Inside the Army highlights

Check out some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Army:

1. The Missile Defense Agency is readying a potential $15 billion contract with Lockheed Martin to buy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems for Saudi Arabia, a deal in the works for years that would in a single package outfit the desert kingdom with seven batteries -- equivalent to the Army's current THAAD ballistic missile defense capabilities for the entire globe.

Full story: MDA readying sole-source Lockheed contract for Saudi Arabia THAAD deal

2. Democrats in Congress say they are eager to learn which military construction projects will go unfunded so President Trump can divert $3.6 billion to build a wall on the southwestern border following his declaration of a national emergency.

Full story: Capitol Hill readies for aftershock as Trump diverts DOD funds toward wall

3. The Army is delaying plans to begin full-rate production of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, originally slated for December 2018, until as late as early summer to assess options for vehicle-design changes suggested by soldiers and Marines during testing and evaluation in a move that could push the $28 billion program toward a schedule breach.

Full story: Army delays JLTV full-rate production to consider potential design changes

4. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said last week he would back the Pentagon if it submitted a budget requesting a massively inflated warfighting account intended to skirt statutory spending caps, but his Democratic counterpart Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) opposes the move on the grounds that it is a "dramatic retreat . . . from common sense and good government."

Full story: Pentagon's plans for inflated OCO request spark conflict on Capitol Hill