The INSIDER daily digest -- August 2, 2022

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on cruise missile defense, unmanned surface vessels and more.

We start off with a cruise missile defense story available to all:

Hicks breaks bureaucratic logjam, taps Air Force to lead homeland cruise missile defense

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks has assigned the Air Force responsibility for acquiring a capability to defend the homeland against cruise missiles, setting the stage for a potential multibillion-dollar project and breaking a long-running bureaucratic logjam that in recent years had the Missile Defense Agency lobbying for the role.

Four unmanned surface vessels are participating in this year's Rim of the Pacific exercise to gain fleet experience:

Navy fleet wants more USV payloads following RIMPAC exercise

As the Navy begins to draw key takeaways from the world's largest naval exercise this summer, the fleet wants more payloads for its unmanned surface vessels.

The fiscal year 2023 budget request did not include any procurement funding for the Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft, but it was one of the biggest-ticket items on the Air Force's unfunded priorities list:

Senate appropriators could add four Compass Call aircraft to Air Force fleet

Senate appropriators could give the Air Force funding to procure four aircraft designed for electromagnetic warfare operations, according to a committee mark-up.

The Marine Corps is looking into developing a new kind of munition system:

Marine Corps reaches out to industry for new precision fires program

The Marine Corps is exploring the development of an Organic Precision Fires (OPF) Munition System with loitering, beyond-line-of-sight precision engagement capabilities, eying a possible fiscal year 2023 contract.

The fiscal year 2023 appropriations bill announced by the Senate Appropriations Committee would provide $1.26 billion in procurement funds for the Army to upgrade 90 Abrams tanks, a $602 million increase over the service’s request to spend $656 million to upgrade 44 tanks:

Senate appropriators want big increase for Abrams funding

A Senate committee is seeking to nearly double funding for the Army to procure upgraded Abrams tanks in fiscal year 2023, bringing the total for the upgrades closer to the levels the program received in FY-22 and tracking closely with an Army request for additional funds.