Friday, April 19, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Missile Defense Agency's plans to get Aegis Ashore back on track with Japan, the Space Acquisition Council and more.
Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill said today the Defense Department is working with Japan's defense ministry to get plans back on track for a land-based variant of the Aegis weapon system:
MDA hopes to 'resolve' Japan's Aegis Ashore concerns, reinstate project
The surprise announcement by Japan earlier this week to halt plans for Aegis Ashore acquisition and deployment could potentially be reversed once "concerns and issues" about the weapon system are resolved, a senior U.S. military official said.
The newly formed Space Acquisition Council discussed the key tenets of digital engineering and its potential impact on space programs at its most recent meeting in May:
Space Acquisition Council crafting plan to better leverage digital engineering
The Air Force needs to partner closely with Congress and other stakeholders as it works to make a case for using digital engineering for future space development programs, according to the service's deputy under secretary for space acquisition and integration.
The Air Force has said it will reopen competition for Block 1, which is expected to include two additional GEO satellites, but the service has not yet determined an acquisition path:
Air Force considering FY-22 investment shifts to boost space-based missile warning capabilities
The Air Force is looking closely at how its fiscal year 2022 budget request might invest in the Defense Department's future space-based missile warning architecture, according to the service's deputy assistant secretary for space acquisition and integration.
Inside Defense recently chatted with a Senate Armed Services Committee aide regarding the cybersecurity details of the panel's fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill:
Senate bill, seeking to bolster Pentagon cyber certification, doesn't mandate new contractor requirements
Senate authorizers did not adopt Cyber Solarium Commission recommendations to require defense contractors to participate in a threat intelligence sharing program and use threat hunting capabilities on their networks, as lawmakers sought to bolster existing Defense Department initiatives like the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, according to a Senate aide.
Mark Lewis, director of defense research and engineering for modernization, said this week that the Defense Department will eventually winnow the current portfolio of hypersonic weapon technologies into a smaller number of programs of record:
DOD official: U.S. poised to 'seize the lead' in maneuvering hypersonic tech from China, Russia
The Defense Department is on the cusp of seizing the lead in maneuvering hypersonic technology development from China and Russia and is poised next year to ramp up flight tests to as many 40 over the next four years, according to a senior Pentagon official.
Army Col. William Venable, Stryker brigade combat team project manager, spoke with reporters this week:
Army 'refining' schedule for Stryker MCWS upgrade, stretching FUE through March 2023
The Army has extended the first unit equipped period for the Stryker Medium Caliber Weapon System program as well as the period for responses to a request for proposals, while officials say the program is still on schedule.