The Pentagon's acquisition executive has cleared Northrop Grumman's Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System -- a program that has suffered delays and technical setbacks since 2009 -- to transition from development to initial production, marking the start of a 10-year, $4.4 billion plan to deliver 454 units.
Missile Defense
January 14, 2021
January 14, 2021
The Navy is wrapping up a project to define options for a new nuclear-tipped, submarine-launched cruise missile with plans to conclude by the end of the summer an analysis of alternatives that will offer Defense Department leaders -- and the incoming Biden administration -- a turn-key solution to launch development of a program in fiscal year 2022, according to a senior service official.
January 13, 2021
The Pentagon's chief weapons tester says the government needs to spend the next 10 years updating weapons testing processes and infrastructure, paying special attention to space and cyber capabilities.
January 12, 2021
The Pentagon has fallen short in sharing a list of critical military capabilities with key Defense Department stakeholders and outside government agencies, potentially putting at risk federal efforts to protect those technologies, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.
Lockheed: HELIOS laser shows early potential for area defense; exceeding ship self-defense objective
Government testers are evaluating a Lockheed Martin-built laser that promises a better-than-expected capability that, when paired with the Aegis combat system, provides area defense far more robust than simply self-defense against small boats and unmanned aircraft promised at the outset of the project, according to a company representative.
January 11, 2021
Congress, after overriding President Trump's veto, has passed a defense policy bill that immediately eliminates the office of the Defense Department's chief management officer, a post lawmakers established in 2017 intending it become the third-most senior job in the Pentagon.
January 11, 2021
The Pentagon is restructuring several key offices and beefing up their authorities now that Congress has eliminated the post of chief management officer, according to Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist.
January 8, 2021
The Pentagon expects to finalize joint requirements for four major areas underpinning a new "Joint Warfighting Concept" by late spring, according to a top military official.
January 8, 2021
SpaceX and L3Harris have resumed work on the Space Development Agency's Tracking Layer Tranche 0 satellite development contracts after a series of protests put the companies' contracts on hold and led the agency to reevaluate bids.
January 6, 2021
The Missile Defense Agency has delayed by more than three months plans to publish a solicitation to formally commence a competition for a Regional Glide Phase Weapon System, pushing the launch date until early April to begin a project that is expected to produce a two-way, 18-month competition to develop a prototype hypersonic defense interceptor.
January 6, 2021
Committee chairmanships are on the line as the results of two run-off Senate elections in Georgia indicate the Democratic party is close to claiming a majority in Congress that will be led by President-elect Biden from the White House.
January 5, 2021
The head of U.S. Strategic Command moved to bat down suggestions that the Minuteman III -- the Air Force's aging intercontinental ballistic missile -- can be upgraded to remain in service longer than currently planned in order to free up funds the Pentagon wants to allocate to a replacement: the estimated $85 billion Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program.
January 5, 2021
The Space and Missile Systems Center anticipates delays to new Space Enterprise Consortium solicitations as the Space Force continues its review of the incoming consortium manager, the National Security Technology Accelerator, in light of a recent Texas court decision involving the company.
January 4, 2021
The Missile Defense Agency has secured a more than $200 million boost for the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor in fiscal year 2021, partially satisfying its No. 1 unfunded requirement that will be roughly divided between the Aegis guided missile's development and procurement accounts.
December 30, 2020
In the coming year, the Biden administration is likely to face multiple defense-related challenges and complications, particularly as it grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the economy.
December 28, 2020
The Space Force announced last week it expects to issue a draft request for proposals in early January for two responsive launch missions.
December 24, 2020
Congress wants a report early next year on the ability of the U.S. military to defend the nation against a cruise missile attack -- with particular emphasis on vulnerability of approaches across the north polar region -- as well as an update on plans with Canada to modernize the early warning radar system currently in use across the Arctic.
December 23, 2020
The Pentagon's acquisition executive is readying a verdict on the Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense program -- a $7.9 billion effort vital to U.S. ground-force plans to detect, track and defeat modern air threats -- following last week's milestone review where the service requested permission to pivot from development to initial production.
December 23, 2020
The Government Accountability Office this week dismissed Raytheon's most recent protest of a Space Development Agency contract for wide-field-of-view satellites.
December 22, 2020
The Pentagon and Congress have yet to fully reckon with the costs the COVID-19 pandemic may have imposed on the U.S. defense industrial base, including the roughly $11 billion defense officials tell lawmakers is needed to rectify the situation.
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