The Insider

Projecting Power
By Gabe Starosta
January 25, 2012 at 9:24 PM

The day before Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reveals details of the Defense Department's fiscal year 2013 budget proposal, a group of retired senior Air Force officials has written a letter to members of Congress urging the government to fund next-generation aircraft like the F-35 fighter and KC-46 tanker to support the new strategic guidance released earlier this month.

In the letter, dated Jan. 25 and signed by a distinguished group of retirees -- among them two former Air Force secretaries -- the Air Force Association writes that it supports President Obama's intention to shift the Defense Department's focus from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a broader set of threats and challenges. To project power around the world, including those in anti-access/area-denial environments, the signees stress the need to invest in platforms for the future, among them the Air Force's next-generation bomber. The letter claims that major recapitalization efforts within the service have been deferred for the past 20 years in favor of near-term operational demands, a trend that should be reversed.

“In the near-term, this requires investment in programs like the KC-46, F-35, and Next Generation Bomber,” states the letter. “Over the long-term, we must not assume de facto preeminence when it comes to innovating and producing the next generation of systems. We must continue to invest in science and technology, research and development, and a robust industrial base. Decisions that we make today will govern the national security options available for decades into the future.”

AFA's letter was sent to Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as to senior members of the other defense oversight committees in Congress.

Supply Chain Strategy
By Christopher J. Castelli
January 25, 2012 at 2:21 PM

President Obama has signed a National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security that sets U.S. policy to strengthen the global supply chain.

"The first goal is to promote the timely and efficient flow of legitimate commerce while protecting and securing the supply chain from exploitation, and reducing its vulnerability to disruption," the White House states in a fact sheet. "To this end we will enhance the integrity of goods as they move through the global supply chain. We will also understand and resolve threats early in the process, and strengthen the security of physical infrastructure, conveyances, and information assets while seeking to maximize trade through modernizing supply chain infrastructure and processes."

The second goal, the statement adds, is to "foster a global supply chain system that is prepared for and can withstand evolving threats and hazards and that can recover rapidly from disruptions. To achieve this we will prioritize efforts to mitigate systemic vulnerabilities and refine plans to reconstitute the flow of commerce after disruptions."

Citing Cyber
By Christopher J. Castelli
January 25, 2012 at 3:29 AM

Toward the end of his State of the Union speech, President Obama included a plug for cybersecurity legislation that the administration proposed last year. "To stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I have already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing danger of cyber-threats," Obama said. This references the comprehensive cybersecurity legislation package that the administration announced and sent to Capitol Hill in May 2011, a White House spokeswoman clarified.

Ammo Affirmation
By Jason Sherman
January 24, 2012 at 11:11 PM

The Army today lifted a stop-work order imposed last summer on BAE Systems following a dispute over who should run the service's Radford ammunition plant, clearing the way for BAE's Support Solution division in Rockville, MD, to proceed with a 10-year, $730 million deal to run the Virginia facility.

The move came after the Government Accountability Office yesterday denied a protest by Alliant Techsystems -- which has run the Radford plant since 1995 -- over modifications the Army made to the contract awarded BAE last May. ATK will now hand responsibility for the plant to BAE Systems this summer.

Dave Herr, BAE Systems Support Solutions president, said in a statement, “We look forward to beginning the transition. Our team is eager to provide the customer and community innovative ideas and cost-effective solutions, along with our proven track record of safe and secure facility operations.”

Last May, ATK protested the award to BAE Systems, arguing to the GAO that the Army improperly evaluated its proposal and didn't do a cost-technical trade-off analysis as promised. Before GAO rendered a finding, the Army in August withdrew the solicitation and took “corrective actions” to the contract awarded BAE. ATK then appealed again to the GAO, arguing that “corrective actions were improper because they limited the scope of offerors’ proposal revisions,” according to GAO in its denial.

Foreboding
By Thomas Duffy
January 24, 2012 at 3:55 PM

Noting that 2012 is expected to be "a very political year" in Washington, Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) predicted this morning that Congress will likely have to adopt another continuing resolution to keep funding the federal government. McKeon, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the the difficulty Congress has had over the past few years in agreeing on a budget and passing appropriations bills means another CR can be expected.

McKeon's comments came during his opening remarks at a committee hearing on Defense Department auditing. McKeon pointed out to Pentagon comptroller Robert Hale that he and other GOP members of the committee were wearing buttons indicating that it has been 1,000 days since the Senate has passed an annual federal budget.

DOD Nominations
By Christopher J. Castelli
January 24, 2012 at 12:48 AM

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate individuals to several Pentagon leadership posts subject to Senate confirmation. Acting Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall would move up to assume the title in full. James Miller, the department's No. 2 policy official, would move up to become under secretary of defense for policy. Under Secretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton has been tapped to become under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. And Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Personnel Jessica Lynn Wright would move up to become assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.

Expiration Extension
By John Liang
January 23, 2012 at 8:52 PM

The Pentagon has extended the expiration date of guidance issued in July 2011 outlining when U.S. government agencies may convert intercontinental ballistic missiles into space-launch platforms to haul payloads into orbit.

Inside the Air Force reported last year that Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn on July 5 signed a directive-type memorandum outlining Pentagon responsibilities and procedures for utilizing excess ballistic missiles for space launch. The document presaged an update to the Defense Department's September 2000 policy on military missions to support space activities.

The new, updated memo incorporates a change made on Jan. 18 that extends the missive's expiration date from Jan. 9, 2012, to Nov. 9, 2012. As ITAF reported last July:

"Acquisition of space launch services using converted excess ballistic missile assets shall ensure required competition at the prime and subcontract level necessary to sustain and enhance the U.S. space launch industry base, and limit the impact on the U.S. space transportation industry," the eight-page document states. "Impact on the U.S. space transportation industry shall consider the broader launch industrial base and viable, established and emerging providers."

The directive codifies practices under which U.S. government agencies -- including the Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA -- may use modified ballistic missiles to move satellites to space.

Decommissioned ICBMs may be used for such purposes on a "case-by-case basis," the directive states, requiring the approval of the defense secretary and two other conditions. One condition is "cost savings" to the government when compared to the price tag for space-launch services offered by commercial providers. As for the second condition, the payload slated for launch must support the mission of the sponsoring agency and the "modified excess ballistic missile" must meet the mission's performance, schedule and risk requirements, states the new directive.

These criteria reflect U.S. space transportation policy goals set by former President Bush in National Security Presidential Directive-40, signed on Dec. 4, 2004. "In order to prevent the proliferation of missile technology and to limit the adverse impact of use of excess ballistic missiles on U.S. space transportation capabilities," states the directive, "excess U.S. ballistic missiles shall either be retained for government use or destroyed."

The use of a modified ballistic missile must comply with U.S. obligations under treaties and international agreements, including the Missile Technology Control Regime guidelines, the follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Non-Lethal Book
By John Liang
January 23, 2012 at 5:57 PM

The Pentagon just released its 2012 "Non-Lethal Weapons For Complex Environments" report in the form of an ebook. According to a program office statement:

The ebook highlights today's DoD non-lethal weapons and capabilities. The eBook features the following: conversion of PDF to page-flipping eBook; text search, share capabilities via email and social media; full-screen shot; thumbnails; sound; zoom in/out and autoflip. The initiative improves the DoD Non-Lethal Weapons Program's efforts in both cost-efficiency and readability.

Inside the Pentagon reported in November that the Defense Department had begun to look to industry to develop directed-energy capabilities and a high-gain antenna system for small tactical vehicles to provide troops with a non-lethal weapon. DOD made the announcement in a series of listings posted on Federal Business Opportunities. ITP further reported:

The first request for information states the Defense Department's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate would like to develop a prime power system "that can achieve the required performance in a compact size" so that it can be integrated onto a small tactical vehicle.

The second RFI states the directorate would like industry to research "compact, lightweight, steerable and high-gain antenna systems" that could stand-alone or be integrated onto a small tactical vehicle.

The third RFI asks industry to develop a "compact, lightweight and efficient high-power microwave and radio frequency source technologies that will enable the development of directed energy non-lethal capabilities."

No specific vehicles have been targeted to incorporate these new technologies, Scott Griffiths, counter-materiel directed-energy officer of primary responsibility at the directorate, wrote in a Nov. 9 email.

There is no formal analysis of alternatives planned. An AOA usually takes about a year to complete.

"The JNLWD will review the responses to the RFI to determine if there are any sources that can provide technologies capable of achieving the desired performance," he wrote. "The JNLWD will assess options for developing technologies of interest, but no predetermined time line has been established."

JSF Weapons Testing
By Christopher J. Castelli
January 20, 2012 at 8:31 PM

Weapons testing is on the agenda for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter this year, according to test pilot Lt. Col. Matthew Kelly, the program's flight operations leader.

Tests on the ground will be followed by weapons-separation tests in the air, he told reporters today, noting the first drop is likely to happen in the second half of this year.

Kelly, who spoke at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, MD, also said the program's main carrier-suitability test aircraft is slated to get the first redesigned tailhook later this year.

The program's next round of shipboard testing, which will involve the Marine Corps and Air Force variants, is slated for 2013. Sometime before that, the program will have to conduct the first nighttime flights of those variants, which should not be a problem, Kelly said.

Today's announcement by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the Pentagon is taking the F-35 short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant (STOVL) off probation would not significantly impact ongoing test activities here, he added, declining to comment on whether the program will achieve clearance for unmonitored flights of the STOVL variant by the end of the year.

All Systems Go
By Titus Ledbetter III
January 20, 2012 at 3:58 PM

Boeing received the first on-orbit signals from the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite last night, which indicates that the satellite is healthy and ready for operational testing, according to a Jan. 19 company press release.

The satellite was successfully launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, at 7:38 p.m. Eastern Time on Jan. 19, according to an Air Force statement. Controllers first confirmed contact with the satellite at 8:36 p.m. Eastern Time at a ground station in Dongara, Australia, according to the Boeing statement. Executives from Boeing's mission control center in El Segundo, CA, confirmed that the satellite is “functioning normally,” according to the company statement.

Boeing will conduct on-orbit testing over the next eight weeks to verify performance, according to the company statement.

Air Force officials also awarded Boeing a $377 million contract modification for starting work on the WGS-9 satellite on Jan. 12, according to a service statement. Boeing is the prime contractor for the WGS system. The satellite will provide more flexible execution of command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance while also supporting battle management objectives, according to Boeing.

Budget Day: Feb. 6
By Jason Sherman
January 20, 2012 at 2:58 PM

While the Pentagon has not formally announced when it will release full details of its fiscal year 2013 budget request, the most likely date is clear: Monday, Feb. 6. The Senate Armed Services Committee this morning announced Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will testify on Feb. 7 on the FY-13 budget request. Such hearings traditionally follow the public presentation of the Pentagon's budget, often held the day before. In keeping with tradition, the top two DOD officials appear first before the congressional defense authorization committees, alternating each year between the Senate and House.

In breaking with tradition, the Pentagon's No. 2 uniform officer said yesterday that the Defense Department on Jan. 26 plans to reveal some key components of the FY-13 budget request -- a highly anticipated event that is expected to set forth major changes in spending priorities, including adjustments to program investment plans.

No GMD Protest
By John Liang
January 19, 2012 at 9:28 PM

Lockheed Martin will not protest the Missile Defense Agency's awarding of a multibillion-dollar contract to develop and sustain the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system to Boeing.

"We will honor the decision that the Missile Defense Agency has made," a Lockheed spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

The development and sustainment contract's (DSC) total value is nearly $3.5 billion, according to a Dec. 30 Defense Department statement, which adds:

This contract was competitively awarded following the receipt of two proposals.  The scope of work under this contract includes, but is not limited to:  future development; fielding; test; systems engineering, integration and configuration management; equipment manufacturing and refurbishment; training; and operations and sustainment support for the GMD Weapon System and associated support facilities.  Work will be performed at multiple locations, including:  Huntsville, Ala.;  Fort Greely, Alaska;  Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.;  Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Station, and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Tucson, Ariz.; other government designated sites and other contractor designated prime, subcontractor, and supplier operating locations.  The DSC period of performance is seven years; December 2011 through December 2018.

Fear not, though, for Lockheed's missile defense work, for in that same contract announcements list MDA awarded the company a four-and-a-half-year, $1.96 billion contract to supply two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems and support services to the United Arab Emirates.

Space Facts
By John Liang
January 18, 2012 at 5:18 PM

The State Department just released a fact sheet titled "An International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities: Strengthening Long-Term Sustainability, Stability, Safety, and Security in Space":

Benefits of Space Systems

Space is vital to protecting U.S. economic prosperity and the national security interests of the United States, its allies, and partners. The benefits derived from space-based systems permeate almost every aspect of our daily life. The utilization of space helps by: warning of natural disasters; facilitating navigation and transportation globally; expanding our scientific frontiers; providing national decision makers with global communications, command, and control; monitoring strategic and military developments as well as supporting treaty monitoring and arms control verification; providing global access to financial operations; and scores of other activities worldwide. However, space, a domain that no nation owns but on which all rely, is becoming increasingly congested and contested.

Space Congestion

Today there are approximately 60 nations and government consortia that operate satellites, as well as numerous commercial and academic satellite operators, creating an environment that is increasingly congested. The Department of Defense tracks roughly 22,000 objects in orbit, of which 1,100 are active satellites. There are hundreds of thousands of additional objects too small to track but still capable of damaging satellites in orbit and the International Space Station. We need to work with the international community to address hazards and concerns that have arisen from this increasingly congested space environment.

Threats to Space

The threats to the space environment will increase as more nations and non-state actors develop and deploy counter-space systems. Today space systems and their supporting infrastructure face a range of man-made threats that may deny, degrade, deceive, disrupt, or destroy assets. Irresponsible acts against space systems will have implications beyond the space environment, disrupting worldwide services upon which civil, commercial, and national security sectors depend. Given the increasing threat—through either irresponsible or unintentional acts—to the long-term sustainability, stability, safety, and security of space operations, we must work with the community of spacefaring nations to preserve the space environment for all nations and future generations.

An International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities

In response to these challenges, the United States reached a decision to formally work with the European Union and spacefaring nations to develop and advance an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. The European Union’s draft Code of Conduct is a good foundation for the development of a non-legally binding International Code of Conduct focused on the use of voluntary and pragmatic transparency and confidence-building measures to help prevent mishaps, misperceptions, and mistrust in space. An International Code of Conduct, if adopted, would establish guidelines for responsible behavior to reduce the hazards of debris-generating events and increase the transparency of operations in space to avoid the danger of collisions.

Protecting National and Economic Security

The Obama Administration is committed to ensuring that an International Code enhances national security and maintains the United States’ inherent right of individual and collective self-defense, a fundamental part of international law. The United States would only subscribe to such a Code of Conduct if it protects and enhances the national and economic security of the United States, our allies, and our friends. The Administration is committed to keeping the U.S. Congress informed as our consultations with the spacefaring community progress.

For more space-related news, check out InsideDefense.com's Space Alert page.

Accessible Concept
By Christopher J. Castelli
January 17, 2012 at 11:08 PM

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey today signed version 1.0 of the Pentagon's new Joint Operational Access Concept, which "proposes a concept for how joint forces will achieve operational access in the face of armed opposition by a variety of potential enemies and under a variety of conditions, as part of a broader national approach."

"This framework describes how we will gain entry and maintain access anywhere and in any domain: land, air, space, sea, and cyber," Dempsey writes today in a blog post about the document. "No matter how formidable our forces, if we are unable to bring our capabilities to bear in any of these domains, we may not be able to complete the mission or meet our nation’s needs. Our adversaries know this as well."

Inside the Pentagon broke news about the high-level document last month, reporting that an unsigned copy of version 1.0 declared that U.S. armed services must achieve unprecedented synergy to ensure access to contested waters, skies, land, space and networks in the face of emerging weapons.

GMD Protest?
By John Liang
January 17, 2012 at 5:13 PM

Lockheed Martin is weighing its options in the wake of losing a billion-dollar Ground-based Midcourse Defense development and sustainment contract to Boeing.

Missile Defense Agency officials briefed Lockheed last Wednesday on why the company lost the competition, Tory Bruno, president of strategic and missile defense systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., told reporters during a conference call this morning.

Bruno said it was still "premature" to say whether the company would protest MDA's decision. "We're still digesting the information they gave us and doing our analysis," he said, adding: "Ask me in a couple days."