The INSIDER daily digest

DOD oversight of defense industry M&A activity and coverage of this week's Space Symposium in Colorado are among the headlines in this Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest.

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission don't have a problem with the way the Pentagon polices defense industry M&A activity:

Justice and FTC find existing policy 'sufficiently flexible' for regulating defense industry consolidation

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission issued a joint statement Tuesday "reaffirming the importance of preserving competition in the defense industry," months after Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, announced he was seeking greater government authority to review proposed merger-and-acquisition activity in the defense sector.

Document: DOJ-FTC joint statement on defense industry consolidation

A House Armed Services Committee member spoke at this week's Space Symposium in Colorado:

Rep. Bridenstine's sweeping space policy bill calls for DOD to leverage commercial capability

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) has unveiled a sweeping space policy bill that calls for greater integration of commercial capabilities in military satellite programs and for increased resiliency on future constellations.

(Want more space news? Check out our Notification Center, where you can sign up to receive email alerts anytime a related story is posted.)

A new memo has surfaced with more details on reforming DOD's organizational structure:

Details emerge on DOD's internal reform proposals as lawmakers ready bills

Specific recommendations for reforming the Defense Department's organizational structure have emerged from an internal Pentagon working group, detailing some of the broad proposals Defense Secretary Ash Carter unveiled last week, though how DOD would implement many of the actions remains unclear as Congress prepares to offer its own path forward.

Document: DCMO memo on Goldwater-Nichols working group recommendations

Don't expect the National Sealift Fund to be appropriated any money in the next couple of years:

Navy suspending, not eliminating, sealift fund for two years

The Navy is suspending the National Defense Sealift Fund for two years to be more efficient financially and support the Defense Department's pending audit in fiscal year 2017, according to the service.

The Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office has revealed a three-part innovation playbook:

SCO reveals three-part playbook for innovation, growing 'strategic surprise' portfolio

The Defense Department is making public the centerpiece of a new rapid-acquisition system -- developed in secret over nearly four years -- that aims to convert existing combat capabilities into "strategic surprises" for near-peer competitors in hopes of attracting new ideas from across the U.S. military and private sector, while simultaneously bolstering conventional deterrence against China and Russia.

Cybersecurity will be an ongoing threat for DOD:

Carson: Personnel reform needed in cyber arena

A former defense official who sparked controversy after implementing Defense Secretary Ash Carter's vision for the "Force of the Future" says cybersecurity remains an area where the Pentagon needs to focus on personnel reforms.