The INSIDER daily digest -- June 28, 2021

By John Liang / June 28, 2021 at 1:22 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Air Force's Advanced Battle Management System plus Israeli missile defense efforts and more.

More than half of the Air Force's $204 million fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Advanced Battle Management System is focused on developing and fielding capability releases:

Air Force finalizing first ABMS capability release AQ strategy, shaping plans for next release

As the Air Force continues to focus its Advanced Battle Management System investment on capability development over experimentation, the service is beginning to craft a plan for the second capability release, which program officials say will aim to improve the command-and-control process for U.S. Northern Command's homeland defense mission.

Missile Defense Agency Vice Adm. Jon Hill expects an "emergency appropriation" -- a free-standing spending bill separate from the Pentagon's fiscal year 2022 budget request -- to address Israel's request last month for new assistance to pay for spent munitions:

MDA director: $1 billion Israeli aid request won't squeeze U.S. missile defense funding

Funding for U.S. missile defense programs is not expected to be raided to finance Israel's $1 billion request to replenish munitions -- including Iron Dome interceptors -- expended during hostilities with Palestinian armed groups in May, according to a senior U.S. military official.

A new artificial intelligence initiative aims to accelerate progress on the Joint All Domain Command and Control effort by supporting the Defense Department's 11 combatant commands in integrating and scaling AI capabilities used in real-world operations:

DOD set to begin new AI adoption initiative

The Defense Department within the next 30 days will start pushing its first data "reinforcements" to its combatant commands through artificial intelligence expert teams under a new plan to speed up the adoption of AI technologies.

Army Futures Command chief Gen. Mike Murray spoke at the recent Defense One Tech Summit:

Murray: Data architectures to constantly evolve

The military might have to constantly modify its data architectures as technology advances, rather than developing a standard that remains the same for an extended period, the leader of Army Futures Command said June 23.

Former Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall's nomination to become Air Force secretary is on hold in the Senate:

Senators holding Kendall nomination over defense contractor ties and F-35 training center decision

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are holding the nomination of former Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall to become Air Force secretary, according to sources close to the matter.

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