Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has space news, the Government Accountability Office's latest annual weapon system assessment report and more.
We start off with some space news:
Air Force signs off on Space Force initial work plan
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has signed off on the Space Force Task Force's initial work plan, authorizing the team to design an organizational structure for the new service's initial staff and recommend a broader plan for which existing units will transfer from other agencies into the Space Force.
Pentagon wants exemption from HQ manpower cost ceiling to stand up SPACECOM
The Pentagon is proposing legislative language that would exclude the new U.S. Space Command from manpower cost restrictions for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to give the Defense Department the funding margin it needs to stand up the new combatant command.
The Government Accountability Office's latest annual weapon system assessment report is out:
GAO says Pentagon's acquisition cost performance has 'slipped' amid drop in competition
The Pentagon had fewer major weapon systems in its acquisition portfolio in 2018 than the previous year, but costs still increased by $8 billion, sparking concern at the Government Accountability Office, which notes many defense contracts are being awarded without competition to a relatively small set of companies.
Document: GAO's 2019 weapon systems annual assessment
Keep an eye out for the results of the Air Force's testing of a new microwave weapon for counter-unmanned aerial system operations:
AFRL delivers C-UAS weapon system, testing starts next week
The Air Force Research Laboratory's new microwave weapon for counter-unmanned aerial system operations was delivered Monday for testing, which is expected to begin next week.
Don't expect inspections of vendors to the Columbia-class submarine program to end anytime soon:
Columbia vendor base inspections will continue 'in perpetuity'
Inspections of critical vendors for the Columbia-class submarine program, born out of welding problems discovered last summer, will continue "in perpetuity," according to the program manager.
The Air Force has opened a third technology training center:
Air Force opens Pittsburgh center for laser de-painting, condition-based maintenance
Last week, the Air Force opened an advanced technology and training center in Pittsburgh that focuses on condition-based maintenance, automation, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Could the SM-6 Block IA missile or the Maritime Strike Tomahawk be used on the DDG-1000 class of destroyers? The Navy is looking into it:
Navy eyeing SM-6, Maritime Strike Tomahawk for Zumwalt-class destroyers
The Navy is evaluating the Standard Missile-6 Block IA and the Maritime Strike Tomahawk for its Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers.
Col. Chad Skaggs, air and missile defense integration chief for Army Space and Missile Defense Command, recently spoke to an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
Official: Army two steps behind air and missile defense integration
The Army, having achieved interdependency of its air and missile defense systems, is two steps short of its goal of integration, according to a service official.
The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain could be getting billions of dollars' worth of Patriot missile defense systems:
State Department OKs new Patriot foreign sales worth more than $5 billion
The State Department has approved more than $5 billion in potential missile defense arms sales to a pair of Persian Gulf nations for Patriot air and ballistic missile defense interceptors as well as radar, paving the way for potential deals worth $2.7 billion to the United Arab Emirates and nearly $2.5 billion with Bahrain.