Thursday, April 25, 2024
Thursday, April 25, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on hypersonic strike weapons, missile defense on Guam, the Army avoiding major cuts to its budget and more.
We start off with news on when an upgraded hypersonic strike missile could be fielded:
New, upgraded U.S. hypersonic strike weapon could be fielded as soon as 2026
The U.S. military has drafted a blueprint for the first incremental upgrade of its small fleet of long-range hypersonic strike weapons and has laid out plans for a two-year production of improved glide vehicles that incorporate new technology slated to be available for Army ground units and Navy ships in 2026 and 2027.
The Biden administration's fiscal year 2023 request seeks $892 million for a new Guam defense system that produces a 360-degree, persistent air and missile defense of the Western Pacific U.S. territory:
New Guam defense system could be used to shield U.S. cities, critical domestic infrastructure
The Defense Department is drafting plans for a new air- and missile-defense capability -- a $4.4 billion near-term investment -- to provide a mobile land system that protects Guam against advanced Chinese threats as soon as 2026 that could also have utility in other regions of the world, including protecting U.S. cities and critical domestic infrastructure.
"If you're in the Army leadership, you're breathing a sigh of relief," one analyst tells Inside Defense on the service's fiscal year 2023 budget request:
Analysts: Army avoided 'bloodletting' in FY-23 request
The Army's fiscal year 2023 budget request managed to avoid the "bloodletting" that had been predicted if the Biden administration wanted to concentrate funding on other services and build strength in the Indo-Pacific, analysts told Inside Defense this week.
Some cyber defense news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:
Pentagon agency to conduct contractor compliance survey based on NIST standard
The Defense Contract Management Agency is planning to evaluate information submitted by contractors on their compliance with NIST Special Publication 800-171 to get a better understanding of whether the defense industrial base is meeting the current standard for handling sensitive data.
The latest on the Air Force's T-7A trainer program:
Air Force prepares EIS for T-7A recapitalization
The Air Force announced this week it will begin an environmental impact statement to assess social, economic and environmental impacts associated with the planned recapitalization of the T-7A Red Hawk at Columbus Air Force Base, MS.
We now know who will build the Navy's next-generation small unmanned underwater vehicle:
Navy selects HII's REMUS 300 for new unmanned program of record
The Navy selected Huntington Ingalls Industries' REMUS 300 to be its next-generation small unmanned underwater vehicle program of record.