The Insider | InsideDefense.com (2024)

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon withholding a portion of the payments for F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Lockheed Martin and more.

While plane-maker Lockheed Martin last month kicked off deliveries of F-35s fitted with a truncated version of the TR-3 upgrade, officially lifting the Pentagon's year-long hold on accepting new jets until it met the sophisticated requirements laid out by the Defense Department, officials aren't paying full price for the aircraft just yet:

Pentagon withholding $5 million per tail as Lockheed delivers incomplete F-35s

The Defense Department is withholding about $5 million for each F-35 Joint Strike Fighter delivered with a truncated version of the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade, a spokesperson with the F-35 Joint Program Office told Inside Defense.

In case you missed it, here's our deep dive into the Pentagon's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve program:

DOD officials defend rapid experimentation projects at key tech demo

EDINBURGH, IN -- The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve may not appear to reflect the first word in its acronym to Senate appropriators who have criticized RDER for failing to transition more weapon systems to the battlefield, but senior Pentagon officials suggest that lawmakers looking to cut the program don't fully appreciate RDER's challenges given the slowness of the traditional acquisition and budgeting cycle.

The Marine Corps' top uniformed officer released his planning guidance this week:

Smith affirms force design trajectory with 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith released his official 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance Wednesday, confirming the service will continue its Force Design modernization path and focus on building and maintaining warfighting advantages over "pacing challenge" China.

Document: 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance

The new Compass Call aircraft modernizes the Air Force's electromagnetic attack capabilities while denying, degrading or disrupting adversary communications and electronic systems:

ACC receives first Compass Call aircraft

Air Combat Command's first EA-37B Compass Call aircraft touched down at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ last week, allowing aircrews to begin pilot mission planning and training, according to a service news release.

The Navy's upcoming autonomy roadmap will improve and increase air, surface and subsea fleet capabilities:

Navy projects autonomy roadmap completion for late fall

The Navy plans to complete an autonomy roadmap by late fall, which will “capture autonomy-based mission gaps over the next 10 years” to inform the service where to invest, a spokesperson told Inside Defense.

The Justice Department has joined a whistleblower lawsuit against Georgia Institute of Technology and affiliate Georgia Tech Research Corp. for failing to implement cybersecurity requirements for defense contractors and submitting a false cyber assessment score to the Defense Department.

“Government contractors that fail to fully implement required cybersecurity controls jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive government information,” Brian Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, said in an Aug. 22 release.

Boynton said, "The department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative was designed to identify such contractors and to hold them accountable.”

The DOJ announced the launch of the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative in 2021 with the mission of using the False Claims Act to “pursue cybersecurity related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients,” according to a press release.

The latest release on the initiative details how the DOJ joined whistleblowers Christopher Craig and Kyle Koza, previous members of Georgia Tech’s cybersecurity compliance team, and filed a complaint-in-intervention against the university for its “failure since at least May 2019 (the relevant time period) to meet cybersecurity requirements of Department of Defense contracts.”

The lawsuit alleges the defendants “knowingly” fell short of DOD-mandated cyber requirements in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-171, including a failure to develop and implement system security plans, improper scoping of cyber controls and a lack of anti-virus and anti-malware tools on equipment used in a lab setting.

Further, Georgia Tech and GTRC allegedly “submitted a false cybersecurity assessment score to DOD for the Georgia Tech campus,” according to DOJ, in order to acquire their DOD contract.

The lawsuit highlights how Georgia Tech leadership allegedly enabled the fraud. It says, “With the tacit and, in some cases, explicit approval of senior leadership, Georgia Tech routinely bent on compliance with federal cybersecurity regulations and was undeterred by the risk of submitting ‘false claims’ to the federal government.”

It compares researchers who brought in federal contracts to “star quarterbacks,” arguing the research leaders used their power to “push back against compliance with federal cybersecurity rules.”

The university did not assess an IT system on which a campus lab “processed, stored, or transmitted sensitive DOD data,” the lawsuit says. “Instead of calculating and providing to DoD an accurate score for the Astrolavos Lab, Georgia Tech and GTRC provided DoD with a score for a ‘campus-wide’ IT system at Georgia Tech when no such campus-wide IT system existed.”

DOJ explains, “[T]he summary level score of 98 for the Georgia Tech campus that Georgia Tech and GTRC reported to DOD in December 2020 was false because Georgia Tech did not actually have a campus-wide IT system and the score was for a ‘fictitious’ or ‘virtual’ environment and did not apply to any covered contracting system at Georgia Tech that could or would ever process, store or transmit covered defense information.”

Support for the ongoing investigation of charges is being provided by “the DOD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Material Command,” according to DOJ.

RTX was awarded a contract worth just under $25 million to provide missiles, launchers and other equipment for the Marine Corps' Medium Range Intercept Capability, according to an Aug. 29 contract announcement.

Under the award, RTX will provide 16 All Up Round Magazines -- consisting of 80 missiles -- in addition to launchers, lifting and loading equipment, missile storage supplies and training, according to the Pentagon notice. Work will take place in Tucson, AZ, with final delivery scheduled for April 2027.

MRIC combines the Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar system, the Common Aviation Command and Control System and parts of the Israeli Iron Dome system to defend against airborne threats including cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft.

The system is expected to undergo a quick reaction assessment in September, which if successful, would clear MRIC to transition from rapid prototyping to rapid fielding. Following this milestone, the Marine Corps plans to begin fielding an initial MRIC battery in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, service officials said earlier this year.

As the Marine Corps prepares to field the capability, it has been working with industry to establish a domestic source of MRIC’s SkyHunter interceptor missiles, which share 95-99% commonality with the Tamir interceptor used by Israel’s Iron Dome.

A new facility in Camden, AR, jointly run by RTX and Israeli company Rafael, is expected to begin producing SkyHunter interceptors in late 2025 or early 2026, a service official told Inside Defense in May.

The Marine Corps’ FY-25 budget request includes $111 million for the program to support the purchase of 12 launchers and 242 missiles.

The Chief Digital Artificial Intelligence Office launched a call to industry Thursday in support of its attempt to expand collaboration across combatant commands and international allies, according to a Defense Department release.

The rollout of the initiative, called the Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories (Open DAGIR) Challenge, comes exactly three months after the Pentagon’s AI office unveiled the Open DAGIR approach -- its effort to make government data more accessible and make the acquisition process for digital capabilities smoother.

CDAO will head the project, in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Joint Fires Network and the Defense Innovation Unit, according to the release.

The call to vendors interested in submitting contested logistics and sustainment solutions will "transform” GIDE by “leveraging the entire industrial base to rapidly apply industry solutions to warfighter needs,” DOD said in the announcement.

The challenge will be an accelerated, competitive and innovative acquisition vehicle that will support the department’s Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control effort, according to the release.

Interested vendors can submit their proposals via a five-minute pitch video starting Thursday through Sept. 6 and those selected will be onboarded via the Open DAGIR system, DOD said.

FT. JOHNSON, LA -- Gen. Randy George, nearly a year into his job as the Army's chief of staff, is working to implement his strategy for modernizing the force, envisioning a process in which weapon system users, developers and testers work alongside soldiers who are training on the ground, and someone rewriting software code if equipment doesn't work.

“I think I've been very clear that we have a sense of urgency about doing this. And I always tell the formation we're urgent, but we're not frantic,” George said.

Read the full story, now available to all.

South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Systems has secured a U.S. Navy contract for maintenance work on a logistics support ship, according to a company announcement, which presents the award as a leap forward in Hanwha's effort to enter the American Navy’s market for maintenance, repair and overhaul work.

Under the award, the 40,000-ton logistics support ship will undergo inspection and maintenance at Hanwha’s Geoje shipyard, located near the southern end of South Korea. The contract is the first of its kind awarded to a South Korean shipbuilder.

According to the announcement, the company signed a Ship Maintenance Restructuring Agreement (MSRA) with Naval Supply Systems Command in July, certifying the company to work on U.S. Navy vessels. Hanwha is now able to compete for U.S. Navy contracts for the next five years, the notice adds.

“Hanwha Ocean believes that this project, which the U.S. Navy is conducting as a pilot project in the Asian region, will be an important turning point for changes in the U.S. Navy ship [maintenance, repair and overhaul] market in the future,” the announcement states.

“In particular, with the recent acquisition of the Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia, U.S.A. and Hanwha Ocean’s winning of this project, Hanwha’s entry into the U.S. Navy ship business appears to be gaining momentum,” the notice continues.

Earlier this summer, Hanwha finalized a $100 million purchase agreement to buy Philly Shipyard from its Norwegian owner, investment group Anker ASA. The deal, which is expected to close before the end of fiscal year 2024, received Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro’s blessing.

Del Toro visited multiple Japanese and South Korean shipbuilders -- including Hanwha -- earlier this year and has advocated for increased foreign investment in the U.S. shipbuilding market as a means of improving production capacity, driving down prices and injecting competition into the domestic industrial base.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve program, the 39th Marine Corps Commandant's Planning Guidance and more.

We start off with a deep dive into the Pentagon's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve program:

DOD officials defend rapid experimentation projects at key tech demo

EDINBURGH, IN -- The Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve may not appear to reflect the first word in its acronym to Senate appropriators who have criticized RDER for failing to transition more weapon systems to the battlefield, but senior Pentagon officials suggest that lawmakers looking to cut the program don’t fully appreciate RDER’s challenges given the slowness of the traditional acquisition and budgeting cycle.

The Marine Corps' top uniformed officer released his planning guidance this week:

Smith affirms force design trajectory with 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith released his official 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance Wednesday, confirming the service will continue its Force Design modernization path and focus on building and maintaining warfighting advantages over "pacing challenge" China.

Document: 39th Commandant's Planning Guidance

The new Compass Call aircraft modernizes the Air Force’s electromagnetic attack capabilities while denying, degrading or disrupting adversary communications and electronic systems:

ACC receives first Compass Call aircraft

Air Combat Command's first EA-37B Compass Call aircraft touched down at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ last week, allowing aircrews to begin pilot mission planning and training, according to a service news release.

The Navy's upcoming autonomy roadmap will improve and increase air, surface and subsea fleet capabilities:

Navy projects autonomy roadmap completion for late fall

The Navy plans to complete an autonomy roadmap by late fall, which will “capture autonomy-based mission gaps over the next 10 years” to inform the service where to invest, a spokesperson told Inside Defense.

In case you missed it, here's our deep dive into the Army's modernization efforts:

Transformation in contact: Army designs roadmap modernization in an evolving world

FT. JOHNSON, LA -- Gen. Randy George, nearly a year into his job as the Army's chief of staff, is working to implement his strategy for modernizing the force, envisioning a process in which weapon system users, developers and testers work alongside soldiers who are training on the ground, and someone rewriting software code if equipment doesn't work.

The Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $200 million contract for the second Deep Space Advance Radar Capability site, which will be built in the United Kingdom.

This is Northrop’s second DARC award as the company is also building site 1 in Western Australia, which is set to come online in 2026, the Defense Department said in December. That contract, awarded in early 2022, is worth $341 million.

“This site brings us closer to achieving global coverage of deep space, which is a critical mission for future security of the U.S. and its allies,” said Pablo Pezzimenti, Northrop’s vice president for integrated national systems.

The contract for DARC site 3 will likely be awarded next year, according to the most recent Government Accountability Office weapon system assessment report.

The three ground-based radar sites are designed to provide advanced geosynchronous-orbit object tracking around the clock in all weather conditions. The capability is part of the trilateral AUKUS agreement.

Work under the site 2 contract is expected to be completed in February 2030, according to the Defense Department’s Aug. 23 contract announcement.

An announcement from last year naming Northrop as the sole-source contractor for DARC listed June 2028 and June 2029 as the initial operational capability dates for DARC sites 2 and 3.

The Army has awarded a $990 million contract to AeroVironment for Switchblade loitering munition systems.

The award, which has an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity over five years, is to “provide an organic, stand-off capability to dismounted infantry formations capable of destroying tanks, light armored vehicles, hardened targets, defilade and personnel targets,” according to an Aug. 27 Pentagon notice. It has an estimated completion date of Aug. 26, 2029.

The AeroVironment contract supports the Army’s lethal unmanned systems directed requirement, which is the service’s first requirement to equip infantry battalions with “lethal, man-portable loitering munition systems.” The systems improve soldiers’ capabilities with precision flight control, lethality against fortified targets and tracking of targets, according to the company.

Deliveries of the Switchblade systems are expected to begin in “months,” according to AeroVironment.

The Army awarded a contract to AeroVironment last December for the directed requirement it is currently delivering systems under. Additionally, AeroVironment’s Switchblade 600 has been identified by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks as the first named system to be fielded under tranche 1 of the Pentagon’s Replicator program.

Army acquisition czar Doug Bush told reporters in May that while he could not disclose specific funding figures about Replicator, more than $100 million would be going toward the Army’s Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordinance (LASSO), which includes the Switchblade600. The funding, he said, would be provided through a combination of Army reprogramming and the Ukraine supplemental security funding package.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Army modernization, Air Force trainer aircraft replacements and more.

We start off with a deep dive into the Army's modernization efforts:

Transformation in contact: Army designs roadmap modernization in an evolving world

FT. JOHNSON, LA -- Gen. Randy George, nearly a year into his job as the Army's chief of staff, is working to implement his strategy for modernizing the force, envisioning a process in which weapon system users, developers and testers work alongside soldiers who are training on the ground, and someone rewriting software code if equipment doesn't work.

The Air Force has unveiled plans on how it will replace T-38C trainer aircraft with next-generation T-7s at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi:

Air Force finalizes plan to send 77 T-7As to Columbus Air Force Base

The Air Force last week signed a record of decision to replace all of the T-38C Talons at Columbus Air Force Base, MS with up to 77 T-7A Red Hawk jets, keeping the flight training program there, according to a Federal Register notice issued this week.

In an Aug. 23 memo on planning, programming, budgeting and execution reform, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks directs that the Pentagon comptroller "will act as the lead for the PPBE reform agenda and implementing initiatives across the department, with the components in support":

Pentagon launches new programming and budgeting reform initiatives

The Pentagon comptroller has been charged with building a team to reform the Defense Department's 1960s-era planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process, according to a new memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

Document: Hicks memo on PPBE reform

A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft recently taxied, took off, flew to a destination and landed autonomously to deliver cargo during an exercise:

Agile Flag wraps with completion of several test unmanned cargo flights

Joby Aviation and Reliable Robotics performed several autonomous logistics missions during the Air Force's Agile Flag 24-3 exercise earlier this month, demonstrating the kind of flexibility and extended range the service has said is needed to be successful in a fight in the Indo-Pacific, according to an Air Force news release.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin recently spoke with reporters about his service's fiscal year 2025 budget request, amid expectations of a continuing resolution:

Air Force already bracing for possible FY-25 budget delay

The prospect of facing another series of continuing resolutions that would hold back implementation of the fiscal year 2025 defense budget is already piquing concern from the Air Force's top officer.

The Navy is partnering with technology company Shield AI to integrate autonomy and AI software into its advanced subsonic aerial target, the BQM-177A, and awarded a contract to the company on Aug. 16 to further this effort.

Under the agreement, Hivemind AI pilot software will be integrated and a prototype test bed using the BQM-177 will be delivered, according to a Navy news release.

“This collaborative effort between PMA-281, PMA-208, and Shield AI not only expands and improves the existing spectrum of validation but also offers a scalable solution that benefits the entire naval aviation community,” said Capt. Jerick Black, PMA-281 program manager, in the news release. “By laying the groundwork for future advancements, this initiative ensures that the Navy remains at the forefront of technological innovation and operational excellence in naval aviation.”

The BQM-177A imitates advanced subsonic anti-ship cruise missile threats, testing how effective shipboard air systems are in fleet training, according to the Navy.

“By leveraging the BQM-177A’s lower unit cost and cost per flight hour, this initiative provides a flexible and cost-effective testing environment that drives innovation at an accelerated pace,” said Greg Crewse, PMA-208 program manager.

A technical demonstration of the AI systems is planned for late 2025.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on reforming the planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process, plus the Air Force's fiscal year 2025 budget request and more.

In an Aug. 23 memo on planning, programming, budgeting and execution reform, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks directs that the Pentagon comptroller "will act as the lead for the PPBE reform agenda and implementing initiatives across the department, with the components in support":

Pentagon launches new programming and budgeting reform initiatives

The Pentagon comptroller has been charged with building a team to reform the Defense Department's 1960s-era planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process, according to a new memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

Document: Hicks memo on PPBE reform

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin recently spoke with reporters about his service's fiscal year 2025 budget request as Democrats and Republicans hold razor thin majorities in both chambers ahead of the 2024 presidential election:

Air Force already bracing for possible FY-25 budget delay

The prospect of facing another series of continuing resolutions that would hold back implementation of the fiscal year 2025 defense budget is already piquing concern from the Air Force's top officer.

A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft recently taxied, took off, flew to a destination and landed autonomously to deliver cargo during an exercise:

Agile Flag wraps with completion of several test unmanned cargo flights

Joby Aviation and Reliable Robotics performed several autonomous logistics missions during the Air Force's Agile Flag 24-3 exercise earlier this month, demonstrating the kind of flexibility and extended range the service has said is needed to be successful in a fight in the Indo-Pacific, according to an Air Force news release.

Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, spoke at a recent Defense Writers Group discussion:

Special ops serving as 'proof of concept' for some Replicator systems in INDOPACOM

The senior Pentagon official who oversees U.S. military special operations forces said today that the Replicator program is likely to become a key enabler in the Indo-Pacific region for SOF operators, who, in some cases, are working and training in small enough groups to serve as a "proof of concept" for what is being envisioned for the new arsenal of rapidly procured, autonomous drones.

A recent Pentagon inspector general's report finds the Navy "did not obtain fair and reasonable pricing for repair of the AN/APG‑65 and AN/APG‑73 radars on the F/A‑18 Hornet":

Navy overpaid for radar systems repairs on F/A-18 Hornets, Pentagon IG says

The Navy has overpaid defense contractors nearly $4 million to repair radar systems on its F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, according to a Defense Department inspector general report.

Document: DOD IG report on F/A-18 Hornet radar repair pricing

The Army is aiming to increase the training capabilities for "threat" unmanned aerial systems with a request for information issued last week.

The service is trying to create a “realistic training environment” that represents current and future UAS threats. The challenge for the Army will be to replicate “highly adaptive and innovative adversaries/enemies creating unexpected, lethal and non-lethal effects across multiple domains and dimensions of the” operational environment, the notice states.

The Army is particularly concerned with UAS threats that fall into groups 1 through 3, which are those weighing less than 1,320 pounds, according to the Pentagon’s classification system. The service is most concerned with that size drone because they can operate “within proximity to friendly forces undetected” and can fly low, underneath traditional radar detection zones.

The RFI states drones in this category “fly very slow and can even hover in place, preventing any doppler-based sensor from detecting them.” Additionally, their small size makes it difficult to hit with direct-fire weapons.

The government is asking for additional live training systems capabilities for group 2 and 3 drones to challenge soldiers when using counter UAS tactics, and to evolve counter UAS technologies during training. The capabilities should address soldiers’ need to survive in a “congested, contested and dynamic air domain” created by enemy UAS capabilities, the RFI states.

The government is asking for industry responses by Sept. 11.

The Army is expected to begin fielding the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) "this year," and will field it "in a larger way" in 2025, an executive from prime contractor Northrop Grumman said today.

IBCS is the Army’s air and missile defense modernization platform that aims to connect sensors and effectors into one command-and-control system that utilizes multiple radars for threat detection.

The IBCS program underwent initial operational test and evaluation in 2022, and in 2023 it was approved by the Defense Department and the Army to go into full-rate production, Bill Lamb, Northrop Grumman senior programs director for global mission command and control, said during a media briefing today.

Fielding of IBCS to the initial Patriot battalions is expected to occur in mid-2025, the company has said.

Lamb said Monday that the Army will invest about $1 billion annually in IBCS over the next five years.

“And that’s not just in production. That’s into future research, development and test around new sensors and new effector capabilities,” he said.

Additionally, IBCS has been fully fielded to the first squadron of Polish Armed Forces, with more than 100 officers and soldiers having been trained on the system, Lamb said. The system is expected to reach initial operational capability for the Polish military “sometime this year.”

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on using Replicator drones in the Indo-Pacific region, plus the latest on the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program and more.

Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, spoke at a recent Defense Writers Group discussion:

Special ops serving as 'proof of concept' for some Replicator systems in INDOPACOM

The senior Pentagon official who oversees U.S. military special operations forces said today that the Replicator program is likely to become a key enabler in the Indo-Pacific region for SOF operators, who, in some cases, are working and training in small enough groups to serve as a "proof of concept" for what is being envisioned for the new arsenal of rapidly procured, autonomous drones.

A new Defense Department inspector general's report finds the Navy "did not obtain fair and reasonable pricing for repair of the AN/APG‑65 and AN/APG‑73 radars on the F/A‑18 Hornet":

Navy overpaid for radar systems repairs on F/A-18 Hornets, Pentagon IG says

The Navy has overpaid defense contractors nearly $4 million to repair radar systems on its F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, according to a Defense Department inspector general report released Wednesday.

Document: DOD IG report on F/A-18 Hornet radar repair pricing

Sierra Nevada Corp. will produce the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) carried aboard a Bombardier Global Express 6500, a 99-foot, twin-engine aircraft used as a business jet in the civilian sector:

Army picks Nevada-based company for spy plane contract that has $1B ceiling

A Nevada-based company will build the Army's newest spy plane for $94 million, a program with the potential of reaching about $1 billion to enhance its aerial surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, the service announced Thursday.

Here's the latest on the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Lawyers highlight major aspects of CMMC proposed rule for acquisition purposes

Lawyers from two major law firms are flagging key aspects of the Pentagon's latest proposed rule to implement its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, with a focus on new requirements and other considerations for contractors.

In a May 15 memo publicly released last week, Pentagon research and engineering chief Heidi Shyu calls on the Defense Science Board "to develop a product summarizing the key findings, observations, advice and recommendations developed by the DSB in the past decade":

DOD tech chief seeks decade of DSB's advice to 'optimize' future investments

Pentagon technology chief Heidi Shyu is directing the Defense Science Board to provide her with all of its key findings and recommendations from the past decade to help guide the Defense Department's investments in the coming years.

Document: DSB terms of reference memo for priority focus areas product