The Insider

The State Department has approved a $4 billion foreign military sale to Poland for an Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, according to a Defense Security Cooperation Agency notice.

The sale includes 93 IAMD Battle Command System Engagement Operation Centers, 175 IBCS Integrated Fire Control Network relays and other equipment.

The potential buy will be “phase two of a two-phase program for an Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS) enabled PATRIOT Configuration-3+ with modernized sensors and components,” DSCA said.

The sale, DSCA said, will bolster Poland as a key NATO ally.

“The proposed sale will improve Poland’s missile defense capability and contribute to Poland’s goal of updating its military capability while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies,” DSCA said.

Northrop Grumman will be the principal contractor, which, according to DSCA, will need to negotiate an offset agreement with the Polish government.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has coverage of a speech by the Air Force's top civilian official, Guam missile defense, Pentagon services contracts and more.

We start off with coverage from this year's Air and Space Forces Association's annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference:

Kendall calls out Tuberville holds, urges passage of budget

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall used his keynote speech at an Air and Space Forces Association conference Monday to call on Congress to pass a budget and for Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) to lift his blockade of military nominations.

Lt. Gen. Dan Karbler, head of Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the Joint Functional Component Commander for Integrated Missile Defense at U.S. Space Command, is moving to mobilize public opinion to shape ongoing discussion about the architecture for a new 360-degree air and missile defense system for Guam:

Key Army general calls for JLENS-like system for Guam defense, wants very high elevated sensor

The U.S. military should resuscitate a 2004 requirement for a high-flying, stationary radar to bolster defense of Guam, a top Army official argued, noting capabilities demonstrated by the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System before its 2018 termination are now urgently needed.

A new Service Acquisition Executive Steering Committee was established in June to focus on services contracts, which, according to the Government Accountability Office, require stronger management, especially if needless spending is to be detected and cut:

DOD working to tighten oversight of services contracts, per GAO audit

The Defense Department has created a special working group charged with increasing oversight of Pentagon services contracts, which account for about $200 billion in annual spending, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on DOD service contracts

While the initiation of Constellation-class frigate construction is pushed back, delivery of the ship is still expected to occur on-schedule in September 2027:

Construction of second Constellation-class frigate postponed to FY-24

Construction of the Navy's second Constellation-class frigate, Congress (FFG-63), has been pushed into early fiscal year 2024 -- a delay of at least six months from the April 2023 start date outlined in Navy budget books.

Deputy Defense Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Radha Iyengar Plumb explained at a recent Center for Strategic and International Studies event that the department seeks to combat fragility in the U.S. industrial base that the war in Ukraine has exposed:

DOD procurement official highlights push for multiyear contracts to supply Ukraine

A senior Pentagon acquisition official said this week that multiyear contracts are key to the long-term effort to support Ukraine against an ongoing Russian invasion and will serve as a "demand signal" for industry to replenish U.S. weapons that have been transferred there.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Defense Department artificial intelligence efforts, AUKUS legislation and more.

Joseph Larson, the deputy chief digital and artificial intelligence officer for algorithmic warfare, and Schuyler Moore, chief technology officer at U.S. Central Command, said this week that they are concerned about the Defense Department's lack of proper testing environments for AI and autonomy:

Defense tech officials see AI, autonomy testing challenges amid 'Replicator' announcements

Top defense officials driving the Pentagon's shift toward artificial intelligence and autonomy said Wednesday that obstacles remain concerning accurate testing and simulation.

The Aerospace Industries Association has released a new report examining House and Senate proposals that may be included in the upcoming FY-24 defense authorization bill, with the group endorsing proposals to enable the sale of Virginia-class submarines to Australia and other legislative language:

Industry urges simplicity and speed in AUKUS legislation

The AUKUS security partnership presents a massive opportunity for the United States and its industrial base but delivering on the agreement will require quick action in Congress and a "clean and simple" regulatory framework, according to an assessment of pending AUKUS legislation published by a U.S. industry group.

The Army has released plans for a new main battle tank:

Army unveils plans for all-new M1A3 Abrams tank for the 2040 battlefield, multidomain ops

Army leaders have determined -- five decades after launching the Abrams program and following five years of closely held analysis -- that the time has come for a clean-sheet tank design to invent a new combat vehicle optimized for machine-speed warfare, armed not only with a big gun but artificial intelligence, new components to significantly reduce weight and more.

Our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity have defense-related coverage from the Billington Cybersecurity Conference:

Space Force official calls public-private partnerships necessary for supply chain security

The Space Force is looking to enhance its supply chain security efforts by growing public-private partnerships, according to cyber official Col. Erica Mitchell.

Pentagon small business office plans pilot with companies on protecting CUI

The Pentagon Office of Small Business Programs will launch a pilot with 25 to 50 companies to explore how to help smaller organizations comply with National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171 using a cloud environment provided by the Defense Department, according to Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification leader Stacy Bostjanick.

The Space Force has awarded a new satellite services contract:

Space Force awards IDIQ contract to Hughes Defense for LEO satellite services

The Space Force awarded a five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to Hughes Defense to provide low Earth orbit satellite services, according to an Aug. 22 announcement.

To echo the Guardians' function of defending America's interest in space, the Space Force announced Sept. 6 a new mission statement -- "secure our Nation's interest in, from and to space."

“We did not hire a corporate marketing team to develop a catch phrase. Nor did generals sit around a table in the Pentagon debating what the statement should be,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operation, said in the announcement.

“Our mission statement was sourced from a Guardian-driven process,” he said.

The service received 135 responses within two weeks after Saltzman asked Guardians to “choose the words that describe their shared mission” in May, the announcement states.

In July, the service hosted eight focus groups that included participation from officer, enlisted and civilian Guardians from four field commands and significant commands to provide feedback and pull together a new phrase -- the new mission statement.

According to the announcement, each word chosen represents a vital aspect of the Space Force mission.

The “secure” in the statement refers to the service’s functions to contest and control the space domain on behalf of the nation and joint force if directed. “Our Nation’s interests” reflects the Guardian’s focus on defending the security of the U.S. in space as well as reflects on the importance of space activities.

The service said the “in, from and to space” represents the service’s functions -- “in space” refers to securing the nation’s interest by performing space activities to protect from enemies and counter space threats, “from space” by delivering global mission operations and “to space” by having assured access to space via vehicle launch.

“Our mission statement is a call that concisely encapsulates our purpose and identity as Guardians and members of the profession of arms,” Saltzman said.

Bell has chosen GE Aerospace to work on the development of digital systems for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, Bell announced today.

The Army selected Bell to produce FLRAA, the eventual replacement for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, last December. However, a protest from competing bidder Sikorsky temporarily halted the program until April when the Government Accountability Office denied the protest.

According to Bell, GEO Aerospace will work to develop a Common Open Architecture Digital Backbone, as well as a voice and data recorder and health awareness system. GE Aerospace’s role will involve creating an “open, scalable, high-speed data infrastructure” that is compatible with the Army’s Modular Open Systems Approach.

The voice and data recorder analyzes flight and voice data, while the health awareness system facilitates predictive maintenance, according to Bell. The digital backbone builds on a previous Army Mission System Architecture Demonstration that “demonstrated the capability to rapidly integrate multiple operationally relevant sensors and equipment packages aligned to government-defined use cases.”

Ryan Ehinger, the Bell’s senior vice president and program director for FLRAA, said in a statement that the addition of GE Aerospace is a “foundational effort to improve weapon system capability and affordability for the Army by ensuring architectural alignment for integration of new technology.”

Army officials have said that even after FLRAA aircraft go into service in 2030, Black Hawks will continue to operate until around 2060. FLRAA is expected to enter milestone B in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Leidos this week announced the promotion of Amy Smith to lead the company's lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.

Smith joined Leidos as vice president of government affairs in 2020. Before that, she worked for Boeing for seven years as chief of staff and senior director of international operations and policy.

Prior to that, Smith spent 17 years working for various House lawmakers, including a six-year stint as policy director for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Anduril, a non-traditional defense startup based in California, has acquired drone maker Blue Force Technologies amid a flurry of announcements from senior Pentagon officials in the past few weeks that fleets of autonomous weapon systems must be fast-tracked to compete with China.

Neither company has disclosed the terms of the deal.

Chris Brose, Anduril’s chief strategy officer and a former chief of staff on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview with Inside Defense that the company intends to “pour investment” into Blue Force, especially its unmanned Fury aircraft, which, when paired with Anduril’s “Lattice for Mission Autonomy” could compete to be the kind of “collaborative combat aircraft” sought by the Air Force.

“We want to catalyze and accelerate that progress,” he said. “This is something we are seeking to build an alternative industrial base to produce.”

The announcement of Anduril’s acquisition of North Carolina-based Blue Force comes amid the Pentagon’s unveiling of its new Replicator program, which aims to purchase thousands of small, autonomous and “attritable” drones to counter China’s enormous military presence.

“The Replicator initiative is music to my ears,” Brose said. “I think it is what the department has needed, what industry has needed for years now, which is moving beyond innovation and experimentation and getting to real large-scale production and autonomous capabilities.”

But, he said, “the devil is in the details.”

“Will there be money for this? Why will this work when other large defense initiatives have worked less well?” Brose said. “All of those challenges are surmountable. It really comes down to whether the government has the will to complete the swing.”

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, meanwhile, said at a Defense News conference Wednesday that DOD does not intend to make Replicator a program of record or seek new funding for it in fiscal year 2024.

“We're not creating a new bureaucracy and we will not be asking for new money in FY-24,” she said. “Not all problems need new money. We are problem solvers and we intend to self-solve. So, Replicator will use existing funding, existing programming lines and existing authorities to accelerate production and deliver at scale.”

Hicks said DOD envisions “flocks of systems, flying at all sorts of altitudes, doing a range of missions” to compete with China’s No. 1 advantage in the Indo-Pacific: size.

“They could be deployed by larger aircraft, launched by troops on land or sea, or take off themselves,” she said.

Brose said Anduril, which purchased autonomous underwater vehicle maker Dive Technologies in 2022 and rocket firm Adranos in June, is positioning itself to bring “affordable mass” to DOD.

“The pacing threat that everyone is focused on rightly is China,” he said. “As a company that is the problem we are helping and seeking to help the DOD solve. That is where we want to be relevant, that is where we want to add value and that is where we want to change the game.”