Inside the Army highlights

Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Army:

1. More "big changes" are coming to the Army's budget through next fiscal year to better align investments with the service's modernization priorities as it turns its focus to Russia and China, according to its top civilian official.

Full story: Esper: Army will continue to revise spending through FY-20

2. The Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence in Ft. Benning, GA, has hosted a number of companies that are developing algorithms for robot "swarming," or controlling many at once, according to a service official.

Full story: Army Maneuver Center looking to 'swarm' ground robots

3. An influential Army advisory panel is delving into the science and technological underpinnings needed to team soldiers with robots for combat operations, a sweeping study that aims to recommend options to synchronize research and development of needed sensors, communications and artificial intelligence technologies to produce game-changing capabilities for ground and air service components.

Full story: ASB working to recommend viable MUM-T technology roadmap

4. The Army has commissioned the Army Science Board to help service leaders wrestle with the doctrinal implications of bolstering conventional defense against near-peer adversaries such as China and Russia, directing the independent advisory panel to conduct a follow-on study to its 2017 Multi-Domain Battle assessment.

Full story: New study fleshing out Multi-Domain Battle concept, how to deal with 'gray zone'