Defense Business Alert

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday that all U.S. sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia should be halted pending an international investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Harris and L3 Technologies said today they have agreed to combine in an all-stock merger to create a defense contractor with about $16 billion in annual sales and about 48,000 employees.

The Navy has temporarily waived contracting policies to allow its research and development centers to award sole-source contracts worth up to $93 million without approval from a higher-level contracting activity, according to the Pentagon's research chief.

The Pentagon, beset by congressional opposition and industry outcry, is backing off a controversial proposal that would have reduced defense contractor progress payments, according to a statement from Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan.

Defense Department organizations concerned with the state of their contractors' cybersecurity are assessing whether companies are meeting requirements for securing sensitive information on their networks.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said today he and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) have sent a letter to the Pentagon opposing plans to reduce defense contractor progress payments, arguing that doing so is "inconsistent" with congressional intent. (UPDATED)

Defense industry organizations are criticizing a Pentagon proposal to reduce progress payments as disruptive and out of line with congressional intent.

The defense spending bill agreed to by conference negotiators limits how the Pentagon can spend its funding for cloud efforts, including the high-profile Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure initiative. 

The head of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency says cost waivers granted to countries buying U.S. weapons are key to securing arms deals, as some lawmakers have questioned the practice of giving billions in discounts to rich Middle Eastern nations.