Pentagon

A lawyer representing Huawei Technologies told federal officials today that statutory requirements for banning foreign influence in the government's IT supply chain should be met through a broad cybersecurity risk-management process, rather than an entity-based purchasing prohibition that targets Huawei products.

The Pentagon's chief weapons buyer says it will cost between $500 million and $600 million to relocate the supply chain for more than 900 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter parts out of Turkey after the country's expulsion from the program.

The Pentagon is preparing to meet with industry later this month to discuss its requirements for Fully Networked Command, Control and Communications, as the official in charge of the "FNC3" effort recently laid out his strategy for developing the military's future battle network.

Army Secretary Mark Esper, nominated to be defense secretary, today defended his time as a senior Raytheon executive as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) argued that his failure to commit to several of her recusal proposals "smacks of corruption, plain and simple."

The U.S. military requires a new high-agility interceptor and a layer of space-based sensors to defend against hypersonic threats, the presumed next defense secretary told lawmakers today, shedding new light on Defense Department thinking about elements of a hypersonic defense system.

The Army general nominated to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today he is concerned Congress will be unable to reach a bipartisan budget deal to adequately fund the Pentagon.

Lawmakers have turned down a Pentagon gambit to accelerate the Space Development Agency's launch, citing concern about the sudden resignation last month of the agency's director and shifting plans for the new entity. The move signals Congress' flagging confidence in Under Secretary of Defense Mike Griffin's project to rapidly develop, acquire and field next-generation space capabilities.

The Defense Department's chief technology officer is rallying lawmakers' support for a new program aimed at shoring up investments in dual-use hardware technologies, which DOD argues have been underfunded by U.S. venture capitalists and are at risk of being captured by Chinese investments.

The Next Generation Squad Weapon's schedule will slip if the Army does not receive congressional approval to reprogram $14.9 million for the effort, according to a service official.