Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the impact of the congressional impeachment inquiry on the Pentagon, Air Force space launch ranges, cybersecurity, Standard Missiles and more.
We start off with a deep dive into the implications of House lawmakers' impeachment inquiry into the president on the Defense Department:
White House vow to block impeachment inquiry could pull DOD deeper into controversy
The Defense Department says it remains ready to work with Congress on questions about stalled U.S. military aid to Ukraine, but the White House's assertion that the impeachment inquiry into President Trump is illegitimate could leave DOD unable to respond to a subpoena it received from three House committees.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Douglas Schiess, commander of the 45th Space Wing, said this week during a Mitchell Institute event the service is working to transition its "range of the future" concept into an architecture:
Air Force taking steps toward 'range of the future'
The Air Force is making progress on an incremental plan to upgrade its space launch ranges with new infrastructure, safety mechanisms and updated procedures by the mid-2020s.
The Defense Department is putting together a "control system tested product list" to better address cybersecurity risks posed by industrial control systems used by DOD:
Pentagon compiling 'control system tested product list' to address cyber risks
The Pentagon is developing a list of tested and approved control system products, as defense officials are increasingly concerned a cyberattack on unsecure critical infrastructure could disrupt military operations.
Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Missile Systems' vice president, recently told Inside Defense his company has a "handshake" agreement with the Navy to build billions of dollars' worth of Standard Missiles:
Raytheon reaches handshake with Navy on estimated $2B SM-6 buy, eyes MDA multiyear soon
Raytheon executives are optimistic about concluding negotiations with the Defense Department for multiyear procurement of Standard Missiles worth more than $3.5 billion, bolstered by a recent handshake agreement with the Navy for a five-year block buy of the SM-6 and continuing discussion with the Missile Defense Agency for SM-3 Block IB purchases across a similar term.
Once testing of the KC-46 remote vision system begins, the Air Force will work with Boeing to schedule a preliminary design review to determine whether the company's new design meets nine established critical performance parameters:
Air Force to review Boeing's new KC-46 RVS design in November
The Air Force plans to conduct a system requirements review of Boeing's fix to the KC-46 remote vision system in November and begin testing the upgraded system within the next six weeks, a service spokesman told Inside Defense this week.
The Air Force has a new cybersecurity and electronic warfare test facility:
Air Force awards $93M contract to stand up cyber, electronic warfare test facility
The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has received a $93 million award to provide facilities at its military training range where the Air Force can develop operational cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in an "austere environment."