The INSIDER daily digest -- March 31, 2021

By John Liang / March 31, 2021 at 1:43 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the naval shipbuilding industry, plus coverage of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and more.

We start off with a deep dive into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the shipbuilding industry:

Analysts credit aggressive Navy action with mitigating effects of COVID-19 on shipbuilding

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes to American manufacturing, and naval shipbuilding was no exception.

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center is preparing to release a new basic ordering agreement for data services, called the "Data Readiness Artificial Intelligence Development":

Joint AI Center eyes data curation agreements with 'innovative' companies

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center is finalizing a new acquisition vehicle that would allow the Defense Department to place orders from technology companies to curate data sets for military AI applications.

The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee spoke this week at a virtual event hosted by the Meridian Institute:

Smith pushes technology and foreign partnerships to counter China

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) made the case yesterday for pursuing deterrence, rather than dominance in the U.S.-China security relationship, noting his support for upgrading U.S. weapon systems and expanding arms deals with foreign partners.

Army Chief of Staff James McConville and Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, spoke at a virtual event this week hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

McConville: Stationing long-range fires in foreign countries a 'political decision'

The location of the Army's new multi-domain task forces and long-range precision fires in allied countries will have to be decided at political levels, not by uniformed leaders, the Army chief of staff said today.

McConville also this week released a paper that states military competition is an "infinite game" in which "leaders must understand and act in context and adjust their methods to the situation":

Army paper says military competition is an 'infinite game'

A new paper from the Army chief of staff says the service will play a key role in great power competition through three dynamics.

Document: Army chief's paper on military competition

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