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The INSIDER daily digest
By John Liang
December 7, 2015 at 2:16 PM

We kickoff this Monday INSIDER Daily Digest with news on the next-generation ballistic missile submarine:

McCain not persuaded by CBO on SSBN(X) cost savings estimate

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) is not persuaded by a Congressional Budget Office estimate 174275 asserting that the Navy will save 5 to 10 percent if it purchases the next-generation ballistic missile submarine with a special fund.

Navy, OSD reviewing multibillion-dollar acquisition strategy for SSBN(X)

The Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense are reviewing the finalized acquisition strategy for the Ohio-class replacement ballistic missile submarine after successfully completing an internal service milestone last month.

(For more Ohio-class replacement program news, check out our Notification Center, where you can sign up to receive email alerts whenever a related story is posted.)

Some Navy unmanned systems news:

Navy eyes shortened acquisition to buy UCLASS

The Navy is considering employing an accelerated acquisition process to purchase the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike system, according to the service chief.

Navy leaders defend decision to not further extend X-47B demonstrator

Navy leaders have defended the service's decision to wind up work on the X-47B unmanned combat air systems demonstrator (UCAS-D) in fiscal year 2015, turning aside encouragement from lawmakers to continue experimenting with the aircraft system -- built at a cost of nearly $1.5 billion.

The top story in this week's Inside the Army is on service capability gaps:

Worldwide Army commands find new voice in capability-gap analysis

A relatively new method of mulling over Army capability gaps has afforded regional service commands around the world a chance to push for changes in doctrine and weapons, according to a key official.

The next iteration of the Sidewinder missile should reach IOC sometime between January and March 2016:

AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missile to meet Air Force IOC by FY-16

With full-rate production authorized in August, the AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II air-to-air missile program is tracking to meet initial operational capability for the Air Force by the second quarter of fiscal year 2016, according to the missile's program manager.

DOD bolstering partnership with Singapore (Updated)
By Tony Bertuca
December 7, 2015 at 10:25 AM

Singapore, as part of a newly enhanced defense cooperation agreement (DCA) with the United States, will now allow the Navy's P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft to operate within its territory, according to a Pentagon notice.

The new agreement comes as the United States seeks to more greatly assert itself in the Asia Pacific amid territorial disputes driven by China's activities in the South China Sea.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter signed the new agreement at the Pentagon today with Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen.

Both Carter and Ng noted that the P-8's "deployment would promote greater interoperability with regional militaries through participation in bilateral and multilateral exercises, while providing timely support for regional [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] and maritime security efforts," according to the statement.

The "broad framework" of the new DCA focuses on enhanced cooperation in five key areas, "namely in the military, policy, strategic and technology spheres, as well as cooperation against non-conventional security challenges, such as piracy and transnational terrorism," according to the statement.

Both Singapore and the United States also agreed to bolster their cooperation in the areas of cyberdefense, biosecurity and public communications.

"Finally, the enhanced DCA also introduced new high-level dialogues between the two countries’ defense establishments," according to the statement.

The United States has signed similarly beefed up defense agreements with India, Australia and Japan.

Inside the Army highlights
By
December 7, 2015 at 9:08 AM

A few must-reads from this week's Inside the Army:

1. A relatively new method of mulling over Army capability gaps has afforded regional service commands around the world a chance to push for changes in doctrine and weapons, according to a key official.

Full Story: Worldwide Army commands find new voice in capability-gap analysis

2. The Army's lack of dedicated electronic-warfare units is keeping U.S. soldiers several steps behind their Russian counterparts, according to the service's electronic-warfare chief.

Full Story: Army's electronic-warfare training seen as lagging behind Russian efforts

3. U.S. Army Europe plans to request before Christmas a boost in its rotational forces in an attempt to gain back readiness and capability lost as a result of the service's Aviation Restructuring Initiative.

Full Story: Army aims to boost aviation presence in Europe with upcoming request

Inside the Navy highlights
By Sebastian Sprenger
December 7, 2015 at 9:00 AM

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

1. As the Navy mulls the future carrier airwing of 2025 it must address weight growth associated with future platforms such as the Joint Strike Fighter and Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike system aboard legacy Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.

Full story: Navy must address weight grown in future carrier airwing

2. The Navy is in the early stages of networking F-35 Joint Strike Fighter radar data into the Naval Fire Integrated Control-Counter Air system.

Full story: Navy looping Joint Strike Fighter into integrated anti-air warfare system

3. The Navy held a Strike Concept of Operations Exercise at Naval Undersea Center Newport in Rhode Island to reduce potential schedule and cost risks for the Virginia Payload Module.

Full story: Navy held CONOPs exercise to reduce schedule, cost risks for VPM

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
December 7, 2015 at 7:00 AM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Paul Selva head to Capitol Hill this week to discuss U.S.-led operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Tuesday

The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hear from outside experts on improving the Pentagon's development of policy, strategy and plans.

Link: http://ow.ly/Vvy5H

The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee is slated to hold a hearing on prompt global strike development.

Link: http://ow.ly/Vvy42

Wednesday

Carter and Selva are scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on counter-ISIL operations.

Link: http://ow.ly/Vvy2o

The committee will also have a hearing to consider several nominations:

Link: http://ow.ly/Vvy0a

The House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee is slated to hold a hearing on the future of surface warfare.

Link: http://ow.ly/VvxW2

Thursday

The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hear from outside experts on increasing the effectiveness of military operations.

Link: http://ow.ly/VvxUh

Cost of counter-ISIL program hits $5.2 billion
By Tony Bertuca
December 4, 2015 at 2:54 PM

The total cost of Operation Inherent Resolve, the formal name of the U.S. effort to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, is now pegged at $5.2 billion, with an average daily cost of $11 million, according to a recent Defense Department figure.

The data spans 465 days of operations in the period between Aug. 8, 2014 -- the beginning of counter-ISIL airstrikes -- and Nov. 15, 2015.

Link: http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2014/0814_iraq/

The INSIDER daily digest
By John Liang
December 4, 2015 at 1:45 PM

We launch this Friday INSIDER Daily Digest with news from a former defense secretary warning about another "last supper" at a recent defense industry breakfast:

Former defense secretary warns against 'unintended consequences' from another 'Last Supper'

Former Defense Secretary William Perry -- who famously held a "Last Supper" with top-level defense industry executives in the early 1990s that led to the consolidation of companies -- is suggesting defense officials be more explicit than he was when dealing with industry in the face of flattened defense budgets.

A senior Marine Corps officer this week warned about a billion-dollar "bow wave" impacting facilities sustainment costs:

Marine Corps official: $1 billion 'bow wave' coming on deferred sustainment costs

The Marine Corps, forced in recent years to prioritize combat readiness in a constrained budget environment, is facing a $1 billion "bow wave" in deferred facilities sustainment costs by 2020, according to the service's assistant deputy commandant for installations and logistics.

Some Joint Strike Fighter news from this morning's Inside the Air Force:

Lockheed expects F-35 virtual simulator integration contract in early 2016

Lockheed Martin is working with the F-35 joint program office to craft a proposal to integrate the Joint Strike Fighter's full mission simulators with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps' virtual training environments and expects to be on contract next year.

(For more JSF news, check out our Notification Center, where you can sign up to receive email alerts whenever a related story is posted.)

Plus the rest of the ITAF front page:

USAF modifying two RQ-4s to carry U-2 payloads; first flight set for spring

The Air Force is modifying two RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft to host critical surveillance payloads -- including sophisticated legacy sensors that provide national-level intelligence data but are currently available only on the U-2 Dragon Lady -- a bid to support its plan to retire the high-flying, Cold War-era manned spy plane later this decade.

F-22 helmet-mounted cueing system award now expected in FY-18

The Air Force will push the award of a key F-22 helmet upgrade from fiscal year 2017 into FY-18 to better align the capability with a larger Raptor modernization program.

Air Force shelves 20/20 initiative in wake of reduced facilities funding

The Air Force has suspended an effort to reduce its infrastructure footprint by 2020, as its wave of modernization programs take priority in the budget over funding for facility renovations, according to Air Force logistics officials.

Inside the Air Force highlights
By John Liang
December 4, 2015 at 1:29 PM

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

1. The Air Force is modifying two RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft to host critical surveillance payloads -- including sophisticated legacy sensors that provide national-level intelligence data but are currently available only on the U-2 Dragon Lady -- a bid to support its plan to retire the high-flying, Cold War-era manned spy plane later this decade.

Full Story: USAF modifying two RQ-4s to carry U-2 payloads; first flight set for spring

2. The Air Force will push the award of a key F-22 helmet upgrade from fiscal year 2017 into FY-18 to better align the capability with a larger Raptor modernization program.

Full Story: F-22 helmet-mounted cueing system award now expected in FY-18

3. The Air Force has suspended an effort to reduce its infrastructure footprint by 2020, as its wave of modernization programs take priority in the budget over funding for facility renovations, according to Air Force logistics officials.

Full Story: Air Force shelves 20/20 initiative in wake of reduced facilities funding

4. Lockheed Martin is working with the F-35 joint program office to craft a proposal to integrate the Joint Strike Fighter's full mission simulators with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps' virtual training environments and expects to be on contract next year.

Full Story: Lockheed expects F-35 virtual simulator integration contract in early 2016

New chief at CSBA
By Tony Bertuca
December 4, 2015 at 12:19 PM

Former Defense Department official Thomas Mahnken has been tapped to become the new president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Mahnken, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for policy planning from 2006 to 2009, will succeed Andrew Krepinevich, CSBA's founder and president since its inception 22 years ago.

"I am honored to be joining CSBA," Mahnken in a CSBA statement. "It is an organization that is at the forefront of thinking through the tough strategic challenges that the United States faces today, and will face in the future. Its work is a tribute to the highly talented group of analysts who make up CSBA."

CSBA recently issued a report finding that the United States' advantage in the electromagnetic warfare domain is eroding, but the Pentagon can regain its edge by shifting its priorities and developing new operational concepts. As Inside Defense reported this week:

The report notes that the Defense Department can "regain and maintain an enduring advantage in the [electromagnetic spectrum] warfare competition" that it lost since the Cold War ended if it shifts toward using low-power countermeasures to retake the airwaves.

"Specifically, DOD could shift toward using low-power countermeasures to defeat enemy passive and active sensors, as well as low probability of intercept/low-probability of detection (LPI/LPD) sensors and communications to reduce the likelihood that its forces will be counter-detected," the report states.

Many of these technologies are already mature, the report states, noting that they can be added to weapon systems. However, DOD needs "the operational concepts and formal requirements that would help transition these capabilities to U.S. warfighters, organizations to develop and acquire more versatile EMS warfare systems, and sufficient resources allocated to procure them," the report states.

CSBA recommends that the department lay out a vision for how troops will operate in the EMS, calling on the newly established EW executive committee to do so. In addition, the military departments should create EMS warfare operational concepts.

DOJ: More than $3.5 billion recovered from False Claims Act cases in FY-15
By Marjorie Censer
December 3, 2015 at 2:28 PM

The Justice Department announced today it received more than $3.5 billion in fiscal year 2015 from settlements and judgments related to cases involving fraud and false claims against the government.

Cases related to government contracts comprised $1.1 billion of that total.

The Justice Department specifically pointed to several large cases, including settlements with a Lockheed Martin subsidiary for $27.5 million and DRS Technical Services for $13.7 million to "resolve allegations that their employees lacked required job qualifications while the companies charged for the higher level, qualified employees required under contracts with U.S. Army Communication and Electronics Command."

Link:  http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-recovers-over-35-billion-false-claims-act-cases-fiscal-year-2015

The INSIDER daily digest
By John Liang
December 3, 2015 at 1:42 PM

We start off this Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest with news on Better Buying Power:

Kendall pushes 'new data' to fend off Better Buying Power critics

In a rebuke to his critics in Congress, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, said Wednesday that he does not plan to author a fourth installment of Better Buying Power -- the Defense Department's key acquisition improvement initiative -- because current trends indicate that the first three BBP initiatives have been successfully controlling weapon system contract costs.

Document: Kendall briefing slide on benefits of Better Buying Power

News from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction that was posted very early this morning:

SIGAR: Private 'villas' and security for task force cost taxpayers $150M

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction is probing $150 million in spending on housing and security by the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations -- the latest in a series of inquiries into the shuttered Pentagon entity.

Coverage of a new government contractor:

Following split, CSRA vows to maintain commercial 'playbook'

Split from Computer Sciences Corp. and designed to focus on U.S. government work, CSRA will still retain a focus on commercial practices, the contractor's chief executive told Inside Defense this week.

DOD recently sent a report on the acquisition workforce development fund to Congress:

Acquisition fund helped add 859 personnel in FY-14, pay for training

The Pentagon's acquisition workforce development fund has helped increase the number of certified acquisition professionals and their training in line with the Defense Department's Better Buying Power objectives to improve the professionalism of the workforce, according to a recent report DOD acquisition chief Frank Kendall sent to lawmakers.

News on the recently awarded ACV contract:

Marine Corps conducted two next-gen amphib vehicle contract award debriefs

The Marine Corps has conducted two debriefs regarding the next-generation amphibious vehicle contract award and four out of the five competing vendors confirmed to Inside Defense they requested face-to-face meetings with the government.

(For more ACV news, check out our Notification Center, where you can sign up to receive email alerts whenever a related story is posted.)

DARPA is working on an effort designed to help find and respond to cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure:

DARPA seeks ways to detect, respond to cyberattacks on infrastructure

The Pentagon's advanced research arm aims to hold a proposers' day this month to provide information on a new program designed to help find and respond to cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure, according to a new notice.

Document: DARPA's RADICS proposers day notice

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments has issued a new report:

CSBA: To regain EMS advantage, DOD should develop new CONOPs

The United States' advantage in the electromagnetic warfare domain is eroding, but the Pentagon can regain its edge by shifting its priorities and developing new operational concepts, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments states in a report released Wednesday.

Inside the Pentagon highlights
By Tony Bertuca
December 3, 2015 at 1:40 PM

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

1. Lockheed Martin has postponed a planned decision on its government IT infrastructure services and technical services businesses from the end of this year to the first quarter of next year, according to the contractor's chief financial officer.

Story: Lockheed delays decision on services divestiture to next year

2. The U.S. military budget has suffered close to the “worst-case” outcome since enactment of the 2011 Budget Control Act, according to the Pentagon comptroller, who said the fiscal year 2017 budget will press for about $100 billion more than allowed by law through FY-21 -- a gambit to limit total reductions to DOD planned spending to $800 billion.

Story: DOD weathers nearly 'worst-case' BCA budget outcome

3. The United States' advantage in the electromagnetic warfare domain is eroding, but the Pentagon can regain its edge by shifting its priorities and developing new operational concepts, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments states in a report released Wednesday.

Story: CSBA: To regain EMS advantage, DOD should develop new CONOPs

Carter opens combat jobs to women
By Courtney McBride
December 3, 2015 at 1:15 PM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter this afternoon announced his decision to open all combat positions to women, without exception.

“Our force of the future must continue to benefit from the best people America has to offer,” Carter told reporters at the Pentagon. “This includes women because they make up over 50 percent of the American population. We have to take full advantage of every individual who can meet our standards.”

The services have 30 days to submit their plans for gender integration to the office of the secretary.

Carter's decision was made over objections raised by the Marine Corps, which had sought exceptions. “We are a joint force and I have decided to make a decision which applies to the entire force,” he said.

Following his decision, Carter said, women will now “be able to drive tanks, fire mortars and lead infantry soldiers into combat.”

Protest Spotlight
By Marjorie Censer
December 3, 2015 at 9:37 AM

(This regular feature highlights protests decided by the Government Accountability Office.)

Agency: Army Materiel Command

Awardee: Lockheed Martin Integrated Services

Protester: DRS Technical Services

What GAO found: DRS protested Army Materiel Command's issuance of a task order to Lockheed for system engineering, integrated logistics and fielding/training support services, arguing the Army was wrong to determine Lockheed did not have an organizational conflict of interest.

These conflicts occur when a contractor is tasked, for instance, with reviewing work that another part of the same company has undertaken.

GAO found some of the Army's analysis of this issue reasonable. However, GAO argued the Army "did not adequately consider" whether some tasks required by the solicitation would result in "impaired objectivity" for Lockheed.

GAO sustained the protest and recommended the "Army perform a more complete OCI investigation" before making a new award.

The decision: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/673968.pdf

Navy developing 30-year combat-power plan
By Justin Doubleday
December 2, 2015 at 5:47 PM

The Navy is working on a long-term plan for investing in combat systems, a document which will act as an addendum to the service's 30-year shipbuilding plan.

Rear Adm. Jon HIll, the program executive officer for integrated warfare systems, said the 30-year "combat power plan" would align with the Navy's long-range construction plan for ships. The service issued its long-range vessel construction plan to Congress this past April

"We are going to move to make it an addendum to the 30-year shipbuilding plan," Hill said Wednesday at an industry symposium at the Navy Yard in Washington. "And the 30-year shipbuilding, new-construction plan doesn't include modernization, which is critically important. If we are going to overmatch the threat again and again, we have to talk about modernization more."

The document will represent the Navy's shift toward offensive firepower, Hill said, which is focused on "changing the calculus of the adversary." He said officials working on the plan are taking into consideration everything from potential advances in technology, such as hypersonic missiles, to geopolitics and the future role of the Navy.

He added that predicting the future beyond five years is difficult, but said the Navy would endeavor to do it anyway with the pending combat-power plan. The document is expected to cover the years between 2015 and 2045.