Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
The Air Force's Combat Rescue Helicopter program, defense industry news, the Senate's FY-19 defense spending bill and much more highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.
The Air Force doesn't plan to push back its schedule to begin fielding Combat Rescue Helicopters in FY-20:
GAO: Combat Rescue Helicopter fielding schedule poses reserve training problems
The Air Force will maintain its plan to field new Combat Rescue Helicopters starting in fiscal year 2020 despite looming problems for training reserve squadrons, because changing the schedule would require renegotiating its contract with Sikorsky, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Defense industry news:
Industry groups tout legislation aimed at drastically reducing background investigations backlog
Industry groups are pushing Congress to compel the government to take steps to drastically reduce the backlog of background investigations as the Pentagon readies to take over the investigative process.
Huntington Ingalls hunts for new opportunities with technical solutions division
When Huntington Ingalls Industries bought Camber in late 2016, it paired the government services company with six other businesses -- from an oil and gas company to its unmanned systems group -- to create a new division called technical solutions.
Boeing eyes KC-46 FAA supplemental certification this month to support first delivery in October
Boeing expects the Federal Aviation Administration later this month to approve a key supplemental certification for the new KC-46 tanker fleet later this month -- one of a few remaining hurdles the company must overcome before it delivers the first aircraft this fall.
The White House weighs in on the Senate's FY-19 defense spending bill:
Trump administration notes objections to Senate defense spending bill
The White House "strongly objects" to a measure in the Senate's fiscal year 2019 defense appropriations bill that would add $475 million to procure a second Littoral Combat Ship, as well as host of other provisions, according to a recent statement of administration policy.
Military aviation news:
GAO: Service safety centers providing incomplete, inconsistent aviation mishap data
As lawmakers press the Defense Department for more details about the cause of increased aviation mishap rates, a recent Government Accountability Office report highlights a lack of standardization and enforcement in mishap data reporting from the services that is limiting the accuracy and breadth of the department's analysis on mishap trends.
Navy will spend $643M to upgrade 54 F-35Cs, including software to Block 3F
The F-35 Joint Program Office projects it will cost $643 million to upgrade 54 F-35C Joint Strike Fighters to Block 3F software between April 2016 and January 2020, among other modifications.
The Congressional Budget Office looks at what will happen to the defense budget if discretionary spending caps remain unchanged:
CBO: Statutory budget caps limit Pentagon base budget to $550B, $563B in FY-20, FY-21
The Pentagon's fiscal years 2020 and 2021 base budget allocations will total $550 billion and $563 billion respectively -- dramatically below Trump administration plans -- if discretionary spending caps required by the 2011 Budget Control Act for those two years are not adjusted, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.
The Defense Department wants to give an Army heads-up display program more money:
Pentagon seeks $648M funding shift to accelerate Army's heads-up display technology
The Pentagon is asking Congress to approve a $648 million funding shift to accelerate a developmental Army heads-up display program championed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' close combat lethality task force, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.
Defense-related cyber news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:
Mixed views as Trump scraps Obama order on offensive cyber actions
Industry sources and Obama administration veterans are expressing concerns about President Trump's decision to scrap Presidential Policy Directive-20 -- which has guided the use of cyber weapons by the military -- while other sources say this simply removes bureaucratic hurdles that have undermined cyber deterrence policy.
Defense law requires Pentagon to assist DHS with 'non-reimbursable' resources
The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act signed into law this week calls on the Pentagon to provide assistance to the Department of Homeland Security in protecting critical infrastructure from cyberattacks -- in line with a long-standing arrangement between DHS and private industryy on sharing threat intelligence -- as part of a pilot project slated to run through 2022.