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U.S. Central Command announced today it has transferred millions of rounds of ammunition to Ukraine previously seized from the Iranian military, a move that could help alleviate weapons shortages as the Pentagon warns it is running out of money to help Kyiv continue its fight against an ongoing Russian invasion.

The announcement, first reported by CNN, follows statements from the Pentagon that it is running low on Ukraine aid funds amid chaos among Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The Oct. 2 weapons transfer, according to CENTCOM, included approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds.

CENTCOM said its naval forces first seized the munitions on Dec. 9, 2022, when they were being transferred by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the Houthis in Yemen “in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.”

The U.S. government later took possession of the munitions as part of the Justice Department’s civil forfeiture claims policy.

“The U.S. is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions,” CENTCOM said. “Iran’s support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners. We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran’s destabilizing activities.”

Meanwhile, the weapons are slated to flow to Ukraine at a time when many House Republicans oppose additional aid for Kyiv and recently voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker.

Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord has sent a memo to Congress warning that the Defense Department has exhausted all congressionally appropriated funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is slowing down the process by which it replenishes U.S. weapons that have been transferred to Ukraine.

The House voted 216-210 to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker, rendering the position vacant for the first time in more than a century in a stunning and historic event driven by revolt among Republican hardliners.

Eight Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), joined every House Democrat to push McCarthy out.

Meanwhile, Congress has until Nov. 17 to pass a bipartisan spending package or a stopgap continuing resolution, otherwise the federal government will shut down.

Gaetz led other anti-McCarthy Republicans in speeches on the House floor in which they alleged that the now-toppled speaker reversed himself on agreements with the Freedom Caucus related to spending issues, border security and aid for Ukraine. They also highlighted McCarthy’s role in passing a CR over the weekend that relied on Democratic votes to avert a government shutdown.

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, Lockheed Martin investing in a robotics company, the Defense Innovation Unit seeking contractors to develop unmanned aerial delivery vehicles and more.

We start off with a look at the Pentagon's latest Selected Acquisition Report on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program:

F-35 full-rate production decision may come this quarter as O&S projection tops $1.5T

The Defense Department may finally make a full-rate production decision for its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter before the end of the year, but operating and sustaining costs are now expected to top $1.5 trillion over the platform's lifetime.

Document: DOD's December 2022 F-35 selected acquisition report

Lockheed Martin is investing in a robotics company:

Lockheed investment arm backs AI autonomy start-up Vayu Robotics

Lockheed Martin's venture capital arm has teamed with other investors to provide $12.7 million to Vayu Robotics -- a "non-traditional robotics company" that is making its public debut with this development -- to scale development of artificial intelligence-backed autonomy technologies for potential use across a wide range of markets.

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking contractors to develop unmanned aerial delivery vehicles:

Low-cost unmanned aerial delivery vehicles proposed for mass production

Unmanned aerial delivery vehicles mass-produced cheaply, developed quickly and capable of deploying commercial payloads are in the sights of the Defense Innovation Unit, which posted a "solutions" notice seeking less-costly alternatives to current platforms.

The Army recently issued a request for information seeking industry input for its next-generation night vision system:

Army soliciting feedback for next IVAS variant

The Army is soliciting feedback from industry for the next variant of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, which it is calling IVAS Next.

The continuing resolution agreed upon by congressional lawmakers this past weekend doesn't include funding for Ukraine:

DOD -- nearly out of Ukraine funds -- slows down replenishment of U.S. weapons

The Defense Department has exhausted all congressionally appropriated funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is slowing down the process by which it replenishes U.S. weapons that have been transferred to Ukraine, according to a new memo from Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord.

Document: McCord letter to Congress on Ukraine funding

Space Systems Command awarded its first Space Enterprise Consortium contract to Lockheed Martin to build technology that can relay data to warfighters to respond during adverse events quickly, according to an announcement issued today.

The Overhead Persistent Infrared Data Exploitation Technology Transition I (ODETT I) Typing and Characterization Algorithm contract will be directed by SSC's Tools Applications Processing Lab in Boulder, CO, according to the command.

“This is our first SpEC ODETT award, and it represents a major step forward in TAP Lab’s efforts to improve our missile warning processes,” Steve Polliard, TAP Lab director, said in the announcement.

“The progress we will gain as a result of this work will directly inform our warfighter and contribute to our nation’s safety,” he added.

SSC’s TAP Lab is focused on leveraging software, algorithms, and applications that will extract data “effectively and rapidly interpreting OPIR data.” In addition, it will also help to classify OPIR events correctly, minimizing the response time to critical events such as “enemy missile launch.”

“To carry out OPIR missions effectively, it's crucial to quickly and accurately identify interesting space events from the data our operators receive,” Polliard said.

The service’s space operators currently support three constellations of OPIR satellites to conduct strategic missile and theater missile warnings, which provide vital intel information to missile defense forces, battlespace awareness to combatant commanders and technical intelligence to perform further analysis, according to Polliard.

Lockheed was awarded a $5.4 million contract for a four-year period, the announcement states.

The United Kingdom has awarded a contract worth approximately $4.8 billion to three companies for work on SSN-AUKUS -- the future submarine class set to be collaboratively designed and built by the U.K., the United States and Australia under the AUKUS security partnership.

Awarded to contractors BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock, the funding will support the “detailed design and long leads (D2L2) phase” of SSN-AUKUS development, according to a Sunday announcement from the U.K. Defense Ministry.

“Alongside the design development and long-lead procurement, infrastructure at the submarine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness and the nuclear reactor manufacturing site in Raynesway, Derby will be developed and expanded where needed to meet the requirement of the future submarine build programme,” the announcement states.

Early design work on SSN-AUKUS began in 2021 with manufacturing expected to start “towards the end of the decade,” a separate BAE Systems announcement states. Under the security partnership, delivery of SSN-AUKUS vessels is scheduled to begin in the late 2030s.

BAE Systems, which is currently building the Royal Navy’s nuclear-powered, conventionally armed Astute-class submarines, will also use this funding for infrastructure and supply chain investments and the planned recruitment of over 5,000 people, the company’s notice continues.

While construction of SSN-AUKUS is set to occur first in the U.K. and later in Australia, the U.S. industrial base will contribute technology and expertise to the new submarine design.

U.S. industry has urged Congress to accelerate the pace of AUKUS legislative implementation, especially when it comes to planning for SSN-AUKUS. So far, the bulk of legislative action has focused on the earlier phases of AUKUS, which will see the U.S. transfer of three or more Virginia-class submarines to Australia starting in the early 2030s.

This timeline is a source of contention in Congress, where some GOP lawmakers worry the U.S. submarine industrial base is not strong enough to keep up with this additional demand.

During a September confirmation hearing, acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said industry is producing only 1.2 Virginia submarines per year, compared to the target rate of 2.2 boats needed to deliver on the AUKUS commitment.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Ukraine and Taiwan weapons backlogs, the Pentagon's "Replicator" initiative, the brouhaha over where U.S. Space Command should be headquartered, artificial intelligence and more.

The Senate Armed Services Committee this week held a hearing to consider the nominations of Derek Chollet to become under secretary of defense for policy and Cara Abercrombie to be assistant secretary of defense for acquisition:

Key DOD nominees pledge to get after Ukraine, Taiwan weapons backlogs

Two Biden administration officials who have been nominated for senior acquisition and policy posts at the Pentagon said they are committed to streamlining the contracting process for Ukraine and pledged to address the growing backlog to obligate funds appropriated by Congress.

Document: Chollet's answers to advance policy questions

The Defense Department is in the "initial stages" of implementing its "Replicator" initiative that aims to address China’s pacing challenge by creating and fielding thousands of "attritable" autonomous weapon systems over the next 18 to 24 months:

DOD team charged with overseeing 'Replicator' holds first meeting

The Deputy's Innovation Steering Group, a high-level Pentagon team that will manage the recently announced "Replicator" initiative, held its first meeting today to kickstart its mission to fill pressing military technology gaps in under 18 months.

The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing this week on the Biden administration's decision to keep U.S. Space Command headquartered in Colorado rather than move it to Alabama:

Rogers says he will only authorize funds to build SPACECOM headquarters in Alabama

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) said today he would only authorize funding for the permanent basing headquarters of U.S. Space Command "to be constructed in Huntsville, AL."

Document: House hearing on SPACECOM HQ

A new Artificial Intelligence Security Center will help industry understand, navigate, prevent and eradicate threats against its intellectual property on its way to its final goal of national AI security:

NSA director announces creation of Artificial Intelligence Security Center

The National Security Agency director today announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Security Center to assess risk framework and improve national security and the defense industrial base.

Although the first Littoral Combat Ship armed with the Naval Strike Missile -- the trimaran-hulled Independence-class ship Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) -- deployed in 2019, the Navy's plans for expanding the offensive strike capability to the rest of the fleet have been murky in recent years:

Navy plans to put Naval Strike Missiles on all remaining Littoral Combat Ships by FY-32

The Navy plans to outfit all of its Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships with the Naval Strike Missile by fiscal year 2026, and all Freedom-variant ships by FY-32, a Navy spokesperson told Inside Defense.

The Defense Department, in a Selected Acquisition Report for the OASuW Inc. 1 program, is reporting a breach of the original program targets for planned procurement on account of the decision to buy significantly more LRASM missiles, upping the combined acquisition target to 1,215 -- an increase of more than 90% compared to last year’s combined objective of 629:

Lockheed's LRASM gets $1.8 billion boost in DOD plans as 'interim' solution with 18-year run

The Air Force and Navy are beefing up their capability to sink Chinese warships from the air by nearly doubling the planned purchase of Lockheed Martin-built missiles designed to strike heavily defended surface combatants: the Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 1 -- also called the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM).

The House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific subcommittee held a hearing this week on China:

Hearing looks at Chinese aggression in South China Sea

China has been increasing the scope, scale and pace of operations and interference in the South China Sea -- building military outposts, sinking Vietnamese fishing boats, disrupting Malaysian energy exploration, and flying too close to U.S. military aircraft operating lawfully in the area, according to a Defense Department official.

The Army has awarded a $318 million firm, fixed-price sole-source contract to BAE Systems for military-code GPS cards that are embedded in position, navigation and timing (PNT) systems, the service announced today.

The procurement method for the M-code cards differs from past contracts because it is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award that came through the Defense Information Systems Agency. That process gives the Army program manager a “direct link to the vendor” which reduces administrative time and increases “efficient technical support and integration,” according to the Army.

Previously, the program manager for PNT procured M-code cards through external contracts, which involved “significant passthrough costs and reduced buying power.”

The Sept. 28 contract creates a “direct supply source” for Mounted and Dismounted Assured PNT systems (MAPS and DAPS) and other Defense Department programs that leverage those capabilities, according to the Army. PNT Project Manager Michael Trzeciak said in a statement that BAE’s M-code cards are the only tested ones that are compatible with MAPS and DAPS.

“The contract facilitates procurement of multiple variants of the M-code card -- meeting end system compatibility requirements for Mounted and Dismounted APNT solutions now and into the future,” he said.