The INSIDER daily digest -- July 5, 2022

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the Air Force's T-7A trainer aircraft and more.

General Electric and Pratt & Whitney are drawing from their work tied to the F-35 Adaptive Engine Transition Program to "augment" a broader business case assessment that will review proposed engine, power and thermal management system modernization options:

DOD assessing 'tri-variant viability' of adaptive engines for F-35 fleet

Defense Department officials are gauging the potential for leveraging two engine makers' adaptive propulsion system offerings into a "tri-variant" solution that would be viable across the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet.

News on the Air Force's T-7A trainer aircraft program:

Air Force signs ROD for Joint Base San Antonio T-7A recapitalization

Joint Base San Antonio, TX will receive up to 72 T-7A Red Hawk training aircraft to recapitalize the aging T-38C Talon, according to a record of decision signed by Air Force officials and announced in today's Federal Register.

The company manufacturing microchips for the Air Force's Small Diameter II bomb had planned to halt production in August, but has since pushed back that end date to December:

Air Force negotiating with microchip producer for SDB II

The microchip producer for the Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb II extended its manufacturing end date by four months as the service continues negotiating to obtain all of the needed chips that will integrate military-code GPS onto the bomb.

The Army has released the final request for proposals for the detailed design and prototype manufacturing phases of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program:

Army opens next OMFV competition, bids due Nov. 1

The next round of competition for companies that want to build the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle officially began today, as the Army released the request for proposals for the next two phases of the program to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Document: Army RFP for OMFV detailed design, prototype manufacturing phases

The U.S. military's Common-Hypersonic Glide Body program suffered another test failure last week:

Major Pentagon hypersonic weapon fails in inaugural test flight of prototype missile

The initial prototype of the U.S. military's marquee hypersonic strike weapon failed during a major test over the Pacific Ocean on June 29 in an event that featured the inaugural flight of a new, two-stage rocket built by Lockheed Martin paired with a Common-Hypersonic Glide Body manufactured by Sandia National Laboratories.