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The Navy is seeking information from sources hoping to participate in this year's red and blue team test exercise -- known as the Robust Artificial Intelligence Test Event.

RAITE kicked off in 2023 and allows industry and academia members to show their AI capabilities to the Navy, addressing “critical technology gaps,” according to a government notice issued today. This year’s test event is projected to start in late October, and the Navy asks that those interested in participating submit information by April 4.

RAITE 2025 will include testing of multimodal data, cyber-enabled AI networks, unmanned collaboration and large language model test and evaluation. The test event will consist of six scenarios with red and blue teams, as well as a passive “purple” team.

One scenario will focus on autonomous search, with the blue team using unmanned aerial or ground vehicles to employ a sensor suite that can track a target and locate an autonomous system. The red team will aim to affect the blue team via cyber or physical attacks, while the purple team will collect and analyze data.

A language learning model scenario will debut for the first time this year, and the Navy encourages “broad submissions for this topic,” according to the RFI. A potential outline consists of the red team running a local LLM, with the blue team decreasing this capability or operator confidence via cyber-attacks.

Organizations are encouraged to reply to the request for information with the scenarios and teams they would prefer to take part in, and with a listing of capabilities they will bring to the test event, including the technical readiness level and if the capability can run in real-time.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a proposed Army vertical takeoff cruise missile, plus the latest from this year's AFA Warfare Symposium in Colorado and more.

The Army has a goal to launch a missile from outside the enemy's radar coverage, avoid detection and hit high-payoff targets, such as radar arrays and artillery pieces:

Army tasks start-up with designing vertical takeoff cruise missile for maneuver units

Army Futures Command's innovation lab has tapped Mach Industries to provide maneuver units with a vertical takeoff cruise missile to strike deep targets on their own, the vendor's chief executive officer told Inside Defense last Thursday.

The latest from this year's AFA Warfare Symposium in Colorado:

Space Force adds domain control as key function, adding focus to counter-space

DENVER -- Domain control needs to be seen as a key function of the Space Force and would include offensive as well as defensive capabilities on the ground and on orbit to counter potential adversaries such as China, according to Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.

Air Force gives CCA prototypes a name, sets up first flight for this summer

DENVER -- Uncrewed fighter jets designed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Anduril Industries for the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program will take to the skies for the first time this summer, according to service Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin.

Air Force pauses KC-46 deliveries due to cracks in the aircraft's structure

DENVER -- The Air Force last week halted deliveries of the KC-46A Pegasus after it became aware of cracks found in the "outboard fixed-trailing-edge support structure" of two brand-new production tankers not yet shipped to the service, according to an Air Force spokesperson.

Late last month, the Missile Defense Agency revealed plans for proposed upgrades to the Long Range Discrimination Radar system in a notice asking industry for ideas to design, test and field new LRDR software capabilities in line with Increment 12A -- not previously disclosed -- slated for operational capability in December 2032:

MDA eyeing new LRDR capability improvements, possible Increment 12A in 2032

The Missile Defense Agency is planning significant upgrades to the Long-Range Discrimination Radar system with a focus on enhanced electronic protection and improved homeland missile defense capabilities in the early 2030s.

Last but by no means least, some CYBERCOM news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

CYBERCOM's Adamski illuminates path to deterring Chinese cyberattacks in partnership with industry

U.S. Cyber Command must demonstrate offensive capabilities and enhance its workforce to deter Chinese threat actors from attacking critical infrastructure entities, according to CYBERCOM Executive Director Morgan Adamski, while the private sector works to shore up its defenses.

The Defense Department has announced Katie Arrington will serve as the Pentagon's chief information officer in an acting capacity, elevating a key voice in the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program who joined the Office of the DOD CIO in February.

“Today the [Defense] Secretary named Ms. Katherine ‘Katie’ Arrington Performing the Duties of the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer. Please join the CIO team in congratulating her on this new role! Ms. Leslie Beavers will resume her full time position as the Principal Deputy CIO,” according to a March 3 LinkedIn post from the Office of the DOD CIO.

The post says, “In this capacity, Ms. Arrington serves as the primary advisor to the Secretary of Defense for information management/Information Technology (IT); information assurance, as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications.”

The post continues, “Prior to assuming this role, she served in various positions including the Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity, CISO for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)), led the White House COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force for Acceleration as well as the team that created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).”

Arrington rejoined DOD as deputy CIO for cybersecurity on Feb. 18. Industry stakeholders praised the move in comments to Inside Cybersecurity, calling it a good signal for the future of the CMMC program.

Arrington was tapped to lead the development of the CMMC program in July 2019 within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, where the CMMC Program Management Office was initially based.

The CMMC program was paused in early 2021 under the direction of then-Defense Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks who came in at the start of the Biden administration. Arrington was put on suspension in the summer of 2021 over her alleged sharing of classified information outside of DOD.

Arrington officially resigned in February 2022 from DOD and announced a run for a House seat in South Carolina in the 2022 election cycle. She lost in the primary election to incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) who was selected in the 118th Congress to serve as chair of the House Oversight cyber subcommittee.

In a February 2022 memorandum, Hicks moved the CMMC PMO over to the Office of the DOD CIO and eliminated Arrington’s previous job as CISO at A&S.

Arrington joined supply chain firm Exiger in January 2024 as vice president of government affairs.

The DOD CIO role is a Senate-confirmed position. President Trump hasn’t nominated an individual for the position yet.

Arrington was hired as a civilian employee at the Office of the DOD CIO in her role as deputy CIO for cybersecurity. Beavers had served acting DOD CIO since the departure of John Sherman in July 2024.

Getting the CMMC program officially launched is expected to be a priority for Arrington. The first final rule to establish the CMMC program went into effect on Dec. 16. Official CMMC assessments started in early January.

A second CMMC rulemaking is expected to be finalized in mid-2025. The final rule will amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and kick off the timeline for CMMC requirements to start showing up in DOD solicitations.

Space Systems Command awarded BAE Systems $151 million for the second phase of the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control system that will be used for missile warning and tracking missions, the command announced today.

BAE’s FORGE C2 prototype will be used for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system as well as legacy systems, according to SSC.

The other transaction authority contract comes out of the Space Enterprise Consortium, a group created in 2017 to connect the military with space-related commercial startups and small businesses.

“As we continue to enhance the FORGE ground system, it’s critical that we innovate rapidly with new technological capabilities. The SpEC OTA contract allows us to do that,” said Capt. Santiago Duque, SSC FORGE C2 chief program manager. “Our mission is foundational to the next-generation missile warning and tracking space architecture and critical in securing the warfighter mission to protect the nation from emerging threats.”

The first phase was awarded in November 2023.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Defense Innovation Unit, transnational criminal organizations in U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility, the MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter program and more.

A new Government Accountability Office report recommends the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit "establish performance goals and metrics for DIU 3.0; establish a process to collect, assess, and use performance information for DIU 3.0; and develop and implement a process to assess defense innovation community collaboration":

Watchdog says DIU 'does not know if it is making progress'

The Pentagon's innovation arm lacks clear insight into whether it is making headway toward achieving its strategic goal of leveraging commercial technology and innovation to meet critical operational gaps, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on the DIU

The head of U.S. Southern Command was on Capitol Hill recently, talking about the threat of transnational organized crime groups in his area of responsibility:

Criminal orgs amass 'staggering' sums, outpace defense spending across SOUTHCOM

Transnational criminal organizations operating across Latin America and the Caribbean amassed a "staggering" $358 billion in revenue last year -- six times the combined defense budgets of all nations in the region including Mexico -- posing a growing strategic challenge to the United States, according to a senior official.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

Inside Defense recently interviewed the Boeing executive in charge of building the Air Force's MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter program:

Grey Wolf helos began IOT&E in January; all outstanding issues mitigated

The Air Force's nascent MH-139 Grey Wolf program is "hitting the ground running" in fiscal year 2025, according to an executive for the helicopter-maker, with initial operational test and evaluation starting as planned in January despite outstanding issues threatening its timeline at the end of last year.

During a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said she and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) have asked acting Navy Secretary Terrence Emmert to work with the Office of Personnel Management to exempt public shipyard employees from sweeping federal layoffs:

Lawmakers concerned Pentagon layoffs will undercut ship maintenance

Senate Democrats are worried the Pentagon's plan to shrink its civilian workforce could further inhibit on-time ship and submarine maintenance if workers are laid off at the nation's public shipyards.

Document: Senators' letter on Navy shipyard layoff exemptions

The commanding general of the Army's Combined Arms Support Command spoke at a recent conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association:

Army autonomous truck system slowed by CR

Lack of a full-year appropriation is shelving funding and bumping timelines for the Army's Autonomous Transport Vehicle System, set to be the largest transformation to the service's sustainment community since it debuted trucks in 1915, a senior Army official said at a Tactical Wheeled Vehicles conference in Reston, VA, Feb. 25.

General Atomics announced today it has acquired signals intelligence software company North Point Defense.

NPD will be added to GA's Integrated Intelligence business unit, according to a company statement. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"This acquisition enhances GA’s capabilities in the rapidly evolving SIGINT field, positioning the company to deliver advanced ISR solutions for air, sea, ground, and space platforms," the company said.

Former Army acquisition chief Doug Bush, who departed his position last month, said today during the National Defense Industrial Association’s Power of Prototyping symposium that it would be useful to have a “thoughtful review” of the research and development offices within the Defense Department that specialize in innovation.

Bush spoke on a panel on George Mason University’s campus that was moderated by former DOD acquisition chief Ellen Lord. Bush, in response to an audience question fielded by Lord about whether there are too many R&D innovation centers, noted that over the last couple of administrations, the number of such offices has grown due to a “demand and concern that we weren’t pushing fast enough in certain tech areas.”

“That’s the department responding in the right way to a perceived need to support our troops. At the same time, it’s probably reasonable for this administration to consider looking across that and doing a little bit of consolidation wouldn’t be the worst thing. But not too far,” he said.

Consolidating these entities requires striking a balance that allows for “having the occasional small rogue entity that no one else will,” Bush said.

“It’s not always a bad thing. It’s a question of what’s the scale of dollars,” he said.

A review of innovation-themed offices ought to start at the Office of the Secretary of Defense level in the Pentagon, because “there’s a whole bunch of them, and a whole bunch of money,” Bush said.

“You could maybe save some money there and then reallocate it to other things in the services, for example, that also have merit,” he said.

Bush said a good approach for acquisition professionals in the military going forward is to build support both internally and with Congress in areas with broad appeal rather than “idiosyncratic things that one person is a fan of.”

“People in positions change. I know this can be maddening to industry. The Army might be all into something because a certain general is there, and all of a sudden the enthusiasm retires, and there’s a new general and they’re no longer interested,” he said.

Rapid prototyping of counter drone technology is an example of one area where investment over several years paid dividends, Bush noted. This could be seen following the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, he said.

“Oct. 7 happened, and then the U.S. military came under significant UAS attack across the Middle East. And yes, we took losses. There were lots of attacks, hundreds of attacks,” he said.

“Hundreds of lives were saved though, by the previous five years of work across two administrations working with [U.S. Central Command] on a range of really, off-the-shelf, highly innovative not-program-of-record counter UAS technologies that had been quietly fielded across the theater because of this building threat from Iran and its proxies. That’s a huge success, and it happened completely off the normal system.”