Navy task completes first unmanned at sea integration exercise. (Aerotech News) “During the two-day training exercise, Task Force 59 integrated and evaluated new MANTAS T-12 unmanned surface vessels that operated alongside manned U.S. patrol craft and Bahrain Defense Force maritime assets.”
DARPA nabs Gremlin drone in midair for first time. (Defense News) “While one Gremlin was recovered, the second was destroyed during the flight tests, DARPA said. The Gremlins team then refurbished the recovered drone and flew it again within 24 working hours, the release said… The agency hopes each drone would have a lifetime of 20 flights. The agency said flying these relatively disposable drones would allow the military to accomplish missions much more cheaply and with less maintenance efforts than relying on nonexpendable systems meant to fly for decades.”
DoD suspends cybersecurity certification program pending major changes. (Nextgov) “According to the notice, CMMC 2.0 would remove levels two and four, reducing the model to three levels. All level one contractors would be allowed to self attest to their cybersecurity. The notice said the second level of contractors—previously level three—would be “bifurcated” into priority and non-priority acquisitions with the former also being able to avoid an independent third-party assessment. Rules for the third and highest level—previously level five—are yet to be determined.”
Pentagon strips down CMMC-program to streamline industry cyber assessments. (Federal News Network) “Until the CMMC 2.0 changes are codified into federal rules, “the department will suspend the CMMC piloting efforts, and will not approve inclusion of a CMMC requirement in DoD solicitations,” according to a Federal Register notice… DoD had previously planned on initiating 15 CMMC pilot contracts this year… the shift to self-attestation also brings the False Claims Act into play. The Department of Justice recently launched a “Cyber Civil-Fraud Initiative” to pursue cybersecurity fraud by contractors and grant recipients… “There’s a lot of room for whistleblowers, a lot of room for the government to come in and second guess the company,” Crusius said.”
About CMMC: FAQs. (USD A&S) “The Department will publish a comprehensive cost analysis associated with each level of CMMC 2.0 as part of rulemaking. Costs are projected to be significantly lower relative to CMMC 1.0 because the Department intends to (a) streamline requirements at all levels, eliminating CMMC-unique practices and maturity processes, (b) allow companies associated with the new Level 1 (Foundational) and some Level 2 (Advanced) acquisition programs to perform self-assessments rather than third-party assessments, and (c) increase oversight of the third-party assessment ecosystem.”
A simple user agreement is changing how the Air Force looks at software. (Federal News Network) “The agreement formalized a relationship between the two organizations, allowing Kessel Run to constantly and consistently update software instead of going through a laborious acquisition process. In essence, the agreement allows for DevSecOps on ACC software… The agreement is much like what civilian consumers are used to seeing on their phones — apps that are dynamic and change based on the needs of the user and the app manager… “That feedback instead of profit margins, really the feedback comes from the users themselves,” Torson said. “Their adoption of the software is really how we are measuring success. If we’re pushing out something and the users are like, ‘I’m not going to touch that I’m not going to use it,’ then we are on the wrong path.””
Biden Nominates Navy Adm. Grady to replace Hyten as Vice Chairman of JCS. (Air Force Magazine) “Now, with less than three weeks remaining before Hyten’s departure date of Nov. 20, Grady’s nomination would have to be rushed through in near-record time to avoid a vacancy. Hyten’s own nomination process stretched on for more than five months, and every Chairman and Vice Chairman in the last decade has taken at least a month to be confirmed by the full Senate.”
Commercial satellites show Russian stealth fighters. (The National Interest) “These days, it appears that anyone with reliable internet access can tap into commercial radar satellites to do their own version of airbase monitoring… “As seen previously with the Type-022 missile boat in China, vehicles that are designed to be low-observable to radar are not hidden from SAR satellites—including the new Russian Su-57 Felon fifth-generation fighter,” Sutton notes… The fidelity of the images show that it’s possible to distinguish between different types of low-observable aircraft, even if the aircraft are low-observable.”
New AM General chief vows to ‘put the full weight of the organization’ into pursuing JLTV. (Defense News) “2022 is going to be a watershed year for the light tactical vehicle industry. You’ve got [the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle competition] coming up. You’ve got the Common Tactical Truck competition coming up. We want to compete to win. We’re absolutely focused on shaping the conditions in 2022 to compete on those programs. There’s a need for competition in the industrial base… Incumbency matters, it gives a lot of advantages. You could debate how fair recompetes are with the kind of incumbency advantage, but the bottom line is, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win in my mind. For a living, we make light tactical vehicles.”
JADC2 will fail without central DoD authority: Study. (Breaking Defense) “The similarities of the network-centric warfare push to the evolution of JADC2 are almost eerie. And it failed. Every single one of those efforts just listed were “cancelled or curtailed,” the study shows, with little to show for the billions invested… Such an organization hub for Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) could take a the form of a Joint Executive Program Office, similar to that established to manage the tri-service F-35 jet; a new independent agency under the Office of the Undersecretary for Research and Engineering (OUSDR&E), akin to the Missile Defense Agency; or establish a lead Combatant Command to set requirements, the study says.”
First submarine to use new stealth technology. (Naval News) “The adage that stealth is a submarine’s main defense is true today and tomorrow. Speed, depth and countermeasures can all help a submarine escape, but not being seen in the first place is the best way to survive… Turbo-electric drives use the nuclear reactor to generate electricity. This powers an electric motor which drives the propulsor. This should be quieter than driving the propeller shaft directly. While turbo-electric drives have been used aboard nuclear submarines before, this (together with the U.S. Navy’s Columbia Class) will be the first time it has been used on serial production boats.”
GAO finds little impact from Trump order directing deregulation. (The Hill) ““Officials from some agencies told GAO that any changes in regulatory enforcement activities that occurred while the EO was in effect were not in response to, nor a consequence of, the EO,” the report stated. Many opposed to the executive order viewed it as arbitrary, encouraging government agencies to cut regulations for the sake of cutting them, with little analysis of the potential impact.”
The Navy’s stealth destroyers will have their deck guns replaced with hypersonic missiles. (The Drive) “The launchers for these missiles, which will be loaded onto the ship’s inside triple-packed Advanced Payload Module canisters, will replace the 155mm Advanced Gun Systems on these stealthy destroyers. The Navy decided back in 2016 not to buy any ammunition for those guns due to ballooning costs… it has been reported that up to 12 of these weapons could be loaded onto each ship in the future… The DDG 1000s each have 80 Mk 57 VLS launch cells. At present, these cells are expected to be loaded with a mix of SM-2 Block IIIAZ and Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) surface-to-air missiles, the latter of which can be quad-packed into a single cell, as well as Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. Of course, other types of missiles, such as variants of the ever-more-capable SM-6 family, could be added to the destroyers’ arsenals in the future, as well… The Navy is [also] planning to integrate [hypersonics] onto its future Block V Virginia class submarines, likely using the Advanced Payload Module (APM) canisters, as well, and the weapon could find its way onto other vessels.
US Navy lifts veil on new F/A-XX concept design. (Naval News) “The F/A-XX is the strike fighter component within the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) Family of Systems (FoS). It is planned to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in the 2030s. Its specific capabilities and technologies are under development, however analysis shows it must have longer range and greater speed, incorporate passive and active sensor technology, and possess the capability to employ the longer-range weapons programmed for the future… It turns out the image of the future F/A-XX fighter released by NAVAIR was actually created back in 2007 for a role-playing game. “
Raytheon and ONR test new distributed sensing software for SPY-6 radar. (Naval News) “During the demonstration, two surface-based radar emulators detected targets using distributed sensing capabilities. The demonstration proved that tactical radars, like SPY-6, will benefit from advanced distributed radar concepts developed in the NCR program… Cooperative radars collaborate using distributed sensing capabilities to create a fuller picture of objects in a given coverage area.”
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