The Insider

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest starts off with a look at a massive environmental review of the proposed missile defense site on Guam, the Defense Department issues a roadmap for its new industrial base strategy, an industry group has questions on how CMMC requirements will move through the systems, and congressional members want the White House budget office to examine the Navy’s submarine funding plan.

The Pentagon has released a very big environmental review of the future Guam missile defense project:

DOD identifies key elements of Guam Defense System, proposes 16 sites, 1,000 operators

The Defense Department has, for the first time, outlined major components of a planned 360-degree air and missile defense system for Guam in a legally required report intended to inform the public -- specifically the island’s residents and their elected leaders -- about the environmental impacts of the system.

The Defense Department is spelling out how its new industrial base strategy will be paid for:

DOD releases defense industrial strategy implementation plan to guide spending

The Defense Department has released an implementation plan for its first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy detailing planned investments in Army munitions, Navy submarines, and other key areas.

A leading industry group has questions about CMMC requirements:

NDIA questions Defense Dept. flow down of CMMC requirements from prime to subcontractors under final program rule

The National Defense Industrial Association is raising concerns over how prime contractors will determine the maturity level needed for subcontracts and work through flow down requirements under the Pentagon’s final rule to establish the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

Several lawmakers are asking for a thorough review of the Navy’s submarine spending plans:

Lawmakers urge OMB to ‘carefully assess’ submarine funding proposal, whack Navy over lack of transparency

A bipartisan group of senators has issued a cautious endorsement of an as-of-yet undetailed Navy proposal aiming to combat submarine delays and cost overruns by restructuring how the vessels are paid for, urging the Pentagon to closely examine the plan while requesting greater transparency from the Navy.

The Army awarded Sikorsky a $1.2 billion contract modification for foreign military sales of the Black Hawk helicopter to Austria, Brazil, Greece, Sweden and Thailand, according to a Pentagon contract notice posted Oct. 28. The contract has an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2027.

Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, received contract awards to grow the UH-60M fleet in Australia, Brazil, Sweden and Thailand on Oct. 23, the company announced today.

The company also announced today that it would be providing 35 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Greece, as well as training equipment.

Hamid Salim, Sikorsky’s vice president of Army and Air Force systems, said in a statement that the company’s partnership with Greece spans decades, “and we are pleased to see the nation’s continued trust in Sikorsky helicopters as Greece will benefit from an integrated Hawk family of aircraft supporting national security and humanitarian missions.”

The foreign military sale is meant to “significantly improve self-defense and bolster interoperability within the nation and with NATO allies,” according to Sikorsky.

Greece will become the 12th nation in Europe to operate the Black Hawk, the company noted. The U.S. government has awarded 84 UH-60M Black Hawks to Europe, Asia, South America and the Middle East in 2024.

This Monday INSIDER starts with the Army revamping its industrial base, a missile defense radar may be in for some changes, a new Space Force contract, the White House releases a memo on artificial intelligence, and more.

The Army is looking to beef up its industrial base in part due to the Ukraine war:

Army reprioritizing organic industrial base modernization as Ukraine war rolls on

In the spring of 2022, the Army was in the process of rolling out its 15-year organic industrial base modernization plan. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was also beginning around the same time, recalled Richard Martin, Army Materiel Command's executive director for supply chain management last week during an interview at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual trade show.

An Army missile defense radar may see some production cuts:

Army braces for LTAMDS procurement cut and production milestone review in FY-25

The Army is bracing for the possibility that its plans to acquire a full-battalion set of its next-generation Patriot radar as part of the inaugural purchase could be significantly tripped up if lawmakers don't reinstate the Pentagon's full funding request in fiscal year 2025 for the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor program.

The Space Force is adding millions to an existing satellite contract:

Space Force expands Millennium Space Systems contract to replace RTX on Epoch 1

The Space Force awarded Millennium Space Systems an additional $386 million for another six satellites for the Epoch 1 Missile Track Custody program, expanding the company's work to fill the space left when the service canceled RTX's contract.

President Biden issued a new memorandum on the use of artificial intelligence:

Biden signs new natsec memo to boost AI procurement; Sullivan says U.S. must start 'upping our game'

President Biden signed a first-of-its-kind national security memorandum today directing new U.S. efforts to harness the power of artificial intelligence and streamline its procurement to maintain a competitive advantage over China.

Several new systems were demonstrated in a recent U.S.-Australia exercise:

Autonomous vessels, balloons and network systems tested during AUKUS maritime experimentation series

The United States, United Kingdom and Australia are wrapping up three weeks of maritime experimentation using uncrewed systems and a variety of other emerging technologies, Pentagon officials said Wednesday, describing the event as an important step toward collaboratively developing and operating capabilities under AUKUS Pillar II.

The Space Force yesterday awarded Northrop Grumman another $1.8 billion for the two early warning satellites it will now carry through build to launch to transition to operations, bringing the total for the program to $4.16 billion.

The Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar will consist of two satellites in highly elliptical orbit to watch for various missile types that could pass over the North Pole, which Space Systems Command says is the fastest path for most missiles that could threaten the homeland.

The initial launch date for Next Gen OPIR Polar is scheduled for fiscal year 2028 with the second satellite launching in FY-30. It is set to replace the Space-Based Infrared System and be more resilient to counter-space capabilities while offering better missile defense capabilities and battlespace awareness.

The program passed critical design review in the summer along with Northrop’s Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution ground station.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on defense contractors' quarterly earnings as well as a Defense Intelligence Agency report on the nuclear programs of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

We start off with coverage of Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics quarterly earnings:

Northrop expecting second lot contract for B-21 by end of year

Northrop Grumman expects to be awarded a contract for the second low-rate initial production lot for the B-21 Raider bomber by the end of the year, CEO Kathy Warden said today.

Boeing CEO says company must fundamentally change as defense unit logs $2 billion charge

Defense manufacturing giant Boeing is again hemorrhaging money, but CEO Kelly Ortberg says the company can pivot back to prior success via better discipline in its "tough contracts" and a focus on risk management in future ones.

Boeing adds $217 million loss on MQ-25 Stingray

Boeing has added a loss of $217 million for the MQ-25 Stingray program, according to company earnings released this week.

GD execs: Submarine supply chain not improving fast enough, program costs rising

The submarine supply chain is not improving fast enough, according to General Dynamics executives, who today said the company is slowing construction work to match the sluggish pace of component deliveries.

A new Defense Intelligence Agency report "provides an updated, unclassified overview of the nuclear programs of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran":

DIA: China on track to have more than 1,000 operational nukes by 2030, faster than expected

China is growing its nuclear force at a faster rate than previously forecast and will have more than 1,000 operational warheads fielded by 2030 on delivery systems capable of striking the United States, according to a new Defense Intelligence Agency report on the growing nuclear capabilities of strategic competitors and regional rivals.

Document: DIA report on nuclear challenges

The Defense Department is set to fund a research project to develop infrared seekers for hypersonic weapons for use across military services in the amount of $45 million over three years, the department announced Wednesday.

The Hypersonic Infrared Target Sensing (HITS) joint-service project will be conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory and the Missile Defense Agency -- all led by the Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory. The cooperation of these teams will facilitate the collaboration of more than 50 federal scientists and engineers across military service labs.

The project comes from a proposal submitted for the department’s annual Applied Research for the Advancement of Science and Technology Priorities (ARAP) program award competition. Eligible submissions were required to include funding proposals for applied research “addressing specific technology or capability gaps while enhancing collaboration across the military services and DOD agencies,” and proposals had to “demonstrate a clear pathway from research to product fielding,” according to the Pentagon’s announcement.

The HITS project will specifically address challenges developing infrared seekers for hypersonic weapons -- including “locating targets throughout hypersonic flight, advancing gimbal-free target discrimination in extreme hypersonic turbulence, developing high-temperature infrared materials and addressing thermal distortion through the seeker window,” the release said.

“Investments into our military labs and facilities are imperative for the DOD to invest in technological solutions that attract and retain the future workforce,” Aprille Ericsson, assistant secretary of defense for science and technology, said during a check-presentation ceremony at the Pentagon with the project team, according to the release.

The Army has awarded Teledyne FLIR Defense a $91 million, five-year contract for its Black Hornet 4 personal reconnaissance drones, the company recently announced.

The Black Hornet 4 can be easily carried and launched by soldiers, and the drone then sends video and pictures back to the operator, the company said Tuesday. It is meant to “provide soldiers with situational awareness more safely from a protected position,” and to enable squad and small unit surveillance and reconnaissance.

The Army began acquiring Black Hornet 3 drones for the Soldier Borne Sensor program in 2018 and have placed orders worth more than $215 million altogether in the years since, according to Teledyne.

The Soldier Borne Sensor program “provides units with near-real-time video, increased situational awareness and reduced risk of detection, while allowing units to detect personnel and targets,” according to the Army.

In 2023, the Army awarded Teledyne a contract for 8,000 of the Black Hornet 3 variant of the drone, Inside Defense reported.

For the recent contract for Black Hornet 4, Teledyne has already received $25 million in initial orders to cover delivery of the first tranche of the drones, along with controllers, spare parts and training, according to the company.