Inside the Pentagon highlights

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

1. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wants House and Senate lawmakers to know he is opposed to several provisions in their versions of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill as they head into conference committee deliberations, according to an Oct. 17 letter sent to Capitol Hill and obtained by Inside Defense.

Full story: Mattis opposes several FY-18 defense policy bill measures

2. Raytheon interceptor successfully knocked down a ballistic missile target in a live-fire exercise over the weekend, setting the stage for the Missile Defense Agency to proceed with a long-delayed full-rate production decision of the weapon which is pivotal to U.S. plans to defend American forces and allies against North Korean and Iranian threats.

Full story: Raytheon's SM-3 Block IB intercepts target, paving way for potential mega contract

3. U.S. Cyber Command made first use of its new acquisition authority last month, inking a contract worth just over half a million dollars with Gartner Inc. for research and executive advisory assistance.

Full story: U.S. Cyber Command awards first contract

4. The Defense Department has tapped Lockheed Martin to begin integrating a low-power laser on a high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle, the first of a small number of contracts slated to be awarded this year to develop competing approaches for a potential precursor to an airborne laser capable of intercepting ballistic missiles during the boost-phase of flight.

Full story: DOD taps Lockheed to start new effort to develop airborne missile-defense laser