The INSIDER daily digest -- Aug. 29, 2023

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on testing rapid prototype weapons, U.S.-Australian missile defense cooperation, development of a Joint Fires Network and more.

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu spoke this morning at a National Defense Industrial Association conference in Washington:

DOD's top tech official ready to make funding case for winning prototypes

Defense Department technology chief Hedi Shyu has been testing rapid prototype weapons for months and is now preparing for a major meeting with the Pentagon's top officials to make the case for funding them and providing them to the military services at scale, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

Shyu to huddle with Australians over missile defense integration, AUKUS tech transfer

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said today that Australian military officials will be meeting with her in September to discuss possibilities for air and missile defense integration.

The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spoke yesterday at the same NDIA conference:

Joint Fires Network remains a top developmental priority for INDOPACOM

Developing a Joint Fires Network is a top priority for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which is working to deliver a prototype system intended to synchronize data sharing and decision-making across the Indo-Pacific area of operations, according to Navy Adm. John Aquilino.

Our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity have news on Canada launching a cyber defense effort similar to the U.S. Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program:

Canadian government announces plans to launch cyber certification program aligned with CMMC

The Canadian government is launching a cyber certification program for contractors who want to do business with the country's Department of National Defence that will be aligned with the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

U.S. military special operators will now be able to move around in a submersible without getting wet:

Dry combat submersible: No wetsuit required

Costing $70 million per hull, U.S. Special Operations Command has fielded a dry combat submersible (DCS) to "complement" current underwater delivery vehicles for transporting special operations forces.