Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on upgrades to the Air Force's grizzled B-52 bomber fleet, the Space Force's list of its highest- and lowest-performing programs, the Pentagon's quantum technology development efforts and more.
We start off with a deep dive into how Boeing is upgrading the Air Force's venerable B-52 bomber fleet:
Boeing leads two programs overhauling Air Force's oldest operational bomber
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- In a cavernous manufacturing bay here, Boeing engineers can climb inside and around a B-52 Stratofortress bomber the Air Force loaned to the company from the boneyard.
The Space Force recently released a congressionally mandated list of the service's five highest- and five lowest-performing programs:
Air Force report lists best- and worst-performing space programs
When congressional authorizers soon begin the task of marking up the Air Force's fiscal year 2024 budget request, they will be relying in part on a recent report detailing the highest- and lowest-performing space acquisition programs.
Document: Space Force's section 806 report
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is proposing $75 million in FY-24 advanced technology development funding to launch the Quantum Transition Acceleration program -- and forecasted a need of $100 million annually for the effort through FY-28:
DOD sees quantum tech 'approaching a tipping point,' proposes $475M acceleration plan
The Defense Department is proposing to launch a $475 million, five-year project in fiscal year 2024 to begin transitioning quantum technologies for military application to press the U.S. technological advantage against all competitors across a wide range of capabilities including precision strike, space, cyber and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
A new Defense Science Board report released this week "explored the means by which nations impose their political will, particularly outside the traditional threat or use of military force":
Defense Science Board sees 'new dimensions of conflict' with China and Russia
Future conflicts with China and Russia involve areas of emergent risk -- in cyberspace, under the sea and throughout global supply chains -- where the United States must take a "more proactive posture," according to a new Defense Science Board report shared with senior Pentagon leaders.
Document: DSB study on new dimensions of conflict
A new Government Accountability Office report finds that more actions are needed to explain the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program's cost growth and support its engine modernization decision:
DOD, GAO don't fully agree on management of F-35 upgrades
The Defense Department and Government Accountability Office don't fully agree on how to manage and report on F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine and thermal management modernization efforts, according to a report released Tuesday.
Document: GAO report on the F-35 program