The Insider

This INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon looking to shift billions of dollars into areas the Trump administration deems most important, plus coverage of the Citi 2025 Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference and more.

The Trump administration is aiming to have the Pentagon shift $50 billion into what it considers higher-priority efforts:

Pentagon to cut FY-26 budget by $50B to re-invest in new priorities

The Defense Department is developing a $50 billion list of budget "offsets" that can be cut from the unreleased fiscal year 2026 spending request and re-invested in new priorities like Iron Dome for America and border security, exempting more than a dozen areas from the review like collaborative combat aircraft, Virginia-class submarines and one-way autonomous drones.

The CEOs from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman spoke this week at the Citi 2025 Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference:

Lockheed CEO: F-35 still 'essential' despite promises of unmanned warfare

Lockheed Martin's CEO doesn't see the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter losing prominence in the U.S. or partner fleet anytime soon, despite some Trump administration officials questioning the jet's usefulness as drones are made more sophisticated.

Northrop CEO: 'Iron Dome for America' could expand uses for existing, developmental capabilities

Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden sees potential from President Trump's Iron Dome for America executive order to expand use cases for existing capabilities and those already in the developmental pipeline.

The head of U.S. Southern Command recently testified on Capitol Hill:

SOUTHCOM: China eyeing Caribbean as 'offensive island chain' to threaten U.S. at home

The U.S. military is increasingly concerned that the Caribbean could become an "offensive island chain" for China as Beijing expands its footprint in the region in a way that could increase combat access and potential force projection, jeopardizing the United States' strategic positioning in its own hemisphere.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

The latest CMMC news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Stakeholders see opportunity to galvanize efforts around implementing CMMC program with Arrington joining DOD CIO office

The hiring of Katie Arrington as the new DOD chief information security officer will bring a renewed focus on getting the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program fully realized, according to stakeholders who highlighted rulemaking efforts in the final stages and the official launch of the initiative.

Some counter UAS news:

Army will soon pick vendor for planned counter UAS C2 system

The Army is gearing up to choose a company that will provide the software for its planned Forward Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Command and Control System (FCUAS C2) -- which will succeed its current Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2).

The engines on the Air Force's F-22 Raptor will be getting a lot of money to stay in top shape:

Pratt & Whitney gets $1.5 billion to sustain F119 engines over next three years

Engine-maker Pratt & Whitney has been awarded up to $1.5 billion to sustain the motors which power the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, the company said in a news release.

On Feb. 14, the Defense Department filed a "status report and notice of corrective action" with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims regarding the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Transport Layer Gamma program:

Tournear violated procurement integrity, SDA to rebid portion of T2TL

Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear violated the Procurement Integrity Act, leading the agency to rebid a portion of its Tranche 2 Transport Layer, according to recent court documents.

Document: DOD's court filing on T2TL Gamma program

A detailed design review of GE Aerospace's Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion option for the Air Force has been successfully completed, the company said today, allowing prototyping to begin.

“With the DDR now complete, GE Aerospace has been awarded the next contract phase to procure, assemble and test an XA102 full-scale demonstrator engine,” GE said in the announcement. “The design review was presented to the U.S. Air Force, showcasing the comprehensive digital engine model and validating its readiness for the next phase of development.”

Late last month, both GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney were awarded indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity modification contracts of up to $3.5 billion each to carry their NGAP designs into prototyping. At the time of the award, no funds had been released.

“GE Aerospace is making great strides with model-based engineering, which has been instrumental in the success of the XA102 engine design,” Steve Russell, vice president and general manager of Edison Works at GE Aerospace, said in a statement. “As we transition into the procurement and build phase, we will continue to incorporate this innovative approach while working closely with our supply chain partners to advance the engine toward a full-scale demonstration.”

The Air Force has in recent months sought to grow industrial base capacity to produce these kinds of adaptive-cycle engines since only a small number of businesses are capable of building them.

According to GE, the NGAP-type engines are critical to powering future fighter jets because they can support “up to 30% greater range and significantly more thermal management capability compared to today’s most advanced combat engine.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee is slated to hold a nomination hearing on Feb. 25 for billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg to be deputy defense secretary.

Feinberg is the co-founder, co-CEO and chief investment officer for global investment and private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, with an estimated personal net worth of $5 billion.

Formerly chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board during President Trump’s first term, Feinberg has no previous experience working at the Pentagon, where, if confirmed, he would be charged with overseeing the day-to-day operations of a massive bureaucracy of three million people and a budget of nearly $850 billion.

In the president’s first term, Trump also reached outside the world of national security to fill DOD’s No. 2 role, nominating Boeing executive Pat Shanahan.

Trump has called Feinberg, who is a long-time donor, an “extremely successful businessman” who will “help Make the Pentagon Great Again.”

If confirmed, Feinberg would be the deputy to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran who also had no previous experience working at the Pentagon.

Hegseth, who faced a tough confirmation hearing, was met with uniform opposition by Democrats and lost three GOP votes, forcing an historic tie-breaking vote by Vice President Vance.

Feinberg’s nomination for the No. 2 DOD job has been far less public than Hegseth’s, which involved an active campaign for votes on Capitol Hill. Though it is not unusual for the nomination of the deputy defense secretary to draw less attention than cabinet nominees, previous interviews and reporting about Feinberg have described him as “reclusive.”

While Republicans are expected to support his nomination and can get him confirmed without any Democratic votes, it is unclear what kind of opposition Feinberg might face next week. He is expected to be questioned extensively about potential conflicts of interest stemming from his many defense-related business interests.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a vocal opponent of most of Trump’s nominees, sent a 23-page letter to the White House earlier this week -- addressed to Feinberg -- noting her “serious concerns” about his qualifications and his possible conflicts of interest as an investor in defense companies.

“These holdings would pose a conflict of interest between your duty as Deputy Secretary to advance the Department’s national security interests and your personal interest in delivering profits for the defense companies in which you or Cerberus have invested,” she wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jason Albanese has been promoted to Leidos executive vice president and chief growth officer effective March 3, the company announced today.

Albanese will succeed Gerry Fasano, who will retire on April 4.

Albanese is currently the senior vice president of growth for the company’s national security sector, according to a company statement. He joined Leidos in 2017 following the merger with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems and Global Solutions organization. He initially led strategy and business development for the company's defense group, then held similar responsibilities for the health and intelligence businesses before assuming his role in the national security sector last year.

Raytheon completed a series of 10 subsystem tests for the Army's Next-Generation Short-Range Interceptor, which will eventually replace the Stinger missile.

The Army selected Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to develop competing prototypes for the NGSRI program in 2023. The new missile is to have improved target acquisition, range and lethality compared with the Stinger.

During Raytheon’s subsystem demonstrations, the seeker “demonstrated maximum range acquisition” in laboratory and outdoor environments, according to a company announcement Tuesday. Additionally, the flight rocket motor demonstrated it could extend the “intercept range of maneuver short-range air defense engagements.”

Other tests included a demonstration of “enhanced range for operation detection and identification of aerial targets” in low-visibility environments for the NGSRI’s command launch assembly as well as testing of the missile warhead, according to Raytheon.

The Army and Marine Corps will participate in the next phase of the program -- soldier touchpoints, according to Raytheon. And a system flight test demonstration will take place later this year.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Air Force depots' surge capacity in the event of a war in the Indo-Pacific, the Marine Corps' Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel program as well as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and more.

We start off with a deep dive into Air Force depots' surge capacity in the event of a war in the Indo-Pacific:

Air Force depots can support surge capacity in the Indo-Pacific for 30 days before things get 'interesting'

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, OK -- Should a conflict between the U.S. and China break out, the Air Force Sustainment Center here could support a roughly 30-day surge before operations of the service's logistics arm get "really, really interesting," the commander said.

Lockheed Martin Chief Financial Officer Jay Malave spoke about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program during TD Cowen's 46th Annual Aerospace & Defense Conference this week:

Lockheed Martin expects Pentagon to withhold some F-35 payments into 2026

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office are still aiming to declare the Technology Refresh-3 software upgrade as combat-capable in this calendar year, but cash may continue to be withheld into 2026 as the company struggles to meet stated requirements.

The Pentagon's latest operational test and evaluation report looks at the Marine Corps' Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel program:

LRUSV transitioning to major capability acquisition pathway in FY-27 after pivot from rapid prototyping

The Marine Corps will transition its Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel program to the major capability acquisition pathway in fiscal year 2027 following a decision to terminate a middle tier acquisition rapid prototyping effort, according to the latest annual report from the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation.

(Read our complete DOT&E report coverage.)

The Army this week executed two PrSM Increment 1 engagements during a flight test at White Sands Missile Range, NM, demonstrating the system's effectiveness as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the service's long-range precision strike capability:

PrSM Increment 1 notches another success in production qualification test

The Army successfully completed a key production qualification test for its next-generation, long-range strike missile, marking an important advance in the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 effort, the first part of a planned $8.4 billion acquisition.

Soldiers from the Army's 3rd Light Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division drove around in GM Defense's ISV and its Next Generation Tactical Vehicle prototype during a recent exercise in Germany:

Joint exercise in Germany yields potential ISV refinements for Army

The Army gleaned a few new ideas for its Infantry Squad Vehicle at a joint military exercise this past month, like mounting a winch, reconfiguring the windshield and perhaps adding doors, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George told reporters at a roundtable at the Pentagon Wednesday.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news from a hearing this morning that featured the head of U.S. Northern Command, plus the Space Force's acquisition strategy, the "Iron Dome for America" executive order and more.

Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of the bi-national Northern Aerospace and Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, said during a hearing this morning that significant improvements in domestic air surveillance from orbiting assets are close to bolstering a top requirement to improve domain awareness:

'Single-sensing grid' for 'significant' domestic air surveillance possible within a year

U.S. military space sensors could be stitched together within a year to create a "single-sensing grid" to improve domestic airspace domain awareness in support of a next-generation missile defense system, according to the top U.S. military official responsible for protecting North America.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

The Space Force has been working on a shift in acquisition strategy that has been in the works for years, but some efforts remain unwieldy:

Space Force assessing programs for acquisition strategy changes

The Space Force is working to modify some of its development programs to lower costs and cut back risk while creating guidelines to prevent problematic contracts in the future, the service's acting acquisition chief said this week.

On Feb. 11, the Space Development Agency issued a "call for executive summaries . . . to perform 60-day studies on a U.S. 'Iron Dome' architecture and capability":

SDA seeks industry input for space capabilities to support U.S. 'Iron Dome'

The Space Development Agency is calling on industry to help shape the blueprint of a proposed national missile defense system as outlined in the recent "Iron Dome for America" executive order, announcing plans to issue 60-day studies to flesh out potential new dimensions of its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

Document: SDA's request for executive summaries on U.S. 'Iron Dome' architecture

Since last summer, the 3rd Light Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division has been deployed to eastern Europe in support of NATO allies and partners:

Army zeroing in on improved battery technology after exercise in Germany

Following its latest exercise in which soldiers who were forward-deployed to Eastern Europe tested some of the Army's newest technologies in freezing cold temperatures, service leaders are eyeing improved battery technology as an area of focus when it comes to modernizing the force.

Dan Karbler, a retired lieutenant general and former head of Army Space and Missile Defense Command, argued Feb. 10 during a webcast hosted by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance that the IRONDOME Act legislation lacks the necessary operational architecture, which he described as the foundation for any successful missile defense system:

Retired brass: IRONDOME Act 'a bunch of hardware' without a solid operational design

A retired senior official took aim at the $19.5 billion missile defense investment proposal advanced by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), warning the bill risks creating an ineffective missile defense system without first establishing a coherent operational framework.

The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing this week on "Protecting American Interests in a Convergent Global Threat Environment":

House Armed Services Committee ready to focus on acquisition reform

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) said this week that the panel's top priority in the coming year -- along with increasing defense spending -- will be reforming the Pentagon's notoriously slow and cumbersome acquisition system, a perennial concern on Capitol Hill.

Document: House hearing on global threat environment