The Insider

The Army's second battery set of hypersonic missiles would be delayed by a year if Congress does not pass a new budget and funds all of fiscal year 2022 through continuing resolutions, the vice chief of staff of the Army told a congressional committee Jan. 12.

The Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon’s second battery would not be fielded until FY-26, rather than the FY-25 date that is currently planned, Gen. Joseph Martin told the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee.

An initial battery of eight missiles is scheduled to be fielded in FY-23, which would make the Army the first service to field hypersonic weapons. The service finished delivering the ground equipment in September to the battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, that will operate the first battery.

A yearlong CR would not delay the fielding of that first battery, Martin said. But the service will not be able to procure as many training rounds as it plans to unless Congress passes a budget.

Martin testified alongside the Pentagon comptroller and the other service chiefs about the danger that a yearlong CR poses to the military. Under a continuing resolution, programs are funded at FY-21 levels, and new programs cannot begin.

Within the Army, 71 programs would be delayed by a yearlong CR, Martin said. That includes 29 procurement programs, 32 development programs and several industrial base modernization programs.

The service is in the middle of what the chief of staff has repeatedly called a once-in-four-decades modernization, and the lack of a budget hurts the Army’s ability to develop new platforms that can take on near-peer threats, he said.

“You can’t get back time,” Martin said. “The resources that we could have spent this year, we’re going to have to spend next year, which means it’s twice the cost. So, it’s a huge impact on our modernization and maintaining our ability to compete in the future.”

The Defense Department is feeling the squeeze of rising prices and has had to shift funds around internally in recent weeks to cover $1.5 billion in must-pay bills, the Pentagon's chief financial officer told Congress today.

Mike McCord, under secretary of defense (comptroller), in written testimony prepared for a hearing of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee today on the impacts of an extended continuing resolution, revealed the Pentagon is feeling the adverse effects of higher fuel prices.

“I have had to approve two increases in our [fiscal year] 2022 fuel prices -- a first increase on Oct. 1, 2021 and a second on Jan. 1, 2022 -- to keep our working capital fund solvent in response to higher fuel prices,” McCord said in his written testimony. “This has created a bill of $1.5 billion for the services in FY 2022, in addition to the [operations and maintenance account] reductions that flow directly from the CR.”

The testimony does not indicate which accounts were raided in order to pay the higher fuel costs.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on hypersonics, the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, Air Force combat drones and more.

The Pentagon is planning a series of hypersonics flight tests:

DOD announces 'full-scale hypersonics flight test series,' reveals little else publicly

The Defense Department is asking industry for feedback on plans for a "full-scale hypersonics flight test series" -- with further details available only to cleared contractors.

The latest on the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Contracting attorney: Incentives critical to stakeholder investment in CMMC amid lengthy rulemaking process

With two rulemakings expected at the end of 2022 to formally kick off the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, contracting attorney Robert Metzger says the development of incentives to encourage military contractors to invest now in CMMC preparation is critical but the process is complicated.

News on Air Force unmanned systems:

Industry eagerly eyes upcoming USAF combat drone programs

Companies involved in the Air Force's autonomous aircraft teaming endeavor are welcoming efforts to include two classified drone programs involving bombers and fighters in the upcoming budget request, with one industry official saying the move reflects the service's acknowledgment that it now has the tools "ready to start answering these needs."

The Navy completed 59% of maintenance availabilities on time in fiscal year 2021, up from 34% in FY-19:

Kitchener: Navy reducing maintenance delays but more work to be done

The Navy has reduced its days of maintenance delay by 41% since fiscal year 2019, Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener, the commander of Naval Surface Forces, told reporters Friday.

The Army has completed a critical design review of the new Apache helicopter engine:

Boeing contract furthers push for new Apache engine

Boeing will conduct testing and engineering of GE's T901 engine for Army Apache helicopters, after the contractor was awarded a $240 million contract late last year.

Arun Seraphin, a professional staff member with the Senate Armed Services Committee who has influenced some of the most significant defense acquisition reform measures of the past 20 years, is leaving government to become deputy director of the National Defense Industrial Association's Emerging Technologies Institute.

“In this role, Seraphin will provide strategic direction for the organization, determine research priorities and manage research and policy projects,” according to an NDIA announcement.

During his time in the Senate, Seraphin specialized in defense acquisition policy, Pentagon management as well as defense science and technology.

“I am excited by the opportunity to help expand the activities of the Emerging Technology Institute and contribute to NDIA’s efforts to ensure that the nation is developing and deploying the best new technologies for national security,” Seraphin said in the NDIA statement. “I look forward to applying my government and technical experience to shape policies, programs and activities that can bolster innovation in support of national defense missions and economic growth.”

Mark Lewis, ETI’s executive director and former director of defense research and engineering for the Defense Department, referred to Seraphin as “a Washington, DC icon.”

“Arun helped shape many elements of the Defense Department’s science and technology enterprise,” Lewis said. “Arun is one of our nation’s most influential thought leaders at the intersection of science and defense, and we are incredibly fortunate to have him on board at NDIA.”

Seraphin, who holds a doctorate in electronic materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has worked in government for roughly 20 years. He rejoined the committee staff in 2014, after previously serving there between 2001 and 2010. He has also served as principal assistant director for national security and international affairs in the White House Office of Science and Technology.

“Seraphin also was instrumental in forming science and technology policies with the House of Representatives, the Institute of Defense Analyses and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,” according to NDIA.

The Army released a pair of requests for information Jan. 7 to assess industry capabilities to prototype a possible wheeled 155 mm self-propelled howitzer.

One of the requests for information focused on the system’s armament, which could replace the M777 towed 155 mm howitzer in some units. The other was for the truck, with which the cannon would be integrated.

These market surveys follow October announcements that the Army plans to award other transaction agreements for companies to prototype the armament and truck for the Next Generation Howitzers.

Each request for information asks nine questions, most of which are shared between the requests. Companies must describe their capability to design, model, manufacture, qualify and field truck-based 155 mm artillery, as well their ability to work with the United States government and integrate new technologies into the system.

The armament request for information asks about the companies' ability to integrate “different cannon assemblies” onto 155 mm armament, and the truck request about the companies' experience with U.S. mobility requirements.

Neither request for information restricts its questions about manufacturing capability to the United States. Responses to both requests for information are due Feb. 4.

Defense contractors have expressed interest in the truck-mounted howitzer program, which matches capabilities that several other countries already possess.

Four contractors from Europe and the Middle East displayed their own 155 mm truck-mounted howitzers at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference last October. Two U.S. contractors at the same event expressed their own interest in the program.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the cybersecurity provisions in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act and more.

The Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act has a host of cybersecurity provisions in it:

NDAA enactment starts countdown for new batch of cyber reports from DOD, DHS

President Biden's signature on the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act starts the clock on cyber-related reports, strategies and pilot programs from the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security on issues ranging from collaboration with the private sector to shoring up the security of industrial control systems, supply chains and state and local governments.

The Army says a new engine will significantly improve Apache helicopter performance:

Boeing contract furthers push for new Apache engine

Boeing will conduct testing and engineering of GE's T901 engine for Army Apache helicopters, after the contractor was awarded a $240 million contract late last year.

Middle Eastern countries should have a "common maritime picture" between nations, according to retired Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, former commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet:

Donegan: Maritime coalitions necessary to re-establish deterrence in Mideast

The future of maritime security in the Middle East relies on coalition efforts between nations, according to a retired Navy official.

None of the Army's currently fielded surface-to-surface artillery or missiles can reach close to 1,000 miles:

Army to test cannon with 1,180-mile range in FY-24

The Army plans to shoot artillery rounds 1,180 miles over the Pacific Ocean in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to test a next-generation cannon, according to a recently filed environmental notice.

The FY-22 NDAA requires the defense secretary by March 2023 to establish a new framework for assessing the suitability of the U.S. military's existing major weapon system inventory for potential future combat operations:

DOD required to conduct major review of $2 trillion weapons portfolio over next year

The Pentagon must conduct a new review over the next year that could reshape the U.S. military's $2 trillion roster of current weapon system acquisition projects by identifying programs for divestiture that are not keeping pace with emerging threats.

BAE Systems has received a $97 million modification to its contract to build the Army's self-propelled howitzers, according to a Jan. 7 Pentagon announcement.

The company will produce and deliver M109A7 Paladin Integrated Management and M992A3 ammunition supply vehicles with the contract modification, according to the announcement. Funding will come from fiscal year 2020 and 2021 Army appropriations.

Work will be completed at BAE’s York, PA, plant, and will be finished in December 2024.

The A7 upgrade adds a new chassis, suspension and drivetrain to the M109, which has served as the service’s 155 mm self-propelled howitzer since the 1960s. Ammunition supply vehicles are fielded in pairs with the howitzers.

M109 upgrades would receive $446 million under the Army’s FY-22 budget request. This would be enough to buy 25 howitzers and ammunition supply vehicles, just above the minimum sustaining rate of two sets per month.

But the House and Senate Appropriations committees have proposed increasing funding for the M109 in their draft versions of the FY-22 spending bill. The House proposed spending $526 million in July, while the Senate would provide $663 million under a draft bill released in October.

Congress has yet to pass a defense appropriations bill for FY-22, and a continuing resolution lasts through Feb. 18.