Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
The House and Senate FY-19 defense appropriations bills and a slew of Air Force news highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has marked up its version of the fiscal year 2019 defense spending bill:
Senate appropriators rescind $3.8 billion in prior-year funds
The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a fiscal year 2019 defense spending bill that rescinds $3.8 billion in prior-year funding for Pentagon programs lawmakers say are delayed or no longer needed, according to a summary provided by committee Democrats.
Document: Senate appropriators' FY-19 defense spending bill, report
Our coverage of the House version of the FY-19 defense spending bill:
Facing Pentagon, appropriator opposition, $1B House sub amendment voted down
Following a last-minute intervention by a top Pentagon official and strong opposition from an influential Republican lawmaker, an amendment to the House defense spending bill that would procure additional Virginia-class submarines has been defeated.
Related:
DOD voices last-minute opposition to $1B House submarine amendment, prompting clash with lawmakers
An amendment sponsored by nearly two dozen lawmakers to the House defense spending bill that would provide funding for advanced procurement of fast-attack submarines in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 has run up against unforeseen, last-minute opposition from the Defense Department.
Document: DOD correspondence with Congress on fast-attack sub amendment
An early look at some of the stories in this week's Inside the Air Force:
DARPA to select single testbed vendor this fall for space BMC2 demo effort
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency this fall plans to choose a single vendor for its Hallmark program -- an effort to mature a space battle management command and control testbed to verify new software and tactics and improve joint space operations.
MQ-9 capability study expected to move forward this summer as ACC mulls fleet balance
A team analyzing the future of the MQ-9 Reaper will present its final results to the Air Force Capability Development Working Group in July, a service spokeswoman told Inside Defense this week.
SOCOM plans to award two contracts for AC-130J laser subsystems by end of FY-18
U.S. Special Operations Command is refining development plans for its AC-130J Ghostrider laser demonstration and expects to award two subsystem manufacturing contracts by the end of September, a command official told Inside Defense.
ACC chief doesn't see broader implications for A-29 after Air Force suspends light-attack experiment
The Air Force's light-attack experiment is suspended until further notice as service officials determine whether they gleaned enough data from flight tests to end the effort early, following a fatal A-29 crash last week at White Sands Missile Range, NM.
Newly aligned KC-46 schedule includes slate of risk-mitigation efforts
The Air Force's recent announcement that its KC-46 delivery schedule was aligned with prime contractor Boeing's came after the two parties agreed on a slate of schedule mitigation efforts, Inside Defense has learned.
Robot "swarming" technology will be the next "large return on investment" for Army robotics:
Army Maneuver Center looking to 'swarm' ground robots
The Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence in Ft. Benning, GA, has hosted a number of companies that are developing algorithms for robot "swarming," or controlling many at once, according to a service official.