The INSIDER daily digest -- Oct. 25, 2021

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the E-7A Wedgetail program, a delayed flight test of the Airborne High Energy Laser and more.

Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark Kelly spoke this morning at a Mitchell Institute event:

ACC commander doesn't anticipate E-7 within next two years

The head of Air Combat Command doesn't anticipate the Air Force would receive the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail this year or next if the service moves forward with buying the aircraft as a replacement for its aging E-3 Sentry fleet.

A laser flight test on an AC-130J aircraft has been delayed a year:

SOCOM: Flight test for AC-130J laser slips to FY-23

Defense officials are looking to flight test the Airborne High Energy Laser on an AC-130J Ghostrider in fiscal year 2023, a U.S. Special Operations Command spokeswoman told Inside Defense this week, pushing back the planned demonstration by a year.

The Government Accountability Office has publicly released a couple of bid protest decisions regarding the Navy's Next Generation Jammer-Low Band program:

Navy won't re-open NGJ-LB competition despite GAO recommendation

The Government Accountability Office has sustained another protest Northrop Grumman filed against the Navy's decision to award L3Harris Technologies a contract for the Next Generation Jammer-Low Band Capability Block 1.

Document: GAO decisions on NGJ-LB protests

A bunch of companies showed off their mobile cannon wares at the recent AUSA conference:

Massive truck-mounted cannons deploy to convention hall, take aim at Army next-gen program

Three defense contractors from Europe and the Middle East deployed to Washington, DC, their respective 155 mm howitzer variants mounted on trucks for display at a convention center, all hoping to catch the attention of U.S. government officials who are contemplating options for replacing towed cannons that are now deemed vulnerable to counter-battery fire against an advanced adversary such as Russia or China.

Raj Iyer, the Army's chief information officer, spoke at a recent virtual C4ISRNET event:

Army CIO: Culture change needed for digital transformation

A digital transformation in the Army and the implementation of Joint All-Domain Command and Control requires cultural changes in the military more than technological advances, according to Raj Iyer, the Army's chief information officer.