Missile Defense

President Trump, after losing the election earlier this month, has pushed several senior officials, including the defense secretary, out of the Pentagon, replaced them with loyalists and sparked questions about the national security moves he might make as his administration draws to a close.

The Defense Department has named John Tenaglia principal director of defense pricing and contracting, while Kim Herrington, who had been acting in the role, has become director of industrial base acquisition portfolio management, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.

Two senior House Progressive Caucus members are asking President-elect Biden to nominate a defense secretary who has not been previously employed as a defense contractor.

A Missile Defense Agency signature project -- adding two "layers” to the homeland ballistic missile defense architecture by folding in the newest Aegis ballistic missile interceptor and a future variant of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor -- is on the ropes after lawmakers raised serious concern about the endeavor's maturity.

The Space Force is considering creating a National Security Space Launch research and development program focused on accelerating technologies that support future space access, mobility and logistics needs to support its next launch services procurement strategy.

The Defense Department is reversing gears on plans to halt the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii project, exploring a new potential location for the sensor at the Navy-controlled Pacific Missile Range Facility, charting a course to continuing the program in the face of united support by all four congressional defense committees to reinstate funding for the effort in fiscal year 2021.

As President-elect Biden begins to roll out transition plans, several defense industry executives say they don't expect immediate big changes under a new administration.

The Army has tapped Lockheed Martin to oversee integration of a Mid-Range Capability prototype battery, awarding a sole-source contract to design a land-based launcher for two mainstay Navy strike weapons built by competitor Raytheon -- the Tomahawk cruise missile and Standard Missile-6 -- as part of a major push by the Pentagon to rapidly address a shortfall highlighted by a recent service assessment and combatant commanders.

The Defense Department is asking for help rethinking how to protect the United States from long-range missiles, particularly how to redesign the $202 billion system of sensors, command and control networks and interceptors optimized for ballistic missile threats to also account for cruise missile and maneuvering hypersonic weapons.