The Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution Reform, or PPBE, has released a set of recommendations for transforming and strengthening the Department of Defense’s resourcing processes to meet the current and future demands of the national security environment.

The PPBE Reform Commission’s final report outlines 28 recommendations divided into five critical areas of reform: improving the alignment of budgets to strategy; fostering innovation and adaptability; strengthening relationships between the Pentagon and Congress; modernizing data analytics and business systems; and upskilling the resourcing workforce.

First on the recommendations list are transformational changes to strengthen the connection between DOD’s strategy and resource allocation processes by instituting a new Defense Resourcing System.

To create a more flexible and agile resourcing process, the proposed DRS will focus on three processes: strategy, resource allocation and execution.

Key recommendations include establishing continuous planning and analysis, transforming the budget structure, mitigating problems arising from continuing resolutions and improving training for personnel involved in defense resourcing.

Commission Chair Robert Hale said the final report was based on extensive research and input from more than 400 interviews with 1100 interviewees.

The U.S. Army and Aurora Flight Sciences have concluded the first system flight tests of a medium-range “launched effects” prototype to verify the functionality of the system components, DVIDS reported Monday.

The Launched Effects-Medium Range prototype system uses a modular open systems approach, or MOSA, and consists of the Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated Unmanned System 700, or Altius 700, built by Anduril’s Area-I company.

“MOSA is an integral component of the LE-MR and was part of the initial design discussions and the contract. This approach allows for continuous upgrades and integration of various payloads ensuring we remain ahead of the threat,” said Col. Danielle Medaglia, project manager for uncrewed aircraft systems.

A Northrop Grumman-developed radio frequency detect, identify, locate and report payload was among the payloads tested using a scalable control interface prototype.

The Army expects to make a rapid fielding decision in 2025 to finalize the deployment of launched effect capabilities to the warfighter.

NASA and the Department of Defense have completed the second recovery test for the crewed Artemis II mission aboard an amphibious transport dock in preparation for the mission’s launch to the moon.

During Underway Recovery Test 11, the NASA-led team timed the crew extraction from the capsule to the medical bay of USS San Diego (LPD 22) and carried out day-and-night recovery procedures to support Artemis II personnel and process certification, U.S. Space Command said Monday.

The NASA-DOD team also practiced the recovery procedures and releasing and recovering the crew module test article.

Prior to the test, dive teams from the U.S. Navy trained at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, where astronauts also train for spacewalks.

Lessons learned from the latest recovery test will inform future underway tests to ensure the team’s readiness to recover the Artemis II crew safely.

“Amphibious transport dock ships, such as ours, give NASA the ability to recover the capsule and collect critical data to help make sure everything is ready to recover the astronauts and capsule during future Artemis missions,” said Capt. David Walton, commanding officer of USS San Diego.

The test marks the first time that NASA and DOD demonstrated a full recovery simulation with the Artemis II flight crew.