The Insider

Lt. Gen. John Lamontagne has been nominated to become commander of Air Mobility Command, pending Senate confirmation, the Defense Department announced today.

Lamontagne, who would be elevated to general, is the current deputy commander for U.S. Air Forces Europe and Africa.

He will replace Gen. Mike Minihan, who is set to retire later this year.

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin earnings, the Office of Strategic Capital's nascent loan program and more.

We start off with coverage of General Dynamics' and Lockheed Martin's quarterly earnings:

Hiring is improving at General Dynamics' shipyards, though supply chain issues persist

General Dynamics' shipbuilding businesses have experienced improved hiring and reduced attrition over the past year, company executives reported today, saying they are beginning to see momentum build as their shipyards work to meet the Navy's production and maintenance demands.

F-35 deliveries to exceed production in coming years, Lockheed Martin CEO says

Amid the decision to resume deliveries of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters outfitted with a truncated version of the Technology Refresh-3 upgrade, Lockheed Martin announced strong growth in a second quarter earnings call Tuesday.

The Office of Strategic Capital today announced the release of a Federal Register notice and accompanying request for information regarding its new loan program:

OSC searching for industry input on new loan program

The Office of Strategic Capital is seeking public input to sculpt the layout of the Defense Department’s new loan program aimed at procuring critical technologies.

The Senate Armed Services Committee, in its mark of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill, directs the Pentagon to report on the potential for high-flying balloons packed with sensors to augment protection of deployed U.S. troops as well as harden domestic airspace:

A decade after canceling JLENS, lawmakers now interested in dirigibles for air defense

Congress, which in a fit of emotion nearly a decade ago terminated the U.S. military's main dirigible project that looked deep over the horizon to detect cruise missiles, is once again interested in the potential of airships and aerostats to help defend against not only cruise missiles but also ballistic and hypersonic threats as well as drones.

Continuing coverage of the Air Force's budget-challenged Sentinel ICBM program:

Air Force reassessing how to meet Sentinel requirements following certification

While it's creating a new acquisition strategy for the Sentinel nuclear missile program, the Air Force will be reassessing how the program can meet the requirements set by U.S. nuclear policy for the ground leg of the triad, according to the service under secretary.

Ft. Greely, AK is being used as a testbed of sorts for counter UAS capabilities such as non-kinetic radars and low collateral effects interceptors, which will inform future counter UAS development at sites throughout the continental United States, the commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command said today.

Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, speaking during an event hosted by the Association of the United States Army in Arlington, VA, said the Army has deployed cUAS capabilities to Ft. Greely that it has not to other CONUS sites.

“We deemed that as a [Defense Department] proof-of-principle site for counter UAS, working closely with NORTHCOM and Gen. [Gregory] Guillot on how to move that forward,” Gainey said, referring to the commander of U.S. Northern Command.

Ft. Greely, home to the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, is a site where SMDC hopes to “push the envelope on capability development that you can leverage in CONUS” such as non-kinetic radars and low collateral effects interceptors, Gainey told Inside Defense after the event.

“Because of the restrictions and authorities required for CONUS locations, you’re limited in the type of capability you can put out there,” he said, referring to drone restrictions around military bases.

“The only location that capability is currently on is Greeley, and at Ft. Greeley we will learn for the entire DOD and help inform NORTHCOM how they want to move forward across the CONUS,” he said.

Gainey did not have a timeline for when decisions would be made to grow cUAS capability to CONUS sites.

“That unit is initially operating capability now, and over the next year or so they’ll just continue to refine and get better,” he said.

In April, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George told lawmakers that NORTHCOM was in the process of conducting a homeland security-related UAS study. Gainey, when asked about the study Tuesday, did not have additional details to share but said SMDC is “an active participant” in it.

The Defense Business Board will hold closed and open meetings on Aug. 1 and 2 to hear from senior Pentagon officials to discuss technology integration, global security operations and transitioning to the next presidential administration.

The DBB posted a notice in the Federal Register today detailing who will be speaking at the next rounds of closed and open meetings in early August.

The first closed session on Aug. 1 will begin with a discussion about vulnerabilities to the defense supply chain and how the Defense Department can better properly manage threats, led by Paul Cromwell, deputy division chief, and Chris Diehl, senior intelligence officer, both from the Supply Chain Risk Management-Threat Analysis Center.

Then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown will speak about “strategic initiatives to enhance the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and autonomous systems into defense operations, addressing how these innovations can improve operational readiness, streamline logistics, and ensure the United States maintains a position of relative advantage in Great Power Competition,” the notice said.

The first closed session will end with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informing the board about DOD’s current operations.

“The discussion with Secretary Austin will focus on the state of the current global security environment and its implications for current and future business operations,” the notice stated.

The second closed session that day will take place at the State Department so the board may hear a classified briefing on State's business operations and foreign policy issues.

Richard Verma, deputy state secretary for management and resources, will lead this discussion, which, according to the notice, will “explore best business practices from the DOS that may be applicable to the DOD, with a focus on how both agencies align business practices to achieve better outcomes for national security stakeholders.”

In the final Aug. 1 closed session, the board will hear from Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks about how to prepare DOD for an “orderly” transition to the next presidential administration.

“This discussion will involve how the Deputy Secretary and other key officials plan for and manage a transition between administrations,” the notice said. “The Deputy Secretary will provide insights on how the Department plans to solidify progress on key initiatives.”

The first closed session on Aug. 2 will start by hearing again from Hicks, this time speaking about reoccurring themes the DBB has found across several studies conducted during the board’s tenure.

“This discussion will provide an opportunity for the Deputy Secretary to ask the board to provide their private industry perspective on common findings and their views on the most important recommendations for the Department to tackle,” the notice said.

The open session on Aug. 2 will begin with Ashish Vazirani, performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Bryant Parmeter, DOD chief talent management officer, leading a discussion surrounding the progress of talent management initiatives.

In the Aug. 2 closed session, Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo will discuss initiatives for software modernization reform.

“This discussion will provide insight into the Army's new policy to institutionalize modern software development approaches across the Army, along with the opportunities and obstacles to expand software reform across the DOD enterprise,” the notice said.

The Defense Innovation Unit says it executed flight tests in June incorporating its Blue Uncrewed Aerial System platforms with the Collaborative Low-Altitude UAS Integration Effort, allowing the organization to discern unmanned aerial systems operated by the Defense Department from others flying in the same airspace.

The three-day event, conducted at a UAS test site in New York, allowed DIU and partners to facilitate “critical data sharing via a multi-network device,” the organization said Friday.

The Blue UAS program, which began in 2020, is a DIU effort to rapidly prototype and scale commercial UAS technology for DOD. Commercial drones on the approved DIU “Blue List” are vetted by the organization.

Integrating select Blue UAS platforms with the CLUE UTM system developed by the Air Force Research Lab provides a pathway to make UAS operations within the national airspace system more efficient, according to DIU.

“As the usage of small UAS aiding warfighting functions continues to expand, it is becoming increasingly important to confidently distinguish between those UAS trusted to be used for DOD missions and those that just happen to be in our airspace,” said David Michelson, autonomy portfolio director at DIU.

Aircraft tested included AgEagle’s eBee VISION and Skydio’s X2D, which supplied telemetry data back to the CLUE UTM system via a Somewear Node multi-network device. Freefly Systems Astro UAVs also carried range extending relay nodes from UXV Technologies’ Soldier Robotic Controller ground control stations.

The Somewear Node was recently added to the Blue UAS Framework, a list of critical components and software approved for use in conjunction with Blue UAS platforms.

With telemetry data from the UAS and other data feeds, the CLUE system “provided a visual situational awareness tool” that can help with Federal Aviation Administration compliance, air traffic control, allocating flight areas and identifying other UASs, according to DIU.

Other partners for the test event included the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Auterion GS, AX Enterprize and QGC-Gov.

Senior military officials are slated to speak at various defense forums this week.

Monday

Space Training and Readiness Command Commander Maj. Gen. Timothy Sejba speaks at a virtual Shriever Spacepower Series event.

Tuesday

The House Armed Services special forces and readiness subcommittees hold a joint hearing on mobility aircraft relevance and survivability in a contested environment.

Army Space and Missile Defense Command Commander Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey speaks at an Association of the United States Army "Coffee Series" event.

The Wilson Center holds an online discussion on the Pentagon's new Arctic Strategy.

Wednesday

The Hudson Institute hosts SMDC chief Gainey for a discussion on "The Future of Army Space and Missile Defense."

Thursday

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace holds a discussion on "The Future of U.S. Nuclear Arms Control Policy."

House appropriators want an assessment of the ability of public shipyards to support wartime battle damage, according to a provision within the House Appropriations Committee's military construction spending bill directing the Navy to deliver a report on the issue within 180 days of the legislation's passage.

Pointing to the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program -- the Navy’s 20-year, $21 billion effort to modernize the nation’s four public shipyards -- the spending bill instructs Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command to produce a joint report “summarizing the ability of existing shipyard infrastructure to support wartime battle damage requirements.”

This report would also detail “how SIOP is incorporating any shortfalls in meeting battle damage requirements into its long-term infrastructure plan at the naval public shipyards, and any possible benefits of coordinating these efforts with the U.S. Coast Guard’s SIOP,” the legislative language continues.

The Navy requested $513 million for SIOP in fiscal year 2025. During a June industry day, Navy officials said $6 billion has already been committed to various projects under SIOP. The program was launched in 2018 to modernize and upgrade aging shipyard infrastructure and reduce maintenance delays.

Though the Navy has reported some improvement in maintenance performance since then, in early FY-24, then-Naval Submarine Forces Commander Vice Adm. William Houston said maintenance backlogs remain the greatest challenge to submarine fleet readiness.

In the MILCON spending bill, House appropriators also endorse drydock improvement efforts underway in the four yards under SIOP. The spending bill directs an additional report on installing a floating drydock at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.

This report, to be completed by the assistant Navy secretary for energy, installations and environment within 180 days of the bill’s signing, would detail “potential locations for mooring a floating drydock, (2) a list of the individual major military construction projects needed to support a floating drydock, (3) the earliest a floating drydock could be brought into service given the timelines associated with the required military construction, and (4) how a floating drydock would be used to ensure extra capacity for potential crisis and conflict in the Indo-Pacific.”

Though the legislation doesn’t expressly link these two reports to concerns over a possible armed conflict with China, it states “the committee recognizes the importance of fleet maintenance on the west coast to ensuring mission readiness in the Indo-Pacific region and is aware the Navy is already facing maintenance delays.”