Saturday, April 20, 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has a scoop on who will run the nascent Space Development Agency, coverage of a Navy cyber review plus plenty of budget news.
Inside Defense's Courtney Albon has the scoop on who will be in charge of the Space Development Agency:
New memo names DARPA's Fred Kennedy as SDA director, outlines agency mission
The Pentagon will name Fred Kennedy the director of the Space Development Agency, according to a March 12 memo from Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.
A group of subject-matter experts recently reviewed the Navy's cybersecurity posture:
Navy cyber review calls for service to create full-time chief information officer
The Navy should create a full-time chief information officer to dedicate proper resources to cybersecurity and act on department suggestions to improve the service’s cyber practices, according to a recent service review.
Check out this smorgasbord of defense budget news:
Smith backs $733 billion topline vs. Trump's $750 billion
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said today he favors a $733 billion topline for defense spending, less than the $750 billion requested by the White House this week.
DOD accelerates hypersonics development with $10.5B in FYDP
The Pentagon's fiscal year 2020 five-year spending plan includes $10.5 billion to accelerate development and prototyping of hypersonic capabilities, a "significant" increase over prior plans. The move reflects a new policy goal of establishing U.S. military battlefield dominance by 2028, achieved in part by fielding a family of land-, sea-, and air-launched hypersonic weapons.
Pentagon seeks nearly $1 billion for AI, machine learning
The Pentagon wants to pour nearly $1 billion into artificial intelligence and machine learning efforts next year, including $268 million for the new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center to pursue AI tools that can be used across the department, as well as helping the military services fund their own developments.
DOD breaks down $9B 'emergency fund' that includes border wall
The Pentagon's fiscal year 2020 budget request includes a $9.2 billion "emergency fund" for military construction -- most of which is for a new wall on the southern border -- as well as funds to "backfill" projects being deferred to build the wall and funds for hurricane recovery.
New DOD budget redistributes $7.7B through weapons divestment
The Pentagon's fiscal year 2020 budget request assumes the Defense Department will shift $7.7 billion saved through various reform efforts, including divesting legacy weapon systems, with the money going toward high-priority "lethality" investments.
MDA delays RKV, eyes 80s-era space-based laser in FY-20 request
In a major setback to Pentagon plans to accelerate development of a new ballistic missile defense interceptor to protect against North Korean and potential Iranian threats, the Missile Defense Agency is delaying development and fielding of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle by up to two years because the warhead blueprint is not ready for prototype manufacturing.
Air Force programs $400M in FYDP to buy light-attack aircraft
The Air Force's fiscal year 2020 future years defense program proposes about $400 million for light-attack aircraft procurement between FY-22 and FY-24, and the service plans to buy a small number of aircraft this year to continue its testing and experimentation plan.
Air Force F-35 buy sustained at 48 jets per year across the FYDP in FY-20 request
The Air Force's fiscal year 2020 budget proposes a flat F-35 procurement rate that would buy 48 jets per year across the future years defense program -- a reduction the service plans to offset by purchasing 80 Boeing-made F-15EX aircraft over that same period.
Navy requests $454M in FY-20 for shipyard optimization plan, $2.7B through FYDP
The Navy's new fiscal year 2020 budget request incorporates $454 million for improvements to the service's public shipyards, and $2.7 billion programmed throughout the future years defense program for those purposes, according to a top Navy budget official.
Navy official: Forthcoming FSA will 'validate' Nimitz-class carrier retirement
The Navy's new force-structure assessment, slated for release later this year, will "validate" the service's decision to retire a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier early, according to the Navy's deputy assistant secretary for budget.
Army Futures Command's CFTs request R&D boost to $5.4B
The Army's cross-functional teams in charge of managing the service's modernization priorities under Futures Command would get a total of $5.4 billion in research, development, test and evaluation funding the service has requested for fiscal year 2020, with some programs gaining significant boosts over what the service projected last year.
Army's FY-20 budget request shows major R&D investments for modernization
The Army's $182.3 billion fiscal year 2020 budget request would advance key service priorities through new research and development projects, including funding for contract awards supporting the Next Generation Combat Vehicle program and completion of the initial design phase for a major helicopter replacement program.