The INSIDER daily digest -- June 10, 2025

The bulk of this Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest consists of coverage of the House Appropriations Committee's draft defense spending bill.

Before we get to the spending bill, though, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) have introduced legislation that would reorganize the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and more:

Bipartisan House bill transforms JROC, seeks new rapid acquisition entity at DOD

A new bill offered by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) would transform the Defense Department's Joint Requirements Oversight Council and establish a new rapid acquisition authority empowered to elevate key procurement decisions to the highest levels of the Pentagon.

Document: SPEED Act

The House spending bill has money allocated for F-15EX purchases:

House appropriators signal support for continued F-15EX buys

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee would bolster procurement of F-15EX Eagle II jets in its draft spending bill for fiscal year 2026, according to legislative documents released yesterday.

. . . as well as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle:

House appropriators set stage for JLTV spending standoff with Army

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee has released a draft fiscal year 2026 spending bill that includes $345 million in procurement dollars for the Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle in the face of top service leaders who insist they won’t buy any more.

. . . along with funding Navy fighter aircraft:

House appropriators look to boost F/A-XX, cut frigate

A draft fiscal year 2026 spending bill released today by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee would bolster funding for the Navy's F/A-XX next-generation aircraft program by nearly a billion dollars while further reducing funding for the troubled Constellation-class frigate.

. . . plus extra money for Army helicopters:

House appropriators back funding for endangered Army aviation programs

A draft spending bill for fiscal year 2026 released by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee today would continue to fund two Army aviation programs that service leaders have eyed for potential cancellation.

Document: Draft House FY-26 defense spending bill

On June 3, the Missile Defense Agency announced a contract modification with a lab in upstate New York to increase funding for a pulsed laser project from $14.9 million to $49.9 million through 2028:

MDA grows research project to advance pulsed laser to nearly $50 million in Rochester

The Missile Defense Agency has awarded a $35 million contract modification to the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in an effort to advance work on a breakthrough speed-of-light weapon and draft a Pulsed Laser Roadmap, pushing the total value of the research effort to just under $50 million.

A new product will serve as a sort of liaison to match Defense Department acquisition officials with independent software vendors (ISVs) supplying technology solutions meeting justification requirements for sole-source eligibility:

SBIR Advisors launching sole-source-eligible defense tech catalog for DOD procurement

Defense technology startup consulting firm SBIR Advisors announced today it is rolling out a catalog of sole-source-eligible technology for Pentagon procurement officers with initial deployment through AWS Marketplace.