The INSIDER daily digest -- March 3, 2020

By John Liang / March 3, 2020 at 2:03 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news from this morning's Air Force budget hearing, plus coverage of the West 2020 Conference in San Diego and more.

Senior Air Force officials were on Capitol Hill this morning discussing their service's fiscal year 2021 budget request:

Goldfein says Boeing is making progress on KC-46, promises to mitigate tanker capacity gap

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told lawmakers today he's seen a measurable improvement in Boeing's KC-46 performance since the company's new CEO Dave Calhoun took charge.

Document: Air Force FY-21 posture hearing

Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew Isler, the service's director of regional affairs, was interviewed recently by Inside Defense:

Air Force finalizing classified framework to align with National Defense Strategy

The Air Force is finalizing a classified strategy that will lay out the service's approach to warfighting and security cooperation in alignment with the Trump administration's 2018 National Defense Strategy, officials have confirmed.

Inside Defense was in San Diego this week at the West 2020 conference. Here's our coverage so far:

Gilday disagrees with Esper, says Navy O-FRP works

SAN DIEGO -- The Navy's top officer said yesterday he disagrees with the defense secretary's opinion of the Navy's Optimized-Fleet Response Plan.

Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard working on 'tri-service maritime strategy'

SAN DIEGO -- The Navy is working with both the Marine Corps and Coast Guard on a joint maritime strategy the services expect to receive from staff this summer.

Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord has commissioned studies to evaluate industry's ability to deliver these new weapons during the time line the Pentagon hopes to have them fielded:

Hypersonics industrial base 'war room' to assess supply chain choke points, recommend investments

The Pentagon's acquisition executive has formed a "war room" to assess industry's ability to support production of hypersonic boost-glide vehicles and cruise missiles as well as inform potential targeted government investments in manufacturing tools to support affordable delivery of these ultrafast weapons.

The Congressional Budget Office's methodology in past analyses of the costs of U.S. nuclear forces has come under question by at least one lawmaker:

North Dakota senator warns CBO may overestimate costs of U.S. nuclear forces

Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) is warning the Congressional Budget Office may overestimate costs of U.S. nuclear forces in an upcoming assessment that could taint the agency's objectivity in major policy debates over controversial programs like the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.

Document: Senator's letter on upcoming CBO estimate of costs of U.S. nuclear forces

Inside Defense recently chatted with Julian Setian, CEO of SOS International:

SOS International seeks to bolster technology work, add chief technology officer

With several new acquisitions under its belt, SOS International is increasingly moving into technology-focused work, according to the company's chief executive.

Last but certainly not least, here's some defense cyber news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Defense official says interagency review stalled draft rule on banning Huawei, ZTE products

The Defense Department was expecting to issue a proposed rule last year on banning contractor use of Huawei and ZTE products, but an interagency review scuttled those plans, a DOD contract official told industry representatives -- who were clamoring for a proposal rule to be issued as quickly as possible -- at a public meeting this week.

206681