The INSIDER daily digest -- Feb. 6, 2020

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has a deep dive into the Marine Corps Commandant's Planning Guidance, the Air Force's B-52 engine replacement program test strategy, the Army's LOGCAP V program and more.

We start off with a deep dive into the Commandant's Planning Guidance and what it means for the Navy/Marine Corps team and the impending budget submission:

Marine Corps pursues aggressive change with deep ramifications for acquisition

As the Marine Corps works to keep up with a new National Defense Strategy, its top officer is advocating for sweeping force design changes meant to help the service prepare for 2030.

The Air Force's B-52 engine replacement program test strategy should be finalized by April:

Air Force expects B-52 CERP test plan approval in April

The Air Force expects to have final approval for its B-52 engine replacement program test strategy by April -- an oversight requirement lawmakers directed in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act due to concerns the service is imposing too much risk on the program by using mid-tier acquisition authorities to procure the engines.

The Army won't be looking for new contractors to work on the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program V:

After taking corrective action, Army says it is sticking with LOGCAP V contracts

The Army says its corrective action on the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program V is complete and that it wants to uphold the original awards, according to a new filing with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

The Pentagon's top civilian spoke on the defense budget this morning at a Washington think tank:

Esper concedes flat budget, hopes for new 3%-5% growth trajectory in coming years

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said today the Pentagon, on the heels of several spending increases granted by Congress, must "brace" itself for a stagnant budget, though he wants to get on track to 3%-5% annual growth in the coming years.

In related budget news, the Pentagon has issued an internal review on where money could be saved:

Pentagon 'Fourth Estate' review finds $5.7B to reinvest in new technologies

An internal review has found $5.7 billion in fiscal year 2021 budget cuts the Pentagon wants to reinvest in emerging technologies like hypersonics, space, missile defense and artificial intelligence, according to a report slated to be delivered to Congress.

Document: DOD's 'Fourth Estate' review

Keep an eye out for a Defense Department legislative proposal on the new Space Force:

Pentagon to deliver Space Force legislative proposal by Feb. 20

The Defense Department is crafting a legislative proposal to submit to Congress by Feb. 20 that lays out possible authorities and policy changes to support its next steps in standing up the new service.

The Missile Defense Agency is finalizing over the next two weeks a solicitation for a clean-sheet design for a competitive Next Generation Interceptor program:

After $1.3 billion 'oops' with RKV failure, MDA settling on final NGI concept

The Pentagon is settling on a concept for a Next-Generation Interceptor, a nearly 10-year project that will require a radical overhaul of planned missile defense spending while raising questions about the efficacy of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system to protect the nation in the interim.

Some news on how contractors are adapting to the new cybersecurity certification requirement:

Pentagon already scoring some contractors on cybersecurity via new assessment center

While the Pentagon's contractor cybersecurity certification requirement is still months away from showing up in contracts, a new Defense Department cyber assessment center has emerged over the past year and is already scoring some companies on their network security practices.

Defense industry claims credit for Pentagon's go-slow approach to cybersecurity certification

Pentagon acquisition officials say a sweeping cybersecurity certification program issued last week will take six years to fully implement, a phased-in schedule that defense industry officials say is the result of pressure by the contracting community about mitigating costs.