The INSIDER daily digest -- April 27, 2022

By Thomas Duffy / April 27, 2022 at 2:53 PM

This midweek INSIDER Daily Digest starts off with news about the Marine Corps’ amphibious ship program, Lockheed sees the Army buying more radars, the Air Force has chosen an AWACS follow-on aircraft, the Navy has explained a ship counting anomaly in its budget, and news from the DISA director.

A Marine Corps official told Congress the service is struggling with its amphibious ship program:

Heckl: Marine Corps ‘already struggling’ to meet its amphibious requirements

The Marine Corps is struggling to meet its requirement to be the crisis response force for the nation due to a lack of LPD-class amphibious warships, according to a senior service official.

Looks like the Army may be buying more battlefield radars from Lockheed:

Lockheed expects to build up to 14 more Q-53s under new contract

SYRACUSE, NY -- Lockheed Martin expects the Army to buy between four and 14 additional AN/TPQ-53 counterfire radars through a multibillion-dollar contract that was announced last month, company officials said April 25.

The Air Force has made a choice of which aircraft will replace the venerable AWACS platform:

Air Force selects Boeing’s E-7 as AWACS follow-on

The Air Force plans to move forward with Boeing’s E-7 as the service’s replacement for its aging E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System fleet.

The Wedgetail, originally developed by Australia for its Defence Forces, is the “only platform capable of meeting requirements for the Defense Department’s tactical battle management, command and control and moving target identification capabilities within the timeframe needed to replace the aging E-3,” the service said in its news release Tuesday.

A Navy official told Congress how the service double counted a ship in its budget:

Stefany: double counting of LHA-9 ship was not ‘purposeful’

The Navy, after weeks of questions, has provided insight into why it double counted the LHA-9 amphibious assault ship in its fiscal year 2023 budget request, explaining it happened because of poor communication and the “change in administration.”

The DISA director made news in Baltimore:

DISA director seeks new technologies to solve IT challenges

BALTIMORE, MD -- The head of the Defense Information Systems Agency is looking for industry help to create secure software development pipelines for legacy applications, bolster battlespace visualization by leveraging emerging technologies, and improve the acquisition process for minimum viable products to allow for quicker delivery.

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