The INSIDER daily digest -- June 29, 2023

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news from the Modern Day Marine conference plus coverage of Army humvees, the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and more.

We start off with coverage from this week's Modern Day Marine conference:

Marine Corps three-star questions health of industrial base

Russia's war in Ukraine has exposed weaknesses in U.S. industrial base production and capacity, Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said Wednesday.

Marine Corps focused on improving ACV readiness

As the Marine Corps continues to develop and procure the Amphibious Combat Vehicle family, the service is focused on improving training for vehicle operators and tackling key readiness drivers including the ACV's shocks and central tire inflation system.

In a letter to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) writes about his concerns over the service's humvee ABS/ESC retrofit program:

Texas lawmaker urges swift action on humvee retrofit program

In a letter sent last week to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, a Texas congressman is calling on the service to move more quickly in retrofitting humvees with enhancements aimed at reducing rollovers.

Document: Lawmaker's letter to Army on humvee retrofit program

The Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program is an important piece of the Strategic Missile Warning and Nuclear Command, Control and Communication system. House Appropriators raised concerns about the system in the draft report accompanying their fiscal year 2024 defense spending bill:

Lawmakers question Space Force's Next Gen OPIR GEO-3 cancellation proposal

House appropriators are questioning whether the Space Force is able to support its proposal to cancel the third geosynchronous spacecraft in a new missile warning system.

In a June 12 decision released in redacted form the following June 28, the Government Accountability Office denied Oshkosh Defense's protest of a multibillion-dollar Army Joint Light Tactical Vehicle contract to AM General:

GAO: Cost savings, less risky technical enhancements led Army to choose AM General for JLTV follow-on

A $795 million cost difference between Oshkosh Defense and AM General's proposals for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle follow-on production contract, along with AM General's "less risky" technological upgrades were the factors that led the Army to choose AM General for the contract, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO decision on Oshkosh's JLTV protest

On June 27, soldiers from the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force -- in conjunction with the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office and the Navy Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons -- conducted a live-fire event of the Mid-Range Capability at an undisclosed location:

Army confirms prototype MRC fully operational after Tomahawk launch

The Army has confirmed full operational capability for the Mid-Range Capability after launching a Tomahawk cruise missile, capping a nearly three-year project to mitigate an “extremely high-risk capability gap” by fielding a prototype, land-based system armed with Navy precision-strike weapons to give the ground force formidable ship-sinking capability.

A new Mitchell Institute report centers on what Mitchell sees as the imminent need for more fifth-generation fighter aircraft and squadrons to create an effective deterrent:

Mitchell Institute report warns of Air Force fighter inventory's 'downward spiral'

The Mitchell Institute is calling for more Air Force fighter jets in a report to be released Thursday morning while warning of the "downward spiral" of the fighter force.