The INSIDER daily digest -- Feb. 7, 2024

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on a recent Mitchell Institute report on collaborative combat aircraft, the Defense Innovation Unit's "3.0" strategy and more.

The Mitchell Institute think thank hosted a wargame in July 2023, during which three "blue" teams overwhelmingly opted for collaborative combat aircraft to disrupt and confuse a peer adversary, in this case China, by helping to "determine key threats and nodes, and then target them," and "impose costs, and open the path to follow-on crewed and uncrewed forces":

Report: Air Force needs an 'affordable mass' of autonomous drones to defeat China

The Air Force needs collaborative combat aircraft to fill capability gaps as its legacy fighter fleet shrinks and the service prepares for a potential fight with China, according to a report published yesterday by the Mitchell Institute.

Amid all its upgraded responsibilities, the Defense Innovation Unit's core task remains helping the U.S. military harness commercial technology to counter China:

DIU releases new '3.0' strategy to expand its role in tech development

The Defense Innovation Unit released its new strategy today for "DIU 3.0," which aims to help the U.S. military leverage more commercial technology amid bolstered support from lawmakers and the Pentagon's senior leaders.

Some GPS news:

Software problems could delay launch of GPS IIIF satellites

Further delays in the Next Generation Operational Control System for the GPS enterprise could push back the launch date for the GPS III Follow-On satellites, according to the annual report from the director of operational test and evaluation.

SSC pursuing rapid prototyping model for GPS satellites

Space Systems Command is looking to develop and launch a set of prototype satellites for a GPS constellation, seemingly following the lead of the Space Development Agency's spiral development model.

A test conducted last year, called "The Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in a Contested Environment," studied challenges facing autonomous systems in "congested electronic warfare environment[s]" and was held in the Cultana Training Area in South Australia:

Autonomous ground vehicles tested in AUKUS Pillar II event

The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom tested robotic vehicle sensors during a fall 2023 trial aimed at solving the weaknesses of autonomous systems, according to a Defense Department announcement.