche of equipment to be provided from Defense Department inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. Under PDA, the United States transfers weapons directly to Ukraine.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, future Air Force acquisition challenges, Navy submarines and more.

We start off with news on Stryker Brigade Combat Teams:

Army not doing enough to modernize Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, lawmakers say

The Army's current modernization investments leave out Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, House and Senate authorizers argue in their joint explanatory statement accompanying the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization conference bill.​

The Air Force's outgoing acquisition chief gave a forecast of the challenges his eventual successor will face:

Hunter: Next USAF acquisition chief can expect resource, integration challenges

As Air Force acquisition czar Andrew Hunter prepares to relinquish his duties to the incoming Trump administration, he anticipates the next executive to fill the role will face enduring obstacles around resourcing and integration.

Space news:

SPACECOM basing decision could change with presidential administration -- again

Moving U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama as President-elect Trump has promised would be costly and disconnect the fully operational command from a community of space experts, analysts told Inside Defense, while a major congressional supporter touted what he considers security benefits and long-term cost benefits at the proposed new location.

Integrated space fires top priority for SPACECOM chief as China expands space capabilities

ORLANDO -- U.S. Space Command's top requirement is weapon systems that can defeat space assets, whether through cyber, non-kinetic or kinetic attacks, according to SPACECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting.

Navy submarine and amphibious ship news:

Del Toro says communication between Congress, Navy is 'strong' following harsh report

After lawmakers noted concern with a "lack of transparency" from the Navy on submarine program challenges and solutions, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro assured reporters today that open communication between the service and Congress remains a top priority.

Navy punting LSM award due to pricier-than-expected bids

The Navy has been forced to further postpone procurement of the Landing Ship Medium due to higher-than-expected bids, according to the assistant Navy secretary for research, development and acquisition, who today cast doubt on the service's previous plan to procure the lead vessel in fiscal year 2025.

Army missile defense and helicopter news:

LTAMDS 'successful' in key operational test with IBCS, PAC-3

The Army's Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor successfully completed a key operational assessment last week, clearing an important testing hurdle necessary to stay on track for a planned high-level review where the next-generation Patriot radar will seek to pivot to production.

Authorizers want specifics from Army on Black Hawk modernization

House and Senate lawmakers are asking for specific pieces of information from the Army when it comes to Black Hawk modernization in the conference version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.

The FY-25 defense authorization conference bill has language in it giving the Air Force responsibility for air base air defense:

Lawmakers put Air Force on the hook for air base air defense plan

House and Senate authorizers want the Air Force to create and put into action a plan to begin fielding air base air defense sites at service installations located in the homeland and across the globe, per the recently released fiscal year 2025 defense policy conference bill.

The Pentagon is nearing the creation of a new artificial intelligence office:

DOD establishes new rapid AI capabilities cell, dissolves Task Force Lima

The panel charged with examining the use of generative artificial intelligence for the military has submitted its final recommendations to the Pentagon, setting the stage for the creation of a new rapid AI capabilities cell.