The Insider

Senior defense officials will speak at two closed meetings of the Defense Business Board on May 7 and 8, leading discussions on a variety of Defense Department challenges like adapting technology in line with the National Defense Strategy, global security issues and ways to become a better industry partner.

After welcome remarks from Board Chair Deborah James, the first meeting on May 7 will kick off with a discussion led by Jay Dryer, director of the Strategic Capabilities Office, focused on creating operational strategic effects through implementing emerging technologies, according to a Federal Register notice.

“This discussion will focus on using existing DOD tools and processes to adapt developing technology to key operational challenges in the National Defense Strategy (NDS),” the notice said.

Then, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will lead a discussion on DOD current affairs.

“This session is expected to focus on the state of the current global security environment and its implications for current and future business operations,” the notice said.

Additionally, the board will hear a briefing on Naval Research Lab operations, followed by a tour. The briefing and tour will cover management constructs, workforce development and talent management.

“This portion of the meeting will cover how NRL partners with industry to fulfill their mandate and demonstrates capabilities made possible by NRL's organizational constructs and authorities,” the notice said.

James and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks will then provide remarks, although it’s unspecified what they will discuss.

Next, Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and commander of the joint force headquarters-DOD information network, will update the board on industry partnerships with DISA and explain specific challenges that come with managing a DOD agency.

“The director will offer an overview of DISA's partnerships with various stakeholders to bolster warfighter capabilities, including how DISA is developing global situational awareness and assessing the threat against DISA operations and assets,” the notice said.

Finally, Skinner will also supply recommendations found in the DBB IT User Experience Study conducted in February.

To start the second meeting on May 8, Erin Simpson, director of the joint production accelerator cell in the office of the Pentagon acquisition chief, will lead a discussion on growing production capacity during crises and hurdles impeding DOD’s creation of resilient supply chains.

“The conversation is expected to delve into actions the DOD is taking to prioritize resources and to create a modern, resilient defense industrial ecosystem designed to deter United States adversaries and meet the production demands posed by evolving threats,” the notice said.

Then, Maj. Gen. Joseph McGee, Army director for strategy, plans and policy, J5, will lead a discussion on emerging global threats facing supply chains and the possible outcomes these threats could have.

“This discussion will focus on strategic proactiveness to ensure adaptability, resilience, and continued effectiveness in an ever-evolving security landscape and on how the DOD can partner with industry before and during crises,” the notice said.

Hicks will lead the final discussion on transforming DOD into a more attractive partner for non-traditional companies. 

“The Deputy Secretary will share successes the DOD has realized in becoming a better partner for non-traditional defense companies, along with how combinations of traditional and non-traditional companies are working together to accelerate capability development and delivery,” the notice said.

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events this week and the Army's aviation association hosts a conference in Denver, CO.

Tuesday

AFCEA Washington hosts a discussion with the Space Force staff director.

The Stimson Center hosts a discussion with Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion with Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti for a "smart women, smart power" event.

The Atlantic Council hosts a discussion on "space industry for space strategy."

Wednesday

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion with several senior Pentagon officials during the 2024 Global Security Strategy Forum.

The Army Aviation Association of America hosts its Mission Solutions event in Denver, CO. The event runs through Friday.

Thursday

Defense One hosts a discussion on the Marine Corps.

U.S. Northern Command is conducting a study on unmanned aerial systems as it pertains to homeland security, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George noted during a congressional hearing this week.

George, speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee April 18, was asked by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) whether the Army needs additional resources or new authorities when it comes to counter-UAS funding. Both are important, George said.

More authorities are needed to help transition programs from research and development to procurement, the chief said. A critical area of need, he noted, is protection of U.S. airfields and critical infrastructure.

“I think NORTHCOM right now is doing a study kind of on what that is because there's obviously -- it's an interagency challenge when you're looking at, you know, small UAS that are operating here, stateside,” George said.

Lt. Cmdr. Liza Dougherty, a NORTHCOM spokesperson, wrote in an email to Inside Defense Friday that the study is ongoing, but declined to provide additional details.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on delays to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and E-7A Wedgetail programs plus Navy counter-drone efforts and more.

Certain upgrades to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have been delayed:

Initial F-35 TR-3 deliveries slip even further to the right, may still require tweaks

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Michael Schmidt is “as frustrated” as lawmakers over the various schedule slips temporarily halting deliveries of the Lockheed Martin-made jets enabled with Technology Refresh 3 upgrades, he told a House defense panel this week.

The Air Force's E-7A early warning aircraft has suffered yet another delay:

Wedgetail delayed a year as negotiations continue with Boeing

At least one of the E-7A Wedgetail prototypes will be a year late due to ongoing price negotiations with prime contractor Boeing, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall disclosed this week.

The Navy needs supplemental funding to pay for the missiles it has fired in the Red Sea:

SECNAV: Navy needs supplemental to replace nearly $1 billion in expended munitions

The Navy has used nearly $1 billion in munitions to intercept missiles and drones in the Red Sea, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said today, telling Senate appropriators it is critical that Congress pass a pending supplemental spending package to begin replacing these interceptors.

Navy officials detailed a counter-drone effort earlier this month during an industry day hosted by the program executive office for integrated warfare systems, indicating the service launched the initiative with a February request for information in response to "fleet demand":

Navy to test new shipboard C-UAS capability aiming to 'bend the cost curve' of drone defense

The Navy is preparing to test two counter-drone weapon systems during a June demonstration in a rapid capability effort that aims to equip destroyers with a kinetic, counter-UAS capability at a fraction of the cost of Standard Missiles.

Leslie Beavers, the principal deputy chief information officer, said at the 5th Annual CIO Summit in Alexandria, VA that her office created the Customer Experience Officer Portfolio Management Office (CXO) to address user experience as technology accelerates:

CIO launches team of experts to ease defense personnel technology challenges

A Defense Department senior information officer said she is working with the head of another office to create a team of experts to help manage and ease defense personnel technology interactions and integration.

During a hearing this week, Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) was sympathetic to Army officials' previously stated desire for more flexible funding when it comes to procurement of capabilities such as unmanned systems:

House authorizers urge Army to pick up the pace on modernization

House Armed Services Committee members questioned top Army officials during a hearing today about the speed of the service's key modernization initiatives.

Last but by no means least, the latest CMMC news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

MITRE raises concerns over CMMC program costs to address assessment gaps, accommodate maturity model changes

MITRE has raised issues with potential costs for contractors who want to do business with the Defense Department in addressing assessment gaps and accommodating for potential future changes in the maturity model for the upcoming Pentagon cyber certification program, in response to a proposed rule to implement the program.

The Republican chairmen of key congressional defense and national security committees released a joint statement today supporting Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) $95 billion supplemental spending proposal, which would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

“There is nothing our adversaries would love more than if Congress were to fail to pass critical national security aid. Speaker Johnson has produced a plan that will boost U.S. national security interests in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific,” according to a statement from House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX), and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH).

“We don’t have time to spare when it comes to our national security,” they said. “We need to pass this aid package this week.”

The support for Johnson comes as some GOP hardliners, like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), have called for his ouster.

Johnson’s plan would reportedly stick closely to amounts authorized by a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate two months ago, though the House would pass individual measures for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and maybe include other priorities that could be passed by the Senate as a single bill.

But House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) said during a hearing today that Johnson’s proposal for multiple bills amounts to a “twisted process” that could take as long as two months to pass the Senate.

“That is basically boiling Ukraine to death slowly,” he said. “We need to get that support to Ukraine now.”

Smith said the House should pass the Senate’s version of the bill this week so weapons could begin flowing to Ukraine immediately.

“Passing a bill that is dramatically different than the Senate bill does not get something done this week,” he said.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Lockheed Martin winning a multibillion-dollar missile defense contract, the Government Accountability Office's latest report on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and more.

The Missile Defense Agency has announced the down-select decision for the follow-on homeland defense guided missile slated for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program:

Lockheed wins NGI, shaping new missile defense industrial order for a generation

Lockheed Martin has bested Northrop Grumman in a contest to build the Next Generation Interceptor, a development that establishes for a generation the beginning of a new order in the U.S. missile defense industrial base that will be filled out soon when a contest between Raytheon and Northrop is settled for the Glide Phase Interceptor.

More missile defense news:

Air Force, Army readying FY-26 new-start proposal: domestic cruise missile defense capability

The Defense Department is wrapping up work on a comprehensive analysis of technologies needed for an Air and Cruise Missile Defense of the Homeland capability, findings slated to influence in particular Air Force and Army spending plans beginning in fiscal year 2026.

A new Government Accountability Office report finds that over the past decade, "GAO has made 43 recommendations designed to improve the department's operation and sustainment of the F-35 program. While DOD concurred with many of these recommendations and has implemented some of them, 30 (about 70 percent) remain unimplemented":

F-35 costs again skyrocket while aircraft performance remains unsatisfactory

The price tag attached to keeping the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon's largest-ever acquisition program, in service has long been a point of budgetary contention.

Document: GAO report on F-35 sustainment

More coverage from the recent Space Symposium in Colorado:

Whiting: SPACECOM needs dynamic space operations, on-orbit servicing

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- To meet emerging threats, U.S. Space Command needs more investment in fielding capabilities for dynamic space operations, including on-orbit refueling and maintenance, SPCECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting said last week.

(Complete Space Symposium coverage.)

The Defense Department recently submitted its fifth package of legislative proposals:

DOD proposes streamlining tech maturity milestone approval

The Pentagon is asking Congress to consider a proposal that would streamline the technology development phase of defense acquisition, or milestone A, to better tailor the procurement process for specific weapons and to cut redundant documentation burdens.

Document: DOD's fifth FY-25 legislative proposals package

According to government notices posted last week, two Marine Corps contract awards for a loitering munitions system could be worth as much as $249 million each:

Marine Corps selects three contractors for Organic Precision Fires-Light development

The Marine Corps has selected Teledyne FLIR, Anduril Industries and AeroVironment to develop and deliver Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) -- a loitering munitions system intended to provide infantry Marines with a beyond-line-of-sight, precision-strike capability.

The Air Force will begin early research and development on resilient GPS, positioning, navigation and timing capabilities as well as a command, control, communications and battle management program for moving target indication using a new authority to bypass congressional approval.

Service Secretary Frank Kendall told the Senate Armed Services Committee today the names of the two programs that he announced last week had been approved by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“The [Air Force Department] also appreciates the committee’s support for the DOD quick-start initiative that was enacted last year,” Kendall said.

Congress passed what Kendall calls the “quick-start initiative” in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act in December, but funding for the program wasn’t appropriated until March with the passage of the FY-24 budget.

Following the early research and engineering work, the two efforts are expected to transition to programs of record in the FY-26 budget, according to a news release from the service.

“This initiative will leverage the success of rapid acquisition authority, marking a pivotal moment in advancing national security objectives with unprecedented speed and efficiency,” Kendall said in the statement. “Quick start will kickstart efforts intended to develop solutions to emerging problems, ensuring rapid progress from concept to implementation.”

Without this approval, similar work would need to wait for the passage of new-start authority in the next budget cycle -- a year and a half from now at best.