The Insider

The Air Force is seeking technical support for its Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile in a contract worth up to $25.5 million, according to a solicitation posted Thursday.

Engineering, technical, test and logistical task support will also be needed through HACM’s Middle Tier Acquisition contract, the listing states. This would include engineering and exportability studies, weapon analysis, aircraft integration, software updates, simulation, modeling and analyses relating to the program’s roadmap, it states.

HACM is the service’s scramjet-powered hypersonic effort. It is a focus for the Air Force after the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon program has suffered inconsistent testing results, service Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress in March.

The Air Force awarded Raytheon nearly $1 billion in September to develop HACM.

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl is slated to leave his post in mid-July after two years in office, according to a Pentagon announcement.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement he is grateful for Kahl’s service.

“Our department is stronger and better prepared for future security challenges because of Colin’s distinguished service,” Austin said. “Under his leadership, the department rolled out its National Defense Strategy, focusing on the pacing challenge of the People’s Republic of China, the acute threat of Russian aggression, and other dangers. And he has helped ensure steadfast U.S. support for Ukraine through billions of dollars of security assistance since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked war of choice.”

Kahl, whose planned departure was first reported by NBC News, intends to return to Stanford University where he was given a two-year leave of absence to serve at the Pentagon, according to a person familiar with his plans.

“As the two-year mark approached in April 2023, Dr. Kahl secured agreement from Stanford to extend his timeline through mid-July so that he can support the secretary of defense and the president in the run-up to the NATO Summit in Vilnius,” the person said.

Kahl was confirmed in April 2021 following a bruising confirmation battle in which Senate Republicans voted against him over what they deemed “hyper-partisan” tweets ;prior to joining the Biden administration.

Kahl’s announced exit comes amid gridlock on Capitol Hill, where Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has issued a blanket hold on all civilian and military nominees that would force the Senate to consider each one separately amid a crowded legislative schedule already burdened by partisan fights over the national debt, the budget and judicial nominees.

Tuberville, citing what he says is a violation of federal law, is holding the nominees over his opposition to the Pentagon’s travel policies regarding servicemembers seeking abortion services.

Austin, meanwhile, has said the hold, which is blocking nearly 200 military nominees, risks “every domain” of national security.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the delay of a hypersonic missile intercept attempt, the defense secretary warning of the dangers of continuing resolutions and more.

Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill told Congress last week that the agency now plans to deliver a counter-hypersonic capability in 2025, not this year as originally planned:

DOD delays by two years maiden intercept attempt of hypersonic glide vehicle target

The U.S. military has delayed by two years the planned first test of a naval counter-hypersonic capability, pushing from 2023 to 2025 an intercept attempt by a Standard Missile-6 against an ultra-fast maneuvering target to validate a new version of the Aegis Sea Based Terminal capability designed to protect aircraft carrier strike groups from the new class of threats.

The Pentagon's top civilian official is reiterating the damage that continuing resolutions can do to the defense budget:

Austin sounds alarm on specific CR damages, previews new weapons aid to Taiwan

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Senate appropriators Tuesday that a stopgap continuing resolution would seriously hinder key weapons modernization programs needed to compete with China, including a $9.7 billion pause in Navy shipbuilding.

A component of Space Systems Command's Enhanced Polar System has been delivered:

SSC accepts delivery of EPS-R Control and Planning Segment

Space Systems Command has accepted formal delivery of the Control and Planning Segment of its Enhanced Polar System, the command announced May 11.

The Marine Air Defense Integrated Systems (MADIS) Increment One -- a research and development initiative that mounts a short-range air defense system on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle -- is expected to enter low-rate initial production in the near future:

Marine Corps poised to begin low-rate production of MADIS Inc 1 air defense system

The Marine Corps has completed operational analysis and is preparing for a milestone C decision for a prototype ground-based air defense capability intended to protect forward-deployed forces from missiles, aircraft and unmanned systems.

On April 25, the president signed the Unified Command Plan 2023 that establishes the missions and geographic responsibilities among the 11 U.S. combatant commands, and one of those missions has been shuffled from one command to another:

Biden approves shift of global missile defense ops support from STRATCOM to SPACECOM

President Biden has codified changes to the U.S. military's command structure in an update of the Pentagon's Unified Command Plan that includes a major shift: moving global missile defense operational support responsibilities from U.S. Strategic Command to U.S. Space Command.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on potential savings for a couple of Army missile systems, Space Force satellites and more.

An estimated $147 million in savings combined between the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement contracts represents "potential savings at the initial estimate levels" that, "if realized, can be used for other critical Army needs," a service spokeswoman tells Inside Defense:

Army could save more than projected $147M for GMLRS, PAC-3 MSE multiyear requests

The Army anticipates that it could save more than the projected $147 million combined in its requests for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, according to a service spokeswoman.

The Defense Department is procuring a constellation of up to 100 T2TL Alpha variant satellites:

SDA issues draft solicitation notice for Tranche 2 satellite Alpha variant

The Space Development Agency has issued a draft request for proposals for a Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Alpha variant for its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Document: SDA draft RFP for Tranche 2 satellite Alpha variant

Earlier this month, the office of the Army's project manager for Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense (SHIELD) in the program executive office for missiles and space published a notice asking whether any other companies have the interest and ability to produce the new Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 air-defense system:

Army considering IFPC Inc. 2 production competition; technical data package not available

The Army is exploring whether to compete the planned production of Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 (IFPC Inc. 2) beginning in fiscal year 2024 after the service receives the 16 systems and 60 interceptors Leidos subsidiary Dynetics and Raytheon Technologies developed under a short-term prototype agreement.

A new government cyber document offers a set of requirements for controlled unclassified information with new details on how to tailor the security controls to meet an agency’s needs and the assessment process:

NIST sets June webinar to review proposed guidance changes for handling controlled unclassified information

The National Institute of Standards and Technology will hold a webinar on June 6 to provide an overview of changes in the first draft of revision three for Special Publication 800-171, a foundational document that guides how agencies set cyber policy for contractors on protecting sensitive federal data.

Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, spoke about mine warfare last week:

Navy planning FY-25 operational deployment for LCS mine countermeasures mission package

The Navy is targeting fiscal year 2025 for an initial deployment of its Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasures mission package, which achieved initial operational capability earlier this month.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on naval mine warfare, the Navy's next-generation destroyer, unmanned systems, future missile defense technologies and more.

Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, spoke about mine warfare this week:

Navy planning FY-25 operational deployment for LCS mine countermeasures mission package

The Navy is targeting fiscal year 2025 for an initial deployment of its Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasures mission package, which achieved initial operational capability earlier this month.

Rear Adm. Thomas Anderson, program executive officer for ships, testified this week on the Navy's next-generation destroyer development effort at a hearing of the House Oversight subcommittee on national security, the border and foreign affairs:

Navy taking 'evolutionary' approach to DDG(X) design, drawing lessons from Zumwalt pitfalls

The Navy is taking an "evolutionary" rather than "revolutionary" approach to designing its next-generation large surface combatant, building on the existing Arleigh Burke-class destroyer design and minimizing the addition of untested new features, according to a senior Navy official.

U.S. Pacific Fleet this week held an exercise for vetting uncrewed systems for their capabilities in surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control and re-constituting intelligence:

Pacific Fleet exercise aims to 'increase lethality' in uncrewed missions

With a focus on operating with "infrequent human interaction," the U.S. 3rd Fleet is testing uncrewed aircraft and vessels in a multidomain exercise off the coast of California that prioritizes warfighting capabilities on, above and below the sea.

The Missile Defense Agency is looking at what technologies it will need by 2045:

MDA seeking 'innovative,' 'disruptive' proposals for missile defense in the '2045 time epoch'

The Missile Defense Agency -- created nearly 20 years ago -- is beginning to think about the next 20 by launching a new initiative to explore future technologies and associated architectures that could be needed in 2045, asking industry to propose "new, innovative and potentially disruptive" concepts to protect the nation from anticipated future threats.

Space Systems Command has completed qualification and characterization testing of the GPS Receiver Application Module-Standard Electronic Module/M-Code hardware and software:

SSC'S GPS MGUE program achieves acquisition baseline program milestone

The Space Force has completed its first increment of military code receivers, Space Systems Command announced in a May 8 press release.

The Government Accountability Office, in an information paper shared with congressional appropriators and authorizers, states that as of March 2023, DOD has "understated" its fuel costs for FY-24 by around $1.6 billion, projecting a per-barrel cost of $111.73, while GAO projects $134.05:

GAO finds Pentagon has 'understated' fuel costs by $1.6B

The Government Accountability Office has found the Defense Department has underestimated its fuel costs for fiscal year 2024, creating a $1.6 billion shortfall that has gotten the attention of a senior Senate appropriator.

Document: GAO info paper on DOD fuel costs

A bill introduced by two House lawmakers this week would create a "joint autonomy office" within the Pentagon with the goal of increasing the speed of development and delivery for autonomous technology across the services.

House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee Chairman Rob Wittman (R-VA), and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, have introduced the “Autonomous Systems Adoption & Policy Act,” which would create the new office within the Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), according to a Friday announcement from Wittman’s office.

The CDAO is a relatively new office established in February 2022 that integrates the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Defense Digital Services, the Chief Data Officer and the enterprise platform Advana.

The new proposed autonomy office would be an “enterprise platform” for all-domain autonomy testing, based on commercial best practices that is provided to existing military autonomy programs, according to Wittman’s office. The office would also include a DOD-wide framework for classifying autonomous capabilities and understanding operational requirements for technologies. Program managers in the department and industry experts would be part of the autonomy office.

Wittman said in a statement Friday that his and Ruppersberger’s legislation will “provide the DOD with the necessary resources and tools to coordinate autonomy adoption efforts across the department and accelerate delivery of trusted autonomous technologies to the warfighter in future U.S. military operations.”

Lawmakers in the House had previously been scheduled this week to mark up the annual defense authorization bill in subcommittees, but that has been delayed indefinitely as negotiations over the debt ceiling remain stalled.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Defense Department fuel costs, the Aegis Ashore and Standard Missile-6 missile defense programs, the defense authorization bill markup process being delayed and more.

The Government Accountability Office, in an information paper shared with congressional appropriators and authorizers, states that as of March 2023, DOD has "understated" its fuel costs for FY-24 by around $1.6 billion, projecting a per-barrel cost of $111.73, while GAO projects $134.05:

GAO finds Pentagon has 'understated' fuel costs by $1.6B

The Government Accountability Office has found the Defense Department has underestimated its fuel costs for fiscal year 2024, creating a $1.6 billion shortfall that has gotten the attention of a senior Senate appropriator.

The head of the Missile Defense Agency was on Capitol Hill this week, talking about the Aegis Ashore and Standard Missile-6 programs:

Poland-based Aegis Ashore missile defense moves toward full operation

The Aegis Ashore system in Poland -- a land-based component of the Missile Defense Agency's missile defense system -- is operating as it undergoes certification, MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill told Senate lawmakers.

After Patriot downs Russian missile, MDA wants to 'build out' counter-hypersonic capability

The Missile Defense Agency is publicly calling on the Army to collaborate on improving Patriot to give land forces protection from maneuvering hypersonic weapons after Ukraine -- to the evident surprise of Defense Department leaders -- debuted the U.S.-developed air and missile defense system by intercepting a Russian hypersonic missile.

In a press conference this week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said work on the annual defense policy bill has been postponed to give lawmakers more time to reach a fiscal agreement:

Debt ceiling negotiations ensnare defense bill

Senior Republicans say gridlock on Capitol Hill over the debt ceiling and GOP-backed spending cuts have forced a delay to the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill, a massive, must-pass piece of legislation lawmakers were scheduled to begin crafting this week.

The Patriot interceptor and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System need multiyear procurement, DOD officials are now saying:

White House OMB seeks multiyear procurement for GMLRS, Patriot

The White House Office of Management and Budget, on behalf of the Defense Department, is now seeking multiyear procurement authority from Congress for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, according to a new amendment to the administration's fiscal year 2024 budget request.

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

NIST releases first draft update of foundational CUI guidance

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, in the first draft of Special Publication 800-171 Rev. 3, is proposing new security measures for organizations handling sensitive federal data that more closely align NIST's massive catalog of security and privacy controls and allow for more flexibility in assessing risk.

Document: NIST special publication on protecting CUI