Capitol Hill Week Ahead. The service chiefs and secretaries will be making their way to the Hill on Wednesday for a HASC hearing on the fiscal year 2017 budget request. The following day, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford will testify on the same subject in front of the SASC.
Shipbuilding Plan. The release of the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan is “imminent,” but will not take into account the service’s latest force structure assessment that will roll out this summer, the chief of naval operations said March 10. “The 30-year plan will reflect the current force structure assessment, the next one will reflect the analysis that we do in an updated assessment,” Adm. John Richardson said during the FY2017 defense programs conference presented by McAleese and Associates. The latest force structure analysis was released in 2012 and updated in 2014.
Fanning Nomination. SASC on March 10 voted to move forward the nomination of Eric Fanning for Secretary of the Army, but Fanning still faces a hold from Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who is blocking his nomination over concerns about the relocation of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Roberts has said he will not remove his hold on the nomination unless he is given assurances by the Obama administration that detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba will not be transferred to Kansas.
LPD Sea Trials. The Navy’s newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26), wrapped up builders trials March 4 after four days underway. During the trials, shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries ran a series of at-sea tests—including a full power run, self-defense detect-to-engage exercise and an evaluation of combat and communications systems—that pave the way for further demonstrations with the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). The ship is scheduled to be commissioned in the fall.
Blue Origin Update. Blue Origin has completed more than 170 BE-4 staged-combustion tests, including 51 starts on a single regeneratively cooled chamber and nozzle, the company says in a March 10 email. The preburner performs flawlessly and the main injector consistently demonstrates performance at the high end of the company’s predictions, giving it confidence that it will get good specific impulse when it goes to full-scale engine testing later this year. Blue Origin is building two new test cells, the first is a high-pressure cell that lets it run short-duration, full-scale isolated preburner tests. Blue Origin will use this cell to refine the ignition sequence and understand the start transients. The second is another full engine test cell. Having two full engine test positions will allow Blue Origin to further increase the testing pace. Blue Origin is spending $10 million to build these two new test cells.
Ward Joins Aerojet. Scott Ward joins Aerojet Rocketdyne as vice president of engineering on April 4, according to a company statement. Ward takes over for Marvin Young, who retired after 31 years with the company. Ward was previously at United Launch Alliance (ULA), where he served as director of the engines and motors team with responsibility for all liquid propellant rocket engines and solid propellant rocket motors used in ULA launch vehicles. Before ULA, Ward was director of Delta IV development at Boeing.
Next Cyber Innovation. There haven’t been any major breakthroughs lately in cyber security innovation and the real need now is to better integrate the dozens of security tools that organizations currently deploy to protect their networks, Peter Fonash, chief technology officer for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, says at a cyber conference hosted by New America. On the horizon, however, are orchestration tools that coordinate “the actions and passage of data so if something is sensed, it makes sense out of it, and then it goes and makes a decision and takes an action.” Fonash adds that “Right now there’s way too much manual intervention…We have to get that human out of the loop.”
…Role of Big Data. Fonash says that big data, coupled with the coming automation, will advance cyber security in new ways. With automation and more data being collected, it will mean the ability to “assimilate it and share it,” and “we’re going to be able to do big data analytics and so we’re going to be able to pick up things that we never could see before.” That will mean sharing lessons in real-time so others can learn and better defend themselves, he says.
NSC Keel Authenticated. Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding has authenticated the keel for the Coast Guard’s seventh National Security Cutter, the Kimball (WMSL 756), representing the formal beginning of the vessel. The Kimball is scheduled for delivery in 2018. The Coast Guard plans to acquire nine NSCs.
…New FRC for Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has taken delivery of the 17th Fast Response Cutter (FRC), the Donald Horsley, from shipbuilder Bollinger Shipyards. The 16th FRC, the Winslow Griesser, was commissioned on Friday, making it the fourth FRC to be stationed at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Horsley will be the fifth FRC stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bollinger is under contract to deliver 32 FRCs. The Coast Guard’s requirement is for 58 FRCs.
Army Conference. The Association of the U.S. Army next week holds its annual Global Force Symposium and Exposition in Huntsville, Ala., home of Redstone Arsenal and Army Materiel Command, Army Aviation and Missile Command, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Ground Combat reporter Dan Parsons will be on hand to cover the show for Defense Daily.
New Europe Chief. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti is appointed supreme allied commander of Europe, replacing retiring Ari Force Gen. Philip Breedlove. Scaparrotti is currently serving as commander of U.S. and U.N. forces in Korea. In addition to the NATO position, Scaparrotti is assigned as commander of U.S. European Command. From 2011 to 2012, Scaparrotti commanded 140,000 coalition forces in Afghanistan during “the surge.”
… SECDEF Praise. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on Friday issued a statement supporting the decision to elevate Scaparrotti. “General Scaparrotti’s proven leadership over the course of several difficult assignments will serve him well in this critical command,” Carter says. “General Scaparrotti’s most recent assignment as Commander, US Forces Korea, further demonstrated his excellence as a soldier-statesman, skills he will need as he works closely with our most trusted Allies and partners in Europe. General Scaparrotti is one of the U.S. military’s most accomplished officers and combat leaders, and it is my hope that the Senate will act quickly on his nomination.”
…General Exit. Carter also had kind words for outgoing European theater commander Breedlove. “I also want to express my deep thanks to General Philip Breedlove for his dedicated and distinguished service,” Carter says. “Whether in the cockpit of an F-16 or commanding the military efforts of NATO, General Breedlove has proven his absolute dedication to the security of our people and nation. On behalf of the Department of Defense, I want to extend my sincere appreciation for his nearly four decades of selfless service to our country.”
Pakistan F-16 Sale. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky)’s bid to torpedo the sale of F-16 strike fighters to Pakistan is blocked March 11. Paul, who opposes the sale because of concerns about the country’s ties to groups like the Haqqani Network, called for a vote to his resolution that would kill the deal. In response, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called a vote to table the measure that was approved with 71-24 senators in favor.
Internet Association. S.Y. Lee, former Deputy Press Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is joining the Internet Association as communications director. At DHS Lee serves as spokesman for several issues, including cybersecurity. He will report to Noah Theran, vice president of public affairs and communications. “We are incredibly excited to have S.Y. join our team,” Michael Beckerman, president and CEO of the Internet Association, says in a statement. “As the Internet Association’s footprint continues to grow to all 50 states, Europe, and the courts, S.Y.’s talents and experience makes him a perfect fit for our team.”
CRS Cyber Releases. The Congressional Research Service recently completed three reports on cybersecurity issues: selected legal issues on encryption (R44407); a list of authoritative reports and resources on cybersecurity education, training, and R&D (R44406); and a list of authoritative government and nongovernment sources addressing the most prominent issues in cybersecurity (R44405).
Media Security. Runa Sandvik, a privacy and security researcher, joins the New York Times as their Director of Information Security for the newsroom. An independent security consultant for journalists, Sandvik is a former developer of the Tor Project, a technical adviser to the Freedom of the Press Foundation, and a Forbes contributor.
G7 Cyber. The United States and Canada are partnering on a new initiative in the Americas to strengthen regional participation in the G7 24/7 Network, the countries say in a fact sheet on the bilateral relationship during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first official visit to Washington, D.C., this week. The network acts to connect separate national law enforcement agencies across international lines to fight high-tech crime.
New Senate Cyber Bill. Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) announce the introduction of legislation to promote better cybersecurity coordination among the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) and state and local governments, The State and Local Cyber Protections Act. A companion to a House bill passed in December (H.R. 3869), it would require the NCCIC to provide local governments with several kinds of technical and operational cyber assistance upon request.