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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today said the United States has "paused" a shipment of powerful bombs to Israel, citing concerns about civilian "collateral damage" in Gaza.

Austin, confirming media reports about the paused munitions shipments, told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee the Defense Department has paused “one shipment of high-payload munitions.”

“We have not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment,” he said, noting the weapons could be sent to Israel eventually.

Austin said the decision to hold the shipment, which includes 2,000-pound bombs, was made out of concern that Israel is not properly considering safeguarding civilians amid a new offensive against Hamas in Rafa.

“I think we’ve been very clear about the steps we’d like to see Israel take to account for and take care of those civilians before major combat takes place,” he said. “We certainly would like to see no major combat take place in Rafah, but certainly our focus is on making sure we protect the civilians.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the committee’s ranking Republican, said DOD should not “micromanage Israel’s right to defend itself” and should keep in mind that Hamas uses civilians in Gaza as “human shields” and bears responsibility for the start of the conflict because of its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israelis.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a statement criticizing the Biden administration’s decision to pause the bomb shipment.

“If Hamas laid down its weapons, the war would be over. But if Israel lays down its weapons, it would be the end of Israel,” he said. “This delay has sent a dangerous message to Hamas that if they hold out against the [Israeli Defense Forces] for long enough, they can still win.”

At the hearing, Austin said the paused shipment does not include “precision weapons” but covers 2,000-pound bombs that “could create a lot of collateral damage.”

“It's about having the right kinds of weapons for the tasks at hand,” he said. “We think it’s imperative to do more to protect civilians in the battlespace.”

Army Futures Command Commanding Gen. James Rainey envisions warfare being more data-centric in the future and told attendees today at the Ash Carter Exchange on Innovation and National Security in Washington that he sees a "re-ascendance of fires over maneuver."

“It’s gone back and forth in history. But for the Army, maneuvering to position fires in support of the joint force would drive some major changes in both how we build our formations, and the balance between say, fire brigades, air defense brigades and maneuver brigades,” he said.

Rainey has previously said the force must merge offensive and defensive fires beyond 2030 and noted at the AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, AL earlier this year that he wants this to be done for systems such as Patriot, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and Army Tactical Missile System.

Rainey said Tuesday that the decade from 2030 to 2040 will be “really disruptive” when it comes to technology on the battlefield, but it’s also a time when the service will be able to make some “really dramatic transitions or transformations.”

“Everything going on right now is great, and I applaud things like [Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control]. But the real opportunity to move to data-centric warfare, software over hardware, where you don’t have to go out looking for the data. It’s in a place where it’s usable and accessible. Then you can really bring the power of things like AI and machine learning to bear,” he said.

Rainey also reiterated Tuesday the need for the Army to move to “capability-based” requirements documents, which he thinks will be helpful to industry.

“The less words, the better response we get out of industry,” he said.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's Replicator initiative, the Navy seeking solutions to resolve a sealift capacity shortage and more.

The Pentagon today announced it is beginning to invest in the first tranche of Replicator capabilities, which centers around UAS, USVs and C-UAS of multiple sizes and different payloads:

DOD announces Replicator tranche 1 focus areas and first official selected capability

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced today that the first tranche of Replicator capabilities includes uncrewed aerial systems like AeroVironment's Switchblade-600 loitering munition, uncrewed surface vehicles and counter-uncrewed aerial systems.

The Navy is seeking solutions to resolve a shortage in sealift capacity:

Legislative proposal may allow Navy to buy foreign, used ships to support sealift

A legislative proposal brought forward by the Navy will potentially allow the service to acquire foreign, used vessels to bolster sealift capacity.

On May 2, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting in Hawaii:

Japan, Australia, U.S. announce plans for 'inaugural' regional missile defense event

Japan, Australia and the United States announced plans for a trilateral air and missile defense live-fire exercise -- an "inaugural" event -- that will be folded into the 2027 Talisman Sabre exercise that simulates a highly contested combat scenario in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle program office began soliciting industry for a training system to improve driver proficiency in the spring of 2023 following multiple accidents in which ACVs rolled over in the water -- incidents the service attributed largely to inadequate operator training:

Marine Corps fielding ACV driver simulators, preparing for wider vehicle deployment

The Marine Corps has fielded the first unit of a new mixed-reality training system intended to improve the performance of Amphibious Combat Vehicle operators. It expects to receive 80 more of these driver simulators by the end of fiscal year 2024.

Army acquisition chief Doug Bush spoke during a roundtable with reporters at the Pentagon last week:

Army to hold howitzer demonstrations this summer to replace some Paladins

The Army will use approximately $55 million in leftover funds to host howitzer demonstrations in August before setting capability requirements for replacing its Paladin artillery system, according to the service's acquisition executive.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Navy needing to replenish its Standard Missile stocks in the wake of defending shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi missile attacks, plus coverage of a new Defense Innovation Unit report and more.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro revealed this week that the Defense Department's decision to terminate SM-3 Block IB production -- and save $1.9 billion -- was baked into the FY-25 budget request before recent real-world events provided a showcase for the advanced guided-missile interceptor to defeat ballistic missile threats:

SECNAV: DOD needs to 'relook' SM-3 Block IB termination after Iran strike, Pacific forecast

The Navy secretary says Pentagon leaders need to reconsider plans to terminate Standard Missile-3 Block IB production in light of recent Red Sea missile defense missions, Iran's missile attack last month against Israel and the likelihood of similar engagements in a potential conflict in the Pacific.

A new Defense Innovation Unit report is out:

DIU says 10 technologies made successful transitions in FY-23

The Defense Innovation Unit released its fiscal year 2023 annual report today which noted that 10 technologies successfully transitioned from prototypes to fielded capabilities.

DIU pushes partnerships with U.S. allies

The Defense Innovation Unit's fiscal year 2023 annual report highlighted successful partnerships with U.S. allies like India, the U.K., Australia, Japan and Ukraine.

Document: DIU's FY-23 annual report

The Navy's top civilian this week acknowledged that the Navy and Marine Corps are jointly developing a memorandum of understanding pertaining to amphib readiness:

Navy, Marine Corps narrowing in on amphib readiness requirements

The Navy and Marine Corps are advancing a joint effort to clarify requirements and metrics for amphibious warship readiness, according to Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who today said the services believe they need at least nine of the ships ready for action around the clock.

The Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management (C3BM) Aerial Networking line for the Air Force would grow to $147.1 million in the fiscal year 2025 budget request from $76.8 million asked for FY-24:

Air Force amps up ABMS work with Phalanx Griffon program in FY-25

The Air Force wants to nearly double its budget for the airborne networking segment of the Advanced Battle Management System as it ramps up a newer effort called Phalanx Griffon, according to budget documents released with the fiscal year 2025 budget request.

The CEO of HII discussed his company's quarterly earnings this week:

HII CEO: Manufacturing and shipbuilding labor major factor in delays

There is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to shipbuilding delays, but labor is the most contributing factor, shipbuilder HII Chief Executive Officer Chris Kastner told investors in a first-quarter earnings call Thursday.

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center found that semiconductors are one of the technology sectors where the opportunity for disruption of U.S. economic and national security is highest:

DOD, GSA and NASA working to implement semiconductor product ban

The Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA are considering the implementation of a rule that would ban executive agencies from obtaining certain semiconductor products.

Lockheed Martin announced this week that Thomas Falk had been elected as independent lead director of the board.

Falk succeeds Daniel Akerson who, along with James Ellis, retired from the board following the company's annual stockholders meeting.

Falk has served on Lockheed's board of directors since 2010 and as Audit Committee chair since 2015. As independent lead director, he "will assume all duties and responsibilities of that position, including presiding over executive sessions of independent directors, approving agendas for board meetings and providing feedback to management," according to a company statement.

He will also chair the board's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and serve as ex officio member of each of the other committees. As part of Falk's election as independent lead director, Patricia Yarrington has been appointed chair of the board's Audit Committee, the company said.

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Navy shipbuilding, a nascent Russian anti-satellite capability and more.

A legislative proposal submitted by the Navy to Congress would allow up to six voyage repair ship availabilities of about 15 to 30 days in an international shipyard -- opening the door for emergent voyage repairs during peacetime and in times of conflict:

Lawmakers, Navy officials go back and forth on resolving shipbuilding issues

Capacity for ship repairs and construction continues to be a top issue for the Navy and Marine Corps, service officials told lawmakers today on Capitol Hill. Outsourcing ship repairs to foreign countries is a potential solution, the officials added, one already raised last month by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.

Assistant Defense Secretary for Space Policy John Plumb testified before the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee this week:

Plumb: Russia developing satellite with a nuclear weapon

Russia is developing a satellite to carry a nuclear weapon on-orbit that could wipe out satellites for a year or more, a top Defense Department official confirmed today at a congressional hearing.

The top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee wants to make sure that if the Defense Department gets to spend more than the congressionally mandated budget cap, so should non-defense spending:

Top Senate appropriator insists on 'parity' if defense spending caps are to be broken

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) said today that any effort to increase defense spending in fiscal year 2025 above the cap set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act must also be matched by a boost in non-defense funds.

Keep an eye out this summer for a counter-small uncrewed aircraft system demonstration:

SAIC will be among industry participants in summer CUAS demonstration

DENVER -- SAIC will be among the industry participants in a demonstration to be conducted by the Pentagon's Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft System Office (JCO) this summer, according to a company employee.

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington this week, appealed to defense contractors to develop "alternative" positioning, navigation and timing for the U.S. military:

Grady says electronic warfare has become a dominant feature of Ukraine conflict

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady said today that electronic warfare, though it didn't play a major role in earlier phases of Ukraine's conflict with Russia, has now become a "defining feature of that battlespace."

Originally scheduled for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, the Army delayed the critical design review on a certain missile program to the following fiscal year, according to the Army’s FY-25 budget request:

Army delays design reviews and flight tests for extended range GMLRS

The Army has delayed a critical design review and qualification flight tests for the Extended Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket system by about eight months, according to a service spokesperson.

William Streilein, chief technology officer for the chief digital artificial intelligence office, said at Adobe’s 2024 Government Forum today that some areas of the department, like intelligence analysis, are already prepared and ready to adopt generative AI into their processes:

DOD tech official says intel analysis and back-office functions are ready to adopt generative AI

A senior Pentagon technology official said today that Task Force Lima has found intelligence analysis and back-office functions are the two largest application areas within the Defense Department for generative artificial intelligence, noting DOD is prepared to accept the role of AI as a "teammate."

The State Department has issued a proposed rule that would exempt the British and Australians from certain export control regulations:

State moves to ease weapons export regulations in support of AUKUS

The State Department is proposing to exempt the U.K. and Australia from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to better bolster the trilateral AUKUS agreement and "foster defense trade and cooperation between and among the United States and two of its closest allies."