Missile Defense

The Defense Department is anticipating enhanced cybersecurity requirements for contractors working on critical technologies will be published by the National Institute for Standards and Technology in approximately 60 days, according to a DOD official.

As Pentagon leaders move forward with plans to stand up a new Space Development Agency, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson continues to air her concerns with the new organization, telling lawmakers this week she worries the agency will be too detached from the warfighter and could impede ongoing work to develop a proliferated low earth orbit satellite constellation.

The Missile Defense Agency is working to determine the full extent of the delay to the Redesigned Kill Vehicle program and -- based on technology testing currently underway -- plans to revise the estimated two-year schedule slip by either lengthening the delay or trimming it as soon as this summer, according to a senior Defense Department official.

The Air Force is planning to expand its infrastructure to conduct operational tests of hypersonics technology, a next-generation capability the service has prioritized for rapid prototyping.

The Defense Department is asking industry about the feasibility of demonstrating a 1,000 kilowatt-class laser for missile defense as soon as 2025, seeking industry feedback on the potential for scaling up electrically pumped, directed-energy technology -- for an undisclosed platform and mission -- to power levels that in theory could destroy an enemy ballistic missile during the boost phase of flight.

The Missile Defense Agency is laying the technical groundwork for the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA -- a Navy interceptor originally designed to counter medium- and intermediate-range threats -- to also have an operational mission against intercontinental ballistic missiles, potentially stretching the reach of the new weapon to reinforce defense of the nation against North Korean threats.

Senior Pentagon leaders are defending their "very robust" processes for ensuring officials who previously worked in industry comply with ethics arrangements, as acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is being investigated for allegedly favoring Boeing, his former employer.

The Defense Department is considering whether both providers of solid-rocket motors should be involved in the development of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, a senior Air Force official told a House subcommittee today.

The Pentagon will nearly double its planned investments in hypersonic capabilities over the next five years, from $6 billion to $11.2 billion, a sum that is higher than one of the Defense Department's top hypersonics officials recently cited.