Saturday, April 20, 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, China's nuclear ambitions and more.
Lockheed Martin has nabbed a multibillion-dollar Joint Strike Fighter sustainment contract:
DOD awards Lockheed three-year F-35 sustainment deal worth up to $6.6B
The Defense Department today awarded Lockheed Martin an F-35 sustainment deal worth up to $6.6 billion across three years that could lead to a future performance-based logistics contract.
The Pentagon's No. 2 uniformed officer spoke this week about China's nuclear ambitions:
Hyten says China's nuclear buildup more worrisome than Taiwan scenario
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten said he has long been aware of China's rapid nuclear modernization, but only because he had access to classified information. Now, he said, non-governmental, open-source reports about China's construction of hundreds of new nuclear silos has given the public access to the threat he's long feared.
The Missile Defense Agency conducted a flight test of a Ground-based Midcourse Defense booster over the weekend:
MDA flight tests new 'selectable' booster that aims to improve homeland defense against North Korean ICBMs
The Missile Defense Agency executed a non-intercept flight test of a new Ground-based Midcourse Defense capability that aims to improve homeland defense against North Korean threats by optimizing engagement times of long-range interceptors by giving operators a new option to tailor the trajectory of guided-missile interceptors.
The Government Accountability Office issued a report this week on the Pentagon's handling of congressional continuing resolutions:
GAO finds Pentagon can manage 'routine' continuing resolutions without major impact
The Government Accountability Office has found that the Pentagon can mostly manage its way through Congress' inefficient continuing resolutions without significant impacts to major defense acquisition programs.
Document: GAO report on CR
The Air Force is expected to complete a schedule risk assessment of the Air Force One replacement program in late 2021:
New VC-25B schedule baseline expected in late 2021, Air Force says
Air Force officials anticipate they will set a new schedule baseline for the Air Force One replacement program in "late 2021," though a service spokeswoman declined to share details on what the new timeline could look like, citing "ongoing discussions."