Welcome to part one of our regular bi-monthly summary of recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports and primers on a range of defense, weapon system, acquisition, sustainment, product support, and supply chain management-related topics. Just a handful of recent issuances of potential interest to the defense acquisition workforce community including:

• Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Apr 13, 2023
• The Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) System, Apr 06, 2023
• The U.S. Army’s Strategic Mid-Range Fires (SMRF) System (Formerly Mid-Range Capabilities [MRC] System), Apr 06, 2023
• The Army’s Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) Program, Apr 03, 2023
• Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress, Mar 31, 2023
• Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs: Background and Issues for Congress, Mar 31, 2023
• Navy Virginia (SSN-774) Class Attack Submarine Procurement: Background and Issues for Congress, Mar 31, 2023
• The U.S. Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), Mar 31, 2023

As regular DAU LOG Blog readers are aware, when I share these bi-monthly highlights of their reports (and particularly for those not familiar with the CRS), I like to include a reminder that the organization “…serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.”

Photo courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol