The Insider

Defense Secretary Ash Carter today nominated Air Force Gen. Darren W. McDew to become the next chief of U.S. Transportation Command, according to a Defense Department announcement.

McDew, currently serving as the head of Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, IL, would succeed Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, who has been nominated by President Obama to become the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Pentagon has awarded a $156 million contract to Pratt & Whitney in support of Joint Strike Fighter Low-Rate Initial Production Lot 10.

Pratt is the prime contractor for the F135 engine that is installed in all F-35 variants. The funds will go toward long lead components, parts and materials for the 90 propulsion systems.

The Lot 10 buy includes 44 F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing jets for the Air Force, nine F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing jets for the Marine Corps and two F-35C carrier jets for the Navy, according to the June 3 Pentagon statement.

Additionally, this contract includes funding for 30 F-35As and five F-35Bs for international partners and foreign military sales customers.

House appropriators have approved the fiscal year 2016 defense spending bill on a voice vote, according to a statement just issued by the Appropriations Committee:

In total, the bill provides $578.6 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $24.4 billion above the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and $800 million above the President’s request. This includes $88.4 billion in Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) funding for war efforts and related costs, which is within the level assumed in the House and Senate budget conference agreement.

"Now, more than ever, we must ensure that our troops and officers have the resources they need to protect this great nation and our way of life," Chairman Hal Rogers said. "This bill makes responsible use of every tax dollar to give our armed forces the resources they need to stay safe, prepared, and in peak fighting form."

"This legislation will help ensure that our armed forces are agile, efficient, ready and lethal," said Defense Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen. "It reflects the reality that we live in an increasingly dangerous world, and we must guarantee that our military and intelligence community have the strength and capability to meet the rise of Islamic terror groups and other emerging threats and deter would-be aggressors like Iran, China, and Russia and North Korea. I am proud that we have kept faith with the brave men and women, and their families, who selflessly serve our country."

The full committee added two amendments to the bill, one of them a "sense of Congress" statement via a 29-22 vote that reads:

"Congress has a constitutional duty to debate and determine whether or not to authorize the use of military force against ISIL."

Harris Corp. said today it has completed its acquisition of Exelis, creating a roughly $8 billion defense contractor.

The Exelis acquisition is transformative for our company and marks a major milestone in Harris’ 120-year history,” Bill Brown, Harris' chief executive, said in the contractor's announcement.

Boeing's defense group said this week it has created a new data analytics organization, and Dewey Houck has been named the first chief data analytics officer for the defense business.

Houck previously was vice president and general manager of electronic and information solutions within Boeing's network and space systems business.

As part of the changes, Chris Raymond, vice president of business development and strategy for Boeing's defense business, will take on dual leadership roles within the defense business' network and space systems unit. He will succeed Houck and be the deputy to Craig Cooning, president of the network and space systems business.

Tom Bell will take over for Raymond as vice president of sales and marketing. He spent 20 years at Boeing but left in 2012 for Rolls-Royce and most recently served as president of Rolls-Royce Defense.

Also, Steve Nordlund has been named vice president of strategy for Boeing's defense business. He previously led the unmanned systems organization within Boeing Military Aircraft and Phantom Works.

The Littoral Combat Ship Freedom variant (LCS-1) recently completed Rough Water Trials off the coast of Oregon for 11 days, according to a Navy statement.

During the sea trials, the Lockheed Martin-built Freedom collected data while operating in sea states 5 and 6, which equate to about eight to 20-foot waves.

"The ship was steered in an octagonal route at speeds ranging from dead stop to flank speed to capture data on performance at all speeds and orientations," the statement reads.

Over the next few months the data will be analyzed to compare the actual performance of the Freedom variant to its modeled performance.

"Initial test results are positive, the machinery plant and auxiliaries all performed well, especially in the context of the sustained operations at sea," the statement reads.

The ship's crewmembers were equipped with accelerometers and sensors to evaluate human factors such as sleep and potential seasickness due to ship motions, the statement adds.

Booz Allen Hamilton said today sales and profit in its most recent quarter fell, but the contractor's chief executive struck a note of optimism for the future.

The contractor reported that quarterly revenue hit $1.3 billion, down from nearly $1.4 billion in the same three-month period a year earlier. Booz Allen reported profit of $43.4 million, down from $46.9 million the prior year.

Horacio Rozanski, Booz Allen's CEO, told analysts in a call this morning that he is seeing signs of an improved market.

"We are optimistic that this budget stability will continue," Rozanski said. However, "our planning has never been about what Congress might do. Instead, we are focused on the things we can control."

He said the market, in general, "is a lot more competitive than it used to be . . . and I don't think that's going to change."