DefenceTalkAn amendment published yesterday to the Defense Federal Acquisition Supplement will require defense contractors to incorporate established information security standards on their unclassified networks and to report cyber-intrusion incidents that result in the loss of unclassified controlled technical information from these networks. The amendment will apply to all new contracts that will use or generate […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-beefs-up-contractor-information-security-requirements-49688/

DefenceTalkIn the months since the 2012 defense strategic guidance first reflected a new budget reality, Pentagon officials and military leaders have been working on the department’s longer-term budget and strategy, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here Nov. 5. In the keynote address before the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Global Security Forum, Hagel said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-six-priorities-shape-future-defense-institutions-49585/

DefenceTalkThe House Armed Services Committee (HASC) held a hearing this week titled “Twenty Five Years of Acquisition Reform: Where Do We Go from Here?” If the past is prologue, the answer to the Committee’s question would have to be nowhere. The reason for this is that the system is fundamentally broken. Reform at the margins […]https://www.defencetalk.com/25-years-of-acquisition-reform-with-little-to-show-for-all-the-effort-49556/

DefenceTalkOn the 10th day of the partial government shutdown, Defense Department civilians excluded by law from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s Oct. 7 recall to work of thousands of fellow employees still await an end to the political standoff that sent them home and stopped their paychecks Oct. 1. Hagel said Oct. 5 the department tried […]https://www.defencetalk.com/unemployment-benefits-may-help-some-furloughed-dod-civilians-49369/

DefenceTalkExperts from the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs gathered Aug. 14 at the Military Health System Research Symposium to discuss the future of research on mental health and traumatic brain injury. Discussions turned toward the National Research Action Plan, or NRAP, which is the result of an executive order signed a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-partners-to-combat-brain-injury-48799/

DefenceTalkHundreds of thousands of Defense Department civilian employees who have had to take a weekly unpaid day off from work since July 8 are getting some relief, as the total number of furlough days has been reduced from 11 to six, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced today. Here is the complete text of the secretary’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/hagel-announces-reduction-in-civilian-furlough-days-48678/

DefenceTalkThe US Army could be reduced by a further 15 percent, with cuts to the numbers of full-time active soldiers as well as reserves, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday. He said a review found that priority missions could be handled with between 420,000 and 450,000 active troops — compared to the 490,000 currently envisaged […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-could-reduce-army-by-further-15-percent-hagel-48651/

DefenceTalkFollowing recent testing failures, the director of the Missile Defense Agency told Congress today that he is committed to a full evaluation of the way forward for the nation’s ballistic missile defense system. Navy Vice Adm. James Syring told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee that the most recent flight test, conducted July […]https://www.defencetalk.com/additional-missile-defense-tests-necessary-dod-official-48514/

DefenceTalkAnti-access/area denial (AA/AD) challenges require continued technology investment. Potential adversaries are expected to exploit the current U.S. dependence on satellites, unmanned vehicles, computer systems, and the global positioning system. Frost & Sullivan research finds that the AA/AD programs are budgeted for $57.47 billion in 2013 and estimates this to reach $61.00 billion in 2017. Budget […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-dod-anti-accessarea-denial-challenges-are-a-funding-priority-47967/

DefenceTalkThe US Defense Department has decided to stop buying EADS Lakota helicopters for the Army next year, according to the head of the European aerospace’s US-based unit. “The Lakota is built by a highly skilled workforce, more than half of which are military veterans, at my company’s Columbus, Mississippi, helicopter production facility,” Sean O’Keefe, chairman […]https://www.defencetalk.com/eads-says-pentagon-ending-helicopter-program-47765/