Breaking Defense's Monday Morning Briefing

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead _________________________________________________________________________

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead     Rolls-Royce power for V-280 – enhanced speed and range Presented by Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce brings low-risk AE 1107F engines to the Bell V-280 Valor, maximizing speed and range for U.S. Army modernization. AE 1107 engines are produced by American employees in state-of-the-art Rolls-Royce factories in the U.S. Learn more. Army 'well on its way' to first OCONUS cloud in Indo-Pacific By Jaspreet Gill Army CIO Raj Iyer said the service is moving away from "traditional ways" of pulling data as it looks to build "a Command Post Computing Environment of the future."   DARPA wants to build slimmer, enhanced night vision goggles By Andrew Eversden The Pentagon's blue-sky R&D agency chose 10 partners to help make goggles easier on soldiers' necks and expand vision in the dark.   US 5th Fleet commander: 'Dramatic uptick' in Iran's drone use By Valerie Insinna "What is different… is a dramatic uptick in the UAV activity in the region, both in terms of their capability, their profiles, and the density of activity," Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said.   Industry chivies White House for 'immediate' action to clean up space junk By Theresa Hitchens The open meeting at times resembled the TV comedy Seinfeld's Festivus celebration's "airing of grievances," but there was widespread accord on a number of recommendations.   Will Biden's Conventional Arms Transfer policy be an evolution or a revolution? By Aaron Mehta In the coming weeks, the Biden administration is expected to release its newest version of the Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) policy, which will serve as a clear sign on how the administration will differentiate itself from the Trump administration on arms sales issues. In this op ed Josh Kirshner of Beacon Global Strategies lays out…   Pentagon R&E chief pushes new tech initiatives, expects bump in funding By Jaspreet Gill Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu to brief defense secretary today on how Pentagon can bridge over the dreaded tech "valley of death" between the lab and the battlefield.   Israel wants US to bolster its weapons stockpile in Israel: Sources By Arie Egozi The stockpile is meant for US use, but weapons can be quickly transferred to Israeli forces in the event of an emergency.   Biden's space policy nominee backs ban on destructive ASAT testing, pushes norms By Theresa Hitchens "Kinetic destructive tests," White House nominee for ASD Space Policy John Plumb said, "pose a long term enduring problem to all spacefaring nations, including astronauts."   Army tactical network modernization has 'significant' momentum: Official By Andrew Eversden "The future network must be high-speed, it must be high-capacity, it must be multi-path, and ubiquitous to the user," said Brig. Gen. Jeth Rey, director of the Army's Network Cross-Functional Team.   StormBreaker: A networked, all-weather weapon for low-collateral-damage engagement By Breaking Defense [Sponsored] Now being integrated on the F-35B, F/A-18E/F, and F-15E, the StormBreaker glide bomb has an advanced tri-mode seeker and is the first network-enabled weapon in the Air Force inventory.   Russia's defense industry might not survive an invasion of Ukraine By Reuben Johnson Russian industry is already struggling with sanctions and export limits. An invasion of Ukraine could be disastrous for them – and, politically, might spell doom for Vladimir Putin's regime.   Is the Space Force doing what it's supposed to? [Infographics] By Aaron Mehta Respondents to the Breaking Defense Space Survey have differing opinions on how effective the Space Force has been, two years in.   Navy unveils latest concept for future destroyer, DDG(X) By Justin Katz The service has settled on upgrading the hull form, maintaining the combat systems of its Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. The hull form in the concept isn't final, however.   Collins focusing on JADC2 with recent demonstrations By Jaspreet Gill The goal of the demonstration was to show how integrated technologies and joint connectivity can support warfighters by providing actionable data and increased situational awareness, the company said.   SCO ends Project Overlord, shifts unmanned vessels to Navy By Justin Katz The program produced four vessels that will now be at the Navy's disposal.   Yearlong CR would 'irreversibly delay' nuclear modernization programs: service chiefs By Valerie Insinna The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, Columbia-class ballistic submarine and B-21 bomber could all face delays under a yearlong continuing resolution, service officials said.   Classified space capabilities aimed at Russia, China could lose $800M under CR: Raymond By Theresa Hitchens A year-long CR would force Space Force to chop two planned launches under the National Security Space Launch program — reducing the number of launches from a planned five in 2022 to three, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond told lawmakers.   Building Multi-Cloud in the Intelligence Community By Breaking Defense [Sponsored] Information superiority and speed to mission are the hallmark of multi-cloud environments, along with automation, cybersecurity, and governance.   Space missile warning system to include MEO backup in case of attack: Tournear By Theresa Hitchens Space Development Agency will soon issue a request for proposals for the first 28 of its own missile tracking satellites in Low Earth Orbit, the agency's chief said.   For unmanned vessels, Navy still working out maintenance strategy By Justin Katz Sensors could provide a solution, but before that the Navy must defend its unmanned ambitions before skeptical lawmakers.   Geopolitics keeps overruling cyber norms, so what's the alternative? By Aaron Mehta Laura G. Brent of the Center for a New American Security argues that cyber weapons have become a built-in part of the geopolitical strategies for governments around the world – and norms of behavior are now in the rear view mirror.   China grumbles as Japan, Aussies ink treaty to meld forces By Colin Clark Japan's ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, made pretty clear that China was a driving force behind the treaty's approval, noting the two nations must "increase deterrence."   Citing 'unprecedented complexity,' SWO boss calls for systemic revamps in fleet By Justin Katz The admiral's new paper calls for changes in acquisition offices, requirements directorates in tandem with the operational fleet.   Destroyer Preble to get Lockheed high-energy laser in 2022 By Justin Katz Planned HELIOS installation comes amid congressional scrutiny of the tech and tightening contract deadlines.   Astroscale looks to Orbit Fab space 'gas stations' to extend mission life By Theresa Hitchens The Japanese-founded startup also will pitch its debris removal services to SPACEWerx Orbit Prime contest, says Astroscale US President Ron Lopez.   Breaking Defense further expands with Networks and Emerging Tech reporter By Breaking Defense Jaspreet Gill joins the Breaking Defense team, covering technologies that provide the backbone for the Defense Department.   Raytheon to start backfitting destroyers with SPY-6 radar By Justin Katz The new radar represents a significant jump in capability from the flight IIA's current technology.   KC-46's new vision system in limbo as panoramic issues come into view By Valerie Insinna The Air Force worries that if it approves Remote Vision System 2.0 before concerns about the tanker's panoramic display system are resolved, it could be locked into paying for a fix.   How COVID-19 changed Navy ops, according to SWO boss By Justin Katz The most senior surface warfare officer in the Navy says COVID-19 has forced more self-reliance.   Is China really the greatest threat to the US in space, or is Russia? [Video] By Aaron Mehta Seventy-eight percent of survey respondents said China is the greatest threat in space. But our panel of experts is less convinced.       Breaking Defense 611 Broadway • New York, New York • 10012 unsubscribe