FIXING FOREIGN SALES: Rep. Vicky Hartzler will convene a hearing this morning featuring industry witnesses on how the foreign military sales process can be improved. The hearing seeks to find out whether the Pentagon is “efficient, effective, and timely” in its piece of the foreign military sales program, Hartzler is expected to say in her opening statement.
“[O]ur foreign partners … seek to procure military equipment and services from the U.S. But if this takes too long, or if bureaucratic red tape proves too debilitating, our foreign partners and allies may seek help elsewhere,” Hartzler will say in her opening statement, provided to Daily on Defense. “This potentially weakens our security, reduces military-to-military cooperation, and represents missed opportunities for our defense industrial base to keep workers with valuable and needed skills sufficiently employed.”
Officials from the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Defense Industrial Association are expected to testify at the hearing, the second of a three-part series on improving and expediting the foreign military sales process.
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ON TO THE GRAND FINALE: The Senate Armed Services subcommittees wrapped up their mark ups Tuesday night. Those we could get a glimpse into — half of them were closed to the public and press — were mostly filled with procedural passage of each subcommittee’s draft, with most debate being saved for the main event that begins today when the full committee meets for its marathon mark up.
Here’s what happened yesterday:
The personnel panel approved changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice that will better protect victims of sexual assault and seek to stop sexual harassment. It also approved a 1.6 percent pay raise for troops, setting up a showdown with the House committee, which voted for a 2.1 percent boost.
The readiness subcommittee shot down the Pentagon’s request to close excess bases. Given that the House Armed Services Committee did the same, it’s unlikely we’ll see the military’s request for another round of base realignment and closure granted in the final conference report.
The emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee adopted an amendment from Sen. Tim Kaine that requires a report from the Pentagon on its top five acquisition priorities to implement its big innovation initiative, and whether the industrial base is prepared to meet them.
On the other side of Capitol Hill, lawmakers are preparing for the full House to consider the National Defense Authorization Act as early as next week and are beginning to introduce amendments. One from Rep. Pete Sessions would ax language in the bill that requires all 18- to 26-year-old women to register for the draft, which was added by the House Armed Services Committee on a bipartisan 32-30 vote last month. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, meanwhile, made his opinions known on the subject, Susan Ferrechio reports.
At the same time, the House defense appropriations bill is moving forward. The subcommittee is scheduled to mark up the spending bill in a closed session tonight. A draft released on Tuesday used the same funding mechanism as the NDAA passed by the House Armed Services Committee by shifting money from the war spending account to the base budget. The result? It funds overseas operations only through April.
SEEING THE FUTURE: As Defense Secretary Ash Carter continues his push for the department to be more innovative on another trip to Silicon Valley this week, the Pentagon will showcase some of its current work closer to home at DARPA Demo Day in the Pentagon courtyard.
The event will feature more than 60 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency programs from undersea to space to cyber, including sensors, microsystems, biological technologies and advanced platforms.
Some of the technology that will be on display includes lighter-weight protective gear for troops, a system to automatically identify languages, speakers and key words in noisy or highly distorted communications, an experimental vertical-take-off-and-landing aircraft trying to go faster than the current limit of about 150 knots, an unmanned underwater diesel electric sub hunter, and drones that can hibernate underwater for years before being recalled to the air when needed for a mission.
Daily on Defense will be there, so be sure to check back for what we think are the coolest up-and-coming tech the Pentagon has cooking.
LOCKHEED MARTIN BESTS DEFENSE CONTRACTORS: A government list of the top 100 contractors in fiscal 2015 ranks Lockheed Martin as the top business partner for both the federal government as a whole as well as each individual branch. Overall, the government obligated $36 billion to the defense giant last fiscal year — more than 8 percent of all federal spending on contracts. That’s more than double the 4 percent of spending earned by second-place contractor Boeing.
TO THE RESCUE: U.S. and Afghan special operators participated in a hostage rescue mission in Afghanistan to free the son of former Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. Four “enemy combatants” were killed in the raid. Carter said the successful raid demonstrates the “growing capabilities and effectiveness of the Afghan security forces.”
DAMAGE CONTROL CONTINUES: Less than two weeks after a New York Times Magazine profile drew criticism from the media and Capitol Hill, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes will speak at a Center for New American Security event where the topic of the discussion is billed as U.S. policy in Southeast Asia. It’s unclear from the event page if Rhodes will take questions, but even if he doesn’t, the article, in which Rhodes said he spun the facts of the Iran deal to create an echo chamber among press, is sure to be on the minds of everyone in the audience.
MAGIC TAPE! After news reports surfaced Monday that State Department video from a 2013 press briefing — showing a spokeswoman kind of saying it was OK to lie to the press over the Iran nuclear deal — the department announced the video had been restored, Pete Kasperowicz reports. This follow-up story includes State’s explanation for the change.
The Iran deal, meanwhile, was never viewed as a cure-all for the other mischief Iran makes in the Middle East, the White House said. Nicole Duran has the story.
CLASSIFIED SPILL: A February military commission involving Guantanamo Bay prisoners accidentally disclosed the name of a CIA interrogator, Anna Giaritelli reports.
HISTORIC VISIT: President Obama will visit Hiroshima at the end of May, the White House announced. Naturally, speculation turned toward whether Obama should apologize for the atomic bombings there and at Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Spokesman Josh Earnest had this to say, Nicole Duran reports.
BEEFING UP BRUSSELS: The White House’s Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco is in Belgium this week to check in on that country’s anti-terrorism efforts, Duran reports.
MORE TRAVELS: The State department announced Tuesday that the Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Frank Rose will visit Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, France, the Netherlands and Germany this month. The trip, scheduled for May 11-21, will include events and bilateral meetings on missile defense, space security, strategic stability and arms control.
CHINA’S RESPONSE: Beijing scrambled three fighter jets following the U.S. Navy destroyer William P. Lawrence’s transit near a man-made island in the South China Sea, the Washington Post reports.
Worth noting: Sen. John McCain has frequently called on the U.S. Navy to take a more aggressive posture in the South China Sea. The namesake of the ship that made the passage this week, William P. Lawrence, was a POW at the Hanoi Hilton, where McCain himself was imprisoned for years in Vietnam. McCain called Lawrence “probably the greatest man I’ve ever known in my life.” Now imagine if the Navy had sent this ship.
ERNST FOR VP? Army Times has a report on the speculation over whether Iraq war vet Sen. Joni Ernst could be on Donald Trump’s list.
MARINES FEEL THE BURN: Check out this training video of Marines stationed in Spain using martial-arts training techniques AFTER GETTING PEPPER-SPRAYED.
NO CHANGE AT THE CITADEL: The storied military college won’t update its uniform policy to accommodate wearing a hijab, Kelly Cohen reports. The family of the incoming student who raised the matter is now exploring legal options.
TALIBAN USING ISTOCK? After tweeting out an image of a drone it claims to have shot down, online commenters are claiming BS on the photo the Taliban used, Air Force Times reports.
WASN’T THERE A WARSHIP ON THE ANACOSTIA? Yep, and now the ex-USS Barry has been towed away. See the Navy video here.
THE RUNDOWN
AP: Iraq officials raise Baghdad car bombing death toll to 29
Long War Journal: Islamic State launches mobile app for children
Defense News: Air Force Will Announce B-21 Name at AFA in September
FlightGlobal: USAF issues RfP for initial design of next Air Force One
Daily Beast: Is There a Secret Deal to End the Korean War?
Defense One: GPS Upgrades Are Late and Over Budget. Here’s Why We Should Stay the Course
Defense News: Kendall Drops Legislative Merger Restriction Push
Breaking Defense: Kendall Warns Sen. McCain, Gen. Milley On Acquisition Reform
Daily Beast: CENTCOM Whistleblower Gets Job Back
IHS Jane’s 360: BAE Systems looks to sell M777s to the UAE
Defense Daily: Navy Tells Lockheed Martin to Address Issues With LCS Propulsion Systems, Program Management
Defense News: Chuck Hagel: NATO Should Not Enter Syria
NBC News: Navy SEAL Trainee Dies After Passing Out in Training Pool
Army Times: West Point: Cadet photo was inappropriate, but not political
Defense News: A Day in the Life of an F-35 Test Pilot
Quartz: Donald Trump may be the US military’s least liked Republican presidential candidate in over a decade
Time: Could a President Trump Do What He Wants Overseas?
Politico: Ben Rhodes and the Tough Sell of Obama’s Foreign Policy
Washington Post: ‘The U.S. can’t fix it’: James Clapper on America’s role in the Middle East
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | MAY 11
9:30 a.m. Russell 222. The Senate Armed Services Committee begins three days of 12-hour closed mark ups on the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill. Armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. Pentagon courtyard. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency holds a demo day at the Pentagon’s outdoor courtyard where some of its latest technology will be on display. Defense.gov
10 a.m. Rayburn 2212. Witnesses from industry testify at a House Armed Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on foreign military sales. armedservices.house.gov
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Two panels of experts discuss the next steps in addressing the Islamic State’s genocide. Heritage.org
THURSDAY | MAY 12
10 a.m. Rayburn 2172. Think tank experts testify at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the risks of economic engagement with Iran. foreignaffairs.house.gov
10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Former administration officials testify at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on America’s role in the world. Foreign.senate.gov
10 a.m. Cannon 311. The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hosts a hearing on terrorist financing. homeland.house.gov
FRIDAY | MAY 13
8:30 a.m. Kennedy Caucus Room, 325 Russell. Aerospace Industries Association hosts a “Rockets on the Hill” event with 50 teams from Team America Rocketry Challenge. Aia-aerospace.org
MONDAY | MAY 16
8:45 a.m. 201 Waterfront St., Oxon Hill, Md. The Navy League’s three-day Sea-Air-Space Exposition gets underway at National Harbor. Seaairspace.org
2 p.m. 1150 17th St. NW. Think tank experts look at rethinking the map of the Middle East 100 years after the agreement that served as the foundation for the border lines in the region. Aei.org
TUESDAY | MAY 17
9:30 a.m. 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va. Greg Zacharias, the chief scientist of the Air Force, will talk about the future of autonomous systems. Mitchellaerospacepower.org
9:30 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. A panel of experts discusses how drone proliferation may change the national security landscape of the future. stimson.org
1:30 p.m. 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. White House national security advisor Ben Rhodes will speak about U.S. policy in Southeast Asia at an event, following a profile of him in the New York Times Magazine that sparked backlash among the media and on Capitol Hill. cnas.org
WEDNESDAY | MAY 18
11 a.m. 529 14th St. NW. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will speak at a World War I Centennial Commission event. press.org
4 p.m. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Analysts will discuss the social and economic long-term viability of the Islamic State. Cato.org
