Pentagon

The Missile Defense Agency is launching a second layer to its counter-hypersonic portfolio with a new project that aims to develop a sea-based interceptor to defeat threats in the terminal phase -- an envisioned last-line of defense for the Navy against a new class of ultra-fast glide vehicles and cruise missiles being developed by Russia and China -- with plans to vet proposals by December and award initial contracts in early 2021.

Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord said today the effort now underway to identify and re-shore critical defense technologies with fragile or foreign supply chains was enhanced by the global outbreak of COVID-19.

The Defense Department has released the interim final rule for its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, marking a major shift in how the Pentagon will evaluate cybersecurity for contractors who make up the defense industrial base.

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 Missile Defense Agency is pressing ahead with a project to develop a speed-of-light weapon to knock down maneuvering hypersonic vehicles, awarding Raytheon $9.7 million to advance work originally proposed two years ago on a Hypersonic Defense Weapon System concept and setting the project on a path to a potential Microwave Technology Testbed.

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

Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), a cybersecurity leader in Congress, says he is monitoring the Defense Department's work to "operationalize" the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, which is facing criticism over the rollout of the accreditation process for assessors.

An influential Pentagon advisory board is recommending the United States be "more aggressive" with adversaries like China and Russia in non-military "Gray Zone" conflicts that require new capabilities, especially in the cyber realm.

House Democrats have crafted a stopgap spending measure that allows the Pentagon an exemption from normal restrictions so it can award contracts for the Navy's first two Columbia-class submarines.