Breaking Defense's Monday Morning Briefing

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead _________________________________________________________________________

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead Unlock The Power Of The Joint Force. Presented by Booz Allen Hamilton Siloed data and proprietary systems hamper JADC2 progress. Learn how to overcome barriers and accelerate JADC2. Pentagon needs to prioritize hypersonic defense, not offense: CSIS By Theresa Hitchens "You really need to worry about the tactical things. You really need to defend your surface ships, air bases, all that stuff," NDIA's Mark Lewis said.   JP 9102: Australia opens bidding on its biggest space contract ever By Colin Clark Industry sources say the tender will lead to at least two, and as many as four, military communication satellites being built for the Australian military, as well as ground stations. A decision on the winner is expected this year.   Saudi ballistic missile program seeks deterrence against Iran, Houthi strikes By Riad Kahwaji There was no official Saudi comment on the media report about its new ballistic missiles facility, part of the ambiguity policy the Kingdom has maintained for years with regards to its ballistic missiles capability.   The fight for UNCLOS is back with the Indo-Pacific in mind By Justin Katz The treaty faces steep odds for formal ratification, but some lawmakers are latching onto the military's focus on the Indo-Pacific as a pretext.   What weapons will Poland send to Ukraine – and is an alliance next? By Aaron Mehta With a shared border, Poland has a great interest in Ukraine's ability to withstand a Russian invasion. How far that interest will go is the question.   Military CIOs say they take 'fix our computers' rant 'to heart' By Lee Ferran An Air Force officer's semi-viral screed implored the military to fix basic computer functions before doing anything else. He told Breaking Defense the CIOs' response was "genuine progress."   ICEYE to add 10 SAR satellites, thanks in part to BAE Systems investment By Theresa Hitchens Additional satellites will help ICEYE reach its goal of imaging the same spot on Earth every eight hours, ICEYE CEO and cofounder Rafal Modrzewski told Breaking Defense.    At Pentagon meeting on hypersonics, CEOs urge stable funding, better infrastructure By Valerie Insinna The high-level meeting signaled the importance of hypersonic tech, sources said, but also bureaucratic and real-world challenges to overcome in a hurry.   The Russian military build up near Ukraine is happening at sea too By Justin Katz Russia has "been very thoughtful about how they've been ramping up their level of activity" in the Black Sea, said Bryan Clark, a fellow at the Hudson Institute.   US rejects charge that Starlink satellites endangered China's space station By Theresa Hitchens "Clearly an exchange of diplomatic notes is better than an exchange of Twitter fire (or worse). But diplomatic notes won't fill in the gaps in space governance and traffic safety," Jessica West of Canada's Project Ploughshares said.    Download the 2021 Review/2022 Preview eBook By Breaking Defense One-stop shopping for Breaking Defense's roundup of stories you may have missed from 2021, and what to be thinking about in 2022.   Army defends new squad vehicle after blistering combat review By Andrew Eversden "The ISV is not designed to defeat or counter specific threats nor is it intended to operate as a combat fighting platform," Steve Herrick, the senior program office official, told Breaking Defense.   Change how OTAs are used to make them an essential tool against China By Aaron Mehta DoD needs to lower the barriers to larger defense market opportunities that go beyond R&D, extending into the full lifecycle of defense systems, argues Christopher Zember.   ISIS leader's death 'significant blow' to terror group, McKenzie says By Valerie Insinna Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi had led the insurgent group since ISIS's founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed in a similar US raid in Syria in October 2019.   To placate Russia, Israel told Baltics states it would block weapon transfers to Ukraine: Sources By Arie Egozi As Russian forces began massing along the Ukrainian border, the Israeli MoD sent word to the three Baltic nations that if they ask to transfer weapons to Ukraine, they will be denied, sources say.   US needs to temper reliance on at-risk undersea internet cables, satellites can help: Aerospace By Theresa Hitchens "Undersea cable infrastructure is ripe for sabotage," said Karen Jones, one of the authors of the study.   With Lockheed deal in doubt, Aerojet faces internal crisis By Valerie Insinna "The near-term future of Aerojet depends on which faction within the company succeeds in asserting control," said defense consultant Loren Thompson. But ultimately, he added, the long-term future of the company will be contingent on finding a new buyer "with big pockets."   Allies and robots: Navy joins 60 nations in International Maritime Exercise By Justin Katz This year's IMX will include a focus on how unmanned systems can change naval operations, from rescue operations to endurance missions.   Pentagon developing 'National Defense Science and Technology' strategy: Memo By Justin Katz Spearheaded by Heidi Shyu, the strategy will seek investments and concentrated efforts on 14 critical technology areas.   Pentagon's new data and AI office hits IOC milestone, gets $500M budget By Jaspreet Gill The office of the chief digital and artificial intelligence will be responsible for scaling up data, analytics and AI to enable faster and better decision-making "from campaigning to conflict."   Biden defense nominations: A disappointing first year status report By Bill Greenwalt The reality is these holds can easily be overcome if there was a willingness by Senate leadership to force what will likely be overwhelmingly bipartisan positive votes.   The health of the Defense Industrial Base is failing, trade group says By Jaspreet Gill That conclusion is part of the National Defense Industrial Association's third annual Vital Signs 2022 report, which offers an analysis of the US's defense industrial base.   Organic Industrial Base $16B modernization plan to be briefed to senior Army leaders By Andrew Eversden The strategy will tackle facility modernization, supply chain vulnerabilities and workforce.   The "digital thread" is key to continual improvement for the Army's Future Vertical Lift programs By Breaking Defense [Sponsored] By implementing a design-as-built methodology that digitally connects entire FVL programs throughout the lifecycle, Bell has increased its ability to collaborate in real-time with program partners and the Army to deliver new capabilities faster and more affordably.   Warren slams Pentagon for restricting unclassified info on weapon flaws By Valerie Insinna "This unjustified restriction of public access will not serve to protect national security information but will instead be abused to avoid disclosure of failures in our major weapons programs," wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren, citing Breaking Defense reporting.   Lawmakers name familiar faces in defense to budgeting reform commission By Andrew Eversden Leadership of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee named their selections to the NDAA-mandated Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform.   NRO plans 7 spy satellite launches in 2022; one from mystery foreign spaceport By Theresa Hitchens Ahead of the Wednesday launch, mystery surrounds what the mission of NROL-87 is. NRO never talks about the purpose of specific satellites, period, but the payload will be launched to an orbit consistent with that of an imaging satellite.   Blackhawk pilots could fly with AI 'assistants' in the near-future By Jaspreet Gill Under a new contract awarded by DARPA, Northrop Grumman, in partnership with the University of Central Florida, will develop a prototype AI assistant embedded in augmented reality headsets for rotary pilots.   French Navy chief on Ukraine, AUKUS and unmanned tech By Justin Katz "On the naval side, we didn't see a very abnormal pattern of life of the Russians," French Navy chief Adm. Pierre Vandier said about Russian actions near Ukraine.   Army's Infantry Squad Vehicle 'not operationally effective' in combat By Andrew Eversden Pentagon testers take issue with comms, guns and durability over tough terrain for the troop carrier.   Breaking Defense 611 Broadway • New York, New York • 10012 unsubscribe