The Insider

This pre-Thanksgiving INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the latest funding "anomalies" list submitted by the White House to Congress, plus the palpable discomfort in the contracting community driven by the incoming Trump administration and more.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has submitted "anomalies" lists that includes spending exemptions related to Ukrainian military aid and the U.S. submarine industrial base:

Ukraine and submarines headline Pentagon's CR 'anomalies' request

The White House is seeking tens of billions of dollars in spending exemptions related to Ukrainian military aid and the U.S. submarine industrial base when Congress returns from its break to begin debating passage of a stopgap continuing resolution to avert a partial government shutdown slated for next month, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.

Document: OMB's CR anomalies lists

More submarine funding news:

White House asks for $7.3 billion in additional submarine funding

The White House Office of Management and Budget is asking Congress for an additional $7.3 billion to fund production of the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs with two separate 'anomaly' requests delivered to lawmakers Monday, an administration official told Inside Defense.

Analysts and defense company executives who spoke with Inside Defense said there is palpable discomfort in the contracting community driven by the uncertainty of guessing what could happen to specific weapons programs targeted by Donald Trump, soon to again be the world’s most powerful man, and Elon Musk, the world’s richest man:

Defense contractors warned against 'headline risk' and 'sacrificial lambs' amid Musk tweets

Defense contractors, especially those with highly visible Pentagon programs that are behind schedule and over budget, are being advised to lay low and prepare to make offerings at the altar of President-elect Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency advisory commission led by tech billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Some space launch news:

ULA not ready to launch planned Space Force missions this year

United Launch Alliance won't complete the two scheduled Space Force launches on its Vulcan rocket until early next year, potentially months later than planned, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

Some Army high-altitude electronic warfare news:

Army seeking industry ideas for new high-flying electronic warfare payloads

The Army is asking industry for ideas on possible electronic warfare payloads that could be carried at very high altitudes by an uncrewed system, a step that aims to help refine a requirement for an emerging requirement for a new electronic attack system.

Last but by no means least, the latest from our colleagues at Inside AI Policy and Inside Cybersecurity:

Paladin investment group leader advocates for cyber in tech principles targeted at new administration

Paladin Capital Group leader Michael Steed says technologists and the tech investment community should have a much-needed seat at the cyber and artificial intelligence policymaking table in the incoming Trump administration.

CMMC accreditation body brings in internationally recognized group to assist with achieving ISO needs

The accreditation body behind the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program is working with the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) on efforts to meet international standards and authorizations, according to Cyber AB CEO Matthew Travis.

DOD issues proposed rule establishing disclosure requirements for contractors who share source code with other governments

The Pentagon has proposed new requirements for defense companies who are competing for information technology, operational technology and cybersecurity contracts to disclose information on source code and computer code that are being shared with foreign governments as part of the acquisition process.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The next INSIDER Daily Digest will be issued on Monday, Dec. 2.

The Navy's Science and Technology Board will meet on Dec. 3 to discuss two completed studies of electronic warfare for terminal defense and ship maintenance, according to a Wednesday Federal Register notice.

During the meeting, which will be held virtually and open to the public, the board will vote to determine whether to deliver these two studies to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, the notice states.

Formed in September 2023, the S&T board is tasked with providing independent advice to the Navy on a range of topics including emerging technologies, acquisition practices, manufacturing, logistics, medicine and business management.

The board’s first focal area was investigating ways for the Navy and Marine Corps to rapidly integrate disruptive technologies. It provided classified recommendations on this subject to service leaders in April.

More recently, the board convened in September to review recommendations for innovation, ship maintenance, additive manufacturing and electronic warfare.

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) has introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution that would roll back a final rulemaking to establish the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, as part of an effort by the GOP lawmaker to put Congress in a position to weigh in on major regulatory initiatives.

The resolution, introduced on Nov. 15, addresses a DOD final rule published Oct. 15 in the Federal Register. Under the CRA, DOD must provide 60 days for the rulemaking to go into effect to give lawmakers the opportunity to review it.

The Government Accountability Office sent an assessment on Oct. 30 to House and Senate Armed Services leaders which concluded that DOD had completed the necessary “procedural steps” to put the final rulemaking into place.

The CMMC final rule amends Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations to establish the program. A second rulemaking to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement recently went through a public comment period as a notice of proposed rulemaking and is in the adjudication stage at DOD.

Palmer’s resolution has raised concerns among stakeholders who have invested in growing the CMMC ecosystem including the Managed Service Provider Collective, which is advocating on Capitol Hill for continued investments in the CMMC program.

The MSP Collective argues that the use of an MSP can help companies reach compliance with CMMC quicker and more cost effectively than trying to meet all of the CMMC requirements on their own. The collective is also working to encourage lawmakers to create tax incentives that will help small businesses reach compliance.

Finalizing the first CMMC rule was a major accomplishment for DOD and signaled to industry three years after the program went through an internal review that CMMC will start showing up in DOD contracts next year.

Defense primes have indicated since the rulemaking was published that a CMMC certification will be included in the competitive selection process for subcontractors when primes are bidding on major contracts with CMMC requirements.

A spokesperson for Palmer told Inside Cybersecurity that Palmer is “not stating a policy stance” on the CMMC rulemaking and “just making sure Congress votes on it.” Palmer has introduced over 30 CRAs that address various rulemakings and plans to introduce more this year, according to the spokesperson.

Palmer is “looking at the large impact ones, rules that are impacting the American people,” the Palmer staffer said, “instead of agencies passing [major rules] without Congress voting.”

As the lone representative on the CMMC resolution, it is unlikely to get much support from other lawmakers before the end of the current legislative session.

At a 2023 hearing, Senate Armed Services cyber subcommittee Chairman Joe Manchin (I-WV) called the CMMC program and the National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center “crucial guidelines and resources for our private industry partners.”

MSP Collective director Stuart Itkin emphasized to Inside Cybersecurity that his group doesn’t want Palmer’s resolution to be seen as a reason for “companies in the defense industrial base to believe the program is in jeopardy and relax their requirements to satisfy other obligations” under CMMC.

The NIST 800-171 standard has been a requirement for DOD contractors who hold controlled unclassified information since 2017. CMMC adds in a third-party assessment and DOD has strongly encouraged companies to make investments now before the rulemaking process is complete to ensure that they can compete for contracts.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, the Navy’s next-generation Ship-to-Shore connector capability and more.

A new Defense Department directive "establishes the responsibilities and functions, relationships and authorities of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer (CDAO) pursuant to the authority vested in the Secretary of Defense by Section 113 of Title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.)":

CDAO releases charter on AI policy and strategy

The Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office released a long-awaited chartering directive Monday -- which, combined with an upcoming instruction, will form an implementation plan for the AI Adoption Strategy and DOD’s AI policy.

Document: DOD directive on CDAO

Initial operational test and evaluation of the amphibious air-cushioned landing craft is now expected to conclude in September 2025 with IOC to follow in December 2025:

Ship-to-Shore connector faces fresh technical delays, putting IOC five years behind schedule

The Navy’s next-generation Ship-to-Shore connector capability, which will be critical for landing Marines and other military personal in the event of an Indo-Pacific conflict, is facing fresh delays driven by technical problems that continue to postpone initial operational capability despite the delivery of multiple craft.

No longer PNTAX, the All-Domain Persistent Experiment, or APEX, is scheduled for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, according to the Army. The change in name and scope reflects the Army's shift from a PNT focus to one homing in on integrated sensing technologies:

Army’s annual PNT experiment rebrands with new name and broader focus

Army Futures Command is widening the scope of its annual Positioning, Navigation and Timing Assessment Experiment, or PNTAX, to include its newest cross-functional team’s priority: domain sensing.

Commercial businesses will be given an opportunity by the Space Force next year:

Space Force to award commercial contracts next year

The Space Force plans to begin awarding Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve contracts early next year for space domain awareness services, according to a service official.

The former top House Republican weighed in on president-elect Trump's Pentagon pick:

McCarthy talks Trump appointees’ potential impacts on defense

Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was noncommittal when asked how he felt about Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the Pentagon, Wednesday.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest begins with news on the Space Force issuing some commercial contracts soon, the former Speaker of the House comments on Trump’s national security picks, the top uniformed Army officer is once again talking about flexible funding, and some details on the Space Force’s ‘watch list.’

Commercial businesses will be given an opportunity by the Space Force:

Space Force to award commercial contracts next year

The Space Force plans to begin awarding Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve contracts early next year for space domain awareness services, a service official said today.

The former top House Republican weighed in on president-elect Trump’s Pentagon pick:

McCarthy talks Trump appointees’ potential impacts on defense

Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was noncommittal when asked how he felt about Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the Pentagon, Wednesday. The California congressman said he knows he “couldn’t do the job.”

The Army chief of staff wants more leeway in spending appropriated money:

Army chief says funding flexibility could help when it comes to stockpiling resources

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George suggested yesterday that the service can’t currently stockpile weapons and parts due to a lack of funding flexibility in the budget.

A senior Space Force official talked about the ‘watch list’:

One company on Space Force ‘watch list’ in effort to hold industry accountable to contracts

The Space Force has one company on its “contractor watch list,” a senior official said today, showing that the service is holding industry accountable for missing performance, cost or schedule promises.

Today’s INSIDER Daily Digest looks at the AI needs of a major warfighting command, news from the Pentagon’s Replicator program, the Army is looking for help with cybersecurity, and some words from the exiting DOD comptroller.

U.S. Strategic Command sorely needs some artificial intelligence programs:

STRATCOM needs AI, commander says

U.S. Strategic Command needs to incorporate AI into its nuclear command, control and communications efforts to maintain dominance, Commander Gen. Anthony Cotton said.

The Pentagon’s Replicator program has signed up some software developers:

DIU reveals new Replicator software contracts

The Defense Innovation Unit today announced contract awards to software developers supporting the Replicator initiative, highlighting their roles in advancing autonomy solutions for all-domain, attritable drones.

The Army is looking for help in protecting its cybersecurity networks:

Army seeks industry help in managing and securing its networks

The Army is surveying industry for help running large cybersecurity networks, according to a request for information released Wednesday.

And in case you missed it:

Outgoing DOD comptroller predicts budget boost, sees risk in Ukraine weapons work when Trump team arrives

Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord, who will be leaving the Defense Department when President-elect Trump is sworn-in in January, said today he believes Congress will increase the fiscal year 2025 defense budget and noted that the Biden administration, had it remained in power, was preparing to seek topline growth in FY-26.