The INSIDER daily Digest -- May 10, 2023

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-AL) continuing hold on Pentagon nominees, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies nabbing Glide Phase Interceptor contracts and more.

In a May 5 letter to Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lays out the effects of Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-AL) indefinite hold on nearly 200 military nominees:

Austin: Tuberville's nomination blockade risks 'every domain' in national security

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-AL) indefinite hold on nearly 200 military nominees risks national security and sets a "perilous precedent."

Document: Austin letter to Warren on effects of Tuberville's nominee hold

Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies have nabbed contracts to work on the Glide Phase Interceptor:

Pentagon awards Northrop, Raytheon contracts to begin GPI technology development

The Defense Department has awarded Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies new funding to begin Glide Phase Interceptor technology development in a pair of contract actions that extends funding for the competition to design a new hypersonic glide vehicle-killing guided missile through March 2024.

The Pentagon's No. 2 civilian spoke this week at a Special Competitive Studies Project innovation conference held in honor of late former Defense Secretary Ash Carter:

Hicks defends ARRW failure as evidence of broader innovation pivot

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said today the Air Force's high-profile retreat from the troubled Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile shows that the Pentagon is prepared to accept risk and walk away from potentially bad bets to achieve technological dominance over China.

The Space Force expects to choose multiple vendors by December for its Space Test Experiments Platform 2.0 experiment:

SSC announces draft solicitation for STEP 2.0 contract

Space Systems Command on May 8 announced it has released a draft solicitation for the Space Test Experiments Platform 2.0 contract.

On May 9, the Defense Department released its latest National Defense Science and Technology Strategy which "articulates the science and technology priorities, goals, and investments of the department and makes recommendations on the future of the defense research and engineering enterprise":

DOD releases new S&T strategy with implementation plan to come

The Defense Department has released a new National Defense Science and Technology Strategy encapsulating fundamental priorities Pentagon officials have long discussed, while a detailed implementation plan is due to Congress in 90 days.

Document: DOD's 2023 national S&T strategy

Last but by no means least, the latest on the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program:

Tech group seeks clarity on rate of return to enter defense industrial base as CMMC program faces delays

More tech companies are interested in joining the defense industrial base, according to Ross Nodurft, who leads the public-sector-focused Alliance for Digital Innovation, but uncertainties over how much it will cost to comply with the upcoming Pentagon cyber certification program that has faced delays is a top concern.