The U.S. government will begin initial production for ground-launched cruise missile components after announcing its intent to revoke participation from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Reuters reported Monday. The INF Treaty requires participating countries to destroy ground-based ballistic and cruise missile systems with range capabilities of up to 310.6 to 3,000 miles. 

“We will commence fabrication activities on components to support developmental testing of these systems – activities that until Feb. 2 would have been inconsistent with our obligations under the Treaty,” said Michelle Baldanza, spokeswoman at the Department of Defense. 

The planned withdrawal follows Russia’s alleged violation of the treaty through its Novator 9M729 missile. The United Nations urged both countries to maintain the treaty to prevent potential instability.

2019 Wash100 Award winner Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Cory Gardner R-Colo., with Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas and fellow 2019 Wash100 Award winner, and Robin Kelly, D-Ill., introduced a bipartisan bill to establish standards guiding the use of devices for the internet of things, The Hill reported Monday.

The legislation would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to recommend security requirements and other guidelines to help the federal government address cyber vulnerabilities in specified devices. The Office of Management and Budget would also establish standards on purchasing devices in the sector. Both agencies would reassess their policies every five years.

“As the government continues to purchase and use more and more internet-connected devices, we must ensure that these devices are secure,” Kelly said.

The Wash100 award, now in its sixth year, recognizes the most influential executives in the GovCon industry as selected by the Executive Mosaic team in tandem with online nominations from the GovCon community. Representing the best of the private and public sector, the winners demonstrate superior leadership, innovation, reliability, achievement and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2019 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2019.

The U.S. Air Force resumed acceptance of Boeing-made KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft after a nearly month-long delivery halt caused by debris found in one of the units, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Rose Riley, a representative of the Air Force Air Mobility Command, said in a statement that the service branch will continue to accept deliveries as Boeing inspects each aircraft as part of a corrective action plan. Officials said the issue is attributed to the site where the aircraft undergoes construction and not to the unit itself.

Boeing is responsible for delivery of 19 KC-46 low-rate production units to the Air Force under a $2.81B contract modification.

The Trump Administration’s $1.4 trillion fiscal year 2020 budget request would allocate $150M for a central technology modernization fund to support agency efforts to update their systems, FCW reported Monday.

A recently released congressional scorecard stated that only a few agencies established working capital funds that comply with the Modernizing Government Technology Act slated to expire at the end of 2019. According to former congressional staffer Mike Hettinger, reauthorizing the act may encourage appropriators to support Trump’s push to fund the modernization effort.

The Department of Transportation is requesting for $502M in working capital funds support its consolidation of agency-wide IT initiatives. In addition, the Department of Labor is seeking to transfer $20M from several programs to a working capital fund handled by the department’s chief information officer.

The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget request will include $16.5B for programs under the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, officials said Monday.

The proposed budget, which increased by 8.3 percent or $1.3B compared to the 2019 total, will help NNSA in its mission pillars which include maintenance of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, mitigating nuclear threats and delivering nuclear propulsion technologies to the U.S. Navy’s submarines and aircraft carriers.

NNSA will receive $12.4B for weapons activities, including support for the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review as well as nuclear stockpile and experimental computing activities. The budget will also earmark $2B for defense nuclear nonproliferation funds and $1.6B for modernizing and constructing the Navy’s nuclear fleet.

“This vital funding will enable us to continue modernization of the Nuclear Security Enterprise to face 21st century threats,” said Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, NNSA administrator and the department’s undersecretary for nuclear security.