The Insider

The Defense Department has yet to implement more than a dozen recommendations from the Government Accountability Office to improve oversight and monitoring of its nuclear enterprise, according to a report released today.

The open recommendations are gathered in a GAO National Security Snapshot report focused on oversight of the enterprise.

DOD is in the midst of modernizing all three legs of the nuclear triad -- air with the B-21 Raider and upgrades to the B-52 Stratofortress, land with the Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile and sea with the Columbia-class submarine. DOD anticipates these efforts and the enterprise could cost up to $350 billion over the next two decades.

Among the recommendations, DOD should set clear roles and responsibilities for its nuclear oversight organization -- the Deputy’s Management Action Group -- including how the DMAG communicates with other organizations that have responsibilities for parts of the enterprise, according to the GAO.

DOD and the National Nuclear Security Administration should establish a joint risk management process to identify, assess and respond to risks to the enterprise, the report states, and report those risks and mitigation efforts to internal and external stakeholders.

DOD should also establish prioritization criteria for the enterprise’s activities that can be applied whenever changes to the portfolio are proposed or reviewed, GAO states.

The open recommendations stem from reports on the enterprise dating between 2018 and 2022.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on international cooperation in expanding global weapons production, a recent Navy missile defense intercept test plus defense contractors' quarterly earnings and more.

We start off with the Defense Department's top acquisition official saying international cooperation will be key to expanding global weapons production, especially for munitions:

DOD pushing new defense industrial strategy to expand weapons stockpiles

Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante, a key official behind the Biden administration's effort to again make the United States an "arsenal of democracy," said a forthcoming National Defense Industrial Base Strategy will underscore ongoing work to surge global weapons production as a means of deterring U.S. adversaries.

We also have news about a successful Navy missile defense intercept test:

In a first, Navy destroyer intercepts ballistic missile and anti-ship drone threats at the same time

For the first time, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer simultaneously intercepted short-range ballistic missile threats and anti-ship drone threats during an Integrated Air and Missile Defense test, according to a Wednesday Missile Defense Agency announcement.

Followed by defense contractors' quarterly earnings calls:

VC-25B issues helped drag down Boeing defense margins in third quarter

Continuing issues with the VC-25B, the eventual replacement for presidential escort aircraft Air Force One, were contributing factors to negative margins in Boeing’s defense sector for the third quarter of 2023, company executives noted during an earnings call Wednesday.

GD execs: Submarine supply chain remains 'very fragile' while workforce picture improves

General Dynamics Electric Boat continues to receive late deliveries of submarine components from a "very fragile" supply chain, company executives said, noting enduring production challenges within the Navy's two critical submarine programs.

International demands highlight Northrop's Q3 earnings with record backlog

The continuing war in Ukraine and increasing geopolitical tensions elsewhere has led to increased sales for Northrop Grumman, which reported a record backlog of $84 billion during its third-quarter earnings call.

Lower IRAD costs with FLRAA helped Bell in third quarter

Bell, a Textron subsidiary, spent less money in the third quarter on independent research and development for programs such as the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, the company's CEO said during a Thursday earnings call.

The House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee held a hearing this week on "The Submarine Industrial Base and its Ability to Support the AUKUS Framework":

Houston: Maintenance backlogs pose greatest challenge to submarine readiness

Maintenance backlogs pose the greatest challenge to submarine fleet readiness, according to a senior Navy official, who today said the service is on track to reach an 80% operational availability rate for its attack submarines by late 2027 or early 2028.

Document: House hearing on AUKUS and the submarine industrial base

The Navy successfully launched a Standard Missile-6 from Littoral Combat Ship Savannah (LCS-28) using a “containerized launching system” during a Tuesday demonstration in the Eastern Pacific, according to a Navy announcement.

The test demonstrates the utility of the LCS class for surface warfare and is a promising sign for the Navy’s efforts to develop containerized weapon systems that can be installed on LCSs and other surface ships, according to the sea service.

“The exercise demonstrated the modularity and lethality of Littoral Combat Ships and the ability to successfully integrate a containerized weapons system to engage a surface target,” the announcement states.

“The exercise will inform continued testing, evaluation and integration of containerized weapons systems on afloat platforms,” it continues.

Savannah is an Independence-class LCS, delivered to the Navy in 2021 and commissioned in February 2022. The vessel is not among the seven LCSs the Navy has marked for decommissioning over the next five years.

In September, Inside Defense reported the Navy plans to equip all remaining LCSs with the Naval Strike Missile by fiscal year 2032 in an effort to expand the vessels’ offensive strike capabilities and enhance their contribution to the surface fleet.

The Defense Department is preparing to brief lawmakers on the findings of a recent AUKUS-focused industrial base study, acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Mara Karlin told the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee today.

While Karlin said the Pentagon is working to organize briefings on the study, she didn't commit to providing physical copies of the report to lawmakers when pressed on the subject by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI).

“I believe that some briefings have occurred, and some additional briefings will occur to you and your staff. I think folks are just scheduling those right now,” Karlin told the subcommittee. “I think their plan is to brief you on the cost estimates from the study and to walk through the substance of it.”

Gallagher and subcommittee Chairman Trent Kelly (R-MS) both asked that physical copies of the report be provided.

Last week, a bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter to the White House requesting this AUKUS implementation study, performed by DOD’s cost assessment and program evaluation office, be provided to Congress by the end of the month.

The Navy, Office of the Secretary of Defense and White House all declined requests from Inside Defense to provide a specific timeline for when the report’s contents would be shared with Congress.

Speaking today, Karlin also noted that the results of the study informed the White House’s supplemental spending request, which includes $3.4 billion for DOD to invest in the U.S. submarine industrial base.

The Army is conducting a market survey for 155mm ammunition designed to defeat armored and mechanized targets, according to a public announcement.

The survey is requesting potential sources who can produce the XM1180 Cannon-Delivered Area Effects Munition (C-DAEM) for early operational capability fielding “to begin production at a low rate by 2nd Quarter Fiscal Year 2026,” the Oct. 18 announcement reads.

Requirements are planned to be restricted to Raytheon in Tucson, AZ, the announcement adds.

“It will support both current and future weapon systems and defeat infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled howitzers, and main battle tanks,” the announcement states. “The Army requires the solution to be compatible with current 39 caliber weapon systems and engage targets out to 35 kilometers (km).”

The 155mm XM1180 C-DAEM round is designed to be fired from the Army’s forthcoming Extended Range Cannon Artillery vehicle, a replacement for the Paladin, and provides an armor defeat capability in both deep fires counter-fire engagements and close fires maneuver support, according to the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition.

The XM1180 round will serve alongside the 155mm XM1208 Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions round, the Joint Program Executive Office states.

Earlier this year, the Army requested permission from Congress to re-allocate funds to upgrade Raytheon's Excalibur C-DAEM munition, Inside Defense reported.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's continued focus on China as the "pacing challenge" identified in the 2022 National Defense Strategy, the Defense Department reshuffling of 155mm artillery rounds to support Israel's fight against Hamas and more.

Mara Karlin, assistant defense secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities, who is also performing the duties of the deputy defense under secretary for policy, spoke at the Brookings Institute this week about the Pentagon's continued focus on China as the "pacing challenge" identified in the 2022 National Defense Strategy:

DOD policy official: Focus remains on China, despite competing global crises

A senior Pentagon policy official said today that the United States intends to keep its focus on deterring China, despite addressing ongoing crises in Ukraine and Israel.

The reshuffling of 155mm ammunition stocks to Israel highlights the Pentagon's ongoing efforts to supply two allies simultaneously as top defense officials work with foreign nations to surge overseas weapons production:

DOD reshuffles artillery shipments to aid Israel amid work to surge NATO weapons production

The Defense Department says shipments of 155mm artillery shells that were withdrawn from U.S. stocks in Israel and slated to shore up Army weapons reserves in Europe that have been depleted by ongoing aid to Ukraine have now been diverted back to Israel as that country amps up its attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah.

On Sept. 8, the 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force completed an exercise called Arcane Thunder 23 -- the inaugural event of a series the Army plans to conduct annually -- that allowed the unit, with participation from France, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom, to work on reconnaissance, target development and precision-targeting operations:

New Army unit generates artillery targets from electromagnetic spectrum, tracks satellites

The Army last month completed a first-ever, live-fire exercise in Europe of a unit designed to break up Russia's anti-access/area-denial capabilities, dispersing troops across Germany, Poland and Romania to test and experiment elements of multidomain operations by synchronizing precision effects across the continent.

A new Congressional Budget Office cost estimate looks at the AUKUS Oversight and Accountability Act, advanced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in July, which would establish a State Department task force to oversee implementation of the AUKUS security partnership:

CBO: AUKUS legislation would invest $115M in implementation with little draw on appropriations

A legislative proposal that aims to fund AUKUS oversight using fees collected through the foreign military sales process would, if enacted, direct $115 million of mandatory spending into AUKUS implementation efforts over the next decade, while drawing little in appropriations, according to a Congressional Budget Office cost estimate.

Document: CBO cost estimate of AUKUS bill

RTX executives discussed their quarterly earnings with Wall Street analysts this week:

RTX suffers loss due to a metal powder quality crisis affecting engines

RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies) reported a 21% drop in sales compared to the previous year due to a metal powder quality crisis that led to engine failure of the V2500 engine fleet, the company said in its third-quarter earnings statement.

(Editor's note: This story has been updated to include new information on a House resolution to condemn Hamas.)

Republicans, after weeks of intraparty acrimony and derailed nominees, pulled together today to elect Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to be the next House speaker, replacing the ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

Johnson was elected by a vote of 220-209. House Democrats all voted against Johnson, backing Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services and Judiciary committees, has released a “dear colleague” letter stating his intention to seek a stopgap continuing resolution that would extend government funding until either Jan. 15 or April 15.

“We all understand that our next Speaker must be prepared to negotiate from a position of strength with the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House. The only way to secure that position is for the House to have passed all twelve of our appropriations measures,” Johnson wrote in the letter.

The current CR under which the federal government is operating expires Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials have said they need Congress to pass a full-year defense appropriations bill as soon as possible, along with President Biden’s emergency supplemental spending package so the U.S. military can address crises in Ukraine and Israel.

In a speech following his election, Johnson said his first priority would be to pass a bill intended to support Israel in its conflict against Hamas. The House later voted overwhelmingly for a resolution condemning Hamas.