Saturday, April 20, 2024
Saturday, April 20, 2024
This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's upcoming omnibus reprogramming request to Congress, Army robotic combat vehicles, congressional skepticism over the Navy's latest shipbuilding plan and more.
The Army, Navy and Air Force are all required to submit their FY-22 reprogramming plans by May 13 for potential inclusion in the Defense Department’s annual omnibus reprogramming request to Congress:
OSD wants $1B from military departments to cover border security and counter small drones
The military services have been notified by the Pentagon comptroller that they must submit plans to reprogram $600 million in fiscal year 2022 funds to support the Department of Homeland Security's southwest border security mission, as well as another $480 million to cover U.S. Central Command's need to counter small unmanned aerial systems.
Document: McCord memo on FY-22 omnibus reprogramming
News on the Army's plans to expand its robotic vehicle fleet:
Combat robot prototyping makes it into Army's FY-23 budget
The Army wants to spend $698 million over the next five years to expand its fleet of the smallest Robotic Combat Vehicle variant and continue developing autonomy software for the unmanned ground platforms, according to the service's fiscal year 2023 budget request.
The top Republican on the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee is skeptical about the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan:
Wittman: Savings in Navy's long-range shipbuilding plan won't deliver immediate capability
The Navy's latest 30-year shipbuilding plan gives away "massive amounts" of capability with no promise of getting it back anytime soon, according to a prominent House lawmaker.
Document: Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan
Competition was built into the design of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program, with the goal of reducing long-term costs:
JLTV costs could rise under follow-on contract
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle could become more expensive under a follow-on production contract that the Army plans to award through an open competition, according to the service's fiscal year 2023 budget request.
The Defense Department this week released a fiscal year 2023 budget justification book on "Meeting the Climate Challenge":
DOD details $3B proposal to deal with climate change
The Defense Department is requesting $3 billion in fiscal year 2023 for "meeting the climate challenge," with most of the proposed funding going toward military installation resiliency and investments in science and technology, according to a new budget document released by the Pentagon.
Document: DOD's FY-23 climate challenge budget justification book
Brett Vaughan, the Navy’s chief artificial intelligence officer, spoke at an industry event this week:
Navy official outlines three 'buckets' for how the service is using AI
The Navy has three "buckets" where it is utilizing artificial intelligence: rudimental tasks, autonomous systems and decision aids, according to a service official.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Director Stefanie Tompkins spoke this week at an online National Defense Industrial Association event:
Microelectronics among drivers of DARPA's $4.1B FY-23 budget request
A proposed nearly $900 million investment in microelectronics is among the drivers of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's $4.1 billion fiscal year 2023 budget request, the agency's director said this week.