The INSIDER daily digest -- April 10, 2025

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on some defense-related executive orders signed this week as well as the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system and more.

In a pair of April 9 executive orders, President Trump calls for acquisition reform as well as a "Maritime Action Plan" that includes an assessment of options to expand the maritime industrial base:

White House lowers bar for weapon system termination, opening door to shake-up

President Trump has signed an executive order that could place dozens of the Pentagon's largest weapons programs under heightened scrutiny -- possibly on a path to cancellation -- signaling that even long-protected legacy systems could be at risk.

Document: Trump executive order on MDAP reviews

Trump signs sweeping executive order to revamp U.S. maritime industry

President Trump has signed an expansive executive order aimed at revitalizing the United States maritime industrial base, directing the creation of a "maritime action plan (MAP)" to rejuvenate both commercial and military shipbuilding.

Document: Trump executive order on maritime action plan

Testifying this week before the House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee, Gen. Gregory Guillot, who leads both U.S. Northern Command and the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command, outlined a “three-dome” approach to defending the United States from a range of advanced threats:

NORTHCOM proposes 'Three-Dome' domestic air and missile defense architecture

U.S. Northern Command is proposing a sweeping new framework to protect the homeland from emerging missile and air threats, advancing a proposal that could be the foundation for the Trump administration's evolving "Golden Dome for America" initiative.

The Army is looking into boosting the range of its self-propelled artillery systems:

Army leader: New cannon with better rounds can revive range from dead ERCA program

Remnants of the Army's scrapped Extended Range Cannon Artillery prototyping program are proffering munitions that can bump artillery into ERCA-desired range, a service leader said Tuesday.

Defense analysts are trying to get a handle on the Trump administration's announcement of a $1 trillion defense budget:

Analysts try to unpack Trump and Hegseth's promise of $1 trillion defense budget

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have promised $1 trillion in defense spending as Congress awaits the White House’s submission of a "skinny budget" later this month, but Washington analysts have questions about what could actually be in store for the Pentagon's topline.

In his first posture statement to Congress this year, Adm. Sam Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warned that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) increased its coercive activities around Taiwan by 300% in 2024:

INDOPACOM boss warns PLA is conducting 'dress rehearsals' for Taiwan invasion

China's military is escalating pressure on Taiwan in what the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific describes as "dress rehearsals for forced unification," marking a stark shift in the Pentagon's public assessment of Beijing's intentions.

Document: INDOPACOM, USFK FY-26 posture statements

Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, deputy commander of Fleet Cyber Command and deputy commander of Navy Space Command, said this week that the service is working to establish a dedicated “Task Force Space” and new operational units that will extend joint capabilities forward -- particularly in support of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command:

Navy Space Command gears up for forward task forces, integrated fires units


NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Navy is preparing to stand up forward-deployed task forces and integrated firing elements under its reestablished Navy Space Command, a move that signals a more assertive posture in contested space and cyber domains.