Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
DOD nominee troubles, the Joint Strike Fighter program, the FY-18 defense policy conference bill and more highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.
John Rood, President Trump's nominee to head the Pentagon policy shop, ran into trouble this morning on Capitol Hill:
McCain and Warren pressure Pentagon nominee over Lockheed ties
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) banded together today over concerns about potential conflicts of interest for John Rood, a Lockheed Martin executive nominated to be under secretary of defense for policy.
Keep an eye out next month for a DAB meeting on the Joint Strike Fighter program:
Defense Acquisition Board to consider new F-35 Block 4 plan in early December
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program expects to meet with Pentagon leadership in early December for approval of a new plan that will allow it to continuously develop software capabilities following completion of the post-system development and demonstration phase.
Continuing coverage of the FY-18 defense policy conference bill, which has been passed by both chambers of Congress and is headed to President Trump's desk for enactment into law:
House, Senate lawmakers agree to limit Air Force ability to retire fighter aircraft
House and Senate lawmakers have proposed legislation to set the size of the Air Force's current fighter aircraft fleet as a floor, blocking the service from unilaterally retiring any fighter or attack aircraft through 2022.
Conference bill streamlines FMS pricing, retains timeline requirement
The fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill seeks to speed up the foreign military sales process by eliminating the need to certify prices for items and services already under U.S. government contract, while also requiring the Defense Department to set timelines and milestones for the FMS process.
Bill would establish $100 million directed-energy prototyping program
The latest version of the fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill would establish a $100 million prototyping program for directed-energy technologies and boosts funding for several laser efforts, but the additional money is not assured as a larger budget deal evades lawmakers.
MDA has set the stage to launch this year an advanced technology experiment called Overhead Miniature Sensor Experiment for Tracking, or OmniSciEnT:
DOD eyeing small-satellite constellation to detect, track hypersonic boost-glide vehicle threats
The U.S. military is eyeing a technology experiment that could lead to a new satellite constellation focused on detecting and tracking a new class of ultra-fast, maneuvering missiles which intelligence agencies say are an emerging threat to U.S. forces.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) spoke Wednesday at a New America event in Washington:
House's top defense authorizers dissect fiscal gridlock and acquisition dysfunction
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) differ on many defense policy issues, but have reached bipartisan agreement that the congressional budget process is "broken" and that the Pentagon's acquisition system is too resistant to reform.
The Army's top uniformed officer is OK with lawmakers' proposed end-strength increase:
Milley: Authorization bill would help address capacity challenges
The end-strength increase provided in the fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill is "acceptable" to the Army and would help reduce risk, according to the service's chief of staff.