The U.S. Space Force (USSF) would receive $15.2 billion under the $696 billion fiscal 2021 defense spending bill approved by Congress as part of a government appropriations package, reflecting its first budget as a separate military branch. The $2.3 trillion omnibus bill includes operations, maintenance, procurement, research, development, test and evaluation program lines for USSF.
Read More »House Panel Asks FCC to Delay Vote on Proposed Space Debris Rules
The House Science Committee has called on the Federal Communications Commission to delay an April 23 vote on its updated space debris regulations, SpaceNews reported Friday. The FCC on April 2 issued its draft “Mitigating Orbital Debris in the New Space Age” regulations, which would allow the commission to deny licenses to companies operating satellite networks with a collective collision risk of more than 1 in 1,000.
Read More »DoD, Trade Groups Discuss COVID-19 Updates Through Daily Calls
The Department of Defense and industry organizations on Tuesday started conducting daily calls to discuss the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the defense industrial base, National Defense reported Wednesday.
Read More »DoD Study Examines Compliance of Small, Large Firms With Cyber Standards; Kevin Fahey Quoted
A recent Department of Defense study says small and large contractors are struggling to comply with DoD’s new cybersecurity standards, Defense One reported Monday. “For the most part, the big companies do very well,” Kevin Fahey, assistant defense secretary for acquisition, told reporters at the Pentagon Monday. “But in no case do they meet everything that they thought they met.”
Read More »Senate Confirms Mark Esper as U.S. Secretary of Defense
Mark Esper, secretary of the U.S. Army and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, was confirmed as the next U.S. defense secretary following a 90 to 8 Senate vote, according to the Wall Street Journal’s report on Tuesday.
Read More »Trade Group Warns Against Potential Defense Budget Cuts
The Aerospace Industries Association has urged Congress and President Donald Trump to ensure a “steady and stable growth” in defense budget for fiscal 2019 and beyond in order to counter threats posed by transnational terrorism, China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, Defense News reported Thursday. AIA said in its Thursday statement lawmakers and the administration have started to provide the Defense Department with additional budget for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to build up military readiness against multiple threats.
Read More »Patrick Shanahan: DoD Rescinds Contractor Payment Proposal
The Defense Department has decided to withdraw its proposed rule to regulate payments to contractors based on performance, Defense News reported Monday. “Recently, proposed amendments to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) were prematurely released, absent full coordination,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan wrote in a statement obtained by the publication.
Read More »Ellen Lord: DoD Warns Military, Contractors Against Chinese, Russian Software
Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, has said the Defense Department started distributing to the military and contractors a list of software platforms that should not be purchased, Defense One reported Friday. This is because such software platforms have failed to meet national security requirements, Lord said. “What we are …
Read More »AIA Offers Recommendations for State Dept’s Action Plan for Conventional Arms Transfer Policy Implementation
The Aerospace Industries Association has called on the State Department to develop and implement a plan to speed up transactions that aim to help the country meet its security cooperation priorities. AIA wrote a Tuesday letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying it made the recommendation in response to …
Read More »Reports: Trump Imposes Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports
President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tax on imported aluminum in a push to build up national security and put an end to “aggressive foreign trade practices,” The Hill reported Sunday. Mexico and Canada would be exempted from the …
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