Defense Business Alert

A group representing a range of U.S. companies and industry associations opposes a variety of measures in the House and Senate defense authorization bills, including several provisions that would demand domestic sourcing for U.S. weapons programs and force companies to cut ties with Chinese suppliers.

The chief executive of Science Applications International Corp. anticipates that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will create lasting changes in the workplace.

The Navy has spent $300 million in Defense Production Act funding over the past three months to strengthen its supply chains, according to the service's acquisition executive.

Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord said today it may take up to six months to reimburse defense contractors seeking reimbursement for hardships and inefficiencies experienced during the COVD-19 pandemic, but she reiterated that Congress has yet to appropriate any money for the cause.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, LMI has convened a company-wide task force to consider the associated business opportunities.

L3Harris Technologies' new contract to build the Navy’s Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel includes the maritime technology firm Gibbs & Cox as well as the Louisiana-based shipbuilder Swiftships as subcontractors, according to an L3Harris executive.

The Pentagon says that a waiver allowing some "low risk" Defense Department contractors to continue using Chinese telecommunications and security equipment could be extended past Sept. 30, as the items covered under the exemption represent nearly three-quarters of all DOD transactions.

The Pentagon has waived a requirement until the end of the fiscal year for "low risk, high volume items" contracts to comply with a government-wide ban on contractors using equipment made by Chinese vendors like Huawei and ZTE.

Acting Pentagon technology chief Michael Kratsios today called for using the Defense Department's "unique authorities" to pursue its innovation efforts, while also committing to "redoubling" efforts to work more closely with non-traditional vendors and startup businesses.