Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has coverage of the past weekend's Reagan National Defense Forum and much more.
We start off with coverage from this past weekend's Reagan National Defense Forum in California:
DOD officials bracing for inflation squeeze with final FY-23 topline guidance
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The Defense Department is awaiting "passback" guidance from the White House, a topline allocation that will allow Pentagon leaders to lock in the fiscal year 2023 budget proposal and account for inflation forecasts that could significantly diminish weapon system buying power.
Austin issues call to U.S. industry to help in contest against China
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued "a call" to U.S. industry -- particularly information and technology innovation firms -- to help "bring the American way of war to the 21st century," directly appealing to national interest in the contest against China, previewing what he said is a pillar of the forthcoming National Defense Strategy.
Poland seeking 250 Abrams tanks, DOD viewing request favorably
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The Defense Department is considering a request from Poland to buy as many as 250 Abrams tanks, a deal likely worth more than $3 billion that would provide stability for the heavy armor production line and deliver an important capability to a European ally near Russia -- a package a senior DOD official involved in the process views very favorably.
2026 target for INDOPACOM's No. 1 priority, Guam Defense System, appears to be slipping
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The gambit to deliver Guam a new air and missile defense system by 2026 -- U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's No. 1 unfunded priority which the Pentagon is still working to define and Congress has not fully funded -- appears no longer achievable, with a new target date set to be identified in the fiscal year 2023 budget request.
Iron Dome 'not the answer' to Guam's air- and missile-defense requirement
SIMI VALLEY, CO -- The Army's maiden deployment of its Israeli-built Iron Dome air and missile defense system is wrapping up, capping a deployment to Guam -- billed as an experiment -- that began in early October to exercise transporting the system and setting up for operation but not conducting any live firings.
Some F-35 Joint Strike Fighter news:
New F-35 baseline, IOT&E schedule expected in early January, according to PEO
The head of the F-35 joint program office said today he expects an updated acquisition program baseline to be ready for release in January, setting a new schedule for completing a series of Joint Simulation Environment "runs for score."
The Defense Department late Friday released new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program guidance:
Pentagon releases CMMC scoping guidance, updated maturity model
The Defense Department has released long-awaited scoping guidance for its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program that will help defense contractors determine what assets will be included under the assessment process, along with a new overview document describing key changes to the program.
Document: Pentagon's CMMC scoping guidance
We had a preview on Friday of an upcoming Space Test Program-3 launch:
STP-3 mission to fly Space Force's first LDPE ring
A Space Force mission set to launch early Sunday morning will include a new Long-Duration Propulsive ESPA ring the service is using to carry prototype payloads that, in some cases, could augment operational capabilities.
A CH-53K helicopter transported a 27,000-pound light armored vehicle (LAV-25) from an amphibious assault ship to a landing zone on shore during testing last month:
Marine Corps CH-53K transports light armored vehicle during ship-to-shore testing
The Marine Corps conducted over-the-horizon heavy lift and troop transport operations using a CH-53K for the first time, the service announced Friday.
A recent Government Accountability Office report recommends the Defense Department "take additional actions to improve how it approaches intellectual property":
GAO questions Pentagon's plans for intellectual property teams
The Defense Department has outlined its strategy for a "federated" organization of intellectual property experts to bolster the acquisition of weapon systems and services, but the Government Accountability Office says it still has questions about the plan.
Document: GAO report on DOD's approach to IP