The INSIDER daily Digest -- May 16, 2023

By John Liang / May 16, 2023 at 2:01 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on congressional concerns over the monitoring of U.S. weapons sold abroad, a recent joint U.S.-Israeli maritime unmanned systems exercise and more.

In a pair of recent letters to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Michael Lee (R-UT) raise "concerns about failures of the departments' tracking and monitoring of U.S.-origin weapons":

Senators seek answers on monitoring of U.S. weapons sold abroad

A bipartisan team of senators say they have serious questions about how the Pentagon and State Department track and monitor U.S. weapons sold around the globe, especially those used in the civil war in Yemen, and they are seeking answers from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Document: Senators' letters on monitoring of U.S.-origin weapons

The U.S. and Israeli militaries recently held a maritime exercise using unmanned surface vessels:

U.S.-Israel fleets stage hybrid exercise with uncrewed platforms

Integrating unmanned surface vessels into daily maritime operations in the Red Sea was the goal of Digital Shield, a U.S. 5th Fleet exercise with Israeli Defense Forces that just ended in the Gulf of Aqaba.

The mission of the Red Skies exercise is to ready space warfighters to attack, defend and support specified targets in support of on-orbit combat and non-combat engagements:

Space Force to launch Red Skies exercise this summer

The Space Force is planning to launch its first Red Skies series of orbital warfare exercises for space warfighters in the summer, Maj. Gen. Shawn Bratton, commander of Space Training and Readiness Command, said last week.

An estimated $147 million in savings combined between the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement contracts represents "potential savings at the initial estimate levels" that, "if realized, can be used for other critical Army needs," a service spokeswoman tells Inside Defense:

Army could save more than projected $147M for GMLRS, PAC-3 MSE multiyear requests

The Army anticipates that it could save more than the projected $147 million combined in its requests for the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, according to a service spokeswoman.

The Defense Department is procuring a constellation of up to 100 T2TL Alpha variant satellites:

SDA issues draft solicitation notice for Tranche 2 satellite Alpha variant

The Space Development Agency has issued a draft request for proposals for a Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Alpha variant for its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

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