Thursday, February 13, 2025
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Key Issues OCX ACV fielding USAF 'reoptimization' planning
This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on an upcoming exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, a recent Defense Innovation Board report, Army budget challenges and more.
The longer the ongoing continuing resolution remains, the more potential issues could occur that affect a planned Indo-Pacific exercise, according to an Air Force official:
REFORPAC will happen despite CR, but training and support might be restricted
The Air Force will debut its large-scale multicombatant command REFORPAC exercise this summer in the Indo-Pacific with minimal limitations even if Congress isn't able to approve the fiscal year 2025 budget by March.
The Defense Innovation Board released a study this week on Scaling Nontraditional Defense Innovation:
DIB suggests Pentagon expand innovation arm into 'cross-service Sherpa'
The Defense Innovation Unit could better improve the Defense Department's ability to connect with nontraditional and commercial vendors, enabling innovative capabilities for the warfighter at scale, if its current authorities and responsibilities were expanded to make it into a "cross-service Sherpa," according to the Defense Innovation Board.
President-elect Trump and his administration will ultimately have the final say on the Army's budget prior to its rollout, but the service's outgoing under secretary said last week it places a premium on flexible funding for UAS, counter UAS and electronic warfare:
Camarillo outlines Army budget challenges for FY-26 as new administration gets ready
Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo, soon to leave office, says the fiscal year 2026 budget cycle will include funding for key modernization initiatives such as unmanned systems, but the next administration will ultimately be forced to balance that with other priorities, such as improving housing for soldiers.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall spoke this week an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
Kendall: Air Force needs to realign its global obligations with national defense strategy
The incoming presidential administration should reconsider where it spends money and prioritize strategic locations for a fight with China rather than maintaining legacy installations that don't currently present a challenge, according to outgoing service Secretary Frank Kendall.
DOD's approach to securing domestic supply chains for strategic and critical materials centers on four key pillars, Adam Burstein, technical director of strategic and critical materials for the assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, told attendees during a Friday event hosted by the Naval War College:
Defense officials highlight ongoing industrial base work
The Pentagon is working to bolster U.S. industrial supply chains and combat overreliance on foreign sources, according to two senior defense officials.