Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has extensive coverage of the Senate Armed Services Committee's passage of the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill and more.
Biggest news of the day is the Senate Armed Services Committee marking up its version of the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill. Here's our coverage so far (and stay tuned for more):
Senate Armed Services Committee passes bill with billions for Pacific deterrence
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted 25-2 Wednesday evening to approve its version of the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill, including billions of dollars in new U.S. military investments focused on deterring China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Senate authorizers reject Air Force's legacy aircraft divestment plan
The Senate Armed Services Committee’s fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill largely rejects the Air Force's divest-to-invest budget strategy, calling on the service to maintain certain legacy fleets it had wanted to retire and sustain a minimum wartime aircraft capacity level for each of its mission sets.
Senate panel opts to authorize 1 Virginia sub, double AP funding
Senate lawmakers are authorizing one fast attack Virginia-class submarine in this year's defense policy bill and approving twice the normal amount of advance procurement funding.
The annual defense policy bill approved Wednesday night by the Senate Armed Services Committee includes provisions to implement 11 of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s recommendations, including a call for studying "the feasibility and advisability" of creating of a national cybersecurity director.
Senate defense policy bill proposes more oversight of Air Force's JADC2 efforts
Senate defense authorizes are calling on the Air Force to ensure its efforts to achieve joint all-domain command and control fit into initiatives occurring throughout the military.
The Air Force is figuring out ways to make artificial intelligence fly a drone:
Roper: Air Force pushing to make AI foolproof for autonomous pilots
The Air Force is researching a new kind of artificial intelligence that can resist adversarial attacks on data -- enabling an autonomous pilot that can eventually fly unmanned vehicles in the contested battle spaces of the future.
Defense contractors don't like a tax rule that would delay their writing off R&D costs:
Defense contractors push back against tax law provision on research and development
Some of the largest defense contractors say they're seeking to work with Congress to change or reverse a portion of the 2017 tax legislation that would, effective in 2022, require companies to delay writing off research and development costs.
Data-science company Govini recently unveiled a new analysis of the Pentagon's fiscal year 2020 budget -- and prior-year spending:
Govini: Feeble future funding puts modernization plans at risk
Funding for U.S. military modernization priorities touted by the Trump administration's 2018 National Defense Strategy, projects that enjoyed growth across five consecutive annual budgets, is now forecast to be feeble in the Pentagon's future years spending program, according to data-science company Govini.
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord testified this week before the House Armed Services Committee:
DOD acquisition chief says low 'double-digit' billions needed to reimburse contractors for COVID-19
Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told lawmakers today the Defense Department will need to spend low, "double-digit" billions reimbursing contractors disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but she asserted DOD does not have the resources to so do without supplemental funding.
Patrick Mason, the Army's program executive officer for aviation, spoke about future vertical lift at a Heritage Foundation virtual event this week:
Army using FVL platforms as pilot projects for new IP strategy
The Army is using future vertical lift platforms as pilot programs for its new intellectual property strategy, according to the director of the service’s aviation office.