The INSIDER daily digest -- Feb. 1, 2018

By John Liang / February 1, 2018 at 2:16 PM

Missile defense, the still-unresolved FY-18 military spending bill and more highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.

The latest test of the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor has failed:

MDA acknowledges Aegis BMD flight test failure in test critical to EPAA Phase 3

The Missile Defense Agency has conceded a major missile defense flight test yesterday in Hawaii failed, a setback for Raytheon's Standard Missile-3 Block IIA development program and potentially the $600 million in orders for the new guided missile interceptor the Pentagon placed last summer.

More missile defense news:

MDA awards Boeing $6.6B sole-source GMD development and sustainment contract

The Missile Defense Agency has awarded Boeing a sole-source, six-year, $6.6 billion contract modification to modernize and sustain the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, extending the company's role managing all aspects of the guided-missile interceptor program until 2023 and raising the potential value of the contract originally awarded in 2011 to $12.6 billion.

Just because lawmakers are nearing a budget deal doesn't mean there won't be another government shutdown:

Thornberry: Lawmakers 'very close' to a budget agreement

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), one of Capitol Hill's top defense hawks, said today congressional leaders are nearing a budget deal, but stopped short of promising it would prevent another government shutdown.

The Pentagon's operational test and evaluation office looks at the security of DOD networks:

Report: DOD inadequately training network defenders on new security stacks

The Defense Department's new suites of regional security systems aren't up to the task of defending DOD networks from realistic cyberattacks because the U.S. military has a dearth of properly trained network defenders, according to the annual report from the Pentagon's top weapons tester.

Check out Inside Defense's full DOT&E report coverage →

The Army Futures Command Task Force led by Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon is scheduled to present recommendations to the secretary and chief of staff by Feb. 6:

Location of Futures Command a point of contention for Army

A small group tasked with revamping the Army's approach to modernization is preparing to recommend the potential structure and location of a new command, sparking an internal debate with far-reaching implications.

A new GAO report looks at foreign military sales:

GAO: DOD waived $16 billion in costs for foreign allies buying U.S. weapons over past six years

The Defense Department approved waivers totaling nearly $16 billion in nonrecurring costs that would have been charged to foreign countries buying U.S. weapons over the past six years, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on foreign military sales

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The technology enabling a manned-unmanned teaming, or leader-follower, capability for ground forces has been deemed a potentially life-saving effort by project managers:

Army taking closer look at Leader Follower this summer

A demonstration of the U.S. and British armies' robotic systems last October gave a glimpse into the future of transporting supplies to the front lines without drivers. It was the beginning of a three-year project to eliminate risks inherent in the "difficult and dangerous" last mile, according to an Army release.

Army Lt. Gen. Mike Murray, deputy chief of staff (G-8), spoke with Inside Defense recently:

G-8: Army tweaks FY-19 budget and POM to accommodate modernization priorities

Army senior leaders have made a series of adjustments to the fiscal year 2018 budget, FY-19 request and the program objective memorandum for FY-20 through FY-24 to better resource top modernization priorities.

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