Pentagon

The Pentagon's acquisition executive has cleared the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA program, in co-development since 2006 with Japan, for transition to production -- signaling confidence in the interceptor after early flight-test challenges and setting the stage for the rollout of a major operational enhancement to the Ballistic Missile Defense System.

The head of the Section 809 panel says Congress will peel back the Defense Department’s ability to use other transaction agreements if it doesn’t reign in the "abuse" of such agreements.

This fall will be an inflection point for Defense Department acquisition chief Ellen Lord, who is working to finalize a series of acquisition reform initiatives intended to simplify and accelerate the military’s procurement process.

Three of the largest defense industry associations are raising questions about the Pentagon's new cybersecurity certification, including concerns about the "aggressive" implementation time line and the lack of clarity on how the protections will be applied across different programs and suppliers.

U.S. Transportation Command has begun work on a follow-up to last year's mobility capability requirements study that will have a broader scope than the 2019 analysis and will consider what forces are needed to support the National Defense Strategy.

House Energy and Commerce Committee members last week defended the jurisdiction of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission over 5G issues with security implications, amid what the lawmakers see as expansive Defense Department efforts on fifth-generation network applications and a greater role managing finite spectrum resources.

The Pentagon inspector general is reviewing a request from lawmakers to investigate what role defense officials may have played in delaying military aid to Ukraine, a controversy at the heart of an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.

The Missile Defense Agency plans to release an updated version of a draft solicitation for a Next Generation Interceptor on Oct. 1, a revision of the preliminary request circulated to industry weeks ago as part of a rapid effort by the Pentagon to reboot the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program after terminating the Redesigned Kill Vehicle last month.

The Defense Department's inspector general is planning this month to begin auditing hypersonic weapons research and development projects, a move that comes after Pentagon leaders announced plans to nearly double spending over the next five years on the new class of ultrafast weapons -- both offensive and defensive -- to more than $11 billion.