The Insider

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
April 11, 2016 at 10:39 AM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter is traveling to the Asia Pacific this week, while congressional defense committees have a series of posture hearings scheduled on the fiscal year 2017 budget request.

Monday

Former Pentagon personnel chief Brad Carson is scheduled to speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Tuesday

The Senate Armed Services emerging threats subcommittee will hear from DOD officials on implementation of the department's technology offset initiative.

Wednesday

The House Armed Services Committee will hear from former Navy officials on service force structure.

The Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee will hear from the Marine Corps on ground modernization strategy.

The Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee will hear from DOD officials on ballistic missile defense policies.

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee will hearing from the chief of the Missile Defense Agency on the president's fiscal year 2017 budget request.

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee will meet to mark up the FY-17 military construction and veterans affairs spending bill.

Thursday

The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee will hear from DOD officials on the U.S. missile-defeat posture and the president's FY-17 budget request.

Friday

The House Appropriations oversight committee will have a private hearing with the chief of U.S. Pacific Command and the chief if U.S. forces in South Korea.

The House Armed Services oversight and investigations subcommittee will hear from Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction on case studies in Afghan initiatives and weapons sustainment.

House Armed Services Committee hearings

Senate Armed Services Committee hearings

House Appropriations Committee hearings

Senate Appropriations Committee hearings

Inside the Army highlights
By John Liang
April 11, 2016 at 9:05 AM

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

1. A key Army panel is slated to discuss the costs for upgrading the venerable Patriot system's radar this week, as proposed near-term investments exceeding $1.5 billion on the legacy technology raise questions about the service's commitment to finding a replacement.

Full story: Key Army panel to weigh new air-defense investments

2. The Army will submit to Defense Secretary Ash Carter by April 15 a written evaluation of the recommendations provided earlier this year by the National Commission on the Future of the Army, according to the service's chief of staff.

Full story: Army prepares response to NCFA recommendations

3. Despite schedule delays documented in a recent report to lawmakers, the Army believes the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle will be available for soldiers and Marines years earlier than initially planned.

Full story: Protest causes delays for JLTV, but Army says program will deliver early

Inside the Navy highlights
By Lee Hudson
April 11, 2016 at 9:00 AM

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

1. The Navy wants to use the Knifefish unmanned underwater vehicle as the long-term solution for hunting underwater explosives as part of the Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasures mission package.

Full Story: Navy views undersea drone as long-term mine-hunting solution for LCS

2. The Navy continues to work on the preliminary design for the dock landing ship replacement and anticipates the project will wrap up in the next couple of months with the goal of potentially accelerating procurement from 2020 to 2019.

Full Story: Navy continues work on LX(R) design, expects to wrap up in a few months

3. The Navy is suspending the National Defense Sealift Fund for two years to be more efficient financially and support the Defense Department's pending audit in fiscal year 2017.

Full Story: Navy suspending, not eliminating, sealift fund for two years

The INSIDER daily digest
By John Liang
April 8, 2016 at 4:04 PM

News on the KC-46 airborne refueling tanker, the SECDEF's upcoming trip to India and more highlight this Friday INSIDER Daily Digest.

Looks like the Air Force's KC-46 tanker program is facing a delay:

KC-46 full production decision delayed six months, LRIP eyed in May

Although Boeing remains confident in its ability to meet KC-46 contract obligations, the Pentagon's annual selected acquisition report and a Government Accountability Office analysis published this week reveal that several internal milestones have shifted under a new program baseline, and estimates that a full-rate production decision will be delayed six months from September 2017 to March 2018.

Document: GAO report on the KC-46 tanker

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Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke about his upcoming trip to India this afternoon:

Carter's India trip will focus on co-development of weapon programs

Defense Secretary Ash Carter will travel to India next week to discuss opportunities to begin co-developing and producing aircraft carriers, jet fighters and jet engines, along with several "exciting new projects."

Document: Carter's CFR speech

A new DOD audit of major weapon programs is out:

First audit of major weapon programs under new reform law finds no 2015 cost growth

A first-of-its-kind statutory audit of major weapon programs has turned up no cost growth in 2015, which means the Office of the Secretary of Defense will not be imposing a penalty tax on any of the military services as required by law.

Keep an eye out for a DOD IG audit of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council:

Inspector general to audit Pentagon JROC

The Defense Department inspector general has launched an audit of the Pentagon's Joint Requirements Oversight Council, according to a recent memo.

Coverage of DOD's selected acquisition report on the EA-18G Growler program:

Growlers experience cost breaches due to quantity increases, EW components

The Navy's EA-18G Growler suffered cost breaches in its research and development, procurement and operations and sustainment accounts because of an increased buy in fiscal year 2016 and increased funding for electronic warfare components, according to the program's latest selected acquisition report obtained by Inside Defense.

Document: DOD's 2015 SAR on the EA-18G growler program

The Army's chief of staff testified before Congress this week:

Milley: Problems with DCGS intel software prompt look at 'other options'

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley presented senators with a mixed assessment of the service's Distributed Common Ground System, saying it works "reasonably well" at the division level, but less so during tactical battlefield operations.

Carter says THAAD in South Korea 'gonna happen'
By Tony Bertuca
April 8, 2016 at 3:55 PM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today that a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system will definitely be stationed in South Korea to protect from North Korean missile threats regardless of objections raised by China.

"Oh, it's gonna happen," he said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

"It's a necessary thing," he continued. "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 decision to send a THAAD to South Korea comes after a series of provocative tests and missile launches by the North Koreans that have drawn international condemnation.

The United States and South Korea began "formal consultations" on improving their antimissile posture, specifically the "viability" of a THAAD system that would be operated by U.S. soldiers stationed in the country.

CRS on U.S. foreign military assistance and more
By John Liang
April 8, 2016 at 2:09 PM

The past 10 years have seen a marked uptick in the number of U.S. foreign military assistance efforts, according to a new Congressional Research Service report.

The April 5 report, originally obtained by Secrecy News, "provides an overview of U.S. assistance to and engagement with foreign military and other security forces, focusing on Department of State and DOD roles. It lays out the historical evolution and current framework of the Department of State-DOD shared responsibility."

The 64-page report further states:

Since the late 1940s, Congress has played an active role in shaping the legal and institutional construct for security assistance activities. As Congress continues to consider legislation governing security assistance and cooperation, and to conduct oversight of such programs, some Members may seek new ways to improve program effectiveness and address inefficiencies in planning and implementation.

In addition to the security assistance report, Secrecy News also obtained a number of recently updated CRS reports, including:

CRS report on the Navy's SSBN(X) program

CRS report on Army combat vehicles

CRS report on the Navy's LCS/frigate program

CRS report on the Navy's Ford-class aircraft carrier program

Carter heads to Asia Pacific and Middle East
By Tony Bertuca
April 8, 2016 at 11:54 AM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Saturday will embark on a two-week trip to the Asia Pacific and Middle East, with stops in India, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.

The trip will serve to advance Carter's goals of "solidifying the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and accelerating the lasting defeat of ISIL," Cook said in a statement.

"In India, Secretary Carter will visit both Goa and Delhi at the host of Minister of Defense Parrikar," Cook continued. "In the Philippines, Secretary Carter will visit Manila and a number of areas where the U.S. military is participating in the bilateral exercise BALIKATAN."

While in the Middle East, "Carter will visit the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for meetings with his counterparts."

In Riyadh, Carter, along with Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman, will convene a U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council defense ministerial meeting ahead of President Obama's participation in the U.S.-GCC Leaders Summit on April 21.

"This will be an important forum to strengthen U.S.-GCC defense partnerships, including by reviewing and discussing the way ahead for the counter-ISIL campaign and joint regional defense initiatives that we all committed to during the 2015 U.S.-GCC Camp David Summit last May," Cook said.

Future CAS requirements
By Courtney Albon
April 8, 2016 at 10:00 AM

Air Force planning officials will brief Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh later this spring on the requirements for a future close-air-support platform.

Lt. Gen. Mike Holmes, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, told reporters following an April 7 Air Force Association event his team has completed a draft of the requirements document.

Once Welsh has provided input, the plan will be incorporated into a larger, longer-term Air Force study on the future of Combat Air Forces.

Inside the Air Force highlights
By Courtney Albon
April 8, 2016 at 9:00 AM

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

1. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is leveraging a range of industry and technological expertise as it looks to develop a new fleet of unmanned, swarming vehicles.

Full Story: DARPA draws diverse industry expertise for Gremlins UAS concept

2. The Federal Aviation Administration said this week it is willing to take over the space traffic management role from the Defense Department, but said there is still work to be done to reach a consensus on how that role should be implemented.

Full Story: FAA officials says agency willing to carry space traffic management role

3. Industry confirmed this week that included in the Air Force's locked draft request for proposals to build the next family of intercontinental ballistic missiles is an option to explore the development of mobile launchers in the future.

Full story: USAF and industry exploring mobile ballistic missile option for ICBM replacement

The INSIDER daily digest
By John Liang
April 7, 2016 at 3:15 PM

Coverage of the Strategic Capabilities Office's latest project, a new Defense Business Board study and more highlight this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest.

DOD wants to develop a cannon-fired missile interceptor:

SCO aims to flip the script on missile defense for bases, ports, ships with hypervelocity gun

The Pentagon wants to take a weapon originally designed for offense, flip its punch for defense and demonstrate by 2018 the potential for the Army and Navy to conduct missile defense of bases, ports and ships using traditional field guns to fire a new hypervelocity round guided by a mobile, ground variant of an Air Force fighter aircraft radar.

Keep an eye out for an upcoming Defense Business Board study:

Work tasks DBB with examining selection process of senior acquisition officials

The Pentagon's No. 2 official has tasked an influential advisory committee with looking into the selection process for senior acquisition workforce officials.

Document: DBB terms of reference for acquisition workforce selection process study

The head of GAO testified this week on DOD's inability to pass an audit:

GAO chief: Pentagon not fixing 'underlying problems' to get clean audit

The head of the Government Accountability Office told lawmakers Wednesday the Defense Department remains "the main obstacle" responsible for the U.S. government's inability to pass an audit and asked Congress for help in holding DOD accountable.

Document: Senate hearing on government audits

Some combat vehicle news:

Four vehicle-defense systems under Army review for quick fielding

The Army is expected to decide later this year about the rapid fielding of commercially available vehicle active protection systems, as the service examines four candidate technologies from the United States, Israel and Germany, according to service officials.

Document: Senate hearing on Army modernization

Japan buys 30 AAVs from BAE Systems

BAE Systems was awarded a direct commercial sale contract to produce 30 new Assault Amphibious Vehicles for Japan, which supports the country's goal of establishing an Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade by 2018.

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


Don't expect DOD's data centers to be consolidated on time:

DOD IG: Pentagon will fail to reach data center consolidation goals

The Pentagon will fail to reach its goal to reduce the number of data centers by 60 percent by fiscal year 2018, according to the Defense Department inspector general's office.

Document: DOD IG report on data centers

Inside the Pentagon highlights
By Tony Bertuca
April 7, 2016 at 11:14 AM

A few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon:

1. The Defense Department is revising its roles and responsibilities for how the military would support civilian agencies during a cyberattack on the United States, according to a memo sent to the Government Accountability Office.

Full story: DOD revising roles and responsibilities in event of domestic cyberattack

2. The Pentagon will fail to reach its goal to reduce the number of data centers by 60 percent by fiscal year 2018, according to the Defense Department inspector general's office.

Full story: DOD IG: Pentagon will fail to reach data center consolidation goals

3. The Army is expected to decide later this year about the rapid fielding of commercially available vehicle active protection systems, as the service examines four candidate technologies from the United States, Israel and Germany, according to service officials.

Full story: Four vehicle-defense systems under Army review for quick fielding

Norris promoted to HII's AMSEC strategic planning director
By John Liang
April 7, 2016 at 9:00 AM

Huntington Ingalls Industries' AMSEC LLC subsidiary has promoted Ryan Norris to director of strategic planning and business development, according to an HII statement.

Norris will be responsible for leading and executing AMSEC's strategic planning, business development, capture, proposal and marketing activities in support of business growth. He will report directly to Harris Leonard, vice president of HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division and president of AMSEC operations.

A U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former surface warfare and engineering duty officer, Norris has been with AMSEC since 2004 and has served in several management positions in San Diego, CA, and in Hampton Roads, VA, according to the HII statement.

"Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge, demonstrated success, and a strong operations and business development background that makes him an excellent fit for this position," Leonard said in the statement. "His knowledge of our business and customers is critical to the company’s growth in the government services industry."

Navy worked with OMB to get budget relief for SSBN(X) lead boat
By Lee Hudson
April 6, 2016 at 6:15 PM

The Navy worked with the Office of Management in Budget to receive relief in funding the Ohio-class replacement ballistic submarine lead ship, according to the service's acquisition executive.

In the most recent budget request that spans fiscal year 2017 through FY-21, the Navy proposed incrementally funding the lead boat over three years, Navy acquisition chief Sean Stackley said April 6 during a Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee hearing.

"We don't have a huge spike associated with the first boat in the class," he continued. "The dollars in '21 with the lead boat -- it's about $3.6 billion in 2021. OMB has provided relief of about two-thirds of that."

Stackley said the Navy plans to work with OMB to receive relief for the rest of the boats in the class. The second SSBN(X) boat will be in the budget in FY-24.

Inside Defense reported this week that the Navy had recently provided lawmakers with a statutorily required cost report on the Ohio-class replacement program based on figures more than a year old:

The four-page "Report to Congress on Ohio Class Replacement Submarine Cost Tracking Information," dated February 2016 and required by the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, is based on figures the Navy prepared in support of a 2014 program review by the Pentagon's acquisition executive.

"Navy cost engineers produced a life-cycle cost estimate for the Ohio Replacement program in 2014," the report states. "The 2014 cost estimate is being updated for the program's Milestone B decision in August 2016."

In December 2015, the high-level Defense Acquisition Board conducted its annual review of the planned 12-boat Ohio Replacement program.

In more than two-dozen requests over four months, the Ohio Replacement Submarine Program office declined -- through two Navy spokeswomen -- to say whether the program updated its 2014 cost estimate as part of the 2015 DAB review, which took place in December.

U.S. approves potential $386M SDB sale to Australia
By Tony Bertuca
April 6, 2016 at 4:35 PM

The State Department has approved a potential $386 million sale of Boeing-made Small Diameter Bomb Increment I units to Australia, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The sale, if Congress signs off on it, would cover up to 2,950 SBD I units and up to 50 guided test vehicles, as well as associated training, equipment and support, according to an April 6 DCSA notice.

"The sale of SDB I supports and complements the on-going sale of the F-35 to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)," DSCA states. "This capability will strengthen combined operations and increase interoperability between the U.S. Air Force and the RAAF."

Further, DSCA notes that "Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific," adding: "The strategic location of this political and economic power contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region."

The INSIDER daily digest
By John Liang
April 6, 2016 at 4:16 PM

A report to Congress on the Ohio-class submarine replacement program, Army force structure and more news highlights this Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest.

The Navy recently provided Congress with a cost report on the Ohio replacement submarine program based on numbers more than a year old:

Initial Ohio Replacement Program cost tracking report based on 2014 figures

The Navy -- which this summer plans to seek permission to launch a new ballistic missile submarine program with major budgetary implications for the service and the Defense Department -- recently provided lawmakers with a statutorily required cost report on the new effort based on figures more than a year old.

Document: Navy report to Congress on the Ohio-class submarine replacement program


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The Army needs more electronic warfare equipment:

Army leaders warn of shortfalls in EW, ground vehicles, force size

The Army faces key shortfalls in electronic warfare and "risks being too small to secure the nation," according to the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center.

Document: Senate hearing on Army modernization

OSD and the Navy still haven't nailed down how to test the latest version of the DDG-51 class:

Defense Department still working out upgraded destroyer's test plan

The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Navy are still determining a way forward on testing the self-defense capabilities of the service's newly designed Flight III Arleigh-Burke destroyers, according to a program official.

Keep an eye out for a third SMDC design contract:

SMDC taps vendors to address future requirements

Army Space and Missile Defense Command has awarded small business contracts in two of three domains under its Design, Development, Demonstration and Integration (D3I) program, while the third remains under consideration.

The Office of Naval Research will look into the viability of a high water speed solution on both land and sea:

Marines have requested ONR investigate HWS viability on land and at sea

The Marine Corps has requested the Office of Naval Research investigate the viability of a high water speed solution that is as effective on land as it is at sea, according to the latest iteration of the service's Advanced Technology Investment Plan.

Continuing our coverage of GAO's latest report on selected weapon programs:

GAO questions reliability, security of radios, WIN-T

The Army should complete additional testing to ensure that its software-defined radios and tactical communications network are technologically mature and sufficiently reliable, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.