The INSIDER daily digest -- July 21, 2017

A new defense industrial base review, the Senate's defense spending bill, the Navy's EA-18G Growler program and a slew of Air Force news highlight this Friday INSIDER Daily Digest.

A new defense industrial base review will soon be underway:

White House directs Pentagon to run government-wide defense industrial base review

President Trump will sign an executive order Friday directing the Pentagon to oversee a nine-month, government-wide assessment of the defense industrial base, according to White House officials.

Inside Defense has an early look at Senate appropriators' FY-18 defense spending plans:

Senate appropriators will not boost base defense topline

Pitting it squarely against its House counterpart, the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee is crafting a spending bill that adheres to the funding limits set by the 2011 Budget Control Act.

We have continued coverage of the latest Navy and Air Force selected acquisition reports:

Navy must rebaseline Growler program because of cost breaches

The Navy must rebaseline the EA-18G Growler program after incurring cost breaches in both its research and development and operations and sustainment accounts, according to a selected acquisition report obtained by Inside Defense.

Air Force, NRO updating EELV cost baseline to align with new strategy

The Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office are working to develop a new service cost position and revised acquisition program baseline for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program to incorporate a revised strategy and an influx of funds from Congress to replace the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine.

Growing demand puts JDAM program over procurement cost threshold

The Air Force is working on a program deviation report for the Joint Direct Attack Munition program because increased demand is causing excessive procurement costs, according to its 2016 selected acquisition report, obtained by Inside Defense this week.

AWACS upgrade fixes expected to finish by early 2018 to resume FOT&E

The Air Force is expected to field software improvements to the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System Block 40/45 upgrade starting this year, though none will affect the program's cost, schedule or performance, according to a selected acquisition report obtained by Inside Defense this week.

The Pentagon wants to revamp its Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System effort:

DOD requests $36.1 million to revamp AOC upgrade effort, but faces questions in the Senate

The Defense Department is asking Congress to reprogram $36.1 million to pay for a new "pathfinder" approach to upgrade the Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System, after the service announced last week it would cancel the troubled AOC 10.2 development contract with Northrop Grumman.

More news from this week's Inside the Air Force:

Lockheed preps options as Senate urges new look at unmanned U-2

A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman told Inside the Air Force this week the company will have options ready for Congress and the Air Force if Senate language telling the service to explore the idea of an unmanned U-2 is approved in the final fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill.

Air Force awards $1.2B in engine technology contracts

The Air Force this week awarded General Electric a $409 million contract to support next-generation engine technology development, the latest in a string of awards to airframe and engine developers.

Gulfstream forges ahead with biz jet pitch on Compass Call, JSTARS

Gulfstream is reinforcing its position in the search for a new platform to replace the EC-130H for the Compass Call mission, as the Government Accountability Office mulls two bid protests filed by Boeing and Bombardier and L3 Technologies waits to see if it can lead the Compass Call effort on behalf of the Air Force.

A new GAO report on non-traditional defense contractors is out:

GAO: Pentagon is taking steps to help non-traditional contractors

Both Congress and the Pentagon are seeking to help non-traditional defense companies win work -- but the challenges are extensive, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on DOD acquisition policy

The Defense Science Board has been tasked to study ways to improve the National Leadership Command Capability:

DSB studying potential improvements for national leadership command capabilities

The Defense Science Board is examining potential options to improve the National Leadership Command Capability in the face of emerging challenges like advanced cyber threats.

Document: DSB terms of reference memo on the NLCC