Saturday, September 14, 2024
Saturday, September 14, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Sentinel nuclear missile program's cost, the Air Force pondering whether to keep older F-22 fighter aircraft and more.
We start off with more coverage of the Sentinel ICBM system's ballooning costs:
Lawmakers criticize Sentinel's ballooning cost
Lawmakers overseeing the Defense Department are criticizing the management of the Sentinel nuclear missile program as the price tag has jumped to $140.9 billion, but many still support the Pentagon's decision to continue the acquisition effort.
The head of the Air Force's Air Combat Command spoke at a Mitchell Institution event this week:
ACC chief wants to keep aging F-22s, says NGAD down select will happen this year
Air Force Air Combat Command boss Gen. Ken Wilsbach says the service has no official plan to replace its fleet of F-22 Raptors, despite leaders for years saying a replacement would be the Next Generation Air Dominance system.
More coverage of the Senate Armed Services Committee's fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, including language on missile defense, Navy autonomous systems and the nuclear-armed, sea-launched missile program:
Draft bill eyes 'comprehensive integrated' domestic air and missile defense architecture
Draft legislation would require the Pentagon to develop a "comprehensive" integrated architecture to defend the United States against all missile types -- ballistic, cruise and hypersonic -- and assign an official responsibility for identifying the collection of radar, command and control and guided missiles or non-kinetic systems.
Senate policy bill pushes Navy to develop 'dual-modality' autonomous systems
The Senate version of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill directs the Navy to invest in developing "dual-modality" autonomous systems, authorizing an $18 million addition to the service's research and development budget to experiment with up to seven uncrewed vehicles.
Senate authorizers signal strong support for nuclear-armed, sea-launched missile
Senate authorizers are pushing the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile program forward, with a new provision that would limit the Navy secretary's travel if certain steps are not taken to further establish the program.
Last but by no means least, the latest on the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program:
Pentagon final rule to establish CMMC program remains on track for November release
The Defense Department plans to finalize in November its first final rule for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program amending Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, according to the latest unified agenda and regulatory plan.