The Insider

Pentagon to establish AI Battle Labs in EUCOM, INDOPACOM
By Georgina DiNardo
September 27, 2023 at 5:06 PM

The Defense Department today announced plans to create two BRAVO Artificial Intelligence Battle Labs, one based at U.S. European Command and the other at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, to host "hackathons" intended to develop and strengthen the military's AI capabilities.

Both labs will be used to organize U.S. federal government-wide BRAVO hackathons, which invite people to form emerging capabilities under department leadership, including some with coalition partners.

"BRAVO Hackathons represent an opportunity for DOD to practice and proliferate the fundamentals of user-centered design and agile software development," said Joe Larson, DOD’s deputy chief digital and AI officer for algorithmic warfare.

"By providing the seed funding to establish the AI Battle Labs in EUCOM and INDOPACOM,” he said, “we will be designing and testing data analytic[s] and AI capabilities with warfighters, not for them, informing and strengthening our ability to deliver exactly what they need to win."

The BRAVO Hackathon series will keep planning one-week long events to integrate data of any classification in a software development environment that allows untrusted, licensed commercial and open-source software and data that is otherwise not authorized for use in production systems.

"On behalf of the DOD, we will deploy BRAVO's awesome development experience to combatant commands to host timeboxed hackathons and continuously develop and integrate capabilities developed from operational theater data," said Stuart Wagner, Air Force chief digital transformation officer and executive agent for the BRAVO AI battle labs. "Given that a free society's largest competitive advantage is innovation and collaboration, the labs will provide a physical and digital space for serendipitous social collisions as DOD, industry, and coalition partners prototype solutions to challenges from peer competitors. Any U.S. citizen remains eligible to apply to participate in public BRAVO hackathons."

According to a DOD release, these multi-classification labs are intended to collect operational theater data, ranging from logistics to cyber, to share with the DOD enterprise which should in turn create central hubs for digital integration among federal entities, industry, coalition partners and U.S. citizens.

In accordance with the labs’ bottom-up approach, the release also encourages federal government employees or federal contractors to share cases, data, infrastructure or potential collaborations with the labs through the email: saf.cn.bravo@us.af.mil. And recommends U.S. citizens and U.S. industry professionals looking to work with the labs to contact the DIU at onramp-hack-bravo@diu.mil.

"We look forward to working with the BRAVO labs to ensure that developers and companies who want to work with DOD data can rapidly access the environments they need to demonstrate operational relevance," said Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit.

The release states that the labs intend to interconnect combatant command, enterprise DOD and coalition partner capabilities from data ingestion and system integration to approved employment, citing the Air Force’s system-of-systems technology integration toolchain for heterogeneous electronic systems (STITCHES) as a service to integrate directly to the labs.

"The use of emerging AI tools to quickly analyze and leverage data for decision advantage is critical in today's increasingly complex threat environment," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Peter Andrysiak, chief of staff at EUCOM. "Establishing one of the BRAVO AI Battle labs within the USEUCOM region is an important investment for this command. The lab will enable greater innovation at the edge, with our Allies and partners, against a range of challenges at a pivotal time for the command."

BRAVO hackathons are not new to the department. Over three BRAVO hackathons at six different sites, 81 operational prototypes have been created at three classifications from operational DOD data. These occurred at approximately 2% of the cost of existing DOD minimum viable product innovation pipelines.

"Despite the speed and impacts from BRAVO hackathons, we are still finding the time from development of capabilities, calibrations, or tactics with operational data to employment in theater to be on the order of months or years," Wagner said. "We are deploying these labs to drop this timeline by a factor of 100 -- from months or years to days and eventually hours -- by increasingly automating bureaucratic processes such as data classification determinations and authority to operate applications. If successful, we will adapt our capabilities and tactics to our strategic competitors faster than they can adapt to us."

Senior military nominations advance to meet Tuberville's blanket hold
By Tony Bertuca
September 27, 2023 at 2:50 PM

The Senate Armed Services Committee has voted to advance the nominations of Adm. Lisa Franchetti to be chief of naval operations and Gen. David Allvin to be Air Force chief of staff, setting up confirmation votes that will need to be considered individually if they are to shirk the blanket hold put in place months ago by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently decided to hold individual votes to confirm Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles “C.Q.” Brown, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Marine Corps Commandant Eric Smith.

Though the Senate normally advances military nominations and promotions through speedier, bipartisan votes where many nominees can be approved at once, Tuberville is blocking that process over his opposition to the Pentagon’s leave and travel policies for servicemembers seeking abortions. His hold covers more than 300 military nominations.

Schumer has not said how he would proceed with other senior defense nominees awaiting confirmation. But he had previously said he did not want the Senate to confirm the nominees individually as it could set a precedent in the future that could further slow the nomination process. Schumer said he changed his mind concerning Brown, George and Smith because getting the Joint Chiefs in place is a national security priority.

Tuberville, meanwhile, has vowed to continue his nomination blockade until the Pentagon changes its policy on abortion.

The Government Accountability Office, however, recently said that the Defense Department’s abortion policy is exempt from congressional review.

A Congressional Research Service report found that it would take the Senate more than 30 days to confirm the nominees impacted by Tuberville’s hold if lawmakers worked 24 hours per day without stopping. It would take the Senate 89 days if lawmakers worked eight hours a day on just the nominations.

The INSIDER daily digest -- Sept. 27, 2023
By John Liang
September 27, 2023 at 2:15 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a prototype long-range missile system being developed for Marine Corps attack helicopters, the Space Force's new space domain awareness collaboration hub, domestic supply chain production and more.

We start off with the Marine Corps looking to develop a long-range missile system that its attack helicopters can carry:

Marine Corps seeks new long-range munition for VTOL fleet

The Marine Corps is looking for contractors capable of rapidly prototyping a new, long-range precision weapon system to arm its fleet of AH-1Z Viper helicopters and other vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.

The Space Force's new Tools Application and Processing Lab is designed to encourage government, industry, academia and allies to work closely with the service and Space Systems Command:

Space Force opens second TAP center in Colorado to solve SDA challenges

The Space Force has opened a collaboration center in Colorado Springs, CO, to find solutions to space domain awareness challenges, according to an announcement issued Monday.

With tensions rising on many supply chains being overseas, particularly when it comes to possible Chinese cyberattacks, the Defense Department is pushing for more domestic supply chain production:

DOD establishes munitions pilot program to foster domestic supply chains

The Pentagon's Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization office launched a munitions campus pilot project today intended to assist emerging U.S. businesses through a shared facility intended to decrease costs and lower entry barriers.

The Defense Department's top acquisition official spoke this week during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

LaPlante: 'Production diplomacy' is coming via new deals with U.S. allies

Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante, fresh from a meeting last week with NATO's top armaments directors, said defense contractors should expect the United States to soon announce more multinational procurement deals -- involving co-development, co-production and co-sustainment -- with its closest allies, including Ukraine.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks recently sent a memo on the Defense Innovation Steering Group:

Pentagon memo details Replicator implementation process

A Defense Department memo details the Pentagon's Replicator implementation mechanism, outlining the structure and process that the internal "Defense Innovation Steering Group" will use to fill pressing operational gaps through 18-month innovation sprints.

Booz Allen Hamilton, Red Hat awarded contract for Project Linchpin
By Dan Schere
September 27, 2023 at 12:16 PM

Booz Allen Hamilton and Red Hat have been awarded a contract to work on Project Linchpin -- the Army's initiative to create a pipeline for artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The $2 million contract, announced Wednesday, is the first of several awards that will support the program, according to the service.

The contract will support the principles of traceability, observability, replaceability and consumability (TORC), which is the framework to “ensure model and data integrity, data openness and modular open system architecture design,” according to the Army. It has a six-month period of performance, with option years of up to five years.

Since the Army began releasing requests for information on Project Linchpin in late 2022, there have been more than 170 engagements with industry, officials previously told Inside Defense. The Army plans to use other transaction authorities over the next 18 months in its contracting approach for Linchpin, project lead Bharat Patel said at an Aug. 29 National Defense Industrial Association event.

Col. Chris Anderson, project manager for intelligence systems and analytics within the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S), said in a statement Wednesday that the contract is “a significant first step to decouple AI from software, decompose components within a [machine learning operations] pipeline, and wrap layers of security around the entire process.”

“These design principles will allow the Army to leverage the best-of-breed technology available across industry, academia, and government,” he said.

House GOP wins enough votes to begin defense spending bill debate
By Tony Bertuca
September 27, 2023 at 10:52 AM

House Republicans were able to muster enough votes last night to advance debate on the fiscal year 2024 defense appropriations bill, a goal that had eluded them three times previously.

The House voted 216-212 to begin debate on the bill, which Democrats uniformly oppose and President Biden has threatened to veto because of various “culture war” provisions that target diversity programs, climate change mitigation and the Pentagon’s travel and leave policy for servicemembers seeking abortions. The bill is also likely to fail in the Democrat-led Senate.

House Republicans released a statement today arguing the defense appropriations bill actually “rejects culture wars” because it refocuses the Pentagon on warfighting and away from “partisan, unnecessary initiatives.”

But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had to withdraw the bill from consideration earlier this month and last week lost two votes to advance debate as many members of his caucus refuse to support increases in government spending and additional aid to Ukraine.

It remains to be seen if the defense spending bill can pass the full House, though a vote is expected Thursday.

McCarthy is also having trouble gathering support among his caucus for a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown, saying the House could vote on a GOP-authored CR at the end of the week. Some Republicans have said they would prefer a shutdown to increasing the federal budget.

The Senate last night released a bipartisan CR proposal, but it is unlikely to be supported by many House Republicans as it includes funds for Ukraine and does nothing to slash domestic spending.

The federal government is slated to shut down if Congress cannot agree to a CR by Oct. 1.

Senate bill to block shutdown funds Ukraine aid, Columbia-class sub
By Tony Bertuca
September 26, 2023 at 6:03 PM

Senate appropriators have released a bipartisan stopgap funding bill that would avert a government shutdown through Nov. 17, while providing military aid to Ukraine and allow the Defense Department to obligate money to begin construction of the Columbia-class submarine.

The Senate’s proposed continuing resolution, however, is set to run into the GOP-led House’s deeply divided debate, where it will be dead-on-arrival with some Republicans who oppose continued aid to Ukraine.

The Senate bill would provide nearly $4.5 billion in emergency funding for the Defense Department to “respond to the situation in Ukraine and to refill U.S. military inventory,” according to a summary released by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA).

President Biden had requested nearly $10 billion in military aid.

The CR would also provide the State Department with $1.65 billion to aid Ukraine.

The Pentagon said earlier this month that it has nearly $6 billion remaining in congressionally appropriated funds used for transferring weapons to Ukraine. The amount also includes $3 million for the DOD inspector general’s office to continue its oversight of Ukraine aid.

The bill would also allow DOD to spend money on the Columbia-class submarine program, which the White House has said it needed to avoid a 20-month program delay. Typically, a CR prohibits DOD from increasing weapons production or beginning new programs.

The bill would also extend authority to provide protection and personal security for former or retired DOD officials for the duration of the CR.

Meanwhile, it is unclear how -- or if -- the House will be able to advance its own CR as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) can only rely on a narrow majority to pass legislation without the help of Democrats, who do not support many of the GOP’s fiscal and social policy proposals and have been uniformly voting against Republican spending bills.

Congress has until Oct. 1 to pass a CR if it is to avoid a government shutdown.

Army selects Textron, Griffon for next phase of FTUAS rapid prototyping
By Dan Schere
September 26, 2023 at 4:44 PM

The Army has chosen Textron Systems and Griffon Aerospace to participate in the next phase of the Future Tactical UAS rapid prototyping program, the service announced Tuesday.

FTUAS, part of the Army’s Future Vertical Lift portfolio, has requirements that include runway independence and a “rapidly deployable UAS capability,” according to the service. Its vertical takeoff and landing will provide increased maneuverability, and it will have a “reduced transportation and logistics footprint,” according to the Army’s announcement. FTUAS will help brigade combat teams conduct reconnaissance and surveillance, aiding in collecting intelligence about the enemy during multidomain operations.

In February, the Army awarded five rapid prototyping other transaction authorities for Increment 2 of FTUAS to AeroVironment, Griffon Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada and Textron.

In the first agreement option period, the Army evaluated each company’s submission against requirements, Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), cost, schedule and risk, according to the Army’s Tuesday announcement. This was followed by a preliminary design review that involved assessing each company’s weapon system design.

The second agreement option period, which begins Tuesday, will involve more evaluation of weapon system designs for Textron and Griffon. A critical design review will then establish the “final system design and initial product baseline,” according to the Army.

The critical design review will be followed by a third agreement option period involving flight demonstrations and “MOSA third-party verification,” according to the Army. A subsequent agreement option period will include delivering weapon systems and support equipment for testing and demonstrations with soldier touchpoints.

The Future Unmanned Aircraft System family of systems, which includes FTUAS, is a new start for fiscal year 2024, according to budget justification materials. The service included $53 million in procurement funding in its FY-24 request.

The INSIDER daily digest -- Sept. 26, 2023
By John Liang
September 26, 2023 at 4:14 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on upcoming multinational procurement deals, the Pentagon's Replicator implementation mechanism and more.

The Defense Department's top acquisition official spoke today during a moderated discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

LaPlante: 'Production diplomacy' is coming via new deals with U.S. allies

Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante, fresh from a meeting last week with NATO's top armaments directors, said defense contractors should expect the United States to soon announce more multinational procurement deals -- involving co-development, co-production and co-sustainment -- with its closest allies, including Ukraine.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks recently sent a memo on the Defense Innovation Steering Group:

Pentagon memo details Replicator implementation process

A Defense Department memo details the Pentagon's Replicator implementation mechanism, outlining the structure and process that the internal "Defense Innovation Steering Group" will use to fill pressing operational gaps through 18-month innovation sprints.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has handed control of a weather satellite over to the Space Force:

Space Force accepts second weather satellite to monitor Indian Ocean

The Space Force has accepted the transfer of a second weather satellite that will provide regional coverage over the Indian Ocean for the U.S. military until 2030, the service announced Sept. 22.

U.S. officials recently discussed the Pentagon's new cyber strategy with their Chinese counterparts:

U.S., Chinese defense officials huddle to discuss cyber issues

The Pentagon said Friday that U.S. and Chinese defense officials had a meeting to discuss the recently released 2023 Cyber Strategy.

Keep an eye out in the next few months for the Space Force's command and control software acquisition strategy:

Space Force to submit final Space C2 acquisition strategy in next three months

Sometime in the next three months, the Space Force will submit a final software acquisition strategy for its command and control effort to Pentagon officials for review, according to a service spokeswoman.

DOD awards $30M in grants to manufacturing consortia
By Georgina DiNardo
September 25, 2023 at 4:30 PM

The Pentagon's Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation today announced $30 million in grants split across six different Defense Manufacturing Community Support Programs.

The DMCSP, which invests in long-term critical skills, facilities, workforce development, research and development and small business support, ­­­was established by the defense secretary to designate and support consortiums as Defense Manufacturing Communities and strengthen the national security industrial base.

On Aug. 16, the assistant defense secretary for industrial base policy designated six consortia as Defense Manufacturing Communities and instructed the OLDCC to ask them to submit grant applications in response to a DMCSP Notice of Funding Opportunity released on April 24 for the proposal solicitation period.

The awarded amount comes from fiscal year 2023 funds, with an additional $10 million in non-federal funds being added, for a total investment of more than $40 million.

"Delivering capabilities to our warfighters at scale depends on a resilient and robust manufacturing base," said Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante. "This year's awards will strengthen advanced manufacturing capabilities in defense-critical sectors while cultivating our most important resource: our people. I am confident that the collaboration with public, private and academic partners fostered by the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program will have a lasting impact not only on our defense industrial base, but on our national security for years to come."

The Michigan Defense Resiliency Consortium will receive nearly $5 million to undertake a $6.3 million project to create the critical foundation for energy storage and battery manufacturing intended to support the Pentagon’s transformation from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.

The Missouri Defense Manufacturing Community Consortium was awarded nearly $5 million for a nearly $8 million project to train and establish a steady pipeline of engineers and tradespeople skilled in modern digital advanced manufacturing technologies.

The New York Consortium for Space Technology Innovation and Development is set to receive $5 million for a project worth about $6.8 intended to address the need for advanced space technology manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities. This project will be a collaboration of universities, research institutions, industry experts and government agencies throughout New York.

The New York State Microelectronics Defense Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Workforce consortium was also awarded $5 million for a $7.8 million project to strengthen talent pipelines and improve resiliency among local suppliers in the microelectronics industry.

The Central Pennsylvania Defense Shipbuilding Talent and Innovation Defense Ecosystem will receive a nearly $5 million grant for a $6.1 million project to help the Navy try to meet its goal of increasing submarine production from one to three annually through supporting a long-term pipeline of skilled workers and increasing adoption of production automation in the submarine industrial base.

Finally, America’s Additive Foundry Consortium will receive $5 million for a $7.5 million project to address foreign supply chain issues by securing a U.S. supply of tactical alloys through additive, hybrid and intelligent manufacturing.

"These grant awards are focused [on] defense-critical sectors, from battery and energy storage to microelectronics and castings and forgings," said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant defense secretary for industrial base policy. "These projects highlight the important innovation ecosystem that exists between public, private and academic partners, and DOD looks forward to following the progress on each of these initiatives."

The INSIDER daily digest -- Sept. 25, 2023
By John Liang
September 25, 2023 at 1:06 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Space Force's command and control software acquisition strategy, sending weapons to Taiwan and more.

Keep an eye out in the next few months for the Space Force's command and control software acquisition strategy:

Space Force to submit final Space C2 acquisition strategy in next three months

Sometime in the next three months, the Space Force will submit a final software acquisition strategy for its command and control effort to Pentagon officials for review, according to a service spokeswoman.

Modifying weapons for Taiwan, especially when they weren't designed to be exported, adds time to the process, according to DOD officials:

U.S. defense industry takes heat for Taiwan weapons backlog

U.S. government officials told Congress this week that a $19 billion backlog of foreign military sales to Taiwan is due to shortcomings in the defense industrial base, but an influential business association that represents some of the largest Pentagon contractors seeks a more balanced view of the challenge.

Document: House hearing on defense cooperation with Taiwan

More Taiwan news:

House lawmakers address government shutdown and Taiwan

Two members of the House Armed Services Committee today spoke publicly about how lessons learned from Ukraine may be applied to Taiwan and the national security impact of a government shutdown.

A new U.S.-Canada Cloud-Based C2 system modernizes battle management and command and control functions by replacing existing systems with modern cloud-based applications, enhanced by artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a common operating picture:

U.S.-Canada ready new domestic airspace C2 system for ops; first major upgrade since post-9/11

The United States and Canada are close to declaring initial operational capability of Cloud-Based C2 -- a new homeland defense battle management, command and control system to replace a tool established after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- that top brass say is needed to defend North America from modern threats and is a likely candidate to be part of a future domestic cruise missile defense system.

A new Government Accountability Office report finds that the Defense Department, Army and Navy "need to reassess the future sustainment strategy" for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program:

GAO: Assessment needed on F-35 sustainment

The Defense Department needs to reassess its approach to F-35 Joint Strike Fighter sustainment to boost its mission-capable rates to program goals, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

Document: GAO report on F-35 sustainment

Army Science Board to discuss two studies in closed session
By Nickolai Sukharev
September 25, 2023 at 9:20 AM

The Army Science Board will convene in a closed meeting on Tuesday to discuss two studies, according to a Federal Register notice.

Members of the ASB will review, deliberate and vote on the findings and recommendations presented for two fiscal year 2023 studies on Sept. 26 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in Arlington, VA.

The first study, “Testing, Validating, and Protecting Army use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Models,” contains controlled unclassified information and will be presented in a closed session from 8:45 - 10:00 a.m.

The second study, “Advanced Concepts to Support Army Warfighting Functions in the Indo-Pacific,” also contains controlled unclassified information and will be presented in a closed session at 10:15 - 11:30 a.m.

Earlier this month, the ASB released a study assessing the future threats to fifth-generation ground vehicles.

Oshkosh awarded additional JLTV contract
By Nickolai Sukharev
September 25, 2023 at 9:15 AM

The Army has awarded Oshkosh an additional contract for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Costing $31.1 million, Oshkosh will produce the JLTV at the company's facility in Oshkosh, WI, by June 30, 2025, the announcement says.

The award follows previous contracts announced in August.

Designed to replace a portion of the Army’s humvees, the JLTV is a family of four wheeled trucks designed to transport personnel and payloads across the full range of military operations.

The JLTV has a four-seat combat tactical variant and two-seat combat support variant. The combat tactical variant has subvariants with a machine gun turret and a cargo hold designed to carry heavier weapons. The combat support variant is designed to haul cargo or shelters.

The JLTV will also feature lithium-ion batteries to reduce fuel consumption and minimize engine noise.

In June, the Government Accountability Office denied Oshkosh’s protest of the Army’s decision to award the next production phase of the JLTV to AM General.

The Army is slated to procure 49,099 JLTVs, according to service budget documents for fiscal year 2024.

The Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force will also procure smaller portions of JLTVs.

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
September 25, 2023 at 5:00 AM

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak around the Washington area this week, including at a congressional hearing to discuss the Biden administration's decision to keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado, rather than relocate it to Alabama.

Tuesday

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion with Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante on maritime security.

Wednesday

The House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee holds a hearing on military housing.

Defense News hosts a webcast featuring the Pentagon's deputy director of manufacturing technology.

Thursday

The House Armed Services Committee holds a hearing with senior Pentagon officials on the Biden administration's decision to keep U.S. Space Command in Colorado.

The Senate Armed Services Committee hosts a hearing to consider the nominations for under secretary of defense for policy and assistant secretary of defense for acquisition.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, chief of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, speaks at the National Press Club.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee holds a hearing on counterterrorism and Authorization for the Use of Military Force reform.

The House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific subcommittee holds a hearing on "Lasers and Water Cannons: Exposing the Chinese Communist Party's Harassment in the South China Sea."

The INSIDER daily digest -- Sept. 22, 2023
By John Liang
September 22, 2023 at 1:51 PM

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a nascent U.S.-Canadian homeland defense battle management, command and control system, a recent GAO report on the F-35 program and more.

Cloud-Based C2, which became a program in May 2022, is set this fall to replace the Battle Control System-Fixed which achieved initial operational capability in October 2006 in support of Operation Noble Eagle -- North American Aerospace and Defense Command's activities to protect the two nations' domestic airspace initiated after the September 2001 terrorist attacks:

U.S.-Canada ready new domestic airspace C2 system for ops; first major upgrade since post-9/11

The United States and Canada are close to declaring initial operational capability of Cloud-Based C2 -- a new homeland defense battle management, command and control system to replace a tool established after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- that top brass say is needed to defend North America from modern threats and is a likely candidate to be part of a future domestic cruise missile defense system.

A new Government Accountability Office report finds the Defense Department, Army and Navy "need to reassess the future sustainment strategy" for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program:

GAO: Assessment needed on F-35 sustainment

The Defense Department needs to reassess its approach to F-35 Joint Strike Fighter sustainment to boost its mission-capable rates to program goals, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.

Document: GAO report on F-35 sustainment

The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing this week on defense cooperation with Taiwan:

U.S. defense industry takes heat for Taiwan weapons backlog

U.S. government officials told Congress this week that a $19 billion backlog of foreign military sales to Taiwan is due to shortcomings in the defense industrial base, but an influential business association that represents some of the largest Pentagon contractors seeks a more balanced view of the challenge.

Document: House hearing on defense cooperation with Taiwan

Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Pat Ryan (D-NY), noted at an S4G Summit this week that even with a possible government shutdown, they will be not working this weekend as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has sent everyone home for the weekend:

House lawmakers address government shutdown and Taiwan

Two members of the House Armed Services Committee today spoke publicly about how lessons learned from Ukraine may be applied to Taiwan and the national security impact of a government shutdown.

The new Navy Science and Technology Board is scheduled to hold its first meeting today:

Ex-Pentagon and Navy officials anchor new technology board

A new science and technology advisory board launched to support the Navy and Marine Corps will strive to bring insight and perspective to operational risks and benefits of emerging platforms, software and systems.

Biden announces $325M aid package for Ukraine 
By Tony Bertuca
September 21, 2023 at 6:24 PM

President Biden today announced a $325 million security assistance package for Ukraine that will transfer additional air defense systems and munitions directly from U.S. stocks, according to the Pentagon.

The package, funded via presidential “drawdown” authority and coincides with the Washington visits of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, includes:

  • AIM-9M missiles;
  • Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
  • Avenger air defense systems;
  • .50 caliber machine guns to counter Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • 155mm artillery rounds, including the Dual-purposed improved conventional munitions;
  • 105mm artillery rounds;
  • Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  • Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
  • Over three million rounds of small arms ammunition;
  • 59 light tactical vehicles;
  • Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
  • Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.

The announcement is the 47th tranche of equipment the Biden administration has provided Ukraine since August 2021.

“This package includes additional capabilities to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses as it faces brutal aerial assaults from Russia, dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM) which are helping Ukraine on the battlefield, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment to meet Ukraine’s critical needs and to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression,” the Pentagon said.