The INSIDER daily digest -- Sept. 29, 2016

Aegis BMD, the Marine Corps' new rapid capabilities office and more highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.

A preview of the Missile Defense Agency's current plans for Aegis BMD:

MDA plans pair of tests this fall to expand Aegis BMD capabilities

The Pentagon plans to conduct a pair of flight tests this fall that aim to advance capabilities of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system, including the first intercept attempt using a new, larger, guided missile developed with Japan and -- in a separate planned event -- attempt to knock down a pair of ballistic missile targets in rapid succession with Standard Missile-6 interceptors.

Looks like all the military services now have some form of rapid capabilities office:

Marine Corps sets up rapid capabilities office

The Marine Corps has established a Rapid Capabilities Office at its warfighting laboratory to quickly experiment with promising technologies, following the leads of the other military services in forming such organizations.

The Defense Innovation Board will soon be forming a new subcommittee:

Work directs formation of new innovation subcommittee to assess DOD S&T enterprise

The Pentagon's No. 2 civilian has directed the Defense Innovation Board -- a star-studded advisory panel of entrepreneurs, academics and scientists -- to form a subcommittee focused on the U.S. military's science and technology "ecosystem" and serve up recommendations on potential new ways for the enterprise to innovate.

Document: DOD memo establishing DIB S&T subcommittee

The Defense Logistics Agency wants to work with the services on technical data rights:

DLA official: Agency working with services on data rights issues in new programs

The Defense Logistics Agency is seeking early engagement with the military services on new acquisition programs to ensure they consider technical data rights issues that can emerge later, according to an agency official.

Document: DLA presentation on technical data rights

News from this week's issue of Inside the Pentagon:

DARPA seeks drones to fly autonomously in cluttered T&E environment

In an aim to determine state-of-the-art capabilities for fast, autonomous aircraft, the Pentagon's advanced research arm seeks parties interested in flying their small drones through cluttered environments without depending on a pilot or GPS, according to a new notice.

Document: DARPA notice on the fast lightweight autonomy program

DOD intends to sign R&D cooperation agreement with Chile

The Pentagon intends to sign an agreement with Chile that will help enhance cooperation between the two nations in the research and development realm, Director for International Cooperation Keith Webster told lawmakers in a recent letter.

DOD IG launching audit to examine procedures for securing Iraq T&E equipment

The Pentagon inspector general's office is launching an audit to determine if the Defense Department has the correct procedures in place for securing train and equip gear in the Middle East, according to a recent memo sent to senior defense leaders.

Document: DOD IG memo on Iraq T&E equipment audit