The Insider

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Navy:

1. The Navy is aiming to award the detail design and construction contract for the Ohio-replacement ballistic missile submarine program by the first day of fiscal year 2017.

Full Story: Navy plans award for Ohio replacement subs by October

2. The Navy did not effectively manage the acquisition and testing of the Advanced Arresting Gear developed to catch aircraft on carriers, and testing the system may not be possible when the Navy's first Ford-class carrier goes to sea trials later this year, according to a report on the program issued by the Defense Department's inspector general.

Full Story: DOD IG: Navy mismanaged development, testing of Advanced Arresting Gear

3. Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding unit was awarded three times the number of hours for dock landing ship replacement design work compared to General Dynamics NASSCO.

Full Story: Ingalls awarded three times more hours for LX(R) design than NASSCO

The House has named the conferees to negotiate a final fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill with the Senate.

"Our men and women in uniform face a mounting readiness crisis that increases the danger to their lives and inhibits America's ability to respond effectively to a series of diverse and serious threats," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said in a Friday statement.

"House and Senate versions of the authorization bill take important steps that begin to reverse this trend," he continued. "As we move through conference, all of us must keep these high stakes in mind as conferees put together a final bill that supports our troops, their missions, and the country's security."

Along with Thornberry, the House conferees are:

• Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA)
• Rep. Jeff Milller (R-FL)
• Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
• Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
• Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT)
• Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH)
• Rep. John Kline (R-MN)
• Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL)
• Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ)
• Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA)
• Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX)
• Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO)
• Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA)
• Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY)
• Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)
• Rep. Joe Heck (R-NV)
• Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
• Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)
• Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
• Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
• Rep. James Langevin (D-RI)
• Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA)
• Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN)
• Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU)
• Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT)
• Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA)
• Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA)
• Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA)
• Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)
• Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA)

Senate Democrats blocked a procedural vote to consider the fiscal year 2017 defense appropriations bill late last night in a 50-44 vote that puts Congress on a path to pass a continuing resolution in September.

Democrats have long vowed to halt the appropriations process unless the GOP assured them all FY-17 appropriations bills would adhere to the bipartisan budget deal passed late last year.

However, while the Senate defense appropriations bill adheres to that bipartisan budget deal for defense and non-defense spending struck late last year, the House bill adds $16 billion in defense funding that is not matched by non-defense increases.

The Senate vote, which needed 60 to advance, inches Congress closer toward a CR that likely will end in an end-of-the year omnibus package for all federal spending, including defense.

Todd Harrison, a defense budget analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who predicted an omnibus deal in June, told Inside Defense that such fiscal gridlock was the new normal in Washington.

"I do think we'll have to resolve all of this in an omnibus . . . or whatever form the legislation takes this year," he said in June. "That's the new status quo, and it's not going to get better in an election year. It might still get worse."

Continued provocation by North Korea has led the U.S. and South Korean governments to decide to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to the Korean Peninsula.

“In response to the evolving threat posed by North Korea, the United States and the [Republic of Korea] have been conducting formal consultations regarding the feasibility of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery operated by U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) since early February, as a measure to improve the missile defense posture of the ROK-U.S. Alliance,” according to a July 7 Pentagon announcement.

China, however, opposes the THAAD deployment on the grounds that it could become part of a wide U.S. containment strategy.

A joint working group of U.S. and ROK officials have been reviewing the possible deployment of a THAAD battery to the Korean Peninsula since February.

“Based on these consultations, the ROK and the United States made an alliance decision to deploy THAAD to USFK as a defensive measure to ensure the security of the ROK and its people, and to protect alliance military forces from North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats,” the Pentagon stated. “Through the past months of review, the ROK-U.S. Joint Working Group confirmed the military effectiveness of THAAD on the Korean Peninsula and is in the final stage of preparing its recommendation for both the ROK minister of national defense and the U.S. secretary of defense regarding the optimal site in the Republic of Korea for the system's effectiveness and for environmental, health, and safety requirements.”

Defense Secretary Ash Carter publicly stated in April that a THAAD deployment to South Korea was inevitable, despite China's opposition.

"Oh, it's gonna happen," he said April 8 at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "It's a necessary thing. It's between us and the South Koreans, it's about protecting our own forces on the Korean peninsula and about protecting South Korea. It has nothing to do with the Chinese. We need to defend our own people, we need to defend our own allies."

The FY-17 defense policy bill and the FY-16 omnibus reprogramming request highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.

Looks like the FY-17 defense authorization bill won't get through the conference process until September:

Thornberry sets sights on September for closing $18B authorization bill gap

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) wants to meet with his Senate counterparts to discuss as many items as possible in their respective fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bills, while leaving the biggest impediment -- an $18 billion gap between the bills -- on hold until September.

The Congressional Budget Office looks at DOD's rising operations and maintenance costs:

Congressional Budget Office challenged to explain rising O&M cost

The Congressional Budget Office is working to analyze why the Defense Department's operations and maintenance budget continues to grow, despite a concurrent decrease in the size of the U.S. military force structure.

Document: CBO presentation on DOD O&M spending trends

Continuing our coverage of DOD's FY-16 omnibus reprogramming request:

Air Force seeks additional $39 million to keep latest GPS OCX remedial effort on track

The next-generation Global Positioning System ground component program needs an additional $39.2 million in fiscal year 2016 -- bringing total spending on the Operational Control Segment program to $363.8 million -- in order to execute a 24-month schedule adjustment the Air Force, Raytheon and the Pentagon acquisition chief identified this spring to address deficiencies uncovered during testing.

Air Force seeks $144M to replenish precision munitions spent in Iraq, Syria

The Air Force, expending more precision munitions in the fight against the Islamic State than anticipated, is seeking congressional permission to shift funds between accounts to place $144 million in new orders to replenish supplies of Boeing- and BAE Systems-built weapons, including "nearly depleted" stocks of the Small Diameter Bomb I.

Pentagon seeks cash infusion to support FY-17 milestone for sixth-gen fighter program

The Air Force needs an immediate cash infusion to support plans to initiate an F-22A follow-on acquisition project in fiscal year 2017. The funds would be used to support analysis needed to proceed with identifying potential technologies for a new fighter aircraft program -- or a package of new air superiority capabilities -- to ensure U.S. control of the skies in 2030 and beyond.

DOD seeks approval to move $36.4M to mitigate SOF shortfalls in ISR

The Pentagon seeks congressional approval to move $36.4 million to U.S. Special Operations Command to purchase four systems that will be installed on unmanned drones to help enhance intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

DOD: $20M needed to combat critical threat of ISIL turning drones into IEDs

As the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant begins to turn commercial drones into improvised explosive devices, the Pentagon wants congressional approval to move $20 million to the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund to help guard against this "critical" and "unanticipated" capability gap.

Inside the Navy determined how much work Ingalls Shipbuilding got compared to NASSCO:

Ingalls Shipbuilding awarded three times more hours for LX(R) design than NASSCO

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding unit was awarded three times the number of hours for dock landing ship replacement design work compared to General Dynamics NASSCO.

U.S. Special Operations Command is seeking commercial capabilities for hosting geospatial data:

SOCOM seeks commercial capabilities that can host SOF-specific data

Responses are due Friday to a U.S. Special Operations Command request for information on whether there are commercial capabilities that can host special operations forces-specific geospatial data to help enhance warfighting information dominance and impact a business case analysis.

Document: SOCOM RFI on the geospatial cloud

Coverage of a House hearing on military aviation readiness:

'Class C' aviation mishap rate up across Navy, Marine Corps

The instances of minor but still costly mishaps occurring across Navy and Marine Corps aircraft squadrons are increasing, according to service officials.

Army task force performing 'holistic' assessment of aviation

The Army has undertaken a "comprehensive assessment" of service aviation, and a final report is forthcoming, according to the deputy chief of Training and Doctrine Command.

The Defense Department inspector general's office this month will conduct a "quality management system inspection" of the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, according to a June 15 memo.

"The objective of the inspection is to determine if the EELV Program conforms to AS9100C, 'Quality Management System -- Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defense Organizations' as contractually required," the IG's memo states, adding: "This project will include, but is not limited to, site inspections, documentation review and interviews with DOD, United Launch Alliance, and SpaceX personnel."