Breaking Defense's Monday Morning Briefing

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead _________________________________________________________________________

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead Advanced Satellite Platforms & Space Mission Systems Offer All-Domain Protection Presented by Sierra Nevada Corporation SNC builds on our extensive design heritage and proven flight capability to deliver custom National Security Space solutions, offering customers a wide range of products and support at low cost and rapid delivery.  Learn more. Hasty US Pullout from Afghanistan Invokes Regional Talk of Post Pax Americana By Riad Kahwaji; Friday, August 27, 2021 2:45 PM America's allies in the Middle East are weighing options to avoid meeting the fate of the Afghani government, as regional scholars talk of the post Pax Americana era.   Navy's Anti-Air Defense Missile Readying For Initial Production By Justin Katz; Friday, August 27, 2021 2:00 PM With the missile past milestone C, the Navy is now clear to award Northrop Grumman a low-rate initial production contract in the coming months.   SDA Opens Contest For First Operational Constellation By Theresa Hitchens; Friday, August 27, 2021 12:30 PM SDA intends to choose three contractors next year to design and build up to 144 new satellites.   Chorus Grows To Declassify Space Threat Info From Services, Congress By Colin Clark; Friday, August 27, 2021 9:30 AM COLORADO SPRINGS: The House Armed Services Committee's draft policy bill calls for the head of the Space Force to review all classification of space systems "to determine if any programs should be reclassified or declassified." The chairman's mark of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), obtained by Breaking Defense, is the latest in…   No Compromises: Tiltrotor Mission Effectiveness For Long-Range Air Assault By Barry Rosenberg; Friday, August 27, 2021 8:19 AM [Sponsored] Bell's V-280 Valor builds upon 600,000 hours of experience with the V-22 tiltrotor with a clean-sheet design to meet the Army's requirement for an air-assault platform.   HASC Seeks Constraints On F-35 Buys, Multi-Year Sustainment Contract Plans By Theresa Hitchens; Friday, August 27, 2021 7:57 AM In a July report on long-term F-35 costs, the GAO found that the Air Force "needs to reduce estimated annual per-plane costs by $3.7 million (47%) by 2036, or costs in that year alone will be $4.4 billion more than it can afford."   Firefly Aerospace Set For First Launch Next Thursday; Static Test Passed By Colin Clark; Thursday, August 26, 2021 4:36 PM "Firefly Alpha will provide a unique capability to the US Government that is not currently available: a 1,000 kg to orbit, commercial, domestic, launch vehicle that can be used for a wide variety of missions," says Firefly spokesperson Kim Jennett.   Pentagon 'Expects' More Attacks After 12 Americans Killed In Kabul By Aaron Mehta; Thursday, August 26, 2021 4:17 PM American leaders have reached "out to the Taliban who are actually providing the outer security cordon around the airfield, to make sure they know what we expect them to do to protect us and we will continue to coordinate with them as they go forward,"   Navy Successfully Tests Solid Rocket Motor For Hypersonic Weapon By Justin Katz; Thursday, August 26, 2021 1:35 PM The test is a "critical milestone" on the way to fielding a common hypersonic missile used by the Navy and Army.   A Weapons Test Is The Wrong Way To Advance Norms On Responsible Behavior In Space By Aaron Mehta; Thursday, August 26, 2021 12:30 PM If the US goes ahead with testing an anti-satellite system, it risks derailing what little progress has been made to develop international military and security-related norms for outer space, warns Jessica West.   HASC Budget Markup Creates Cyber Info Sharing Capabilities, DISA Cyber Procurement Office By Brad D. Williams; Thursday, August 26, 2021 11:59 AM Notably, the committee chair's markup calls for private sector engagement in developing new cyber threat sharing capabilities.   House Panel Rejects Navy's Math On Closing Strike Fighter Gap; Funds New F/A-18s By Justin Katz; Thursday, August 26, 2021 9:35 AM House lawmakers say they are "highly circumspect" of the Navy's analysis for closing the strike fighter shortfall.   Israeli PM To Request Biden Clear Money To Purchase New F-15IAs: Sources By Arie Egozi; Thursday, August 26, 2021 8:32 AM UPDATE: Thursday's planned meeting between Biden and Bennett has been postponed following the attacks in Kabul. It is unclear exactly when that meeting will now take place.  TEL AVIV: When Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett meets with US President Joe Biden, he plans to ask the United States for a special increase in Foreign Military…   More Flexibility, Greater Urgency Key For Space Security: Aerospace's Isakowitz By Theresa Hitchens; Thursday, August 26, 2021 6:30 AM "Everybody realizes the technologies, and the changes, we're seeing today (in space) are much more transformative than we've ever seen," says Aerospace's Steve Isakowitz.   Next-Gen OPIR Missile Warning On Schedule For 2025 Launch By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 7:57 PM "At this point, we do not assess any impact to the schedule but continue to evaluate that day by day," said Col. Brian Denaro, SSC's program manager for Next Gen OPIR.   DoD Launches New Zero-Trust Security Portfolio Office; CIO Talks Priorities By Brad D. Williams; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 4:20 PM The new office is slated for October, Pentagon CIO John Sherman said, while also giving updates on the Spectrum Strategy implementation plan and the cyber workforce strategy.   NORTHCOM Needs Help In Space For Arctic Communications By Aaron Mehta; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 2:35 PM Eliminating stovepipes that prevent sharing information about threats and responses is crucial to defense of the homeland, says Gen. Glen VanHerck, NORTHCOM head.   Near-Term Funds For Second Space Fence Radar Uncertain By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 1:32 PM Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of Space Operations Command, said that the Space Force is now following 35,000 space objects, a 22% jump in only the last two years.   Blue Origin Engine For NSSL Behind Schedule, But SecAF Kendall Isn't Worried By Colin Clark; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 12:09 PM "Hopefully we'll be all right and they (ULA) won't have any additional scheduled steps. But I think the strategy has actually been demonstrated to be a good thing," Air Force Frank Kendall says.   JADC2's Space-Based Backbone By Barry Rosenberg; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 8:59 AM [Sponsored] A layered architecture of geosynchronous, medium-earth, and low-earth-orbit satellites will provide resilient sensor coverage for Joint All Domain Command and Control.   If Commercial Space Is Ready to Set Sail, Why Are We Still Missing the Boat? By Aaron Mehta; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 8:15 AM Doug Loverro, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, lays out a news structure for how the Space Force should look at commercial space assets.   Who's Who in Defense: Mike Gallagher, Ranking Member, HASC Personnel Subcommittee By Catherine Macaulay; Wednesday, August 25, 2021 4:00 AM The Military Personnel Subcommittee is responsible for military personnel policy, reserve component integration and employment issues, military health care, military education, and POW/MIA issues, among others.   NRO, NGA, SPACECOM, Space Force Hammer Out Boundaries By Colin Clark; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 7:37 PM   UPDATED: Adds Space Command statement from Gen. Dickinson COLORADO SPRINGS: After a series of recent tussles over who manages what in space, National Reconnaissance Office Director Christopher Scolese today announced a new agreement between his office, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Space Force and Space Command, dubbed the Protected Defense Strategic Framework. "This high level…   New SPACECOM Strategy Will Define 'Space Combat Power' By Theresa Hitchens; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 3:21 PM The new strategy will "strengthen our ability to outthink and out maneuver our competitors and dominate through space combat power, and it will always ensure that there will never be a day without space," said Gen. Jim Dickinson, SPACECOM commander.   'We've Now Entered A New Space Race' As PRC, Russia Plan Moon Base: Sen. Moran By Colin Clark; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 3:00 PM "I do not believe that our astronauts, upon returning to the Moon, will want to be welcomed by the Chinese and the Russians. Instead, we should be there to meet them whenever they arrive," Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas says.   SecAF Kendall Moves To Speed SDA Transfer To Air Force By Theresa Hitchens; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 2:23 PM "By statute, this is scheduled to occur on one October 2022, but there is no need to wait them until then" to integrate the Space Development Agency into the Air Force's space acquisition office, Kendall said. ere.   Kendall To Announce Space Acquisition Shake Up By Theresa Hitchens; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 11:42 AM Shawn Barnes, who has been serving as the de facto head of Air Force Space Acquisition and Integration (SAF/SP), has been transferred to the role of the director of Air Force Financial Management Legislative Liaison.   Afghanistan's Precarious Networks: Will The Taliban, Once Again, Go Dark? By Brad D. Williams; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 9:45 AM The Taliban now faces a decision: Ban the internet as the group did during its first rule, while hindering its propaganda windfall and other online activities, or leave the country's networks intact, allowing an avenue for continued US electronic surveillance.   DoD Picks Intel To Make Chips In US By Brad D. Williams; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 9:29 AM The contract award is the first phase in the DoD's Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes – Commercial (RAMP-C) program, which is intended to bolster US-based commercial foundries.   What Satellite Attack Weapon Might The US Reveal Soon? By Theresa Hitchens; Tuesday, August 24, 2021 6:31 AM Space based jammers? Kinetic kill vehicles? Ground based lasers? The Pentagon has a space weapon it's ready to show, but it's not clear exactly what it will be.   Breaking Defense 611 Broadway • New York, New York • 10012 unsubscribe