The Insider

The Navy successfully tested a prototype electronic attack system intended to provide anti-ship missile defense capabilities to small ships, according to a release from Northrop Grumman, the contractor.

Published last week, the announcement states that an initial demonstration of the future Ultra-Lite Electronic Attack (EA) prototype was conducted by Northrop Grumman and the Naval Research Laboratory during last summer’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise.

The system is undergoing additional concept demonstrations this month to assess reliability and scalability.

The earlier demonstration was conducted aboard an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, where the prototype transceiver technology was paired with the Navy’s EA antenna. The “scaled-down” system is small and light to enable use on small vessels.

“This at-sea demonstration proves Northrop Grumman's future low-size, weight and power, scaled EA solution can effectively support U.S. Navy missions,” said Monta Harrell, Northrop Grumman’s director of maritime electronic warfare advanced solutions, in a statement included in the release.

“The lessons learned from the RIMPAC exercise provide real-world insights into our low-risk architectural solution for smaller ships that will revolutionize EA for the U.S. Navy,” Harrell’s statement continues.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute plans to host its first annual National Security Innovation Base Summit in Washington on March 14, accompanied by a “report card” for the Pentagon and panel discussions featuring defense and congressional officials.

Reagan Institute Policy Director Rachel Hoff told reporters the event is meant to continue national security conversations begun at the Reagan National Defense Forum held in Simi Valley, CA, last month.

“We along with a set of advisors had understood that we needed a tool to kind of track where future areas for interventions are needed,” she said. “Then also to look back on previous efforts -- and to do this over time -- to track the effectiveness of various interventions, legislation or reform efforts.”

Hoff said a key feature of the upcoming event will be the launch of the NSIB Report Card, intended to be a policy tool for the institute to measure the effectiveness and productivity of the defense industrial base regarding innovation.

“This will be kind of an innovative policy tool that will allow policymakers and key stakeholders [to assess] this national security innovation base ecosystem,” she said.

Hoff said she and her team are developing a “short list of key indicators that will measure across a set of metrics and will assess with a letter grade . . . which areas are performing well . . . and which areas are ripe for future policy interventions or resources or need a new strategy or what have you.”

Hoff said examples of report card metrics include access to innovative capital and a well-trained 21st century workforce.

“We’re building the report card now,” she said, adding that it will likely be released a day or two before the summit.

“What we hope comes of it is that there’s a real conversation around the indicators that are at the bottom of the list and what we need to do to improve,” she said.

The report may also include fiscal recommendations, but Hoff said it remains to be seen if specific dollar amounts would be attached.

The announcement of the NSIB Summit follows Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent establishment of the Office of Strategic Capital, which is intended to invest in companies developing key defense technologies and help them bridge the so-called “valley of death” that lies between prototyping and production.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying military payloads blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL on Jan. 15, marking the second Falcon Heavy launch for the Space Force.

The mission, dubbed USSF-67, carried two spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit, Space Systems Command said in a Jan. 16 press release announcing the successful launch.

“We’re certainly on a roll with 96 consecutive successful national security space launches, and the takeaway is that we’ve really got a spectacular team working together on our most challenging launch profiles to ensure our mission partners get on orbit with confidence,” Program Executive Officer for Assured Access to Space Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy said in the release.

According to Space Systems Command, the first space vehicle, called Continuous Broadcast Augmenting Satellites Communications (CBAS), is a satellite that will supplement existing SATCOM relay capabilities “in support of our senior leaders and combatant commanders.”

A Long Duration Propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter, or LDPE, was the second spacecraft mounted on the rocket. Based on Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar platform, the spacecraft carried two satellites for SSC and three for the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO).

“From conception and development of next-generation space technology, like ESPAStar, to on-orbit command and control, we are prepared to support the full lifecycle of our customer’s missions throughout the ever-evolving threat environment,” Vice President for National Security Systems Troy Brashear said in a Northrop Grumman press release.

According to Space News, the two SSC satellites, called Catcher and WASSAT, are prototypes that will respectively study space domain awareness capabilities and track other objects in orbit.

Meanwhile, the three SpRCO satellites “include two operational prototypes for enhanced situational awareness, and an operational prototype crypto/interface encryption payload providing secure space-to-ground communications capability,” SSC said in the release.

Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear said in September 2022 that SpRCO’s satellites are “highly classified” prototypes and systems, though an official previously stated SpRCO is only interested in procuring mature capabilities.

The Jan. 15 Falcon Heavy mission is the second for the service following a successful launch on Nov. 1, which similarly carried payloads to geosynchronous orbit. Mounted on that rocket as well was an LDPE spacecraft, which SSC said in the Jan. 16 press release “will continue to provide access to space for multiple DOD space Science & Technology (S&T) demonstration experiments.”

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) has been named chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

“There is no higher priority for Congress than defending the American people and the liberties we hold dear,” he said in a statement. “Serving as the chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee is one of the greatest honors of my service to this nation. It is also a role that comes with tremendous responsibilities.”

Calvert said Congress needs to be “wide-eyed” about growing Russian and Chinese military aggression.

“America cannot expect to lead the free world in the decades to come if we are not in the position of being the unquestioned defense superpower we have been for decades,” he said.

But Calvert, who has said he wants to increase defense spending, will be going up against some fiscal hawks in his party who want to cap discretionary spending amounts used in fiscal year 2022. Doing so could mean a $75 billion cut to the Defense Department.

“As Alexander Hamilton once wrote, ‘the circumstances that endanger the safety of nations are infinite.’ Yet, as we know all too well, American tax dollars are very much finite,” he said.

Calvert pledged to “eliminate waste, create efficiencies, and prioritize investments in the tools that will provide the foundation for our defense for decades to come.”

Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), who will chair the full committee, released a statement saying Calvert has her full support.

“Ken’s tremendous experience and understanding of defense issues will enable him to work together with our subcommittee members to tackle our many national security challenges,” she said. “Ken and I share the belief that we cannot shortchange our men and women in uniform, and that we must invest in the defense priorities that are required to meet a rising China and other potential threats to our security.”

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a U.S.-Japan military technology agreement, the Marine Corps' need for the Light Amphibious Warship and more.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japan’s Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu have signed a bilateral Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Memorandum of Understanding and a Security of Supply Agreement; the former is legally binding, the latter is not:

U.S., Japan mark 'consequential moment' with agreements to increase tech cooperation

The United States and Japan -- two global technology innovation powerhouses -- are teaming up to collaborate on high-power microwaves, autonomous systems and counter-hypersonic weapons, inking new agreements to expand military research and development while advancing plans for potential collaboration on a new Aegis guided-missile interceptor.

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Roger Turner, the director of operations division plans, policies and operations, spoke this week at the Surface Navy Association's National Symposium:

LAW procurement critical to closing capability gap, Marine Corps official says

The Marine Corps' largest capability gap is the absence of the Light Amphibious Warship, according to a senior service official, who said closing this gap depends upon industry's ability to expediently deliver a "sufficient quantity" of the vessels.

More Marine Corps-related news:

Marines to base new regiment with robotically controlled ship-killing vehicles in Japan

The Defense Department plans to bolster the U.S. military presence in the Pacific region by converting a unit based in Japan to a Marine Littoral Regiment, a new formation designed to fight its way onto islands and maritime choke points, deploy its own long-range strike capabilities and create anti-access challenges for Chinese forces.

. . . Plus continuing coverage of the SNA Symposium:

Frustrated with shipyard delays, Navy officials talk tough on industry

Reducing shipyard delays is a top priority for the Navy, according to the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, who expressed deep dissatisfaction today with the performance of the defense industrial base.

5th Fleet commander details 'digital ocean' concept after TF-59 reaches FOC

Over a year after its inception, the Navy's Mideast-based unmanned task force has reached full operational capability and U.S. 5th Fleet aims to expand its presence to create a "digital ocean" in the region as threats from Iran and other malign actors remain "very real."

After three years of effort to flesh out the Space Force, its second and newest chief of space operations said the service is now sufficiently mature to tackle the challenges ahead of it.

“We're not standing up the Space Force anymore, although there’s probably still some work,” Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, who took the reins of the service Nov. 2, said during a video interview with the Space Force Association Jan. 12. “We’re here. Now it’s time to deliver, to build capabilities, start producing on some of the promises that we’ve laid out,” he added.

The Space Force has a sizeable agenda for 2023. The Space Development Agency is set to begin launching Tranche 0 missile tracking and data transport satellites in March, advancing critical initiatives for modernized sensing capabilities and an infrastructure that can support more robust data transfer. The service is also gearing up to field its long-delayed, modernized GPS ground segment and pursue new acquisitions for key programs like space launches.

“My priorities are not going to surprise you, because they're really a continuation of all the work that's been done,” Saltzman said when asked about his top issues for the service going forward.

“No. 1 is we are going to have resilient, ready combat credible forces,” the general said. Noting “technology is not enough,” the service will need to invest in proper training and testing so that the force can deter adversaries, he added.

Saltzman described his “second line of effort” as “amplifying the Guardian spirit,” referencing enthusiasm for joining the Space Force and the need to “empower” service members to pursue new ideas. “That means we’ve got to put structures in place to take care of them,” he observed.

Saltzman listed partnerships as his third priority, underscoring the need to strengthen ties with other military services and nations. “It's got to be a deep, rich partnership based on mutual trust, mutual benefit. Everybody's got to get something out of it. This is not transactional,” he said.

Pointing to the Space Force having more applicants than it can accommodate, Saltzman said the service will need to be selective with the Guardians it brings on, but that the bigger challenge will be getting them to stay in.

“The hard part is retaining,” the general said.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the former chairman and current ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said today that getting a final fiscal year 2024 appropriations package in place is likely to be a challenge, given the new Republican majority in the House that is focused on capping spending.

“The legislative hostage-takers don't seem to care if the federal government functions,” he said today at the Brookings Institution.

“So, on the debt ceiling and on the appropriations bills, they have shown a willingness to take hostages and a certain enthusiasm for executing those hostages whether necessary or not. So, that's going to be a challenge.”

House Republicans are presently debating how they would cap discretionary spending at FY-22 levels, though there is confusion about whether they would seek to slash the defense budget.

Meanwhile, some House Republicans are expected to push to increase the $858 billion defense budget by 3% to 5% above the rate of inflation.

Smith said he thinks there will not be a $1 trillion defense budget in FY-24.

“I think it's highly unlikely we're going to be looking at a $1 trillion defense budget this year,” he said. “I mean, the biggest challenge we have in that regard is just to have a budget.”

Smith said he ultimately supported an $858 billion defense topline for FY-23 even though he thought the Pentagon could get by with less because he didn’t want to hold up the National Defense Authorization Act, which has been passed into law every year for more than six decades.

“I believe in democracy more than I believe in my own opinion,” he said. “You don't have to burn the house down just because they didn't give you what you want.”

Todd Harrison, managing director of Metrea Strategic Insights and previously an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, recently told Inside Defense in an email that he see sees “a lot of similarities” between the political climate of 2023 and 2011 when it comes to the debate over spending cuts.

“While I don't think we will end up with something exactly like the Budget Control Act and sequestration, I am increasingly seeing signs that we are headed in the same general direction,” he said. “Twelve years ago, it was disagreements over how to reduce overall federal spending (not defense specifically) that led to both sides taking the defense budget hostage. It didn't work out well for defense then, and I don't see why this time around would be any different. One can only hope that enough people in Congress and the executive branch still have scar tissue from the BCA that they won't let things go in that direction again.”

Harrison pointed out that, at the time, DOD was able to skirt BCA spending caps by placing tens of billions of dollars annually in its now defunct Overseas Contingency Operations account.

“This time around there would be no easy way to get around the budget caps like the OCO loophole,” he said.