The INSIDER daily digest -- Jan. 16, 2019

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the prospects of the FY-20 defense budget being rolled out on time, a mandatory audit of major weapon system programs, an ongoing debate about intellectual property and much more.

Don't expect the FY-20 budget to be rolled out on time:

Pentagon preps for budget delay as historic shutdown drags on

The Pentagon is preparing to delay the Feb. 4 rollout of its fiscal year 2020 budget request because of the ongoing partial government shutdown, according to government officials with knowledge of the matter.

The office of the Pentagon's acquisition executive found the Army, Navy and Air Force all executed major weapon system development programs in FY-18 without triggering a tax that could be used to finance a rapid prototyping program:

Major weapon programs avoid cost-growth penalty tax, again; OSD establishes liability caps

A mandatory audit of major weapon system programs turned up no cost growth in fiscal year 2018, which means the Office of the Secretary of Defense did not impose a penalty tax -- for a fourth consecutive year -- on any of the military services as required by law.

While a congressionally mandated panel composed of government and industry personnel reached consensus on a host of topics, they identified three areas in which the debate over ownership and access to intellectual property remains unresolved:

Pentagon's intellectual property debate with industry poised to continue

The Defense Department has received final recommendations from a special advisory panel on intellectual property rights indicating the struggle between defense contractors and the Pentagon over ownership and access to technical data is far from over.

Congress fenced the Navy's procurement of new HELIOS units to only one, unless the service secretary submits a report addressing concerns that the program was at risk of breaching cost thresholds set for research and development programs:

Navy will buy one HELIOS unit in FY-19, yielding to congressional fence

The Navy will not procure two units of an experimental high-energy laser in fiscal year 2019 as planned, and will instead adhere to a congressional procurement fence that allows the service to buy only one unit, according to a spokesman for the Navy secretary.

The Army's top uniformed official spoke at an Association of the United States Army breakfast this morning:

Milley: 'We are just scratching the surface' in growing modern Army

At his first public appearance of the year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley today restated the recent improvements made in manning and training, while the service works toward reaching its readiness and modernization goals following the National Defense Strategy.

News on the Section 809 panel's latest report:

Acquisition reform panel urges Pentagon buyers to implement changes and adopt 'war footing'

An acquisition reform panel has finished its work with a series of "bold" recommendations its members say is needed for the Pentagon to adopt a "war footing" in the technological competition with China and Russia, but the path forward for implementing the suggested changes is unclear.

Brandon Valeriano and Benjamin Jensen of the Marine Corps University wrote a paper published by the Cato Institute this week:

Defense strategists urge 'restraint' in response to Trump's aggressive cyber posture

Scholars at the Marine Corps University are warning the Trump administration's repeal of Obama-era restrictions on military responses to a cyber incident could escalate a situation into a full-blown cyber war, while urging "restraint" as a more effective approach to countering and deterring cyberattacks.

Some defense business news:

After ACV, MPF losses, SAIC will continue to pursue integration work and will 'refine' strategy

Though Science Applications International Corp. fell short in pursuing two major military vehicle programs, the company's chief executive told Inside Defense he would not have changed the company's technical approach.

News from this week's annual Surface Navy Association Symposium:

Coffman: Navy still working on mine warfare plan

The Navy is still working on its mine warfare blueprint, pushing past a previous target date of early January for its completion, according to the Marine Corps general overseeing the effort.

Navy developing autonomy architecture requirements to be mandated in future solicitations

The Navy is developing specifications for how autonomous technology should behave within its unmanned systems, with the intention to eventually include them in solicitations, according to a Navy official.