The Insider

By John Liang
September 5, 2024 at 2:35 PM

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Army, Navy and Air Force unmanned systems.

Army unmanned systems news:

EDGE exercise this month will help flesh out Launched Effects requirements

During its Experimental Gateway Demonstration Event (EDGE) this month at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, the Army plans to further refine its requirements and acquisition strategy for unmanned systems and Launched Effects.

Air Force unmanned systems news:

CCA mission systems to use slightly different acquisition approach than airframe, autonomy

The Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft has been championed by Pentagon personnel and some lawmakers for its speed-to ramp acquisition model to fill capability gaps and ability to bring an affordable mass to the warfighter, but not every aspect of the program will be purchased the same way, according to the service's acquisition chief Andrew Hunter.

Navy unmanned systems news:

Navy developing standards-based acquisition approach for autonomous and unmanned tech

The Navy is working on a new acquisition model for autonomous and unmanned technologies that will provide common, government-owned standards for these systems, allowing more vendors to compete for work and giving the sea service greater speed and flexibility in its technology development.

The Space Force's No. 2 uniformed official spoke this week at the Defense News Conference:

Space Force vice chief calls for increased budget for 'asymmetric advantage'

The Space Force needs more resources in upcoming budgets to maintain an "asymmetric advantage" both in space and across domains, while any cuts would benefit potential adversaries including China, according to Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein.

More space news:

SDA's first satellites successfully demo optical links

The Space Development Agency logged another success with its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture last night when some of its first satellites were able to acquire and maintain a data link through lasers and optical sensors, agency Director Derek Tournear said.

By Dan Schere
September 5, 2024 at 2:31 PM

The Army is asking industry to provide information about self-propelled howitzer systems that have a high level of maturity and could be in service as early as 2026 absent any government investment, according to a request for information the service issued Aug. 28.

Additionally, the notice states “information regarding fielding to Ukraine may be considered,” although the government is mainly interested in maturation that has been completed outside of the Ukraine war.

This past spring, the Army announced it was ending development of the Extended Range Cannon Artillery Program, however, service leaders have emphasized the extended-range requirement still stands.

The Army is attempting to replace its current M109 Paladin howitzers, which have a range of 40 km. With ERCA, the Army had set a goal of producing a howitzer capable of hitting targets more than 100 km away.

Secretary Christine Wormuth told attendees at the Defense News conference this week that the Army still believes there is a requirement for an artillery system with a range similar to the one pursued during ERCA.

“There are obviously companies that already make systems that don’t have quite the range that ERCA we hoped would give us but comes quite close. So, I think we’re going to be looking at those kinds of offerings,” she said.

The Army will also try to “innovate at the round” to increase the range of the new system, Wormuth added.

The main purpose of the Aug. 28 RFI is to gauge the maturity of howitzer systems from industry. The Army is mainly interested in systems “that have a high maturity and minimize or eliminate development time,” the notice states. Information from responses will be used to assess the “viability of potential future acquisition strategies.”

Responses to the RFI are due Sept. 27.

By Nick Wilson
September 5, 2024 at 2:14 PM

Naval Air Systems Command is preparing to publish a request for proposals in January for a forward-looking infrared system for the CH-53K heavy lift aircraft, according to a notice published last week.

The FLIR is an avionics component providing navigation and situational awareness capabilities to the helicopter, enabling pilots to see in low-visibility conditions like rain and fog, the notice indicates.

Before releasing the official RFP, the Navy plans to hold an industry day in December at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. NAVAIR hosted an initial industry day last fall and has outlined preliminary system specifications.

According to a draft statement of work included in last week’s notice, “the contractor shall provide a FLIR system for integration into the CH-53K and provide data necessary to support the FLIR system’s operation, maintenance, installation, calibration, testing and platform software development.”

The FLIR will be mounted on a “slewable stabilized turret with target detection and tracking, servo control, video processing, digital data processing and signal conditioning functions,” the notice states. The system’s total weight -- including the turret -- will not exceed 106 pounds, and it must be capable of detecting a “standing man-sized target” from 3.8 kilometers away.

The CH-53K will replace the legacy CH-53E as the Navy and Marine Corps’ primary, and only, heavy-lift aircraft. The Marine Corps is planning an initial deployment in calendar year 2026. The services plan to procure 200 of the aircraft in total, including 19 in FY-25 for approximately $2.5 billion.

The FY-25 budget request also looks to begin a multiyear procurement deal to purchase up to 321 aircraft engines over the next five years, and the Marine Corps’ latest unfunded priorities list includes $250 million for two additional CH-53Ks.

In April, the Navy asked Congress for the authority to enter a block-buy contract during FY-25 or FY-26 for up to 37 CH-53K airframes -- a move expected to save $135 million compared to single-year contracts.

By Sara Friedman
September 5, 2024 at 1:56 PM

The Justice Department has announced the disruption of two covert foreign malign influence campaigns backed by the Russian government and targeted at impacting the 2024 election and spreading propaganda in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

DOJ indicted two employees from media outlet Russia Today over a “$10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a Wednesday release.

“The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing,” Garland said.

A second DOJ operation unveiled on Wednesday seized 32 internet domains, colloquially known as “Doppelganger,” under control of three Russian companies that “covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim of reducing international support for Ukraine, bolstering pro-Russian policies and interests, and influencing voters in U.S. and foreign elections, including the U.S. 2024 Presidential Election,” according to a DOJ release on the unsealed affidavit.

FBI Director Christopher Wray weighed in on the influence campaigns at a Wednesday meeting of the DOJ Election Threats Task Force.

On the domain seizure, Wray said, “As of noon today, we’ve seized those sites, rendered them inoperable, and made clear to the world what they are: Russian attempts to interfere in our elections and influence our society.”

The Treasury Department also took action against RT on Wednesday by designating 10 individuals who work for the Russian media company over being controlled or acting on behalf of the Russian government.

Treasury said in a release, “Beginning in early 2024, executives at RT -- Russia’s state-funded news media outlet -- began an even more nefarious effort to covertly recruit unwitting American influencers in support of their malign influence campaign. RT used a front company to disguise its own involvement or the involvement of the Russian government in content meant to influence U.S. audiences.”

“Today’s action underscores the U.S. government’s ongoing efforts to hold state-sponsored actors accountable for activities that aim to deteriorate public trust in our institutions. Treasury will not waver in our commitment to safeguarding our democratic principles and the integrity of our election systems,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

The coordinated efforts by DOJ and Treasury come at a time when the intelligence community and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are on high alert to support state and local election officials in their efforts to prepare for the November elections.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and CISA in August confirmed efforts by Iran-backed actors to influence the November elections in a joint statement over observed activity impacting political campaigns.

By John Liang
September 4, 2024 at 2:12 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Army funding for unmanned systems, Navy submarine funding, the Marine Corps' Autonomous Low Profile Vessel program and more.

The Army's top civilian spoke at the Defense News conference in Arlington, VA this morning:

Wormuth expects line item consolidation for UAS, cUAS, EW funding to show up in FY-26

The areas of unmanned aerial systems, counter UAS and electronic warfare are slated to undergo budgetary line item consolidation when the fiscal year 2026 budget is rolled out next spring, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said today.

A Biden administration request for continuing resolution "anomalies" obtained by Inside Defense states that "language is needed" to appropriate $1.95 billion to the Navy's shipbuilding account for "expenses necessary for procurement of two Virginia-class submarines":

White House seeks nearly $2B in CR relief for Navy subs

The White House is asking Congress to avert a government shutdown next month by passing a stopgap continuing resolution that would run through mid-December and include nearly $2 billion to procure two Virginia-class submarines, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Document: OMB's request for CR 'anomalies'

The Autonomous Low Profile Vessel (ALPV) -- a 55-foot, semi-submersible unmanned platform developed by the Marine Corps over the past year and a half as a means of carrying missiles and other equipment to land forces -- has performed well in recent tests according to Brig. Gen. Simon Doran, who said the service is eager to field the system:

Marine Expeditionary Unit to begin testing autonomous resupply vessel in Indo-Pacific this fall

The Marine Corps will send a developing autonomous vessel, intended to covertly resupply stand-in forces with weapons and supplies, to the Japan-based 3rd Marine Expeditionary Unit for field testing this fall, according to the head of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.

A new Defense Department inspector general's report "found that the Air Force did not consistently hold contractors accountable in a timely fashion for providing defective spare parts, nor did it obtain restitution from the contractors for those defective parts":

DOD watchdog: Air Force not consistent in seeking restitution for defective spare parts

The Air Force has taken on millions in losses because personnel lack training to adequately identify defective parts or correctly seek restitution from contractors, according to a recent report from the Pentagon’s inspector general.

Document: DOD IG audit of Air Force defective parts and contractor restitution

A new Pentagon proposal would change language in the 2023 Code of Federal Regulations on other transaction agreements for prototype projects:

DOD proposes rule to streamline prototyping

The Defense Department is proposing to expand and clarify language in the regulatory code allowing the implementation of authorities granted by Congress in a 2023 update to the U.S. Code regarding procurement of prototype projects, according to a recent Federal Register notice.

By Dan Schere
September 3, 2024 at 2:37 PM

The Army has increased the ceiling of an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System by $3.4 billion, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

An Aug. 30 Pentagon contract notice states “work locations and funding will be determined with each order” and the estimated completion date is Oct. 20, 2027.

The ceiling modification will “allow the increase of inventory of GMLRS rockets and associated equipment,” according to a Lockheed statement provided to Inside Defense today. Quantities awarded will be based on future demand.

“The congressional announcement is a modification to the Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) production contract which increases the IDIQ ceiling value by $3.4 billion to support future GMLRS awards,” the company stated.

In April, the Army announced plans to award a four-year, multiyear procurement contract to buy 18,000 GMLRS missiles by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. The Defense Department comptroller estimated the service would save nearly $68 million, or $2.5%, “when compared to four annual awards,” Inside Defense reported at the time.

In May 2023 the Biden administration formally submitted its request to Congress to include multiyear procurement authority for GMLRS in the FY-24 budget request, as part of a series of requests for multiyear buys of munitions deemed critical to support Ukraine and Taiwan.

By John Liang
September 3, 2024 at 2:06 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on artificial intelligence and more.

The launching of the Defense Department's chief digital and artificial intelligence office's Open Data and Analytics Government-owned Interoperable Repositories (Open DAGIR) initiative was the office's recognition that the government’s typical practice of selling software capabilities in vertically integrated stacks wouldn’t produce the best results for DOD:

DOD innovators wrestling with bureaucracy, cultural barriers

The Defense Department's aversion toward risk and change, coupled with its tendency to cling to traditional acquisition processes, are its biggest barriers to adopting new technologies and capabilities, according to Pentagon innovation leaders.

A new Accreditation of GEOINT AI Models, or AGAIM, will evaluate the "methodology and robustness" of an artificial intelligence model's development and test procedures:

NGA piloting AI model validation system

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is piloting a program to accredit artificial intelligence models to create a unified validation system across the agency, according to director Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth.

A $200 million "administrative settlement" between the State Department and RTX will resolve 750 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations:

RTX to pay $200M fine for allegedly exporting defense tech to China

RTX, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, has agreed to pay a $200 million civil penalty for allegedly exporting U.S. defense technology and intellectual property to foreign countries, including China, according to a new State Department announcement.

Defense Department officials aren't paying full price for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter just yet:

Pentagon withholding $5 million per tail as Lockheed delivers incomplete F-35s

The Defense Department is withholding about $5 million for each F-35 Joint Strike Fighter delivered with a truncated version of the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade, a spokesperson with the F-35 Joint Program Office told Inside Defense.

In case you missed it last week, here's our deep dive into the Pentagon's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve program, now available to all:

DOD officials defend rapid experimentation projects at key tech demo

EDINBURGH, IN -- The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve may not appear to reflect the first word in its acronym to Senate appropriators who have criticized RDER for failing to transition more weapon systems to the battlefield, but senior Pentagon officials suggest that lawmakers looking to cut the program don’t fully appreciate RDER’s challenges given the slowness of the traditional acquisition and budgeting cycle.

By Theresa Maher
September 3, 2024 at 12:40 PM

EDINBURGH, IN -- The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve may not appear to reflect the first word in its acronym to Senate appropriators who have criticized RDER for failing to transition more weapon systems to the battlefield, but senior Pentagon officials suggest that lawmakers looking to cut the program don’t fully appreciate RDER’s challenges given the slowness of the traditional acquisition and budgeting cycle.

“Each RDER class is planned two years in advance, to align with the department’s budget process. The projects that you’ll see today were actually selected in ‘22, and if successful, they will transition in ‘25,” Marcia Holmes, principal deputy to assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities, told reporters and other guests at Camp Atterbury, IN, last week.

Read the full story, now available to all.

By Tony Bertuca
September 2, 2024 at 5:00 AM

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week.

Tuesday

The Billington Cybersecurity Summit begins in Washington. The event runs through Thursday.

Wednesday

The Defense News Conference is held in Arlington, VA.

The Association of the United States Army hosts a hot topic discussion on aviation.

By John Liang
August 30, 2024 at 12:59 PM

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon withholding a portion of the payments for F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Lockheed Martin and more.

While plane-maker Lockheed Martin last month kicked off deliveries of F-35s fitted with a truncated version of the TR-3 upgrade, officially lifting the Pentagon's year-long hold on accepting new jets until it met the sophisticated requirements laid out by the Defense Department, officials aren't paying full price for the aircraft just yet:

Pentagon withholding $5 million per tail as Lockheed delivers incomplete F-35s

The Defense Department is withholding about $5 million for each F-35 Joint Strike Fighter delivered with a truncated version of the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade, a spokesperson with the F-35 Joint Program Office told Inside Defense.

In case you missed it, here's our deep dive into the Pentagon's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve program:

DOD officials defend rapid experimentation projects at key tech demo

EDINBURGH, IN -- The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve may not appear to reflect the first word in its acronym to Senate appropriators who have criticized RDER for failing to transition more weapon systems to the battlefield, but senior Pentagon officials suggest that lawmakers looking to cut the program don't fully appreciate RDER's challenges given the slowness of the traditional acquisition and budgeting cycle.

The Marine Corps' top uniformed officer released his planning guidance this week:

Smith affirms force design trajectory with 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith released his official 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance Wednesday, confirming the service will continue its Force Design modernization path and focus on building and maintaining warfighting advantages over "pacing challenge" China.

Document: 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance

The new Compass Call aircraft modernizes the Air Force's electromagnetic attack capabilities while denying, degrading or disrupting adversary communications and electronic systems:

ACC receives first Compass Call aircraft

Air Combat Command's first EA-37B Compass Call aircraft touched down at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ last week, allowing aircrews to begin pilot mission planning and training, according to a service news release.

The Navy's upcoming autonomy roadmap will improve and increase air, surface and subsea fleet capabilities:

Navy projects autonomy roadmap completion for late fall

The Navy plans to complete an autonomy roadmap by late fall, which will “capture autonomy-based mission gaps over the next 10 years” to inform the service where to invest, a spokesperson told Inside Defense.

By Jacob Livesay
August 30, 2024 at 10:27 AM

The Justice Department has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against Georgia Institute of Technology and affiliate Georgia Tech Research Corp. for failing to implement cybersecurity requirements for defense contractors and submitting a false cyber assessment score to the Defense Department.

“Government contractors that fail to fully implement required cybersecurity controls jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive government information,” Brian Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, said in an Aug. 22 release.

Boynton said, "The department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative was designed to identify such contractors and to hold them accountable.”

The DOJ announced the launch of the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative in 2021 with the mission of using the False Claims Act to “pursue cybersecurity related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients,” according to a press release.

The latest release on the initiative details how the DOJ joined whistleblowers Christopher Craig and Kyle Koza, previous members of Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity compliance team, and filed a complaint-in-intervention against the university for its “failure since at least May 2019 (the relevant time period) to meet cybersecurity requirements of Department of Defense contracts.”

The lawsuit alleges the defendants “knowingly” fell short of DOD-mandated cyber requirements in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171, including a failure to develop and implement system security plans, improper scoping of cyber controls and a lack of anti-virus and anti-malware tools on equipment used in a lab setting.

Further, Georgia Tech and GTRC allegedly “submitted a false cybersecurity assessment score to DOD for the Georgia Tech campus,” according to DOJ, in order to acquire their DOD contract.

The lawsuit highlights how Georgia Tech leadership allegedly enabled the fraud. It says, “With the tacit and, in some cases, explicit approval of senior leadership, Georgia Tech routinely bent on compliance with federal cybersecurity regulations and was undeterred by the risk of submitting ‘false claims’ to the federal government.”

It compares researchers who brought in federal contracts to “star quarterbacks,” arguing the research leaders used their power to “push back against compliance with federal cybersecurity rules.”

The university did not assess an IT system on which a campus lab “processed, stored, or transmitted sensitive DOD data,” the lawsuit says. “Instead of calculating and providing to DOD an accurate score for the Astrolavos Lab, Georgia Tech and GTRC provided DOD with a score for a ‘campus-wide’ IT system at Georgia Tech when no such campus-wide IT system existed.”

DOJ explains, “[T]he summary level score of 98 for the Georgia Tech campus that Georgia Tech and GTRC reported to DOD in December 2020 was false because Georgia Tech did not actually have a campus-wide IT system and the score was for a ‘fictitious’ or ‘virtual’ environment and did not apply to any covered contracting system at Georgia Tech that could or would ever process, store or transmit covered defense information.”

Support for the ongoing investigation of charges is being provided by “the DOD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Material Command,” according to DOJ.

By Nick Wilson
August 30, 2024 at 10:09 AM

RTX was awarded a contract worth just under $25 million to provide missiles, launchers and other equipment for the Marine Corps' Medium Range Intercept Capability, according to an Aug. 29 contract announcement.

Under the award, RTX will provide 16 All Up Round Magazines -- consisting of 80 missiles -- in addition to launchers, lifting and loading equipment, missile storage supplies and training, according to the Pentagon notice. Work will take place in Tucson, AZ, with final delivery scheduled for April 2027.

MRIC combines the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system, the Common Aviation Command and Control System and parts of the Israeli Iron Dome system to defend against airborne threats including cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft.

The system is expected to undergo a quick reaction assessment in September, which if successful, would clear MRIC to transition from rapid prototyping to rapid fielding. Following this milestone, the Marine Corps plans to begin fielding an initial MRIC battery in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, service officials said earlier this year.

As the Marine Corps prepares to field the capability, it has been working with industry to establish a domestic source of MRIC’s SkyHunter interceptor missiles, which share 95-99% commonality with the Tamir interceptor used by Israel’s Iron Dome.

A new facility in Camden, AR, jointly run by RTX and Israeli company Rafael, is expected to begin producing SkyHunter interceptors in late 2025 or early 2026, a service official told Inside Defense in May.

The Marine Corps’ FY-25 budget request includes $111 million for the program to support the purchase of 12 launchers and 242 missiles.

By Theresa Maher
August 30, 2024 at 9:59 AM

The Chief Digital Artificial Intelligence Office launched a call to industry Thursday in support of its attempt to expand collaboration across combatant commands and international allies, according to a Defense Department release.

The rollout of the initiative, called the Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories (Open DAGIR) Challenge, comes exactly three months after the Pentagon’s AI office unveiled the Open DAGIR approach -- its effort to make government data more accessible and make the acquisition process for digital capabilities smoother.

CDAO will head the project, in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Joint Fires Network and the Defense Innovation Unit, according to the release.

The call to vendors interested in submitting contested logistics and sustainment solutions will "transform” GIDE by “leveraging the entire industrial base to rapidly apply industry solutions to warfighter needs,” DOD said in the announcement.

The challenge will be an accelerated, competitive and innovative acquisition vehicle that will support the department’s Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control effort, according to the release.

Interested vendors can submit their proposals via a five-minute pitch video starting Thursday through Sept. 6 and those selected will be onboarded via the Open DAGIR system, DOD said.

By Dan Schere
August 29, 2024 at 4:16 PM

FT. JOHNSON, LA -- Gen. Randy George, nearly a year into his job as the Army's chief of staff, is working to implement his strategy for modernizing the force, envisioning a process in which weapon system users, developers and testers work alongside soldiers who are training on the ground, and someone rewriting software code if equipment doesn't work.

“I think I've been very clear that we have a sense of urgency about doing this. And I always tell the formation we're urgent, but we're not frantic,” George said.

Read the full story, now available to all.

By Nick Wilson
August 29, 2024 at 2:06 PM

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Systems has secured a U.S. Navy contract for maintenance work on a logistics support ship, according to a company announcement, which presents the award as a leap forward in Hanwha's effort to enter the American Navy’s market for maintenance, repair and overhaul work.

Under the award, the 40,000-ton logistics support ship will undergo inspection and maintenance at Hanwha’s Geoje shipyard, located near the southern end of South Korea. The contract is the first of its kind awarded to a South Korean shipbuilder.

According to the announcement, the company signed a Ship Maintenance Restructuring Agreement (MSRA) with Naval Supply Systems Command in July, certifying the company to work on U.S. Navy vessels. Hanwha is now able to compete for U.S. Navy contracts for the next five years, the notice adds.

“Hanwha Ocean believes that this project, which the U.S. Navy is conducting as a pilot project in the Asian region, will be an important turning point for changes in the U.S. Navy ship [maintenance, repair and overhaul] market in the future,” the announcement states.

“In particular, with the recent acquisition of the Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, U.S.A. and Hanwha Ocean’s winning of this project, Hanwha’s entry into the U.S. Navy ship business appears to be gaining momentum,” the notice continues.

Earlier this summer, Hanwha finalized a $100 million purchase agreement to buy Philly Shipyard from its Norwegian owner, investment group Anker ASA. The deal, which is expected to close before the end of fiscal year 2024, received Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro’s blessing.

Del Toro visited multiple Japanese and South Korean shipbuilders -- including Hanwha -- earlier this year and has advocated for increased foreign investment in the U.S. shipbuilding market as a means of improving production capacity, driving down prices and injecting competition into the domestic industrial base.