U.S. Navy Rear Adm. James Bynum, former chief of Naval Air Training, has been appointed as director of the assessment division (N81) within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Defense Department reported Wednesday.

Bynum served as an F/A-18 pilot and tallied more than 4,500 hours onboard tactical aircraft throughout more than 90 combat missions for the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

He supported various operational assignments including tours with Strike Fighter Squadron 113, VFA-22 and a tour within the services Personnel Exchange Program where he supported missions of the 94th Fighter Squadron.

The rear admiral was a battle director for the Combined Air Operations Center within the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar which provided assistance for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Bynum was also a commander of the VFA-27, instructor pilot, military legislative aide and Capitol Hill fellow, executive assistant to the commander of the U.S. Naval Air Forces in San Diego, executive assistant to the vice chief of naval operations and deputy director of the White House Military Office.

The OPNAV Assessment Division is in charge of the assessment process for the Deputy Chiefs of Naval Operations for Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments as well as offers analytics resources to assist the Joint Mission Areas and Support Areas assessment teams.

A Congressional Research Service report says the U.S. Navy intends to buy the first guided-missile frigate in fiscal year 2020 but does not have enough time to produce a “clean-sheet design” for the proposed FFG(X) program, USNI News reported Wednesday.

The service intends to procure a total of 20 ships under the FFG(X) program with a plan to buy the second frigate in FY 2021 and the remaining ships at an annual rate of two vessels from FY 2022 through FY 2030.

The Navy also requested $143.5 million in fiscal 2018 research and development funds for the FFG(X) program and plans to develop the frigate using the “parent-design approach” or a modified version of a frigate based on an existing U.S. or an international ship design.

The military branch also plans to select a single shipbuilder to build the frigates through a full-and-open competition, according to the Nov. 9 report.

The report also noted that there are potential congressional oversight issues over the FFG(X) program and those include the Navy’s acquisition strategy, decision on whether to reject, pass or modify the service’s FY 2018 budget request and the program’s potential implications for the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

The CRS report also cited the initiative’s potential implications for the capability of the service’s destroyers and cruisers and the Navy’s identification of mission requirements and capability gaps as other oversight issues.

The National Defense Industrial Association has called on Congress to reach a deal that would raise or suspend defense budget caps.

NDIA said Nov. 20 it commends the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, which would authorize $700 billion in defense spending, but Congress still needs to address the $549 billion defense budget cap set by the Budget Control Act.

The budget agreement should meet requirements identified by the future National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review, which will influence the FY 2019 budget request and Future Years Defense Program, NDIA added.

The U.S. defense industry association urged lawmakers to pass appropriations before Dec. 8 “at a level both necessary and supported by both parties and both chambers of Congress.”

NDIA also raised concerns over reported congressional plans to authorize a final FY 2018 budget deal that would set defense funds “significantly” below $700 billion.

The U.S. Air Force used a C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft on Nov. 6 to transport conventional rotary launchers from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana for deployment to a combat zone for military use.

A CRL is designed to increase the Boeing-built B-52 Stratofortress bomber’s capability to carry smart weapons by 67 percent, the Air Force reported Nov. 30.

“When you take a B-52 and load it with mixed smart weapons you now open up many more options with one aircraft instead of having to call in other aircraft for other types of munitions,” said Master Sgt. Adam Levandowski, Air Forces Strategic Armament Systems manager.

“Now each CRL allows for internal carriage which adds an additional eight smart bombs per aircraft,” Levandowski added.

Senior Master Sgt. Donavan Stinson, CRL project head, said the service updated its equipment and conducted training at Barksdale and Minot AFB in North Dakota to prepare for the adoption of the launchers.

The military branch said the addition of the CRL capability to B-52s seeks to help the Air Force Global Strike Command provide combat support and perform global strike and strategic deterrence missions.

The Defense Department Office of the Inspector General has released a report that outlines the top management and performance challenges that DoD currently faces.

DoD IG said Nov. 20 it determined the challenges based on the office’s oversight work, research and judgement, oversight work from other DoD components, oversight missions from the Government Accountability Office and information from DoD officials.

The “Top DoD Management Challenges – Fiscal Year 2018” document covers issues that the department should address over the next fiscal year.

DoD IG also uses the document as a research and planning tool to help determine risk areas within the department’s operations.

Department challenges outlined in the report are:

• Countering strategic challenges from North Korea, Russia, China, Iran and transnational terrorism
• Enabling effective acquisition and contract management
• Ensuring ethical conduct
• Identifying and implementing efficiencies
• Improving financial management
• Increasing cybersecurity and cyber capabilities
• Maintaining the nuclear enterprise
• Optimally balancing readiness, modernization and force structure
• Providing effective, comprehensive and cost-effective health care

The Pacific Air Force has announced details regarding the next Vigilant Ace 18, an air combat exercise that aims to demonstrate interoperability between aerial forces from the U.S. and South Korea.

PACAF said Saturday nearly 12,000 personnel from the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Navy will train with South Korean airmen.

Vigilant Ace, formerly called the Beverly Bulldog exercise, is scheduled to take place from Dec. 4 to 8 on the Korean Peninsula.

The event will feature 230 aircraft from eight U.S. and ROK military bases.