The INSIDER daily digest -- Jan. 17, 2024

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a joint U.S.-Japanese missile defense project, the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, unmanned surface vessels participating in a number of exercises and more.

Northrop Grumman announced this week it would team up with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. for a joint missile defense effort, led by Masahiko Arai, group senior vice president of defense & space systems at Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and Northrop Grumman's Ian Reynolds, vice president of the C4 missile defense business unit in Huntsville, AL:

Northrop teams with Mitsubishi Electric in what appears to be first move toward IBCS Japan

A pair of U.S. and Japanese defense contractors announced a new teaming agreement to "collaborate" on integrated and missile defense capabilities for Japan's ground-based systems, in a move that could be a first step toward exporting to a Pacific ally the U.S. Army's new "game changing" Integrated Battle Command System.

The latest Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Tech group looks to upcoming defense acquisition rulemaking for details on incorporating CMMC requirements into contracts

The Information Technology Industry Council anticipates details on incorporating acquisition requirements for contractors under the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program will come in the next rulemaking for the initiative, which will focus on making changes to the Defense Department's acquisition regulations.

Unmanned surface vessels participated in the Navy Large Scale Exercise in August, as well as a Royal Australian Navy autonomous exercise in November:

Navy completes medium/large unmanned vessel exercise

After traveling nearly 50,000 nautical miles, four unmanned surface vessels returned to Naval Base Ventura County on Monday, marking the end to another Navy unmanned capabilities exercise.

A recent test of the Marine Air Defense Integrated System "subjected MADIS to actual battlefield scenarios, where it detected, tracked, identified and defeated unmanned aerial threats" using Stinger missiles and a 30mm cannon:

MADIS air defense system intercepts drone targets in live-fire test of LRIP unit

The Marine Corps has successfully test-fired a low-rate initial production model of the Marine Air Defense Integrated System, using MADIS to shoot down multiple drone targets during a December live-fire test held at the Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

A new report issued this week by the Atlantic Council states the United States must face Russia's acute threat and the longer-term threat posed by China as this is the first time in history the U.S. is facing "two revisionist powers armed with nuclear capabilities and detrimental territorial ambitions":

Report urges DOD to adopt emerging technologies more quickly to counter Russia and China

A report released today from the Atlantic Council's Commission on Defense Innovation Adoption contends that the Defense Department needs to efficiently adopt emerging technology to deter China and Russia, citing steps the department should take to face challenges abroad.

The Tranche 2 Tracking Layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture will be getting more satellites:

L3Harris, Lockheed and Sierra win $2.6 billion to make SDA Tranche 2 Tracking Layer satellites

The Space Development Agency announced today it awarded up to $2.6 billion to three vendors to produce 54 total satellites for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.