Breaking Defense's Monday Morning Briefing

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead _________________________________________________________________________

A News Roundup for the Week Ahead It's Impossible To Connect The Joint Force As One. Until It's Not. Presented by Northrop Grumman We provide powerful, scalable networks and capabilities that enable the joint force as one across every domain, service and mission.  Learn more. Vice Chair Joint Chiefs Hyten To Leave Next Year By Paul McLeary; Friday, November 13, 2020 5:47 PM A new rule passed by Congress in 2017 requires that the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs serve four-year terms. A second term would have meant Hyten would be in office for six years and worn the uniform for 44 years.   SAC Kills AF Push For Funding Flexibility; Space Force Likely Hit By Theresa Hitchens; Friday, November 13, 2020 4:51 PM "I think Space Force and its advocates hoped that they'd have a radically new approach to budgeting and acquisition," CSIS's Mark Cancian says, but Congress is unlikely to agree.   Army Creates New Units To Use Iron Dome By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Friday, November 13, 2020 4:13 PM The two air & missile defense batteries will be based at Fort Bliss, Texas, with the first Iron Dome weapons systems arriving from Israeli manufacturer Rafael by the end of the year.   QinetiQ Delivers Armed Scout Robot To Army: RCV-L By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Friday, November 13, 2020 10:59 AM The Robotic Combat Vehicle (Light), which can shoot missiles, launch mini-drones, and spot targets for artillery, combines a Marine Corps-tested unmanned vehicle with Army weapons and autonomy software.   Project Convergence: Its Success Could Draw Army Astray By Thomas Spoehr; Friday, November 13, 2020 7:01 AM While Project Convergence's first big test, the Army's "experiment at scale for a combined arms operations," was deemed a great success, the service must resist the urge to scale-up so rapidly that the events lose their value as experiments or become a fat target for budget cutters. The convergence tests, linking weapons, sensors, systems and…   Starting Dec. 1, Cybersecurity Is No Longer Optional By Kelsey Atherton; Thursday, November 12, 2020 5:19 PM "This is the start of a new day in the Department of Defense where cybersecurity, as we've been saying for years is foundational for acquisitions, we're putting our money where our mouth is. We mean it," Katie Arrington says.   Air Force To Launch 4G LTE At 20 More Bases Next Month By Theresa Hitchens; Thursday, November 12, 2020 3:39 PM "While we're all focused on 5G, and we've got a lot of possibilities in 5G, we also know 5G is not an endpoint," said Dan Massey, one of three 5G program leads at OUSDR&E. "So, what goes beyond 5G?"   Dunlap Unveils First 'Global' ABMS Exercise By Colin Clark; Thursday, November 12, 2020 2:45 PM The F-35, the F-22, "even a KC-46 tanker" and ground assets will be able to share data in fiscal 2022, Dunlap says. Later in the year, the Air Force will take a KC-46 tanker, and put that same communications capability on it so forces can "move data in a much wider bandwidth to many more forces.   FVL: Robotic Co-Pilots Will Help Fly Black Hawks In 2021 By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Thursday, November 12, 2020 2:32 PM Sikorsky's ALIAS automation will help human pilots fly more safely at low altitude and high speeds and in poor visibility. Modified UH-60s will test out the technology for next-gen Future Vertical Lift.   F-35, Reaper Sale To UAE Draws Fire In Senate, Fuels Concern Over Libya By Riad Kahwaji; Thursday, November 12, 2020 1:53 PM With the UAE turning to China for armed drones, policymakers in the Trump administration worry about Beijing's efforts to gain influence in the Middle East.   DES: Multi-Billion Dollar Effort To Modernize DoD's 'Fourth Estate' By Barry Rosenberg; Thursday, November 12, 2020 12:09 PM An exclusive Breaking Defense interview with Don Means, DISA's Defense Enclave Services Executive, on the DES network modernization effort for independent DoD agencies and commands.   White House Presses Army, Air Force To Help Pay For Larger Navy By Paul McLeary; Wednesday, November 11, 2020 5:58 PM Sources have said the Trump Administration is strongly considering releasing a 2022 federal budget before Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration, a move meant to throw down markers for government spending.   Aerospace Cos Wary Of Digital Design Revolution By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, November 11, 2020 3:47 PM "With a flattening budget topline (at best) and many competing Air Force investment priorities, it's not at all clear that this program will continue. We might just be left with a museum-ready prototype," Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia says.   SAC Fears Nuclear 'Strategic Communications Gap' By Theresa Hitchens; Wednesday, November 11, 2020 3:45 PM "Things never go as planned," cautions Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin's executive VP for space.   JAIC Chief Asks: Can AI Prevent Another 1914? By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.; Wednesday, November 11, 2020 2:13 PM AI will help commanders make sound decisions so much faster, said Lt. Gen. Michael Groen, that waging war without it will work as well as cavalry charging machine guns on the Western Front.   Breaking Defense 611 Broadway • New York, New York • 10012 unsubscribe