Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Army self-detonating drones, naval expeditionary warfare, the Defense Department's latest China military power report and more.
Army leaders have in recent weeks said the effectiveness and importance of unmanned aerial systems has been a key takeaway from the war in Ukraine:
Army seeking new self-detonating drones due to success in Ukraine
The Army is interested in bulking up its loitering munitions, or self-detonating drones, after observing the effectiveness of the systems in the war in Ukraine, according to a Nov. 28 request for information issued by Army Futures Command.
As the Defense Department plans to counter Chinese aggression in the Pacific, Navy and Marine Corps officials have described expeditionary advanced base operations as key to the future fight:
Navy warfare lab develops concept for logistics tool after EABO-focused event
A Navy warfare laboratory has developed a concept for a logistics tool to aid naval forces after the department hosted an internal think-tank competition focused on expeditionary warfare.
The Defense Department's latest China Military Power report says Beijing “probably accelerated its nuclear expansion” last year, with a current stockpile of over 400 warheads:
DOD: China's nuclear breakout continues
The Pentagon, in a new report, says it believes China will have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, continuing a surge previously categorized as a "strategic breakout" by a top U.S. military commander.
Document: DOD's 2022 China military power report
The latest from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:
Industry groups urge lawmakers to cut China-based semiconductor ban for federal contracts from defense policy bill
A coalition of industry groups is pushing for Senate Armed Services Committee leadership to drop an amendment from the fiscal year 2023 defense authorization bill that would extend the current ban on federal contractors using equipment and services from Huawei and ZTE to include three Chinese semiconductor companies.
In a new letter to Congress, the Pentagon's top civilian says the stopgap continuing resolution the federal government has been operating under since Oct. 1 is harming national security and will do grave damage if lawmakers extend it much further beyond the Dec. 16 deadline:
Austin warns that budget impasse imperils nuclear modernization
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is telling Congress that the ongoing fiscal gridlock on Capitol Hill risks, among many other things, the planned modernization of all three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad "when we have no schedule margin left to give."
Document: Austin letter to Congress on CR