The Insider

Norwegian contractor Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace has received a $329 million award to build 175 medium-caliber cannon remote turret systems for the Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle 30mm cannon variant, according to a Nov. 4 announcement.

Under the award, Kongsberg will deliver its Protector Remote Turret 20 (RT-20) system for full-rate production ACV-30s, with work expected to conclude by June 2028, the notice states.

Last spring, the Marine Corps posted a solicitation seeking additional vendors that might be capable of building these turrets, though the government lacked the ACV technical data package.

Vehicle maker BAE Systems had already been working closely with Kongsberg to integrate the RT-20 turret onto the ACV. Three production-representative test vehicles, delivered to the government in February, are equipped with the RT-20.

According to a separate announcement from Kongsberg, the Nov. 4 award signals the start of full-rate production for the ACV-30. The initial award under the contract is worth $51 million, the notice states, covering long-lead subcomponents of the turret systems.

“This agreement is an important milestone for the U.S. Marine Corps ACV-30 program, enabling rapid deliveries when full-rate production starts,” Kongsberg President Eirik Lie said in a statement included in the release. “We are pleased that U.S. Marine Corp has selected the highly advanced 30mm PROTECTOR remote turret system from Kongsberg in the program.”

The Marine Corps plans to procure 80 ACV-30s in fiscal year 2025 and expects the variant to achieve initial operational capability in the third quarter of FY-26, budget documents indicate.

This FY-25 procurement profile reflects a reduction of 24 vehicles compared to earlier plans due to program cost growth and funding cuts imposed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The Marine Corps included $340 million for added ACV-30 procurement on its unfunded priority list.

According to budget documents, a higher-than-expected vendor proposal was largely attributed to the transition to procuring the ACV-30 variant, which is more complex than the prior two ACV variants due to the turret weapon system. In September, a service spokesperson told Inside Defense negotiations over cost mitigation measures were ongoing.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a nascent Army All-Domain Sensing Cross-Functional Team, the Missile Defense System's overall cost and more.

Army Futures Command recently stood up its newest All-Domain Sensing Cross-Functional Team, which officially began its mission Oct. 16 and will work in tandem with partners in the Defense Department to streamline technology development, capabilities and processes:

Harnessing the senses: Army Futures Command's newest CFT hopes to standardize sensor technology for the future force

The Army, along with the joint services, has been investing in and developing effective sensors -- perhaps without taking full advantage of them, a senior official said Oct. 31.

The Missile Defense Agency, in a Selected Acquisition Report to Congress made public last month, detailed changes to near-term procurement plans:

MDA pegs cost of Missile Defense System at $246B, prioritizes SM-3 Bk IIA over IB

The Defense Department last year traded away 153 Standard Missile-3 Block IB interceptors as part of a decision to terminate production of the guided missile interceptors in exchange for buying a dozen Standard Missile-3 Block IIA variants, according to a report to Congress.

Document: DOD modernized SAR on the MDS program

The latest CMMC news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Procurement group urges Pentagon to clarify how contracting officers will set CMMC maturity level requirements

The Coalition for Government Procurement is asking the Defense Department to provide guidance on when requirements under the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program will go into effect for specific contracts, in response to a proposed rule to make changes to the Pentagon's acquisition regulations.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin says the service is being hurt by continuing resolutions:

Allvin: Yearly CRs contribute to a 'death by 1,000 cuts' to Air Force programs

Year after year, long-term continuing resolutions have strangled the defense budgetary process, which Air Force officials say is exhausting time that could have been spent on advancing capabilities and blurring the service's vision about what it might need to maintain superiority over the nation's adversaries.

GA-ASI and BAE are teaming up to bring some new EW capabilities to the Air Force’s CCA program:

General Atomics, BAE collaborate on electronic warfare capabilities for CCAs

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and BAE Systems are working together to build autonomous electronic warfare functions for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, GA-ASI announced.

The Navy is in the early stages of a novel plan to funnel private money into the submarine industrial base. For the private equity group tapped as the service’s partner in this effort, tax incentives, enduring demand for submarines and a tenant-focused business model make this foray into shipbuilding a low-risk venture with promising returns.

The Navy announced the new “public-private collaboration” in September, partnering with the United Submarine Alliance (USA) Qualified Opportunity Fund LP -- a private-equity fund managed by Connecticut-based investment group CapZone Impact Investments LLC -- in what one service official described as a “really big swing” at harnessing private capital for the submarine industrial base.

Read the full story, now available to all.

The Navy will extend the service lives of three Ticonderoga-class cruisers, adding a cumulative 10 years of ship use from fiscal year 2026 to 2029, according to a Monday announcement.

The three vessels -- Gettysburg (CG-64), Chosin (CG-65), and Cape St. George (CG-71) -- have all received hull, mechanical, engineering and combat system upgrades in recent years as part of an extended modernization program, the notice states.

"After learning hard lessons from the cruiser modernization program, we are only extending ships that have completed modernization and have the material readiness needed to continue advancing our Navy's mission,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said in a statement included in the release.

Gettysburg and Chosin finished their maintenance periods in FY-23 and FY-24 respectively, while Cape St. George is expected to complete its modernization in FY-25.

Chosin was used in a recent at-sea demonstration of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM), a developing technology intended to enable the replenishment of warship missile tubes while the vessels are underway, the announcement notes.

The news follows an Oct. 31 Navy announcement indicating 12 Flight I Arleigh Burke-class destroyers will have their service lives extended by up to five years each, adding a cumulative 48 ship-years of service life between 2028 and 2035.

The INSIDER starts with news from the Air Force chief staff lamenting the ongoing continuing resolution and also includes news about companies teaming up on the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the Navy secretary extending the service lives of 12 destroyers and more.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin says the service is being hurt by the CR:

Allvin: Yearly CRs contribute to a ‘death by 1,000 cuts’ to Air Force programs

Year after year, long-term continuing resolutions have strangled the defense budgetary process, which Air Force officials say is exhausting time that could have been spent on advancing capabilities and blurring the service’s vision about what it might need to maintain superiority over the nation’s adversaries.

GA-ASI and BAE are teaming up to bring some new EW capabilities to the Air Force’s CCA program:

General Atomics, BAE collaborate on electronic warfare capabilities for CCAs

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and BAE Systems are working together to build autonomous electronic warfare functions for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, GA-ASI announced today.

The Navy secretary wants 12 destroyers to stay in the fleet longer than planned:

SECNAV announces service life extensions for 12 destroyers

The Navy will extend its operational use of 12 Flight I Arleigh Burke-class destroyers by up to five years beyond their intended 35-year service lives, according to a Thursday announcement from service secretary Carlos Del Toro.

A selected acquisition report shows plans to increase Patriot missile buys:

Pentagon report estimates increased quantity of PAC-3 MSE missiles through FY-29

The Pentagon expects to have about 500 more Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles than previously anticipated, according to a Selected Acquisition Report dated Dec. 31, 2023, that was released publicly last month.

And shipbuilder HII is working to hire a more seasoned workforce:

HII to pivot to new hiring technique, focus more on experienced workers

Amid program delays and cost increases in the most recent financial quarter, shipbuilder HII is pivoting to a different hiring method by focusing on recruitment of experienced employees rather than a green workforce.

The Space Force posted its annual request for National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 proposals, offering new companies the chance to enter the vendor pool for these launch services.

This is the first on-ramp opportunity to join the vendor pool since the initial contracts were awarded to Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance in June.

Proposals for the contract are due by Dec. 13, and Space Systems Command plans to announce awards in the spring. Prospective contractors should have plans for a first launch by December 2025.

“Our NSSL Phase 3 strategy is designed to leverage the innovative commercial launch market to diversify our launch solutions with new systems able to launch more risk-tolerant space vehicles to traditionally commercial orbits,” said Col. Douglas Pentecost, SSC’s Assured Access to Space deputy program executive officer. “Emerging launch service providers are able to on-ramp each year to the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract when their launch systems are ready giving us more diversity and competition.”

Companies that join the vendor pool will be able to compete for task orders for about 30 missions each year.

Lane 1 vendors do not need to meet the same bar that Lane 2 vendors do, as those are missions with less risk tolerance. Lane 2 vendors must become certified to launch those missions, and currently only SpaceX holds the certification as ULA is waiting to hear whether they secured certification or not.

Lane 2 contracts likely won’t be awarded until the fiscal year 2025 budget is passed.

The Defense Science Board will meet to discuss its 2024 summer study on Nov. 13, according to a Federal Register notice posted Wednesday.

The closed-door meeting will include a classified overview of the objectives for the 2024 Summer Study on Advanced Capabilities for Potential Future Conflict. The board will then deliberate and vote on updating the classified findings and recommendations of the 2024 summer study.

The announcement comes less than a month after DSB’s most recent closed-door meeting, during which the panel was scheduled to brief Pentagon leadership on classified findings and recommendations from several studies and board task forces. Chief among those discussed was the 2024 summer study, which has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception.