The INSIDER daily digest -- March 29, 2021

By John Liang / March 29, 2021 at 1:16 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the future status of the Pentagon's multibillion-dollar Overseas Contingency Operations account, the Air Force's Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar program and more.

Multiple congressional sources are saying signs are pointing to the Defense Department's $69 billion Overseas Contingency Operations account being transferred to DOD's base budget when the Biden administration submits its fiscal year 2022 budget request later this week:

Pentagon's controversial overseas war chest faces uncertain fate in Biden's new budget

The Pentagon's Overseas Contingency Operations account, derided by critics for years as a "slush fund," has become the subject of renewed scrutiny on Capitol Hill and could be headed toward a reckoning this week when the White House proposes President Biden's first defense budget.

After canceling its previous Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar contract with Raytheon in early 2020, the Air Force has adopted a new acquisition strategy to rapidly prototype and field an off-the-shelf radar capability:

Air Force awards Lockheed 3DELRR integration contract

The Air Force today awarded Lockheed Martin an $8.5 million integration contract for its Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar program, which includes options to produce up to 35 radar systems.

New humvee safety kits will add anti-lock brakes and electronic stability controls to vehicles that were produced before the Army began including the technology on new and recapitalized vehicles:

Army awards contract to retrofit humvees with safety tech

Ricardo Defense recently won an $89 million contract for kits to retrofit safety technology onto humvees, which are expected to lower the risk of vehicle rollovers, according to a March 16 Army announcement.

The Navy recently published a marketing research notice seeking industry feedback on steps necessary to implement plans for integrating Conventional Prompt Strike, originally developed for the submarine fleet only, for the DDG-1000 class of destroyers:

Navy takes key step toward potentially integrating long-range hypersonic weapon on surface combatant

The Navy is asking industry for ideas on integrating a long-range hypersonic strike weapon on a destroyer, eyeing a three-pack load, in a key step toward potentially adapting the Conventional Prompt Strike for DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class ships and potentially the DDG-X, the planned follow-on large surface combatant.

In a recent interview with Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), the congresswoman spoke about her concerns regarding Navy unmanned systems:

Rep. Luria continues to express concern over Navy's unmanned campaign as she seeks to bolster Navy budget

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) said she doesn't have "the confidence" in either the technology or the integrity of autonomous platforms for unmanned systems to replace the current naval fleet.

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