Lone Dissenter. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who cast the lone vote on Thursday opposing a cyber security information sharing bill marked up by the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act lacks strong privacy protections for individuals. In a press release following the markup, Wyden’s office says “If information sharing legislation does not include adequate privacy protections then that’s not a cyber security bill, it’s a surveillance bill by another name.” Wyden says “I am concerned that the bill the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reported today lacks adequate protections for the privacy rights of American consumers, and that it will have limited impact on U.S. cyber security.”
New Review. The U.K. plans to conduct a new Strategic Defense and Security Review, says Defense Minister Michael Fallon during a visit to Washington. Some prep work is already under way, though the review won’t begin until after the May 7 elections. Fallon says he expects the review will be completed in the fall. The previous review, done in 2010, resulted in changes to provide a more agile and deployable force.
…Bilateral Relations Important. While the U.K. has a “special relationship” with the U.S., Fallon says other bilateral relations also are important. For example, the U.K. is working with France on its future missile requirements and unmanned combat air systems, he tells a CSIS audience. Also, this year, the new U.K.-France Combined Joint Expeditionary Force will be tested. Separately, a new joint expeditionary force is under development with the U.K. leading six nations from northern Europe to deliver a new flexible force able to respond to NATO and other contingencies.
NASA MMS Launch. United Launch Alliance (ULA) on March 12 successfully launches NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) payload on an Atlas V rocket, according to a company statement. Liftoff takes place at 10:44 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The Atlas V 421 configuration that launches the mission includes a 4-meter-diameter payload fairing along with two Aerojet Rocketdyne solid rocket boosters attached to the Atlas booster. MMS is a NASA solar terrestrial probes mission consisting of four identical science observatories whose objective is to understand the microphysics of magnetic reaction. ULA’s next launch is the ninth Global Positioning System IIF-series satellite (GPS IIF-9) for the Air Force on March 25 from the Cape.
Donna Edwards In Senate Bid. House Science space subcommittee Ranking Member Donna Edwards (D-Md.) in a YouTube video announces her candidacy to fill Maryland’s senate seat being vacated by Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D). The seat is already attracting candidates as Rep. Chris VanHollen (D-Md.) had declared while a staffer for House Appropriations defense subcommittee (HAC-D) member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) says March 13 that the Baltimore County-area representative is also thinking about running for the position. Mikulski announces in early March that she isn’t running for reelection in 2016, ending what will be a 30-year run in the Senate.
Army Fuze Contract. The Army awards Orbital ATK a $120 million contract for the production, lot acceptance testing and delivery of the precision guidance kit (PGK) for 155mm artillery, according to a company statement. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in early 2016 without a production break from low-rate initial production (LRIP), which began in January. PGK is a guidance fuze that fits within the fuze well of 155mm high-explosive artillery projectiles, performing in-flight course corrections to greatly reduce artillery dispersion.
Wearable Technologies. The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology branch is launching a business accelerator program aimed at entrepreneurs that are investing in wearable technologies that could be adapted for first responders. The EMERGE! Program will help innovators by providing early market validation, mentoring and access to private investment and provide a path to introduce those technologies into a variety of markets, including private sector partners. Such technologies include body-worn electronics, advanced sensors, and integrated voice and data communications embedded in a responder’s gear.
Arctic Concern. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) wants to know what the Army is doing about published reports Russia is building infrastructure and putting perhaps four new brigades in the Arctic. At a SAC Army budget hearing, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno says Russia is clearly interested in the region and is building bases, so “it has clearly gotten our attention,” but the Army is waiting for NORTHCOM to develop a strategy to see what part the service would play. Army Alaska has some ideas that the service is looking at, Odierno says. Murkowski, with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), plans to form an Arctic Caucus to raise the profile of the issue in Congress.
Secret Operators. CIA Director John Brennan says he wants the agency to keep its covert action skills. “I believe the CIA needs to retain that paramilitary capability,” should it be called on, Brennan tells a Council on Foreign Relations meeting Friday in New York. Almost every president has utilized covert action, he says, and the spy agency has had paramilitary operators throughout its history. What he wants to ensure is that the CIA fulfills all its responsibilities across the board, while the paramilitary skills have been near the forefront over more than a decade.