Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The latest DOT&E report continues to dominate the INSIDER Daily Digest, with a special emphasis on the Air Force today.
The Pentagon's annual operational test and evaluation report looks at a variety of Air Force programs, including the KC-46 airborne refueling tanker, the Space Fence radar, the Air Operations Center Weapon System and more:
Air Force questions DOT&E assessment of KC-46 EMP tests
The Air Force is working with the Pentagon's top weapons tester to "reconcile" concerns raised this week that KC-46 electromagnetic pulse testing completed last summer may not have met the conditions of the program's test and evaluation master plan.
JMS operational test schedule 'unrealistic,' DOT&E says
The director of operational test and evaluation said in his 2017 report the Air Force's test plan for the Joint Space Operations Center Mission System is unrealistic and could cause delays to the Space Fence radar.
Air Force fields AOC upgrades despite continued cybersecurity gaps
The Air Force chose to field upgrades to the Air Operations Center Weapon System last year even though it knew cybersecurity vulnerabilities persisted, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation said in his fiscal year 2017 report released this week.
MS-177 sensor, new weather radar pose problems in Global Hawk testing
Developmental testing on Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk revealed the MS-177 sensor's electromagnetic interference could lead to false signals intelligence reporting, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation wrote in his fiscal year 2017 report released this week.
Air Force completes MOP testing; counter-WMD project launched in 2004 now program of record
The Air Force last year completed a fourth round of upgrades to Boeing's Massive Ordnance Penetrator -- a 30,000-pound bunker-busting bomb designed to hit deeply buried targets -- and established the weapon, the largest conventional explosive in the U.S. military inventory, as a formal program of record, according to a new report.
Navy-related DOT&E news:
Second Pentagon office says CH-53K helicopter IOC will be late
The Pentagon's independent operational test and evaluation office has warned the Navy its CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter is unlikely to meet the service's goal of declaring initial operational capability in December 2019, becoming the second office to do so.
DOT&E: Navy will complete operational evaluation of LHA-6 to support 20 F-35s in FY-20
The Navy will complete the operational evaluation of the America-class amphibious assault ship's ability to support 20 Joint Strike Fighters in fiscal year 2020, according to a new Pentagon report.
The head of the Air Force's Air Combat Command had a lot to say at the Brookings Institution earlier this week:
Air Force invites airborne networking proposals as 'combat cloud' plans begin
Air Force Air Combat Command is planning a second airborne networking industry day this spring to build on discussions from last year's meeting, with the goal of developing cloud-based technology that allows fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft to communicate.
Holmes suggests FY-19 multidomain investment priorities
The head of Air Force Air Combat Command this week outlined three near-term investments he believes the Air Force should make to achieve true joint, multidomain operations, as the Pentagon expects to publish its fiscal year 2019 budget request early next month.
Air Force, Army plan joint multidomain tabletop exercises
Air Force Air Combat Command and the Army's Training and Doctrine Command will begin a series of four tabletop exercises over the next year to refine how the services would approach multidomain combat together, the head of ACC said this week.
Last year's enterprise study of multidomain command and control led the Air Force to create a "Shadow Operations Center":
'Shadow OC' scoping out first project but faces resource constraints
The commander overseeing the Air Force's fledgling "Shadow Operations Center" at Nellis Air Force Base, NV, recently told Inside the Air Force he wants to choose the group's first project within the month but that the effort could be hamstrung by funding and personnel shortages.
The hypervelocity gun weapon system holds the promise of conducting defenses against aerial, cruise missile and ballistic missile threats at a drastically reduced price:
SCO aims to transition hypervelocity weapon to services within the next year
The Strategic Capabilities Office expects to hand off development of the hypervelocity gun weapon system to the services within the next year.
Companies will likely need to adjust their onboarding training and their monitoring of former senior officials who come to work for them:
Experts say NDAA provision on lobbying could catch some in industry by surprise
Government contracting attorneys and advocates say a provision in the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act on lobbying by former government officials is more restrictive than previous regulations and might surprise defense contractors.