Pentagon

A new commission is set to issue recommendations this year on how the U.S. national security apparatus should approach artificial intelligence, including a focus on how the government can work with industry to compete with China's “civil-military fusion” concept, according to the co-chair of the group. 

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX), who had spearheaded a host of defense acquisition and business reforms in recent years, said today he is preparing to ink a bill targeting "bureaucratic foot-dragging" at the Pentagon to ensure those reforms are being implemented.

A new commission is set to issue recommendations this year on how the U.S. national security apparatus should approach artificial intelligence, including a focus on how the government can work with industry to compete with China's “civil-military fusion” concept, according to the co-chair of the group. 

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.

One of the leading congressional proponents of the movement to create a new Space Force told Pentagon leadership today there are major issues with DOD's legislative proposal.

The Defense Innovation Board is recommending the Defense Department share its electromagnetic spectrum with civil operators so the United States can compete with China in the deployment of 5G technologies, but the Pentagon should also prepare to operate in a "post-Western" wireless ecosystem.

The Pentagon is lining up the transfer of a second former Coast Guard cutter to Vietnam as part of a push for closer security ties with the nation, but Hanoi's financial limitations and legacy of using Russian weapons puts constraints on potential arms sales, according to current and former U.S. officials.

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.