The Insider

Northrop Grumman has opened a new production facility in Madison, AL to support the Army's air and missile defense modernization efforts, the company announced today.

The facility, known as the “Enhanced Production and Integration Center,” will manage “component integration” for the Integrated Battle Command System, according to a press release.

IBCS is the centerpiece of the Army’s air and missile defense modernization efforts. The system is meant to merge multiple sensors and effectors to allow warfighters the ability to better track and neutralize threats.

The system is made up of the Integrated Collaborative Environment, which is a modular shelter used for mission command, the Engagement Operation Center, which is an integrated fire control center, and Integrated Fire Control Network Relay, which provides the “interface for the adapted sensors and weapons” while also relaying communications across the battlespace.

The new facility will allow production capacity for the IBCS command and control system to up to 96 Engagement Operation Centers, 96 Integrated Collaborative Environments and 192 Integrated Fire Control Network relays each year, according to Northrop Grumman.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs on the U.S.-Australia-U.K. submarine agreement, plus what a potential war over Taiwan would cost and more.

In Congress this week, House Democrats decried the Trump administration's announced tariffs -- which currently sit at a minimum 10% rate on the bulk of U.S. imports -- arguing that they impose needless economic pain on U.S. allies and strain military alliances:

Lawmakers, industry brace for tariff impact

Following a chaotic fortnight for international trade, during which President Trump imposed and then partially rescinded wide-ranging tariffs on U.S. trading partners, lawmakers and defense executives alike are trying to make sense of and prepare for the likely effects of these tariffs on their businesses, constituents and international relationships.

A war over Taiwan would cause a 25% downturn in gross domestic product in Asia, which in turn would plunge domestic GDP by 10% to 12% and spike unemployment by seven to 10 points -- causing 500,000 "excess deaths of despair," which is a metric that measures deaths induced by economic decline:

Taiwan conflict would upend economy, hurt U.S. partnerships, INDOPACOM leader says

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would strike an instant blow to the world economy and deal long-term damage to the web of allies and partners the U.S. has built over the years, Adm. Sam Paparo, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week.

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican state House Speaker Matt Hall met with the Trump administration's cabinet this week to discuss several of the state's priorities, including the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base:

Trump pledges fighters for Selfridge ANG Base after meeting with Michigan governor

President Trump said he will work with Michigan's bipartisan leadership to keep Selfridge Air National Guard Base "open, strong, thriving" after its fleet of A-10 Warthogs begins to retire in 2026.

The Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations program will have eight companies working on it:

DOD selects eight companies for nuclear power systems at military installations

The Pentagon's innovation arm announced today the selection of eight companies for a Defense Innovation Unit-led program enabling the design and build of "fixed on-site microreactor nuclear power systems on select military installations.”

Starting in calendar year 2026, the Army will begin deploying an initial set of six Modular Open Systems Architecture Instrumentation Containers (MOSAIC) to ships:

Army will soon deploy containerized, long-range missile test capabilities to ships

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Inside the Army's Redstone Test Center at Redstone Arsenal here, the service is testing out a series of containers that will be able to collect long-range missile test data including telemetry, flight safety, satellite communications and weather data.

In November, the KC-46A Program Office, Air Mobility Command and Boeing determined that incidents of fuel system leaks on the aircraft’s fuel manifold have been mostly resolved:

Air Force, Boeing making progress on remaining KC-46 category 1 deficiencies

The Air Force downgraded two of seven category 1 deficiencies on the KC-46A Pegasus, Inside Defensehas learned, but five problems that could result in death of an operator or significant damage to the tanker remain.

The Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor -- made by L3Harris under a Missile Defense Agency contract -- can be built at a "continuous, high-volume" rate:

L3Harris: HBTSS ready to go for Golden Dome

L3Harris is ready to up production of its fire-control space sensor that was named in President Trump’s executive order for greater homeland defense, a company official said yesterday -- it’s just waiting for the order.

A new executive order requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to within 60 days develop a list of "priority partners" for U.S. arms sales and "prioritize end-items for potential transfer to those partners":

White House looks to streamline U.S. arms exports with phased plan

President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at reforming the U.S. foreign military sales process, requiring the phased implementation of a new plan intended to accelerate the process and create new accountability metrics.

Document: White House executive order on FMS

The Senate voted 60-25 late last night to confirm retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff.

Though Caine gained the support of many Democrats, some opted to oppose his confirmation and delayed a vote well into Thursday night to protest President Trump’s firing of Gen. C.Q. Brown, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Among his Democratic supporters, however, was Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

During his confirmation hearing, Caine promised to remain apolitical, despite a story Trump has told about him allegedly wearing a MAGA hat. Caine said he has “never worn any political merchandise” and suggested the president may have misremembered details of the story.

Meanwhile, Caine will arrive at the Pentagon during a time of significant upheaval, including a major leadership reorganization and reviews focused on the budget and major defense acquisition programs.

At his hearing, Caine, a retired lieutenant general who has never served on the Joint Staff or run a combatant command, told lawmakers he realized he was an “unconventional nominee.”

“But these are unconventional times,” he said.

Soldiers manning trucks, tanks or helicopters don't have good enough access to data detailing their exposure to nuclear radiation, which is why the Army is surveying industry for a new, network-capable system to keep crews informed.

The risk of a “nuclear battlefield” is boosting the chance that soldiers will take in radiation doses higher than they should, according to the Army’s April 9 notice to industry, which gives rise to the need for the Vehicle Integrated Platform Enhanced RADIAC, or VIPER. RADIAC stands for radiation detection, indication and computation.

VIPER will give crews fast and accurate details for a “complete understanding” of radiation exposure by providing gamma dose rates, or the amount of radiation a person can expect to absorb, within vehicles, while also monitoring residual doses, or the radiation levels outside the vehicle. The data would be hooked up to the network for mission commanders to make quick, accurate decisions.

“Fielding a networked crew monitor to general purpose mounted forces would enable the Army to identify and penetrate areas on the battlefield with the least amount of radiological contamination,” the RFI states.

The joint program executive office for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense is putting out the survey to industry for the capability, designed to swap out the two radiological detection systems the Army fields right now -- AN/VDR-2 and AN/UDR-13 -- which are 1970s- and 1980s-era legacy capabilities that aren’t in production anymore and were designed specifically for the “fallout produced following detonation of a nuclear weapon.”

VIPER will also be designed to assess prompt radiation, the gamma and neutron radiation emitted from a nuclear blast, which the two legacy systems can’t do, according to the notice. It will have a “dedicated data port and networking capabilities” so that exposure data can inform commanders quickly.

Commanders will harness VIPER to make sure their vehicles and crews fly or drive around the battlefield safely by steering clear of contamination zones an enemy force might intentionally contaminate. The manned vehicles that would benefit from the capability are:

• Stryker Family of Vehicles, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle (NBCRV) Sensor Suite variant
• Abrams Tank
• Bradley Fighting Vehicle
• Army Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle
• Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
• M-10 Booker
• CH-47 Chinook
• UH-60 Black Hawk
• AH-64 Apache

Submissions are due May 12, and the Army is planning an industry day for June, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, where companies will be invited to interact with the program office.

The Senate Armed Services Committee today voted to approve the nominations of several key Pentagon nominees, including retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Caine to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Other nominees approved by the committee include Troy Meink to be Air Force secretary, Michael Duffey to be under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, Emil Michael to be under secretary of defense for research and engineering and Keith Bass to be assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

The nominations now head to the full Senate for confirmation votes.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the deputy defense secretary conducting a major organizational shakeup of the department, plus Navy acquisition reform, the second Ford-class aircraft carrier delivery being delayed and more.

In a memo released this week, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg says he will lead a new effort to "rebalance and optimize" the department's civilian workforce:

Feinberg launches major Pentagon shake up

Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg is moving to reorganize the Defense Department's entire organizational structure and civilian workforce in ways that could permanently alter the way the Pentagon operates, according to a new memo released yesterday.

Document: DOD memos on workforce acceleration and recapitalization

The Navy's newly confirmed secretary gave his first public remarks this week:

New SECNAV promises acquisition reform, says review of all Navy contracts is underway

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Navy is in the early stages of reviewing all its existing contracts, according to new Navy Secretary John Phelan, who today outlined his intent to draw upon his non-defense, private-sector experience to improve shipbuilding performance, reform defense acquisitions and run the service more like a business.

The Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee held a hearing on the state of nuclear shipbuilding:

CVN-79 delivery pushed back, Navy official tells lawmakers

The delivery date of the John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) aircraft carrier to the Navy has been pushed back, an official told lawmakers Tuesday.

Document: Senate hearing on nuclear shipbuilding

More coverage from this week's Sea-Air-Space symposium:

New IDIQ contract in works to help shipyards outsource labor, Gaucher says

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Rather than have individual shipyards draft contracts for outsourced labor, there will soon be one main contract the Navy will be able to draw from for the purpose of expanding outsourced labor for ship and submarine repair, a Navy official said on Tuesday.

Ultra Maritime partners with Anduril for new, autonomous submarine sensing capability

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- Ultra Maritime and Anduril have partnered to further low-cost and low-risk submarine detection capabilities by bridging their respective sensing and autonomous technologies, according to a news release issued Monday.

Navy taps Dutch shipbuilder Damen for landing ship design amid reevaluation of LSM requirements

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Navy plans to procure the technical data package for a landing ship design from Dutch shipbuilding conglomerate Damen Naval, according to a Tuesday announcement that comes as the sea service recalibrates its requirements and procurement plans for the Landing Ship Medium program.

(Read our full Sea-Air-Space coverage.)

Several analysts spoke with Inside Defense this week regarding how to get new defense contractors past the "valley of death":

New DOD officials increasingly focused on drawing private capital investments

Senior defense officials are pushing for new increases in private capital investment, which key analysts say has the potential to expand the defense industrial base and drive greater innovation into U.S. weapon systems.

STRATCOM chief raises quiet alarm over Air Force bomber reorganization

The head of U.S. Strategic Command is signaling quiet but pointed concern over an Air Force proposal to shift operational control of its heavy bombers -- a move he suggests could blur accountability for nearly 70% of the nation's nuclear command, control and communications infrastructure.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said today he expects the White House to send Congress a fiscal year 2026 "skinny budget" before the end of the month.

“We’re expecting the skinny budget . . . by the end of the month -- that the [Office of Management and Budget] has committed to us,” he said today at a conference in Washington hosted by GE Aerospace.

Cole pledged to have the defense appropriations bill complete and out of committee before Congress’ break in August.

Meanwhile, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have promised the first $1 trillion defense budget.

Watch Inside Defense for more.