Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has coverage of a new, multibillion-dollar Pentagon unfunded priorities list, Navy and Marine Corps warship capacity and more.
Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord spoke with Inside Defense this week about a new unfunded priorities list:
DOD details $1.26B in unfunded munitions priorities and other shortfalls nested in $25B end-of-year list
As Congress haggles over an end-of-year spending deal, the Defense Department has sent lawmakers a $25 billion list of unfunded priorities, including $1.26 billion to bolster the industrial base for critical munitions that could play a role in a future Taiwan-China conflict scenario, according to an interview with a senior Pentagon official and a document obtained by Inside Defense.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday spoke about shipyard capacity at the Reagan National Defense Forum this past weekend:
Is shipyard capacity maxed out? Gilday says probably, others say no
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- After fighting ground wars for the past 20 years, the Pentagon has pivoted its focus to the Pacific but is playing catch-up to increase the number of U.S. shipyards needed to expand capacity for programs the Navy hopes to grow, such as the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and Virginia-class submarine.
. . . while senior Marine Corps officials spoke this week about the availability of future amphibious ships:
Berger remains 'optimistic' on amphib numbers despite an uncertain future
SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Amidst reports that more amphibious ships are on the Navy's future chopping block, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said he remains confident that the services will be copacetic as the importance of amphibs is known across the Pentagon and Capitol Hill.
Marine Corps drafting new concepts for amphibious operations
The Marine Corps and Navy are working together on new concepts for 21st century amphibious operations, with a special focus on overcoming emerging adversarial capabilities, according to the commanding general of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory.
Two companies have been contracted to work on prototype software for robotic vehicles:
Army and DIU award prototyping contract to Kodiak, Applied Intuition for robotic combat vehicle software
The Army and the Defense Innovation Unit have awarded a two-year, $49 million contract to Kodiak Robotics and Applied Intuition to prototype software for the service's Robotic Combat Vehicle program, the departments announced on Tuesday.
Travis Langster, principal director of space and missile defense policy at the Pentagon, spoke at a virtual panel hosted by the Atlantic Council this week:
Space 'critical' for achieving key NDS principles, official says
The National Defense Strategy released by the Biden administration in October depends on space to meet its primary goals, according to a top official.