Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has a scoop about a major missile defense program, plus news on the Army's LTAMDS progam and more.
First off, some major news about a multibillion-dollar missile defense warhead program:
Griffin pulls plug on RKV development; MDA readying stop-work order for Boeing, Raytheon
The Defense Department is readying a stop-work order for Boeing and Raytheon on the Redesigned Kill Vehicle after determining that technical difficulties with the new warhead are effectively insurmountable, a roughly $700 million setback that will further delay plans to improve U.S. defenses against advancing North Korean ballistic missile threats.
More missile defense news:
Army flips LTAMDS evaluation criteria ranking in final solicitation
The Army flipped key evaluation criteria during the solicitation endgame for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor competition, supplanting "capability" for "schedule" as the most important factor in the final request for proposals compared to an earlier draft for the potential multibillion-dollar project to replace the service's Patriot radar inventory.
Document: Army's final LTAMDS prototype project opportunity notice
Senate appropriators this week approved a multibillion-dollar emergency supplemental spending bill that includes money to repair a couple of storm-ravaged Air Force bases:
Senate appropriators propose giving $1.7B for airbase recovery in emergency supplemental bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee today proposed legislation that would allocate nearly $1.7 billion in emergency supplemental funding to support recovery efforts at Tyndall Air Force Base, FL, and Offutt AFB, NE.
Army Futures Command will have an intelligence component:
ISR task force to support AFC, cross-functional teams
The Army's new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance task force will support Army Futures Command by placing intelligence capabilities in its cross-functional teams, according to the service.
Last but by no means least, here's our coverage so far of the Senate Armed Services Committee's mark-up of the FY-20 defense policy bill:
Defense budget debate heats up as GOP aims higher than Dems
The GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee, as expected, has approved $750 billion in total defense spending for fiscal year 2020, according to a summary of the panel’s authorization bill.
Senate authorizers call on Navy to revise Virginia-class submarine acquisition strategy
The Senate Armed Services Committee's fiscal year 2020 defense policy bill will authorize the Navy to purchase two Virginia-class submarines, but calls on the service to revise its strategy for the acquisition program, according to a summary of the bill released today.
Senate policy mark would add 12 F-35s, boost ABMS and light-attack experimentation
Senate policymakers are showing support for major Air Force investments in their mark of fiscal year 2020 legislation, authorizing 12 additional F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, validating the service’s request to buy new fourth-generation jets and proposing additional funding for the Advanced Battle Management System and the service’s Light-Attack Aircraft experiment.
Senate lawmakers want DOD to more closely watch Chinese overseas investments
The Senate Armed Services Committee has agreed to defense authorization bill that would require the Defense Department's annual report on Chinese military strength include a new assessment of Beijing's overseas investments related to national security objectives.