The INSIDER daily digest -- April 17, 2025

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Space Force's just-published space warfighting framework, the Army's Concept Focused Warfighting Experiment and more.

A new Space Force document released this morning "establishes basic principles for the use of military power in pursuit of" achieving space superiority:

Space Force framework pushes 'warfighting' mindset among guardians

The Space Force is pushing the message that it is a full member of the warfighting joint force, not just a supporting service, with today’s release of a new framework for guardians.

Document: USSF's space warfighting framework

In a broad agency announcement dated March 26 and released publicly this week, the Army stated it plans to conduct its Concept Focused Warfighting Experiment (CFWE) tentatively in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 at Ft. Huachuca, AZ:

Army C2 experiment in 2026 will include CUAS, high-altitude EW

An Army command and control exercise scheduled for early 2026 will include a host of technologies such as electromagnetic protection, counter unmanned systems, sensor integration, robotics and high-altitude EW.

Document: Army's CFWE BAA

The White House this week released a pair of executive orders that have implications for the Defense Department:

White House to overhaul Federal Acquisition Regulation

The Trump administration is preparing to launch a major re-write of the Federal Acquisition Regulation that governs the annual purchase of about $1 trillion in goods and services, of which the Defense Department is the largest consumer.

Document: White House executive order on FAR overhaul

New order would make it harder to solicit non-commercial items

A new White House executive order mandates contracting officials across the federal government must obtain approval to purchase non-commercial solutions, making the process for such procurements more onerous.

Document: White House executive order on commercial, cost-effective solutions in federal contracts

In an April 15 letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the chamber's Armed Services Committee, cited new tariffs on "virtually every country in the world" as well as duties on steel and aluminum in warning of price increases for the Defense Department -- and their impact on "both DOD's purchasing power and small contractors":

Sen. Shaheen warns of tariffs' impacts on military readiness, defense supply chains

Steep new tariffs imposed and threatened by President Trump will increase prices for goods purchased by the Pentagon, weakening supply chains and stressing military readiness and spending plans, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warns.

Document: Shaheen letter on tariffs' effects on Pentagon purchases

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 10, Gen. Xavier Brunson, the senior U.S. commander in South Korea, said a troop drawdown would be “problematic” and would undermine the strategic value of forces long positioned to impose costs on regional adversaries and to uphold security in one of the most volatile theaters in the Indo-Pacific:

Top U.S. brass in Pacific warn against troop reduction in South Korea amid rising threats

Top U.S. military commanders warned Congress that reducing America's military presence on the Korean Peninsula would weaken regional deterrence, complicate warfighting plans, and embolden adversaries including North Korea, China and Russia.

Document: INDOPACOM, USFK FY-26 posture statements