The INSIDER daily digest -- Dec. 22, 2022

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has a scoop on delays to the Space Force's Next Generation Operational Control System as well as news on increased congressional oversight of middle-tier acquisition programs and more.

The Next Generation Operational Control System is facing new delays, and Inside Defense has the scoop:

OCX schedule slips again; delivery not expected until summer 2023

Delivery of the Space Force's long-troubled Next Generation Operational Control System, the modernized ground segment for Global Positioning System satellites, has been delayed again to summer 2023, the service’s acquisition office said in a statement to Inside Defense.

Language included in the fiscal year 2023 bipartisan omnibus defense appropriations bill released this week seeks to get a handle on middle-tier acquisition programs, while aiming to limit the instances in which research and development funds are used to buy "excessive numbers of end-items":

Lawmakers seek changes to accelerated acquisition pathways in approps bill

House and Senate appropriators are pushing to add further guardrails to accelerated middle-tier acquisition authorities, raising concerns over the lack of transparency in cost and capability status tied to the rapid prototyping and fielding pathways.

Inside Defense got to witness the launch of a pair of satellite communication spacecraft that could provide broadband to warfighters in remote areas of responsibility:

SES looks to expand global broadband with new mPOWER satellites

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- Nestled atop an oft-reused SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, two satellites built by Boeing for Luxembourg-based satellite telecommunications provider SES lifted off from here the evening of Dec. 16, climbing to medium earth orbit to provide low-latency broadband for users around the globe.

The latest on the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Pentagon's CMMC program launch faces delay as OMB rulemaking review shifts to January

The Pentagon is planning to submit the first rulemaking under its cyber certification program in January for review by the White House Office of Management and Budget, according to a Defense Department spokeswoman, shifting the official launch timeframe farther down the road than previously expected.

The modified version of a sensitive Government Accountability Office report, initially published in November and released publicly this week, says while DOD is making significant investments in modernizing its aircraft fleet, the department has yet to conduct a comprehensive analysis of its acquisition strategy across its aircraft portfolio:

DOD to conduct first integrated acquisition portfolio review of aircraft fleet

The Defense Department will conduct an integrated acquisition portfolio review of its fixed-wing aircraft within the next one to two fiscal years, in line with advice from government auditors who caution that current practices fail to supply adequate information to departmental and congressional decision makers.

Document: GAO report on tactical aircraft investments