The INSIDER daily digest -- May 6, 2025

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on how the Army plans to use money originally earmarked for the now-canceled humvee program and more.

While the Army looks compliant with the recommended boosts in a draft document obtained by Inside Defense that details how the Pentagon plans to spend its FY-25 continuing resolution funds, the service doesn't plan to use any of it:

With humvee nixed, Army to ask Congress to reprogram funds

The Army won't spend extra dollars Congress added to the humvee program in spending guidance for fiscal year 2025 after the service last week announced it was cancelling the vehicle, according to a senior official.

According to a late-April draft of the Defense Department’s plan to implement congressional appropriations guidance for executing the fiscal year 2025 continuing resolution spending law, the Hypervelocity Gun Weapon System is now being formally aligned with near-term air defense goals under the Golden Dome umbrella:

Pentagon eyes Hypervelocity Gun Weapon System for Golden Dome point defense

The Pentagon is positioning a high-tech artillery round originally engineered for offense as a cornerstone of its Golden Dome initiative, adapting a novel cannon technology for point defense as part of a sprawling new architecture aimed at shielding U.S. airbases, cities and critical infrastructure from missile and drone attacks.

In a recent memo, Katie Arrington, performing the duties of the DOD chief information officer, established the Software Fast Track (SWFT) Initiative for the Defense Department:

DOD launches new 90-day 'sprint' to streamline software procurement

The Defense Department has begun a 90-day "sprint" to develop a new framework and implementation plan for accelerating the acquisition of software, according to a new memo from a senior Pentagon official.

Document: DOD memo on accelerating secure software

Stratolaunch’s Talon-A2 vehicle, a rocket-powered autonomous aircraft designed for repeated high-speed flights, recently underwent a pair of successful hypersonic tests:

Pentagon announces return to reusable hypersonic flight testing -- after milestone flights

In a delayed but notable disclosure, the Pentagon on Monday confirmed that Stratolaunch has successfully conducted the first reusable hypersonic flight tests by a U.S. vehicle in more than five decades -- milestone demonstrations that occurred in December 2024 and March 2025 but remained unacknowledged by the Defense Department until now.

News on the Air Force's next-generation airborne warning and control aircraft:

E-7 Wedgetail getting nearly $400M plus-up in FY-25

The Air Force plans to funnel about $400 million more into the E-7A Wedgetail program in fiscal year 2025, according to a draft budget document obtained by Inside Defense, following along with Congress' previously stated intentions.