Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on an Army effort to develop a counter-drone radar, the Navy setting up a nascent robotic and autonomous systems program office and more.
In July, the acting Pentagon comptroller asked lawmakers -- as part of an FY-25 omnibus reprogramming request -- to reallocate previously appropriated money into the Army's counter-drone account to finance a new radar competition and upgrades to the Ku-band Radio Frequency System (KuRFS):
Army to launch new mobile radar competition in 2026 as part of cUAS push
The Army is preparing to stage a Mobile Flat Panel Radar Sense-Off Competition in the summer of 2026, a move aimed at reducing costs and boosting performance of sensors used to defend against drones.
In a memo issued this week, Navy Secretary John Phelan calls for setting up a new deputy Navy assistant secretary for robotic and autonomous systems as well as a related program executive office and portfolio acquisition executive:
Navy to establish new robotic and autonomous systems program office, consolidate existing efforts
Navy Secretary John Phelan has directed the establishment of a new program executive office for robotic and autonomous systems (PEO RAS) and the creation of a corresponding portfolio acquisition executive position as well as a deputy assistant Navy secretary for robotic and autonomous systems position, according to a Sept. 3 memo obtained by Inside Defense.
Document: Navy memo on new robotic, autonomous systems program office
In a July request to Congress, the Defense Department sought to shift $2 million from the Space Force’s Space Technology Development and Prototyping account to a higher-priority military intelligence project:
SDA delays planned September contract awards for Tranche 3 Transport Layer
The Pentagon is pushing back a contract award for the next phase of its proliferated low-Earth orbit communications network, raising questions about the possibility of a major new plan for the multibillion-dollar Transport Layer effort following a nearly $500 million cut by the Trump administration.
A recent Government Accountability Office report "reviewed how well the Army kept track of ammunition being repaired at sites that contractors own and operate. This included Stinger air defense missiles, Javelin anti-tank missiles and more":
GAO: Army did not properly account for 95% of ammunition at contractor-owned, contractor-operated sites
The Army did not properly account for the vast majority of ammunition at its contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) sites as of July 2024, according to a new government watchdog report.
Document: GAO report on Army ammo at COCO sites
GAO also had a report on the Pentagon's unfunded priorities lists, in case you missed it:
DOD unfunded priorities lists surged 73% between FY-20 and FY-25
The Defense Department's annual submission of unfunded priorities lists to Congress totaled $134 billion between fiscal years 2020 and 2025, an increase of 73%, according to the government's top watchdog agency.
Document: GAO report on UPLs