The INSIDER daily digest -- Nov. 5, 2019

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on U.S. military aid to Ukraine, the Air Force's foreign military sales figures, coverage of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence conference and more.

Should the Pentagon's inspector general look into questions surrounding U.S. military aid to Ukraine? Several Senate Democrats think so:

Senate Democrats renew call for DOD watchdog to investigate hold on Ukrainian military aid

Senior Senate Democrats are prodding the Defense Department inspector general to investigate previously held U.S. military aid to Ukraine, suggesting in a new letter that the watchdog office might be reluctant to get involved with a matter at the center of a House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Document: Senate Democrats' letter to DOD IG on military aid to Ukraine

A Google executive spoke today at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence conference about his company's national security work:

Google executive says company is 'committed' to working with DOD

Google is committed to working with the Pentagon and is contributing to a number of Defense Department projects in areas like cybersecurity, healthcare and detecting deep-fake images, according to a company executive.

Inside Defense has the dollar figure for the Air Force's foreign military sales from the previous fiscal year:

Air Force's foreign military sales totaled $17 billion in FY-19

The total value of the Air Force's foreign military sales in fiscal year 2019 was $17 billion, about 53% more than the $11.1 billion in aircraft and weaponry the service sold to other countries the previous year, according to an Air Force security assistance official.

Last but certainly not least, some missile defense news:

MDA eyes new ground-based antennae as part of push for new GMD interceptor

The Pentagon's push to develop a new interceptor for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system would require the Missile Defense Agency to swap out existing antennae for new sensors optimized for a notional Next Generation Interceptor at six sites around the world with facilities that play a pivotal role guiding exo-atmospheric kill vehicles through space to intercept enemy warheads.

MDA clears Raytheon to proceed with building SM-3 Block IIA interceptors ordered last year

The Missile Defense Agency has formally lifted a restraint imposed last year on production of the newest Aegis ballistic missile interceptor following an early 2018 flight test failure, awarding Raytheon a $267 million option to proceed with building 24 Standard Missile-3 Block IIA rounds.