Inside the Pentagon highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Pentagon:

1. The Defense Department has re-opened a competitive project in its expanding efforts to develop an arsenal of hypersonic weapons, pulling Raytheon back into a program launched in 2015 to go head-to-head against Lockheed Martin in an effort to develop a tactical-range, hypersonic boost-glide weapon that could be air-launched -- and possibly also fired from a ship.

Full story: DOD pulls Raytheon back into competition against Lockheed for tactical hypersonic weapon

2. Democrats and Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee today offered a glimpse into the latest debate brewing over U.S. nuclear weapons, with Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) saying he does not believe the intercontinental ballistic missile leg of the triad is necessary to deter Russia and China.

Full story: House authorizers begin debate on nuclear modernization spending

3. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) tried today to be more supportive of acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan than he has been in the past, but said he wishes former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis would return to the Pentagon.

Full story: Inhofe supports plan to 'backfill' MILCON funds tapped for wall

4. The Pentagon estimates it will cost about $2 billion over the next five years to stand up a Space Force, including $72 million in fiscal year 2020 for a new headquarters, according to a strategic overview document that will accompany the Defense Department's forthcoming legislative proposal.

Full story: Pentagon estimates new Space Force will cost $2 billion over five years