The Insider

By Tony Bertuca
June 20, 2016 at 1:59 PM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter plans to visit U.S. military installations in New York, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois this week to highlight his new Force of the Future personnel reform initiative.

"The initiative seeks to ensure that the department continues to recruit, train and retain the very best talent America has to offer," according to a Pentagon statement. "At five stops in four states over three days the secretary will meet with service members at critical stages of their careers. He will also see a range of installations preparing and training our warfighters of the future."

Carter will begin his journey June 21 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he will speak at the closing ceremony for the 2016 Warrior Games.

On June 22 he will visit Army ROTC cadets during their advance camp at Fort Knox, KY, before flying to the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, IN, where he will meet with Navy officials and Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN).

Carter will then travel to Chicago on June 23 where he will swear in recent recruits and witness graduates from Naval Station Great Lakes engage in their capstone event, Battle Stations 21.

By Marjorie Censer
June 20, 2016 at 12:46 PM

The Professional Services Council's latest acquisition policy survey found optimism from respondents about the acquisition workforce as well as concern about the barriers to innovation.

During a conference call with reporters Monday morning, David Bertea, PSC's chief executive, said this year's survey, conducted with Grant Thornton, had more respondents than any prior version.

Phil Kangas of Grant Thornton told reporters the biennial survey registered hope among the 80 federal officials, including senior acquisition executives, contracting professionals and congressional staff, surveyed about the acquisition workforce.

"There's definitely optimism that the workforce is getting better," he said.

However, more than one-third of respondents said it's "extremely difficult" to hire employees with the needed skills, while close to 40 percent said it's "difficult."

This combined figure is "a stark reminder that this is a set of skills that is very difficult to find in the talent marketplace," Kangas said.

Alan Chvotkin, PSC's executive vice president and counsel, told reporters the survey found workforce skills and fear of protests were listed by many as significant barriers to accessing innovation.

Asked about recommendations PSC might make, Berteau told reporters the organization would like to see the federal hiring process work better.

The government "being able to hire and retain and promote . . . the contracting workforce and the acquisition workforce would be very high on our list," he said.

Additionally, Berteau said PSC would like to see the government take a more innovative approach itself as it seeks innovation.

"A lot of this innovation comes from the existing contractor base as well as from the outside," he said, noting that improved buying rules and processes would benefit both groups.

By Tony Bertuca
June 20, 2016 at 12:38 PM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter met today with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who plans to visit Lockheed Martin's production facility in Fort Worth, TX, this week for the official roll-out of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter configured for the Israeli military, known as the F-35I.

"Israel will be the first foreign partner to receive the F-35, which will play a key role in maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East," according to a Pentagon statement on Lieberman's visit.

The official F-35I roll-out ceremony is scheduled for June 22, according to published reports.

By Courtney McBride
June 20, 2016 at 8:05 AM

Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Army:

1. The Army "continue[s] to improve across all business areas," from leader engagement to accountability and implementation of new processes as it heads toward a full audit late next year, according to its assistant secretary for financial management and comptroller.

Full story: Army comptroller: Auditability 'not yet in our DNA'

2. The Army is ready to proceed to the next development phase for its Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio, with a milestone C decision expected this summer, according to a spokesman.

Full story: Low-rate production decision for mid-tier Army radio expected in summer

3. The Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command is set for a leadership change, according to a June 8 Defense Department announcement.

Full story: RDECOM to see change of command

4. House and Senate lawmakers are in the early stages of considering how to best reconcile dueling defense policy bills with significant differences, including an $18 billion delta in how much the Pentagon would be authorized to spend in fiscal year 2017, and a host of acquisition reform measures that could significantly impact the defense industry.

Full story: House and Senate defense policy bills head to conference with major differences

By Lee Hudson
June 20, 2016 at 8:00 AM

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

1. Navy leadership has decided to alter the acquisition strategy for the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle by shifting from a traditional, competitive phase between industry prime contractors to one that uses a government system integrator.

Full Story: Navy leadership alters LDUUV acquisition strategy with hands-on approach

2. The Obama administration is knocking a $42 million cut to the Navy's request for establishing a new rapid prototyping and demonstration program included in the House's fiscal year 2017 defense spending bill.

Full Story: OMB derides House spending bill's cut to Navy rapid prototyping fund

3. The Navy issued a stop-work order June 7 for the maritime search radar that will be integrated on the MQ-8C Fire Scout after Telephonics Corp. filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office.

Full Story: Navy issues stop-work order for MQ-8C maritime search radar contract

By Tony Bertuca
June 20, 2016 at 7:30 AM

The week ahead features many high-profile think tank conferences and panel discussions with top officials from the Pentagon, Congress and the defense industry.

Monday

The Center for a New American Security hosts its annual conference in Washington featuring Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

Tuesday

The American Enterprise Institute hosts the staff directors of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to discuss their respective defense authorization bills.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a panel discussion on the future of Army missile defense.

The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the nominations of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser to become chief of U.S. Africa Command and Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Lengyel to become chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Wednesday

The House Armed Services Committee hosts a panel of U.S. defense officials to discuss military cyber operations.

Thursday

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley to discuss the service's priorities.

Deltek hosts its Federal MarketView 2016 conference, featuring Ken Brennan, deputy director for services acquisition within the Pentagon's defense procurement and acquisition policy office.

Booz Allen Hamilton and the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments hold the Directed Energy Summit, featuring Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, and Vice Adm. James Syring, director of the Missile Defense Agency, among others.

Friday

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, chief of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, to discuss fleet design in the current environment.

By John Liang
June 17, 2016 at 5:04 PM

DOD technical data rights, the Marine Corps' G/ATOR program and more highlight this Friday INSIDER Daily Digest.

The Defense Department wants to bulk up its technical data rights:

Proposed rule would strengthen Pentagon's technical data rights

The Pentagon has released a proposed rule meant to bolster its position when it comes to accessing and using technical data rights related to Defense Department systems.

A new report on the Marine Corps' G/ATOR program is out:

Navy: G/ATOR development program 'on track' despite testing difficulties, design change

The Navy's acquisition chief has asserted to Congress in a new report that the Marine Corps' $2.9 billion Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar effort is "on track" -- an assessment lawmakers requested last year citing concerns about poor early test results and major design changes to the program being developed by Northrop Grumman.

Document: Navy report to Congress on the G/ATOR program

DOD recently submitted an unclassified summary of a report on Iranian military power:

Unclassified summary of DOD's FY-15 Iran military power report conveys little new

The Pentagon -- in an unclassified summary of the first report to Congress on Iranian military power since Tehran agreed last year to dial back its nuclear development program -- notes for the first time Iran's offensive cyber capabilities and the continued potential for a space launch that could have implications for long-range ballistic missile development.

Document: DOD summary of report on Iran's military power

The Air Force is on track to make an F-35 IOC decision this year:

Air Force: No known technical issues to prevent F-35 IOC this year

The chief of the Air Force's F-35 system management office at Air Combat Command said this week there are no known technical issues that should prevent the service from making an initial operational capability decision this year.

(Want more aircraft news? Check out our Notification Center, where you can sign up to receive email alerts whenever a related story is posted.)

The Air National Guard is thinking about letting enlisted personnel pilot UAVs:

Air National Guard discussing strike missions for enlisted pilots

The Air National Guard is discussing allowing enlisted pilots to perform missions carried out by Predator and Reaper unmanned air systems, according to the director of the Guard.

More unmanned system news:

Small UAVs would rapidly collect nuclear information along with WC-135

In the case of a domestic nuclear attack or detonation of a dirty bomb, the Air Force could deploy small, unmanned aerial vehicles from cities around the country to collect information rapidly and without exposing humans in a cockpit to high levels of radiation.

The KC-46 refueling aircraft will be a beast of a machine:

Air Force: KC-46 tankers delivered before RAA to have 'significant capabilities'

Despite a projected one-year delay to the KC-46's August 2017 required assets available target, the Air Force this week said it expects the aircraft delivered ahead of that milestone will be able to perform nearly all capabilities required of the refueling aircraft.

By Justin Doubleday
June 17, 2016 at 4:42 PM

The fifth Mobile User Objective System satellite will be launched into space June 24 from Cape Canaveral, FL, the Navy announced this week.

The military already has four MUOS satellites in orbit, while the fifth will be used as an on-orbit spare. MUOS provides the military with its own worldwide cellular network.

The launch of the fifth satellite was originally scheduled for early May, but was delayed by more than a month so United Launch Alliance could analyze an engine-burn problem discovered during the launch of another Atlas V rocket in March, multiple news outlets reported earlier this spring.

By Tony Bertuca
June 17, 2016 at 1:55 PM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter today praised the work of hundreds of "white-hat" hackers who participated in a pilot program to "hack the Pentagon" in search of cyber vulnerabilities.

More than 1,400 friendly hackers were declared eligible to participate in the "bug bounty" program, while 250 found and submitted at least one cyber vulnerability, Carter said. In total, the pilot discovered and reported 138 "legitimate and unique" vulnerabilities.

"No federal agency had ever offered a bug bounty," he said. "Through this pilot we found a cost effective way to supplement and support what our dedicated people do every day."

Carter said the $150,000 crowd-sourced program would have cost upwards of $1 million if the Defense Department had hired a private firm to conduct a full cybersecurity audit.

"It's a lot better than either hiring somebody to do that for you or finding out the hard way," he said. "What we didn't fully appreciate before this pilot was how many white-hat hackers there are."

Carter said DOD had plans to encourage defense contractors to submit their programs and products for independent security reviews and bug bounty programs before they deliver them to the government.

By Courtney Albon
June 17, 2016 at 12:08 PM

Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Air Force:

1. The Air Force's Office of Transformational Innovation found that using an off-the-shelf business jet to recapitalize the service's E-model fleets may not offer significant cost savings.

Full story: Green aircraft would not offer significant cost savings for E-model recap

2. Although Boeing says it will be more than a year late meeting all of the requirements for the KC-46 tanker's required assets available milestone, the Air Force expects that the aircraft delivered prior to the milestone will still have significant capabilities to support operational refueling missions.

Full story: USAF tankers delivered before RAA to have 'significant capabilities'

3. The incoming director of the Air National Guard said this week the service is considering whether to allow enlisted pilots to fly unmanned strike missions.

Full story: Active duty and Guard discussing strike missions for enlisted pilots

By John Liang
June 16, 2016 at 3:23 PM

Defense policy bills, a billion-dollar reprogramming, unmanned systems and more highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.

The House and Senate versions of the FY-17 defense policy bill will have lots of issues to iron out in the conference process:

House and Senate defense policy bills head to conference with major differences

House and Senate lawmakers are in the early stages of considering how to best reconcile dueling defense policy bills with significant differences, including an $18 billion delta in how much the Pentagon would be authorized to spend in fiscal year 2017, and a host of acquisition reform measures that could significantly impact the defense industry.

The low price of fuel has enabled DOD to shift money to pay for operations in Afghanistan and against ISIL:

Pentagon reprograms $1.5B in fuel savings to fund Afghanistan and counter-ISIL fights

The Pentagon plans to transfer $1.5 billion in savings it achieved from lower-than-budgeted fuel costs in fiscal year 2016 to fund ongoing military activities in Afghanistan and the operation to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Document: DOD reprogramming request for Afghanistan, counter-ISIL fight

The Navy's LDUUV acquisition strategy is being altered:

Navy leadership alters LDUUV acquisition strategy with hands-on approach

Navy leadership has decided to alter the acquisition strategy for the Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle by shifting from a traditional, competitive phase between industry prime contractors to one that uses a government system integrator.

More unmanned systems news:

Initial UAS flights using GBSAA system at Ft. Hood have been delayed

A major milestone in the Army's quest to fly unmanned aircraft without the use of a visual observer or chase plane to avoid other aircraft has been delayed because the Gray Eagle units meant to conduct these flights have been deployed elsewhere, according to an Army official.

(Want more unmanned system news? Check out our Notification Center, where you can sign up to receive email alerts whenever a related story is posted.)

Keep an eye out for an LRSO milestone A decision in the next couple weeks:

Long-Range Standoff Weapon milestone A decision expected this month

A milestone A decision on the Air Force's Long-Range Standoff Weapon is expected this month, service officials told Inside the Air Force this week.

The next administration will likely have the same audit-readiness effort:

DOD working to preserve audit-readiness progress as administration transitions

The Pentagon is working to ensure its audit-readiness progress will be preserved to help a new presidential administration meet the September 30, 2017, deadline, though a favorable audit opinion remains "many years" off, Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord told the House Armed Services Committee on June 15.

Document: House hearing on DOD's FIAR plan

By Marjorie Censer
June 16, 2016 at 2:52 PM

Glenn Fogg has been assigned as deputy director for prototyping and experimentation within the Pentagon's acquisition, technology and logistics office, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced today.

Fogg previously served as a program manager within the same office.

By Tony Bertuca
June 16, 2016 at 2:10 PM

The House has passed a fiscal year 2017 defense appropriations bill, embracing a fiscal maneuver that has drawn a veto threat from the White House because it relies on transferring billions from the Pentagon's warfighting account to pay for increased weapon system procurements and boosts to military end strength.

The bill, which passed with a 282-138 vote, provides the Defense Department with a base budget of $533 billion and $43 billion in overseas contingency operations money, relying on a $16 billion OCO-to-base transfer in the hopes that a new presidential administration will authorize supplemental emergency OCO spending before the account runs dry next April.

“This bill fulfills the Congress’s most important responsibility -- providing for the common defense. And it does so responsibly -- funding those military needs that must be addressed now, planning and preparing for the future, and respecting the taxpayer by making commonsense budgeting decisions,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said in a statement.

The White House, however, has threatened to veto the bill, alleging that it “gambles” with OCO funds during a time of war and “unravels” the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Agreement, which set limits for base and OCO defense spending.

Meanwhile, Senate appropriators have advanced a defense spending bill that does not feature the $16 billion OCO shift, but instead conforms to caps set by the BBA. The bill has yet to be considered by the full Senate.

Both the House and Senate authorization committees have passed defense policy bills that would transfer $18 billion in OCO funds to the Pentagon's base budget.

By John Liang
June 16, 2016 at 11:07 AM

The Defense Department should not assign homeland defense or any other global or domestic civil support missions exclusively to the Reserves, according to Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.

Goldfein, who is testifying this morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee on his nomination to become the service's next chief of staff, wrote in answers to advance policy questions:

The strength of the Total Force is commonality across mission areas. If confirmed as the Chief of Staff, I will ensure that the Reserve Components should be actively involved in every mission area of the Department. Specifically for the Air Force, the reserve components are currently engaged in all five AF Core Missions and possess a wealth of experience and capacity that provides both steady state rotational and surge capability. Continuing to ensure concurrent and balanced mission equity between the components will be critical to support the global and domestic requirements of the Combatant Commands.

By Tony Bertuca
June 16, 2016 at 10:40 AM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Wednesday that new authority was being granted to U.S. military forces in Afghanistan to allow troops to accompany Afghan units on missions and provide close-air support.

"In practical terms, this means U.S. forces will have more opportunities to accompany and enable Afghan conventional forces, just like we have already been doing with Afghan special operations forces," he said during a Brussels press conference. "Regarding U.S. troop levels for future years, the current plan announced last August is for 9,800 U.S. service members to remain in Afghanistan for most of this year and . . . to draw down that number to 5,500 by the end of the year."