Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has a deep dive into the political wrangling behind the Republican Party's efforts to rein in government spending while keeping the U.S. military adequately funded, plus more coverage of the Government Accountability Office's annual weapon systems assessment.
Senior GOP leaders, pitted against each other via hallway soundbites and floor speeches, continue to disagree over whether Congress should stick to the fiscal year 2024 spending cap agreed to in the debt limit/spending deal passed last week, or inject more money into the Pentagon through an "emergency defense supplemental":
Defense budget watchers eye Ukraine counteroffensive and 'Chaos Caucus' for spending clues
A deal to avert default on the national debt has given way to uncertainty and confusion concerning how much money Congress will actually appropriate for the Pentagon, a matter further complicated by U.S. aid policy toward Ukraine and ongoing internal strife in the Republican Party.
We also have plenty more coverage of GAO's annual weapon systems assessment:
Cost overruns, delivery delays affect John Lewis-class oilers
Plans for delivering the next five John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oilers are delayed between 22 months and two and a half years because of shipyard challenges, according to the Government Accountability Office's latest annual weapon system assessment report.
GAO: Delivery dates pushed back for F-15EX
Production-related problems have pushed delivery dates of the Boeing-made F-15EX Eagle II, which could lead to further milestone delays for the Air Force program, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.
GAO: Space Force's DARC program faces schedule risk
The Space Force's new deep space radar system is estimated to take an additional year to complete the program beyond the middle-tier acquisition timeframe of five years, the Government Accountability Office reported today, indicating a schedule risk.
GAO: Second Ford-class carrier likely to exceed cost estimate
As construction of the second ship in the Navy's new line of Ford-class aircraft carriers nears completion, shipbuilders are likely to exceed the vessel's $12.7 billion cost baseline, according to the Government Accountability Office's annual weapon system report.
GAO: Schedule change possible for Sentinel nuclear missiles
The Air Force and Northrop Grumman are discussing changes to the schedule for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile to remedy the "many deficiencies" in the current master schedule, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.
GAO: Zumwalt operational capability delayed further, CPS schedule risks emerge
The Navy has postponed the initial operational capability of its Zumwalt-class destroyer program to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 -- more than a year later than the April 2023 IOC target reported in the Government Accountability Office's annual weapon system report.