Friday, April 26, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
A slew of news on the House and Senate defense spending and policy bills dominates this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.
Overall news on the FY-19 defense authorization and appropriations bills:
Thornberry wants final defense authorization bill complete by end of July
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said today he wants to work with his Senate counterparts to send a final fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill to President Trump by the end of July.
Lawmakers move to tighten OTA production authorities after REAN Cloud controversy
House lawmakers are moving to restrict how quickly the Defense Department can shift other transaction agreements from prototype work to production after government auditors ruled DOD improperly awarded a nearly $1 billion follow-on production agreement earlier this spring.
House panel shifts funds to hike procurement for select weapons projects by $4.5 billion
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee has increased funding for select weapon system projects by nearly $4.5 billion in its mark of the Pentagon's fiscal year 2019 spending bill, a hike achieved in part by diverting $2 billion away from Defense Department-requested projects in order to benefit National Guard programs, aircraft procurement and purchases of additional ships.
Pentagon seeks to further develop, integrate DIBNow system to manage supplier information
The Pentagon is seeking to bolster its DIBNow system, a business intelligence and analytics capability focused on the industrial base, according to the head of the Defense Department's manufacturing and industrial base policy shop.
Air Force news:
AFRL to begin key LVC technology demonstration later this month
A series of demonstrations this month at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada could pave the way for a new technology meant tovastly improve the quality of the service's training for fourth- and fifth-generation aircraft.
House appropriators offer Compass Call recap more money for fourth jet
House appropriators are offering an additional $194 million in their version of the fiscal year 2019 defense spending bill to accelerate the Air Force's move to a new Compass Call platform.
House lawmakers urge Air Force to rethink Reaper procurement plan
House appropriators are pushing back on the Air Force's request to buy 29 MQ-9 Reapers in fiscal year 2019, arguing the service's procurement plans don't properly address its future aircraft needs.
Air Force confirms 3DELRR acquisition baseline set in late April
The Air Force confirmed this week an acquisition program baseline for the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radar was signed in late April, and the service is on track to begin testing of the system in fiscal year 2020.
Navy news:
Peters: Navy will submit aviation depot modernization plan to Congress next year
The Navy's aviation community is lagging behind the shipbuilding enterprise in determining how to modernize its depots and is slated to submit a plan to Congress next year, according to a senior official.
House panel would slash Navy MQ-25 air vehicle request by more than 40 percent
A key House panel is proposing to cut the Navy's MQ-25 Stingray fiscal year 2019 budget request by more than 40 percent, dealing the high-profile project to develop a catapult-launched unmanned aircraft system a major funding setback just as the service this summer is set to select a contractor to lead the program.
House appropriators boost shipyard modernization, want report on submarine backlog
House appropriators are boosting the Navy's request for modernizing the public shipyards and want the Navy to create a five-year plan to reduce its submarine maintenance backlog, according to the report accompanying the committee's version of the fiscal year 2019 defense spending bill.
Navy implements 35 surface warfare recommendations off two reviews
The Navy has implemented 35 surface warfare reform recommendations provided by the service's two major reviews and a government watchdog as of May 24, according to slides obtained by Inside Defense.
Navy partners with Army Analytics Group to sift through aviation mishap data
The Naval Safety Center has partnered with the Army Analytics Group for data aggregation and complex analysis to better understand the uptick in aviation mishaps, according to a Navy official.
Army news:
House lawmakers wary of Army recovery vehicle use
The House Appropriations Committee is worried that the Army may need to use two M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles to tow one Abrams tank due to the tank's increased weight, according to the committee's fiscal year 2019 defense spending bill.
House appropriators find 'lack of consistency' in Army's Stryker plans
The House Appropriations Committee has taken issue with the Army's path so far toward modernizing its Stryker vehicles, asking the service to submit a resourcing strategy for its desired A1 upgrade.
Army addresses aviation training based on large-scale conflict
The Army is trying to take a more proactive approach to aviation safety through training, rather than simply reacting to mishaps, according to a service official.