NORAD/NORTHCOM. Air Force Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy formally took the reins of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) during a May 24 ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. O’Shaughnessy, former commander of Pacific Air Forces, replaces retiring Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson.

DoD Research. The Senate Armed Services Committee on May 23 approved the nomination of In-Q-Tel executive and former NASA official Lisa Porter to be deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. Her nomination now heads to the full Senate.

Hill Break. Capitol Hill will be quiet the week of May 28 to June 1, as lawmakers head home for the Memorial Day holiday.

Mobile Device Restrictions. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on May 22 issued a DoD-wide memorandum clarifying existing guidance on restrictions on the use of mobile devices that transmit, store or record data within areas of the Pentagon where classified information is handled, processed or discussed. A Pentagon spokesman told Defense Daily “We determined additional clarifying guidance would be useful to increase the awareness of the potential risks associated with the use of mobile devices” around classified information. The policy guidance applies to military personnel, civilian employees, contractors, and visitors.

CINC’s Cellphone. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) is concerned about potential security risks at the top of the chain of military command if President Trump’s smartphone isn’t secure. Citing recent reports saying the president continues to use an unsecure Android-based that doesn’t shield communications, Carper in a May 24 letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrote that given the unclarity on the security around Trump’s smartphone, he wants a “better understanding” of the Defense Department’s and White House’s efforts to “implement protective measures” for the president’s smartphone. Carper also said that he and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) have yet to receive a response from Mattis to a February 2017 letter they sent him regarding the security of the president’s smartphone.

DHS Cloud Approach. The Department of Homeland Security plans to go with a hybrid cloud strategy where multiple vendors are selected to provide solutions that provide flexibility for department agencies and components to select what works best for them, according to John Zangardi, the DHS chief information officer. Zangardi, who joined DHS from the Defense Department last December, said his marching orders include keeping the components moving to the cloud and then develop and enterprise information technology strategy. The department is standing up a steering group to help guide the department’s cloud adoption planning, he said at a DHS Industry Day event sponsored by Washington Technology. He said that currently about 29 percent of the department’s applications are already in the cloud and the remainder are transiting to the cloud.

Block III Growler? Boeing Vice President for the F/A-18 and EA-18G programs Dan Gillian said Super Hornet Block III upgrades like the advanced cockpit system (ACS) and conformal fuel tanks (CFT) are a “perfect fit” for the Navy’s EA-18G Growler. There is no program of record yet “but I would say ongoing interest and discussions,” he told reporters at a Boeing press event. The Navy’s Super Hornet Program Manager, Capt. David Findley, added while the upgrades make sense for the Super Hornets “it almost makes more sense on a Growler for some of the reasons.” The Growler community is fascinated with conformal fuel tanks and “if anything is presented with a more complex information management problem than the Super Hornet is.” Although there is no program yet, Findley added, “I have some confidence that we’re going to see the Navy start driving us toward that requirement fairly aggressively.”

Russian SLBMs. Russia conducted its first salvo test launch of four submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) from a Project 955/Borei-class strategic nuclear submarine last week. The Yuri Dolgorukiy (K-535) launched four SS-N-32 Bulava-class intercontinental SLBMs from the White Sea to targets on the Kura shooting range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Russian defense ministry noted the submarine fired them while submerged. The ministry added the test confirms the combat readiness of the Project 955/Borei-class and Bulava missiles. The Bulava missiles can hold one to six MIRVed warheads and have a range of over 5,100 miles.

T-45 Training. The U.S. Navy selected Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) to deliver air crew training technology using augmented and virtual reality for T-45 simulators. BISim will work with the Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) in PMA-205 and the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD). The company will specifically provide an augmented reality visual system that allows trainees to interact with a physical T-45 simulators cockpit while in a virtual environment shown on a head mounted display (HMD). The period of performance runs through March 2019.

CRS: Laser, Rainguns, And Guided Projectiles. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report this month providing background and issues for Congress on Navy high-energy laser, railgun, and gun-launched guided projectile programs. It noted if any of the new weapons are successfully developed and deployed, it might be regarded as a “game changer” in defending surface ships against UAVs and missiles. CRS said if two are developed it may be considered a revolution and the service has rarely had so many potential new types of surface-ship air-defense weapons. However, it noted significant development challenges remain and there is no guarantee of successfully overcoming them.

Kratos THAAD. Kratos revealed this week it makes the target for and supported a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system non-intercept tracking exercise in April. The April 6 test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., called FTX-35, used a Lynx short range ballistic missile (SRBM) produced by Kratos. It was detected and tracked by the THAAD AN/TPY-2 radar and Patriot system. MDA previously disclosed the test but Kratos highlighted it built the target and participated in mission planning, flight performance safety analysis, rocket and payload assembly, payload testing, vehicle build-up, and launch operations.

RWS/Stryker. Army officials are holding an industry day on Aug. 1-2 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for selected participants to demonstrate new medium caliber Remote Weapon Stations capable of integration on Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles. Stryker program senior leadership will use the opportunity to inform future capability lethality options to be considered in the second quarter of FY ’19. RWS demonstrations at the industry day must be capable of firing either 30x113mm rounds or 30x173mm rounds.

NSGAR Prototypes. The Army on May 21 upped the number of awardees to develop a prototype Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NSGAR) from five to six contracts. The NSGAR will eventually replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon use by Brigade Combat Teams. “It will combine the firepower and range of a machine gun with the precision and ergonomics of a rifle, yielding capability improvements in accuracy, range, and lethality,” Army officials wrote. Selected partners will be tasked with developing a function prototype weapon over a 12-month period.