The INSIDER daily digest -- June 22, 2022

By Thomas Duffy / June 22, 2022 at 12:27 PM

This midweek INSIDER Defense Daily starts off with a look at the Joint Strike Fighter’s engine options, the Army’s heavy truck modernization effort, a House committee’s view of the Air Force F-15X, and we finish with a big boost for the Pentagon’s budget.

A House committee wants a Pentagon office to take a close look at the options for the Joint Strike Fighter’s engine:

House appropriators seek CAPE assessment of F-35 engine modernization options

House appropriators want the Pentagon's cost assessment and program evaluation office to complete its own review of the future propulsion systems officials are considering for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet, as the joint program office wraps up a separate analysis of engine modernization options.

The Army’s plan to modernize its heavy truck fleet got an important endorsement:

House appropriators support Army heavy truck modernization

House appropriators expressed support for the Army's main program to modernize heavy trucks and questioned why the service has not asked to spend more on it in a report accompanying their draft of the fiscal year 2023 defense spending bill.

House appropriators are questioning the Air Force’s buying plan for the F-15X aircraft:

House defense appropriators: Current F-15EX procurement 'unacceptable'

Air Force officials' repeated use of undefinitized contractual actions to award funds for procurement of the F-15EX aircraft is "unacceptable," according to the House appropriations defense subcommittee's report accompanying the fiscal year 2023 defense spending bill.

A Maine Democrat wants to boost the Pentagon’s budget by billions of dollars:

House Dem files amendment to increase defense budget by $37B

A House Democrat, in advance of a committee hearing to consider the annual defense authorization bill, has filed an amendment to increase the fiscal year 2023 national defense budget by $37 billion.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) filed the amendment today, one day before the House Armed Services Committee convenes for its marathon mark-up of the defense authorization bill.

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