The INSIDER daily digest -- March 28, 2022

The Pentagon's fiscal year 2023 budget request dominates this Monday INSIDER Daily Digest.

We start off with a broad look at the Defense Department's budget numbers, followed by the individual services:

Pentagon submits 1.5% 'real growth' budget to Congress

The Biden administration is proposing a fiscal year 2023 budget that seeks to insulate the Pentagon from rising inflation, increasing the topline by $43 billion compared to a prior White House forecast to provide a sum that delivers 1.5% real growth compared to the recently enacted FY-22 budget.

Navy:

Navy fleet size shrinking in FY-23 budget despite topline increasing

Despite an increasing topline, the Navy will procure nine ships in its fiscal year 2023 budget request, one more than last year, while decommissioning 24 ships.

Army:

Army seeks to cut end strength, procurement in FY-23 budget

The Army has proposed cutting end strength and procurement funding in fiscal year 2023 as increases to the personnel and operations budgets outstrip topline growth.

Air Force:

Air Force proposes 150 retirements, slashes planned F-35 buy in $169B budget request

The Air Force is seeking to retire 150 aircraft in its $169 billion fiscal year 2023 budget request, while accelerating its purchase of F-15EXs and slashing its planned F-35 buy.

Space Force:

Space Force's $24.5 billion budget request seeks to bolster resiliency

The Space Force is seeking to continue efforts to bolster space resiliency in its $24.5 billion budget request, funneling an additional $1 billion toward a proliferated, disaggregated, multi-orbit architecture for missile warning in fiscal year 2023.

Last but by no means least, the latest on the Army's virtual reality headset effort:

Bush projects confidence in IVAS, other modernization programs

The Army's acquisition executive on Friday said some of the issues with the service's augmented reality headset were not "completely surprising," given that the development of the system was carried out through an accelerated process favored by Congress and industry.