The Insider

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the effect of the proposed 8% cuts on the Air Force, plus an upcoming hypersonic flight test and more.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Joseph Kunkel spoke at an Air and Space Forces Association event this morning:

DOD budget reprioritization will be 'good for the Air Force,' two-star general says

While the Air Force submitted its proposed 8% of cuts for the Defense Department to reprioritize, the service's director of force design, integration and wargaming today said that funding shifts would likely benefit the Air Force.

Keep an eye out for an upcoming hypersonic flight test sometime in the next eight months:

Rocket Lab tapped for project to accelerate pace of hypersonic flight testing

Rocket Lab will launch the first full-scale hypersonic flight test under the Pentagon's $1.45 billion program to upgrade test infrastructure, a major move to expand the Defense Department's limited hypersonic testing capacity.

Instead of working on electric variants of the Infantry Squad Vehicle, the Army is trying to broker a deal with GM Defense for the company's Next Generation Tactical Vehicle:

Army cancels eISV contract, pushes for more hybrid testing

The Army has officially backed out of its contract with GM Defense to run tests on electric variants of its Infantry Squad Vehicle following condemnation from Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, who has railed against their utility on the battlefield.

The Air Force's No. 1 uniformed officer said this week that his service has "too much infrastructure":

Minimum investment for facilities sustainment again draws ire from top Air Force officer

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin is doubling down on his opposition to a new law that increases the amount military services invest annually in infrastructure restoration and sustainment accounts, telling an audience of industry and service members: "We got to fight that."

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's top officer was on Capitol Hill recently:

Paparo: Space comms needed to hedge against Taiwan's undersea cable vulnerability

Taiwan must develop redundant communications networks and expand satellite capabilities across multiple orbits to hedge against China's deliberate sabotage of the island's undersea internet cables, according to Adm. Sam Paparo, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Some cyber defense news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Industry groups highlight aspects of acquisition reform to come from Trump directives to agencies

The Trump administration’s actions to reshape government acquisition efforts in the spirit of creating efficiencies have received positive reviews from industry groups who see an opportunity to improve security through buying commercial solutions.

DOD publishes guidance on using updated NIST CUI publication for contracting officials

The Pentagon is providing instructions to contracting officials on tailoring the latest version of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's foundational publication on controlled unclassified information, in a recent memorandum on organization-defined parameters critical to the next iteration of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

The Defense Innovation Unit will expand its geographic reach with the addition of three new Defense Innovation OnRamp Hubs in Kentucky, Minnesota and Montana, Liz Young McNally, deputy director of commercial operations at DIU, said today.

“We have Defense Innovation OnRamp Hubs in five different locations,” Young McNally told attendees during a panel at the Apex Defense Conference, “and we’re going to be in the process of launching three more.”

Senate appropriators, while considering the fiscal year 2025 defense spending bill in August, said they were “disappointed” the Defense Department hadn’t outlined specific funds for the hubs. The panel considers the hubs “key enablers” for the department’s efforts to increase engagement with “regionally diverse” partners, they said in a report attached to the bill.

The planned centers will bring the number of OnRamp Hubs to eight -- adding to the existing locations in Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Ohio and Washington.

The OnRamp Hubs were initially unveiled in October 2023 as regional locations aimed at reducing barriers to entry for startups, academia and industry groups looking to engage with the department and commercialize dual-use technologies to meet the Pentagon’s needs.

“We’re really humbled and excited by the opportunity at DIU to be that on ramp for commercial and dual-use technology into the department,” Young McNally said, “and one of the ways we do that is by having people out in the regions, out where innovation is happening.”

Navy Secretary John Phelan announced Tuesday he is rescinding the Navy's Climate Action 2030 program, instituted during the Biden administration.

In a video posted to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Phelan stated he is “focusing on the warfighters first,” adding that focus should be placed on lethality.

The Navy’s climate action plan -- released in 2022 -- focused on climate change’s effects on naval operations, like shoreline erosion that could damage structures and installations.

Naval installations on both the East and West Coasts are threatened by sea level rise, increased storms bolstered by climate change, higher temperatures and wildfires, Meredith Berger, the former assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, said at the time.

Climate Action 2030 outlines five goals for the service, including “climate-informed decision making,” resilient infrastructure and supply chain resilience. The Navy aimed to achieve a 65% reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030, and 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035.

Those goals are now seemingly erased with Phelan’s announcement.

Last November, a senior Pentagon official hoped there would be support within the Trump administration for protecting against the impact climate change is expected to have on Defense Department operations and infrastructure worldwide.

“While the politics that are swirling around all of these issues complicate the conversation, when you get down to the deckplate, it's better to leverage these capabilities than not,” former Assistant Defense Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment Brendan Owens told reporters at the time. “And I think at the end of the day, that's why I continue to have hope for a lot of these things that are potentially on the chopping block in the next administration.”

Former Defense Secretary Chris Miller included several defense policy goals in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 agenda -- thought at the time to be a possible policy blueprint for the Trump Administration. Addressing climate change was listed among “progressive social policies” undermining the mission of the military, Miller wrote.

Aerospace giant Boeing today announced an agreement to sell off parts of its digital aviation solutions business to the software-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion.

The all-cash transaction includes digital tools that pilots and maintainers often use to manage checklists, engage with briefings or navigation and conduct other necessary flight-planning steps. The assets being sold to Thoma Bravo include Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData and OzRunways.

If approved by regulators, the deal could close by the end of 2025.

The agreement “includes principles for data sharing and future collaborations to ensure continuity of operations under Thoma Bravo's ownership,” the company wrote in the release.

“Boeing will retain core digital capabilities that harness both aircraft and fleet-specific data to provide commercial and defense customers with fleet maintenance, diagnostics and repair services,” it continued. “This digital expertise will continue to provide predictive and prognostic maintenance insights.”

In October, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company would begin taking steps to pivot back to its former success after booking significant losses year after year in its defense unit.

“We need to continue to focus on reducing non-essential activity,” Ortberg told investors at the time.

Although Boeing has deemed its defense business as essential, the company is still eyeing areas it could potentially cut corners. Today’s agreement is a start, Ortberg said.

“This transaction is an important component of our strategy to focus on core businesses, supplement the balance sheet and prioritize the investment grade credit rating,” he said in a statement.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom a former spokesman recently described as having "the month from hell," returned to his previous employer Fox News today to allege that media reports about his role in sharing sensitive military plans on unsecure Signal group chats are the work of "disgruntled employees" who have been fired for leaking to the press.

“Disgruntled former employees are peddling things to try to save their ass, and ultimately, that is not going to work,” Hegseth said.

The defense secretary’s appearance comes amid new reports that his disclosure of sensitive military information was not limited to a Signal chat group that mistakenly included a reporter and resulted in a bombshell story in The Atlantic last month.

The New York Times, followed by other media outlets, has now reported that Hegseth shared sensitive military plans in a second Signal chat group that included his wife and brother.

Hegseth today said he did not disclose any classified information via Signal.

“What was shared over Signal, then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordination for media coordination and other things,” he told Fox News. “That is what I have said from the beginning.”

Hegseth, according to media reports, shared flight schedules for F/A-18 Hornets that targeted Houthi militants in Yemen.

The Pentagon inspector general is currently reviewing Hegseth’s role in the controversy, which has become known as “Signalgate.”

The reports have prompted congressional Democrats and at least one Republican, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), to call for Hegseth’s ouster.

Meanwhile, Hegseth’s office is running its own investigation into media leaks. So far, three senior-level Defense Department staffers have been removed from their jobs, releasing a statement saying they believe they have been treated unjustly: Dan Caldwell, Colin Carroll, and Darin Selnick.

“[U]nnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks on our way out the door,” they wrote in a Saturday message posted to Caldwell’s account on X.

Hegseth told Fox that individuals who have been removed from their jobs were fired because they leaked to the media.

“[T]hose very same people keep leaking to the very same reporters whatever information they think they can have to try to sabotage the agenda of the president or the secretary,” he said. “Once a leaker, always a leaker, often a leaker.”

Caldwell has since appeared on The Tucker Carlson Show asserting that his firing was political because he opposes military action against Iran.

Caldwell served as an adviser to Hegseth, while Selnick was his deputy chief of staff. Carroll was the chief of staff for Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg.

Hegseth said he is open to the possibility that any alleged “leakers” could be exonerated, lamenting the investigation’s impact on his relationships with staffers he personally brought to DOD.

“If one or two of the guys are exonerated after an investigation, great -- that is what investigations are for,” he said. “But we took it seriously. It led to unfortunate places for people I have known for a long time. It is not my job to protect them; I protect national security."

Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, has also been removed from his job but transitioned to a “slightly differently role” and is “certainly not fired,” the defense secretary said.

“We make changes over time, and we're grateful for everything Joe has done,” he said.

On Sunday, former DOD spokesman John Ullyot wrote an op-ed in Politico saying the Pentagon under Hegseth has seen “total chaos” and dysfunction.

“President Donald Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account,” Ullyot wrote. “Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.”

Trump, however, continues to back Hegseth, saying the defense secretary is "doing a great job."

Ullyot, who left his job at the Pentagon earlier this month, told Politico he resigned because he did not want to be “No. 2 to anyone in public affairs” at DOD.

In his op-ed, he also alleges that DOD aides are working to anonymously “smear” Caldwell, Selnick and Carroll.

“Hegseth is now presiding over a strange and baffling purge that will leave him without his two closest advisers of over a decade -- Caldwell and Selnick -- and without chiefs of staff for him and his deputy,” Ullyot wrote.

Hegseth told Fox today that “anybody who knows John knows why we let him go. He was moved along and asked to move along and misrepresented a lot in the press. We did right by him, tried to help. He's spinning it otherwise -- too bad. Politics, I guess.”

Doug Matty, former director of the Army's AI Task Force, is now the Defense Department's new Chief Digital and AI Officer, Inside Defense has confirmed.

Matty previously served as Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Matthew Easley’s deputy director when Army Futures Command first stood up the artificial intelligence task force in 2018 to be the service’s arm in support of DOD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. He was elevated to the director role in September 2020, where he served until December 2022.

News of Matty becoming CDAO was first reported by Defense Scoop.

Matty succeeds former CDAO Radha Plumb who left the post in January.