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Raytheon and United Technologies said their shareholders at respective meetings held today approved the proposals necessary to complete their merger.

The deal is set to unite Raytheon with United Technologies' aerospace businesses, made up of Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney.

"The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals, as well as completion by United Technologies of the separation of its Otis and Carrier businesses," the companies said.

(Editor's Note: This blog post has been updated to include a statement from XQ-58A provider Kratos.)

The Air Force is conducting a safety investigation into the XQ-58A Valkyrie after the aircraft was damaged during a flight test at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, yesterday.

The next demonstration will be delayed until officials complete their study, according to a statement released by the Air Force today. It attributes the mishap to "high surface winds and a malfunction of the vehicle's provisional flight test recovery system."

"In final descent, the prototype cushion system, which was employed for the initial test series but is not intended for ultimate operational use, suffered an anomaly resulting in the aircraft sustaining damage upon touchdown," XQ-58A provider Kratos said in a separate statement.

The company added that an initial evaluation showed the issue is "fully repairable." It will work with the subcontractor to improve the cushion system prior to the next demonstration.

Despite the mishap, the Air Force and Kratos consider the recent test to be a success.

"This third flight successfully completed its objectives and expanded the envelope from the first two flights," Air Force Research Lab Commander William Cooley said in the service's notice. "We have gathered a great deal of valuable data from the flight and will even learn from this mishap."

The XQ-58A is a demonstrator for the Air Force's Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Test program.

LocatorX, which specializes in tracking technology, said today it has named four new members to its advisory board.

Among them is retired Maj. Gen. James Myles, who spent more than 36 years in the Army. From 2011 to 2015, he was an executive at DynCorp International.

The company also named Tanya Pemberton, senior vice president of the national systems group at the Aerospace Corp.; Andrew Briggs, professor of nanomaterials at Oxford University; and Tom Raferty, an executive at SAP.

LocatorX said the four will be useful to the company as it seeks to expand into new sectors and industries.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's soon-to-be-released "adaptive acquisition framework," an Air Force cybersecurity and electronic warfare test facility, the Marine Corps' Amphibious Combat Vehicle program and more.

Stacy Cummings, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for acquisition enablers, this week gave a speech at a defense technology conference in National Harbor, MD:

Pentagon set to unveil 'adaptive acquisition framework' with six pathways

The Pentagon will soon release an "adaptive acquisition framework" with six distinct pathways for program managers to select from, according to a Defense Department official.

The Air Force has a new cybersecurity and electronic warfare test facility:

Air Force awards $93M contract to stand up cyber, electronic warfare test facility

The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology has received a $93 million award to provide facilities at its military training range where the Air Force can develop operational cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in an "austere environment."

Lisa Porter, deputy under secretary of defense for research and engineering, this week revealed four use cases for Defense Department fifth-generation communications technologies:

DOD reveals four broad use cases for initial 5G experimentation

The Defense Department's initial use cases for fifth-generation communications technologies include virtual reality for training and simulation, "smart" bases, supply chain management, and depot automation, according to a top DOD official.

Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle Program Manager Col. Kirk Mullins during an Oct. 4 interview with Inside Defense said the program is still within its acquisition program baseline, but said the Marine Corps about a month ago chose to delay the beginning of IOT&E to July 2020:

Marine Corps delays IOT&E and full-rate production for new Amphibious Combat Vehicle

The Marine Corps has delayed the start of its initial operational test and evaluation stage for the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle after the program’s delivery schedule fell behind projections.

The Pentagon's chief management officer writes in a recent report to Congress that "a 25 percent reduction is dramatic to any function in a single year," especially considering DOD is "a complex enterprise" with "wartime requirements":

Pentagon proposes 5% cut to Fourth Estate; Congress sought 25%

The Defense Department's chief management officer says about 5% can be cut from the Pentagon's so-called "Fourth Estate" civilian management agencies next year, falling far short of the reductions Congress hoped to see.

Document: DOD CMO's report to Congress on Fourth Estate efficiencies

The Navy's fiscal year 2020 shipbuilding plan would cost the service approximately $31 billion each year, according to an analysis released this week by the Congressional Budget Office.

"According to CBO's estimate, the full cost of the 2020 shipbuilding plan (including construction, refueling of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and other items) would average $31.0 billion per year over the 2020-2049 period," the report reads.

"That amount is nearly twice as much as the average annual funding the Navy has received over the past three decades," it continues.

The report notes the Navy has been allotted an average of $16 billion each year "over the past 30 years for all activities funded by its shipbuilding account."

The Navy earlier this year sent the FY-20 plan to Congress with the annual budget request. The long-term strategy found it would cost the service $40 billion in then-year funds to maintain the 355-ship fleet the Navy projects achieving in FY-34.

The CBO assessment also concluded that the construction of new ships in the plan would cost $28.8 billion each year on average, compared to the Navy’s $22 billion estimation.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has a look at a recent report to Congress on "Fourth Estate" efficiencies, the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA program, the Army's tactical network capability and more.

The Pentagon's chief management officer writes in a recent report to Congress that "a 25 percent reduction is dramatic to any function in a single year," especially considering DOD is "a complex enterprise" with "wartime requirements":

Pentagon proposes 5% cut to Fourth Estate; Congress sought 25%

The Defense Department's chief management officer says about 5% can be cut from the Pentagon's so-called "Fourth Estate" civilian management agencies next year, falling far short of the reductions Congress hoped to see.

Document: DOD CMO's report to Congress on Fourth Estate efficiencies

The Standard Missile-3 Block IIA program has received the go-ahead to begin production:

Pentagon approves initial production for U.S.-Japan SM-3 Block IIA program

The Pentagon's acquisition executive has cleared the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA program, in co-development since 2006 with Japan, for transition to production -- signaling confidence in the interceptor after early flight-test challenges and setting the stage for the rollout of a major operational enhancement to the Ballistic Missile Defense System.

More than 425 Army, Army Reserve and Army National Guard units last month completed fielding of the service's latest software and hardware baseline:

Army completes two-year software baseline reduction effort

The Army recently completed a two-year effort that modernized the service's tactical network capability and reduced the number of software and hardware programs in hundreds of service units.

Navy acquisition chief Hondo Geurts spoke at a defense technology conference in National Harbor, MD this morning:

Geurts says Navy's major programs will not suffer severe impacts from CR

A senior Navy official today said the current continuing resolution will not cause any "egregious" problems with the service's major defense acquisition programs.

The Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle program was scheduled to award a detail design and construction contract for a prototype by the end of fiscal year 2019, but that has been delayed:

MUSV schedule delayed several months, prototype award now planned in 2020

An experimental unmanned surface vessel program initiated by Pentagon research agencies and bound for the Navy has fallen behind schedule by several months with a contract to build a prototype now expected early next year.

In this Monday INSIDER Daily Digest, we have the latest on the Defense Department's plans for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program as well as an update on Raytheon's Standard Missile-3 Block IIA program.

DOD last week released a request for information appealing to non-profit organizations:

Pentagon explores establishing 'accreditation body' to run contractor cybersecurity program

The Pentagon's acquisition office is moving toward the establishment of an independent "accreditation body" to run a new contractor cybersecurity auditing program viewed as key to preventing the theft of sensitive national security information.

Meanwhile, Raytheon says the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA is positioned to significantly outperform the original design requirements:

Raytheon confident SM-3 Block IIA can intercept ICBM warheads

Raytheon is "very confident" the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA -- a new ballistic missile interceptor developed with Japan to defeat medium- and intermediate-range threats -- can also knock down intercontinental ballistic missiles, delivering Washington and Tokyo more than they originally bargained for.

A task force is planning an event later this year to showcase drone testing software:

Next demo of TACE autonomous drone testing software expected in December

Engineers at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, are partnering with the Skyborg manned-unmanned teaming program for another demonstration of an evolving software tool that’s intended to enable realistic and safe flight testing of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles.

Alexis Ross of the Army met with reporters last week to explain how the service's new advanced manufacturing policy will help it compete with China:

Army releases new advanced manufacturing policy

The Army has released a new policy on advanced manufacturing that aims to bring the service up to par with foreign powers who have fully embraced new ways of building weapon systems, as well as the commercial sector, inspired by the National Defense Strategy.

The Pentagon is readying several key reform initiatives, including a rewrite of acquisition regulations:

Lord says key acquisition reforms near completion

This fall will be an inflection point for Defense Department acquisition chief Ellen Lord, who is working to finalize a series of acquisition reform initiatives intended to simplify and accelerate the military’s procurement process.