Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the debate over the services' unfunded priorities lists, an upcoming space launch and more.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) views the military's unfunded priorities lists as a "forcing mechanism" to inject more money into the defense budget, regardless of what the administration has officially requested:
Lawmakers spar over DOD's unfunded priorities and defense spending
House lawmakers today, questioning Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, debated the adequacy of President Biden's proposed $753 billion defense budget, with Democrats and Republicans differing on the importance of $25 billion in unfunded priorities lists the military services have submitted to Congress.
News on the Army's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program:
McConville: JLTV an enduring system, not a modernization priority
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is an enduring capability within the Army's ground vehicle fleet, rather than a modernization priority or a legacy system, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee June 22.
Some cyber defense news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:
DOD's Salazar: Changes to Pentagon cyber certification will help small businesses, clarify policy
The internal review of the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program is aimed at helping small businesses meet the department's objectives for cyber readiness, while also making potential policy changes to clarify implementation, according to Pentagon industrial policy leader Jesse Salazar.
New legislation introduced by lawmakers this week would require Ligado "to cover the cost for correcting any interference their operations create for the public or private sector" and outlines all areas the company would be responsible for, including engineering, software, research, site acquisition and labor costs:
Bipartisan bill would require Ligado to cover costs of any GPS user
A bipartisan congressional group yesterday introduced legislation that would hold Ligado Networks responsible for covering the costs of both public and private Global Positioning System users affected by the company's use of the L-Band.
On June 25, SpaceX's Transporter 2 is set to carry five Space Development Agency experiments as part of a Falcon 9 mission carrying many commercial satellites:
SDA readies experimental satellites for launch Friday on SpaceX rocket
The U.S. military has readied for launch this week four small satellites and a payload designed to validate technologies pivotal to a new National Defense Space Architecture underpinned by a future proliferated low-earth orbit constellation, new capabilities that will experiment with space-based laser communications as well as battle management and target custody.
The Navy is undergoing a 20-year, $21 billion Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Project, which Congress has called on the service to accelerate:
Gilday: Navy working to improve shipyard drydock improvement estimates
The Navy is taking steps to improve its estimates for shipyard drydock improvements after the bid for work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine came in well over estimates, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said Tuesday.
Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill today said MDA will propose a range of options for the missile defense of Guam that adopt existing sensors, command and control, and interceptors and tie them together in a unique way:
MDA finalizing Guam defense system architecture options, way forward possibly a 'hybrid' of existing capabilities
The Missile Defense Agency is putting the final touches on potential architectures for a new Guam missile defense system, a report that is designed to give Pentagon leaders "maximum" options in deciding how to assemble a 360-degree defense of the western U.S. territory by 2026 against advanced Chinese cruise, ballistic and maneuvering hypersonic weapons -- a capability the agency's director says is likely to be a "hybrid" of currently fielded systems.