Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on defense contracting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program and more.
We start off with Pentagon acquisition officials' recent actions to make sure the Defense Department can award contracts quickly to combat the COVID-19 pandemic:
DOD loosens reins on commercial procurements to fight COVID-19
Defense Department acquisition officials have issued new guidance to allow "maximum flexibility" to award emergency contracts for commercial products and services in preparation for a "significant number of new awards" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a pair of new Pentagon memos.
The Pentagon's effort to implement its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program soldiers on:
Pentagon to give companies credit for existing certifications under new contractor cybersecurity program
The Pentagon plans to give companies credit for existing cybersecurity qualifications as part of a new contractor cyber certification program, after the tech industry lobbied for the reciprocity, according to a defense official.
Pentagon's CMMC accreditation body seeks industry input on certification compliance
The industry-based accreditation body tasked with implementing the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program is reaching out to the broader contracting community for advice on how to determine whether a company has complied with the new requirements, a move that comes days after the group signed a legally binding agreement with the Defense Department on training and certifying cyber auditors.
The Air Force has canceled a hypersonic missile program:
HCSW program officially canceled after key milestone completed this month
The Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, one of two Air Force programs intended to create a prototype that can travel faster than Mach 5 to boost the military's strategic assets for near-peer competition, has officially been canceled.
The Missile Defense Agency wants to extend the range of the Standard Missile-3 Block IB interceptor:
After MDA demonstrates 7x increase in defended area, Raytheon pitching EOR for older SM-3s
Raytheon and the Missile Defense Agency are exploring options to extend the range of the Standard Missile-3 Block IB -- pushing the ballistic missile interceptor to dramatically expand a defended area by allowing the weapon to communicate with off-board radars -- a move that would require enhancing one of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system's newest features: Engage-on-Remote.
A report on an alternative acquisition system for the Space Force is due out soon:
Air Force 'very close' to finalizing Space Force alternative acquisition system report
The Air Force is nearly finished with a key report that will recommend a plan for establishing an alternative Space Force acquisition system that draws successful practices from organizations like the National Reconnaissance Office and the Rapid Capabilities Office to improve the way space capabilities are developed and procured.