Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on HII's efforts to bolster its labor force, the Army's Maven Smart System prototype, the Air Force's Sentinel ICBM program and more.
The chief executive of HII talked yesterday about how his company is working to bolster its labor force:
HII CEO talks bolstering workforce, fighting back against delays
Labor is shipbuilder HII’s “biggest risk,” CEO Chris Kastner said Wednesday, and the company is implementing several programs and incentives to mitigate this -- amid a decline in the company’s workforce following the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Army Contracting Command in Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, led the “firm-fixed-price” contract for the Maven Smart System prototype, which is meant to allow users to scan the battlefield to predict, screen and counter threat activity:
Army awards $480M contract to Palantir for Maven Smart System prototype
Palantir has received a $480 million contract to supply the Army with its Maven Smart System prototype, the Defense Department announced yesterday.
The House Armed Services Committee’s Chairman’s mark of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill would authorize the Air Force's modification of its in-service aircraft request for $55 million in FY-25 for SLP-A, which is considered a Sentinel capability improvement, according to Air Force budget documents:
Sentinel SLP-A finds FY-25 new-start backing in draft legislation
The Air Force has secured backing in draft legislation for new-start procurement authorization in fiscal year 2025 of the Secondary Launch Platform-Airborne (SLP-A) for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program, even as the Pentagon works to revise the program in the wake of cost growth that triggered a statutory acquisition review.
Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Pat Fallon (R-TX) have proposed an amendment that would task the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and the director of the Office of Strategic Capital with forming a new dual-use technology program:
Bipartisan amendment seeks pilot program to accelerate DOD technology buys
A proposed bipartisan amendment to the House version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill seeks to establish a pilot program at the Pentagon to incentivize new investment in dual-use military technologies.
A liquid hypersonic engine currently under development can maneuver objects in orbit without fully depleting its propellant store, making it a key defense technology ready for use against Russian and Chinese anti-satellite systems:
Ursa Major tests liquid hypersonic engine, drawing combatant command and PEO interest
Ursa Major has announced it has "hot fire" tested Draper -- its developmental liquid hypersonic engine -- over 50 times since March, meeting the project's 12-month timeline through a contract with the Air Force Research Lab, noting new interest from a U.S. combatant command and a program executive office.
A new Defense Department inspector general's report determines "whether the Army effectively managed contractor execution of storage, maintenance, and accountability requirements for Army Prepositioned Stock–5 equipment in accordance with Federal and DOD regulations and whether Army contracting officials reviewed and approved invoices to verify contractor‑reported costs before payment":
DOD IG: Army delivered inoperable equipment to units in Middle East
Army units deployed in Europe and the Middle East received inoperable equipment after being stored in poor environmental conditions, impacting their mission readiness, according to an audit report from the Defense Department's inspector general.
Document: DOD IG audit of Army's management of prepositioned stock-5 equipment