The Insider

The Space Force is looking for solutions that will help the service integrate military payloads onto a mature space vehicle with minimal modifications, according to a notice posted today.

The service wants to address two separate missions using two separate space vehicles that can provide redundant altitude control and orbit maintenance, according to the request for information.

“Both variants may share a launch vehicle and be required to achieve their respective operational orbits post separation independently,” the Space and Missile Command said.

Variant 1 main propulsion system may be either chemical or electric for the purposes of station keeping and adjusting the orbit from separation, while variant 2 must be chemical, the command noted.

The command’s requirement for variant 1 includes a payload power of more than 300 watts and 100 kg mass, while the payload power of variant 2 must be greater than 500 watts with a mass between 300-500 kg. Both variants are expected to have a lifeline of three to five years.

Adding more to the information the service is seeking, the Defense Department has asked potential contractors to describe their capability of developing and delivering the fully integrated SV in 18-24 months following an authority to proceed with an end goal to launch SV by fiscal year 2027 in their responses.

The Army awarded RTX a $322.5 million contract to procure TOW B2 missiles, according to an Aug. 15 Defense Department announcement.

RTX will manufacture the missiles in Tucson, AZ with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2026, on a fixed-price-incentive contract, the announcement states.

Consisting of a launcher and a missile, the TOW can be fired from the Army’s Humvee, Bradley and Stryker vehicles, according to the Army’s Acquisition Support Center.

The TOW 2B Aero RF can be used against a variety of armored targets, has a maximum range to 4,500 meters and incorporates an advanced counteractive protection system capability.

The TOW Bunker Buster (BB) is designed to counter urban structures, earthen and timbered bunkers, field fortifications, and light-skinned armor threats as well as double reinforced concrete walls.

The Army first deployed the TOW in 1970 during the Vietnam War and 43 allied nations have since purchased the system.

The U.S. transferred 7,000 TOW missiles to Ukraine as part of the latest aid package in its conflict with Russia, according to the State Department.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Navy and Marine Corps fielding 3D printing systems across the fleet. Additionally, a congressional commission has made recommendations to provide the Pentagon with greater spending flexibility.

We start off with the Navy and Marine Corps fielding 3D printing systems on ships at sea:

Naval forces turn to 3D printing for production at 'the point of need'

The Marine Corps is fielding 3D printing systems across the fleet, while the Navy has been testing additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities aboard ships and submarines at sea.

An interim report from the Planning, Programming, Budget and Execution Reform Commission comes as Congress -- though recessed -- appears poised to return to Washington next month for a possible government shutdown or at least the passage of one of the stopgap continuing resolutions that have become hallmarks of the annual appropriations process:

Possible calls for new spending flexibility headline DOD budget commission's interim report

The congressional commission tasked with reforming the Defense Department's 1960s-era budget planning and programming system is considering making recommendations to lawmakers that would provide the Pentagon with greater spending flexibility amid an appropriations process that has become mired in political dysfunction.

Document: PPBE reform commission's interim report

A Government Accountability Office review, the first in a series of semiannual reviews required by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, found that DOD provided the watchdog agency with 42 reports between Dec. 23, 2022 to May 15, 2023:

Watchdog agency finds DOD 'generally' tardy when responding to audits and reviews

The Defense Department "generally did not meet" deadlines for responding to reviews conducted by the Government Accountability Office, submitting about half of its agency comments late, according to a new congressionally mandated GAO report.

Document: GAO report on Defense Department reviews and responses

A new trans-regional missile defense concept is a recently approved update by President Biden in the existing Pentagon's Unified Command Plan, that aims to provide attack operations, active and passive defense and battle management support to regional combatant commands:

SPACECOM benefitting from trans-regional missile defense concept

U.S. Space Command implementing a trans-regional missile defense concept is keeping the command in a position of advantage over strategic competitors, according to a senior space official.

The Army's new LASSO program is in response to a lethal unmanned systems directed requirement:

Army will hold industry days next month on LASSO

The Army will hold industry days next month to discuss the potential fielding of the service's new-start Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program.

The Air Force has a new chief information officer, according to a service official, following the departure of Lauren Knausenberger in June.

Venice Goodwine began as CIO on Monday, the official told Inside Defense.

Goodwine joined the CIO’s office in 2021 as the director of enterprise information technology and has held several technology-focused positions, including as chief information security officer for the Agriculture Department and senior cybersecurity advisor for Marine Corps Systems Command.

Goodwine also served in the Air Force, joining in 1986 and transitioning to the Air Force Reserve in 2003. She retired from uniformed service last year.

As CIO, Goodwine oversees a portfolio valued at about $17 billion and 10,000 IT and cyber civilian personnel.

Knausenberger left the role in June after more than two years as CIO.

The Defense Department announced today it will begin transferring another $200 million in U.S. weapons to Ukraine following a June review that found the congressionally approved funding remained available and unspent.

The package, provided via presidential “drawdown” authority, will include:

• Additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems;
• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• Mine clearing equipment and systems;
• 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
• 120mm tank ammunition;
• Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
• Javelin and other anti-armor systems and rockets;
• 37 tactical vehicles to tow and haul equipment;
• 58 water trailers;
• Over 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades;
• Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
• Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.

The package represents the 44th presidential drawdown action that has been ordered since August 2021.

“It includes additional air defense munitions, artillery and tank ammunition, anti-armor weapons and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia's ongoing war of aggression,” DOD said. “The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.”

The Biden administration last week asked Congress to approve another $9.9 billion in security assistance for Ukraine.

The United States has committed more than $43.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including more than $43 billion since the beginning of Russia’s February 24, 2022, according to the Pentagon.

The Army will host an industry day on virtual and augmented reality with a focus on combat vehicles in Orlando, FL, on Aug. 24, according to a public announcement.

Hosted by the Army Contracting Command, the event will be a “means of conducting market research to identify contractors with interest in and the resources to support the requirement for Family of Maintenance Trainers (FMT) Product Line (PL),” the announcement states.

The FMT PL is a common set of hardware and software systems designed for system operations, fault diagnosis, troubleshooting, adjustments, remova and replacement of the Army’s vehicles.

Vehicles that use the system are the Abrams main battle tank, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Stryker armored personnel carrier, Armored Multi-purpose Vehicle and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

The FMT PL system also includes the Diagnostic Troubleshooting Trainers, a computer-based virtual classroom system designed to train students in vehicle repair while the Part Task Trainers and Hands on Trainers provide a realistic training environment, according to the Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation.

In 2020, the Army awarded the Florida-based DiSTI Corp. a $42.5 million contract for upgrades to the FMT PL system, according to a company announcement.

The event is an opportunity for the Army to engage with industry to assess current technological capabilities and develop future requirements, the announcement states.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a nascent Army "man-portable, tube-launched, lethal payload munition, unmanned aerial system," the Air Force's Advanced Battle Management System Content Delivery Network and more.

The Army will be holding industry days in September to discuss how the service can work with contractors to field lethal unmanned systems and “create a climate of collaboration” on future investments:

Army will hold industry days next month on LASSO

The Army will hold industry days next month to discuss the potential fielding of the service's new-start Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program. The announcement could signal the beginning of a competitive approach for the program, which the service acquisition executive described this week.

The Air Force this week released requests for information regarding the Advanced Battle Management System Content Delivery Network and a related Commercial Content Delivery Network:

Air Force details needs and uses for content delivery network for ABMS

The Air Force laid out part of its baseline infrastructure for its contribution to the Joint All Domain Command and Control effort by describing its needs for a content delivery network in a request for information posted Wednesday.

Document: ABMS content delivery network RFIs

A senior U.S. Space Command official spoke at this week's annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, AL:

SPACECOM still sees Russia as space competitor despite ongoing Ukraine conflict

Russia "remains a capable space competitor" even though the ongoing war in Ukraine has slowed down its pace of building space capabilities, according to Maj. Gen. Michael Morrissey, U.S. Space Command director of plans and policy.

Our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity are in Las Vegas, covering the annual Black Hat cyber conference there:

Easterly, Ukraine cyber leader Zhora discuss lessons on partnership and resilience from war

LAS VEGAS -- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly emphasized the need for Americans to “internalize lessons on resilience” from Ukraine's battle against Russia in preparation for cybersecurity challenges the United States is likely to face in the next few years, during an evening keynote appearance at the Black Hat conference here.

We end off with a new Defense Department artificial intelligence effort:

DARPA offers $20M in prizes, support to developers of AI for software security

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced a two-year competition for the development of an AI-driven tool to identify and patch software vulnerabilities, with the intent of widespread applications throughout the economy.