The Insider

Construction of first NOMARS prototype complete, sea trials to begin this spring
By Nick Wilson
March 4, 2025 at 12:23 PM

The first prototype in the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program will begin a multimonth, at-sea testing period this spring after the vessel's construction concluded in February, according to a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency notice.

This prototype unmanned surface vessel, the USX-1 Defiant, was built to operate for long periods of time -- up to a year -- with no human intervention or maintenance. The USV is a 180-foot-long, 240-metric-ton “lightship” that will soon begin “extensive in-water testing, both dockside and at sea,” the announcement states.

The NOMARS initiative was launched by DARPA in 2020 and is scheduled to transition to the Navy’s unmanned maritime systems program office (PMS 406) in 2025, officials said last year. Contractor Serco was selected to build the first prototype, Defiant, in 2022.

“The NOMARS program aims to challenge the traditional naval architecture model, designing a seaframe (the ship without mission systems) from the ground up with no provision, allowance or expectation for humans on board,” the DARPA notice states.

In eliminating human manning considerations from the ship’s design, NOMARS is meant to deliver advantages including size, cost, reliability, hydrodynamic efficiency, survivability to sea-state and survivability against adversaries via stealth and tampering resistance, the notice continues.

In January, the Navy and DARPA announced they had completed a first-of-its-kind sea test in which a USV was refueled without any help from onboard personnel.

The test used the USVs Ranger and Mariner to demonstrate refueling technology designed by Serco for use aboard the NOMARS Defiant. The next at-sea refueling test is expected to utilize Defiant during the upcoming sea trials.

As the NOMARS effort progresses, the Navy’s plans for operationalizing an unmanned fleet continue to evolve, with doubts emerging over the future of the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel prior to its expected transition to an official program of record in fiscal year 2027.

Following calls from lawmakers, the service is now considering funding a new Modular Attack Surface Craft (MASC) program combining elements of the Large and Medium USV programs, a service spokesperson told Inside Defense in February.

Katie Arrington named acting DOD CIO
By Sara Friedman
March 4, 2025 at 11:47 AM

The Defense Department has announced Katie Arrington will serve as the Pentagon's chief information officer in an acting capacity, elevating a key voice in the Defense Department's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program who joined the Office of the DOD CIO in February.

“Today the [Defense] Secretary named Ms. Katherine ‘Katie’ Arrington Performing the Duties of the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer. Please join the CIO team in congratulating her on this new role! Ms. Leslie Beavers will resume her full time position as the Principal Deputy CIO,” according to a March 3 LinkedIn post from the Office of the DOD CIO.

The post says, “In this capacity, Ms. Arrington serves as the primary advisor to the Secretary of Defense for information management/Information Technology (IT); information assurance, as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications.”

The post continues, “Prior to assuming this role, she served in various positions including the Deputy CIO for Cybersecurity, CISO for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)), led the White House COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force for Acceleration as well as the team that created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).”

Arrington rejoined DOD as deputy CIO for cybersecurity on Feb. 18. Industry stakeholders praised the move in comments to Inside Cybersecurity, calling it a good signal for the future of the CMMC program.

Arrington was tapped to lead the development of the CMMC program in July 2019 within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, where the CMMC Program Management Office was initially based.

The CMMC program was paused in early 2021 under the direction of then-Defense Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks who came in at the start of the Biden administration. Arrington was put on suspension in the summer of 2021 over her alleged sharing of classified information outside of DOD.

Arrington officially resigned in February 2022 from DOD and announced a run for a House seat in South Carolina in the 2022 election cycle. She lost in the primary election to incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) who was selected in the 118th Congress to serve as chair of the House Oversight cyber subcommittee.

In a February 2022 memorandum, Hicks moved the CMMC PMO over to the Office of the DOD CIO and eliminated Arrington’s previous job as CISO at A&S.

Arrington joined supply chain firm Exiger in January 2024 as vice president of government affairs.

The DOD CIO role is a Senate-confirmed position. President Trump hasn’t nominated an individual for the position yet.

Arrington was hired as a civilian employee at the Office of the DOD CIO in her role as deputy CIO for cybersecurity. Beavers had served acting DOD CIO since the departure of John Sherman in July 2024.

Getting the CMMC program officially launched is expected to be a priority for Arrington. The first final rule to establish the CMMC program went into effect on Dec. 16. Official CMMC assessments started in early January.

A second CMMC rulemaking is expected to be finalized in mid-2025. The final rule will amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement and kick off the timeline for CMMC requirements to start showing up in DOD solicitations.

Pentagon confirms U.S. military aid to Ukraine has paused
By Tony Bertuca
March 4, 2025 at 9:06 AM

(Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.)

The Pentagon last night confirmed that all U.S. military aid to Ukraine has been paused, following a tense public meeting in the Oval Office last week between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Additional information about the pause was not provided.

The United States has provided Ukraine with about $65 billion in military aid since the start of the Russian invasion, with the vast majority of the funds going to U.S. defense contractors to either supply weapons to Kyiv directly or replenish (and sometimes upgrade) weapons being transferred from U.S. stocks.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement blasting Trump for stopping the aid.

“President Trump says he is focused on a peace agreement. If that’s true, then the last thing that he should do is cut Ukraine off at the knees,” Smith said. “The only way that Ukraine will be able to negotiate with Russia from a position of strength is if Ukraine has the means to defend itself against Putin’s ongoing and unjust war. The most important piece of that is U.S security assistance to ensure Ukraine’s survival -- there will be no negotiation if Ukraine is destroyed.”

Trump, who has long been skeptical of providing aid to Ukraine, has been lobbying Zelensky to accept a peace agreement with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and occupies about 20% of the country. Zelensky, however, has said Ukraine cannot accept any peace without guarantees of future security.

Tension has increased between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks, with Trump calling him a “dictator,” falsely blaming Ukraine for the Russian invasion and demanding that Kyiv provide billions in future mineral rights to the United States as recompense for past aid and the promise of continued support.

The mineral rights deal was supposed to be signed during Zelensky’s visit to the White House last week, but Trump asked the Ukrainian president to leave after arguments erupted over whether Ukraine was appropriately grateful to the United States and was ready to negotiate.

“I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” he said in a Truth Social post. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he’s ready for Peace.”

UPDATE: Zelensky posted on X today that Ukraine is “grateful” for U.S. assistance and that he is ready to return to the United States and “make things right” with Trump.

“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” he wrote. “It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”

BAE Systems awarded $151 million for FORGE C2 phase 2
By Shelley K. Mesch
March 3, 2025 at 5:06 PM

Space Systems Command awarded BAE Systems $151 million for the second phase of the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control system that will be used for missile warning and tracking missions, the command announced today.

BAE’s FORGE C2 prototype will be used for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system as well as legacy systems, according to SSC.

The other transaction authority contract comes out of the Space Enterprise Consortium, a group created in 2017 to connect the military with space-related commercial startups and small businesses.

“As we continue to enhance the FORGE ground system, it’s critical that we innovate rapidly with new technological capabilities. The SpEC OTA contract allows us to do that,” said Capt. Santiago Duque, SSC FORGE C2 chief program manager. “Our mission is foundational to the next-generation missile warning and tracking space architecture and critical in securing the warfighter mission to protect the nation from emerging threats.”

The first phase was awarded in November 2023.

Air Force, Navy launch deferred resignation programs
By Nick Wilson
March 3, 2025 at 5:02 PM

The Air Force has begun implementing a deferred resignation program for its civilian workforce in accordance with directives from the Office of Personnel Management, the service announced over the weekend.

On Feb. 28, the Air Force began sending email notifications to employees who applied for the DRP program, which has been offered to civilian workers across the federal government by the Trump administration as part of its effort to shrink the federal workforce.

“This voluntary program requires a formal separation agreement between the employee and the [Department of the Air Force], providing a financially supported pathway for eligible employees leaving federal service while enabling the Department of Defense to proactively reshape its workforce,” the announcement states.

The Navy also started implementing a deferred resignation program last week in accordance with OPM, a service spokesperson told Inside Defense. The Army has not yet responded to questions on the subject.

Once approved, participants in the Air Force’s version of the program will receive paid administrative leave until Sept. 30, 2025. During this time, they will “generally not [be] expected to work and are exempt from in-person requirements,” according to an Air Force memo signed by acting Assistant Secretary for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Gwendolyn DeFilippi.

The program is open to full-time Defense Department employees who “may be eligible for resignation, early retirement or that have a retirement date between now and December 31, 2025,” the memo continues.

However, there are exemptions to the offer for civilian flight instructors, cyber positions within the force renewal program, working capital fund personnel and foreign military sales personnel, the memo states.

The initial wave of emails is meant to inform applicants of the status of their application and their eligibility. The first wave of emails will be sent to “non-bargaining employees.” Union members will be notified later after “collective bargaining units receive official notice,” the announcement states.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 3, 2025
By John Liang
March 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Defense Innovation Unit, transnational criminal organizations in U.S. Southern Command's area of responsibility, the MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter program and more.

A new Government Accountability Office report recommends the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit "establish performance goals and metrics for DIU 3.0; establish a process to collect, assess, and use performance information for DIU 3.0; and develop and implement a process to assess defense innovation community collaboration":

Watchdog says DIU 'does not know if it is making progress'

The Pentagon's innovation arm lacks clear insight into whether it is making headway toward achieving its strategic goal of leveraging commercial technology and innovation to meet critical operational gaps, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on the DIU

The head of U.S. Southern Command was on Capitol Hill recently, talking about the threat of transnational organized crime groups in his area of responsibility:

Criminal orgs amass 'staggering' sums, outpace defense spending across SOUTHCOM

Transnational criminal organizations operating across Latin America and the Caribbean amassed a "staggering" $358 billion in revenue last year -- six times the combined defense budgets of all nations in the region including Mexico -- posing a growing strategic challenge to the United States, according to a senior official.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

Inside Defense recently interviewed the Boeing executive in charge of building the Air Force's MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter program:

Grey Wolf helos began IOT&E in January; all outstanding issues mitigated

The Air Force's nascent MH-139 Grey Wolf program is "hitting the ground running" in fiscal year 2025, according to an executive for the helicopter-maker, with initial operational test and evaluation starting as planned in January despite outstanding issues threatening its timeline at the end of last year.

During a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said she and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) have asked acting Navy Secretary Terrence Emmert to work with the Office of Personnel Management to exempt public shipyard employees from sweeping federal layoffs:

Lawmakers concerned Pentagon layoffs will undercut ship maintenance

Senate Democrats are worried the Pentagon's plan to shrink its civilian workforce could further inhibit on-time ship and submarine maintenance if workers are laid off at the nation's public shipyards.

Document: Senators' letter on Navy shipyard layoff exemptions

The commanding general of the Army's Combined Arms Support Command spoke at a recent conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association:

Army autonomous truck system slowed by CR

Lack of a full-year appropriation is shelving funding and bumping timelines for the Army's Autonomous Transport Vehicle System, set to be the largest transformation to the service's sustainment community since it debuted trucks in 1915, a senior Army official said at a Tactical Wheeled Vehicles conference in Reston, VA, Feb. 25.

Hegseth tells DOD civilians to respond to OPM's 'five things' email
By Tony Bertuca
March 3, 2025 at 11:30 AM

Despite an initial pause, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is now instructing all Defense Department civilians to comply with an Office of Personnel Management email directing them to detail five things they accomplished at their jobs in the past week.

“You will receive an email on Monday, March 3, 2025; reply to that email and cc your supervisor within 48 hours,” Hegseth said in a department-wide memo.

The submissions, which should exclude classified or sensitive information, will be “incorporated into weekly situation reports by supervisors.”

Failure to comply with the OPM directive, Hegseth said, “may lead to further review.”

Employees who are on leave or do not have access to email for a “valid reason” must comply within 48 hours of regaining access.

“Managers of those who do not regularly work in office settings with access to email, e.g. warehouses and shipyards, should address directly with their employees,” the memo said.

"The civilian workforce remains vital to the Department's mission, and your critical contributions support our renewed focus on DOD' s core warfighting objectives under President Trump' s leadership," the memo adds.

The OPM productivity emails, which have been directed by the “Department of Government Efficiency,” were first sent out Feb. 22 but DOD civilians were advised by the Pentagon's Office of Personnel and Readiness to ignore the request.

Hegseth, in a video message released on Sunday, said civilians will now be expected to comply.

"Our civilian patriots who dedicate themselves to defending this nation working for the Department of Defense are critical to our national security," Hegseth said. "As we work to restore focus on DOD's core warfighting mission under President Trump's leadership, we recognize that we cannot accomplish that mission without the strong and important contributions of our civilian workforce."

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is the public face of the DOGE effort, shared Hegseth’s video on X.

“Much appreciated @SecDef Hegseth!”

General Atomics buys North Point Defense
By John Liang
March 3, 2025 at 9:57 AM

General Atomics announced today it has acquired signals intelligence software company North Point Defense.

NPD will be added to GA's Integrated Intelligence business unit, according to a company statement. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"This acquisition enhances GA’s capabilities in the rapidly evolving SIGINT field, positioning the company to deliver advanced ISR solutions for air, sea, ground, and space platforms," the company said.

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
March 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM

The Air and Space Forces Association hosts its annual warfare symposium this week, while senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington.

Monday

The Air and Space Forces Association hosts its annual warfare symposium in Aurora, CO. The event runs through Wednesday.

Tuesday

The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a nomination hearing for Elbridge Colby to be under secretary of defense for policy.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion on quantum computing with Michael Rogers, the former director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command.

Wednesday

The Reagan National Security Innovation Base Summit is held in Washington.

The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing with Gen. Randall Reed, chief of U.S. Transportation Command.

Former Army acquisition czar says 'thoughtful review' of R&D centers could be useful
By Dan Schere
February 28, 2025 at 4:01 PM

Former Army acquisition chief Doug Bush, who departed his position last month, said today during the National Defense Industrial Association’s Power of Prototyping symposium that it would be useful to have a “thoughtful review” of the research and development offices within the Defense Department that specialize in innovation.

Bush spoke on a panel on George Mason University’s campus that was moderated by former DOD acquisition chief Ellen Lord. Bush, in response to an audience question fielded by Lord about whether there are too many R&D innovation centers, noted that over the last couple of administrations, the number of such offices has grown due to a “demand and concern that we weren’t pushing fast enough in certain tech areas.”

“That’s the department responding in the right way to a perceived need to support our troops. At the same time, it’s probably reasonable for this administration to consider looking across that and doing a little bit of consolidation wouldn’t be the worst thing. But not too far,” he said.

Consolidating these entities requires striking a balance that allows for “having the occasional small rogue entity that no one else will,” Bush said.

“It’s not always a bad thing. It’s a question of what’s the scale of dollars,” he said.

A review of innovation-themed offices ought to start at the Office of the Secretary of Defense level in the Pentagon, because “there’s a whole bunch of them, and a whole bunch of money,” Bush said.

“You could maybe save some money there and then reallocate it to other things in the services, for example, that also have merit,” he said.

Bush said a good approach for acquisition professionals in the military going forward is to build support both internally and with Congress in areas with broad appeal rather than “idiosyncratic things that one person is a fan of.”

“People in positions change. I know this can be maddening to industry. The Army might be all into something because a certain general is there, and all of a sudden the enthusiasm retires, and there’s a new general and they’re no longer interested,” he said.

Rapid prototyping of counter drone technology is an example of one area where investment over several years paid dividends, Bush noted. This could be seen following the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, he said.

“Oct. 7 happened, and then the U.S. military came under significant UAS attack across the Middle East. And yes, we took losses. There were lots of attacks, hundreds of attacks,” he said.

“Hundreds of lives were saved though, by the previous five years of work across two administrations working with [U.S. Central Command] on a range of really, off-the-shelf, highly innovative not-program-of-record counter UAS technologies that had been quietly fielded across the theater because of this building threat from Iran and its proxies. That’s a huge success, and it happened completely off the normal system.”

The INSIDER daily digest -- Feb. 28, 2025
By John Liang
February 28, 2025 at 12:56 PM

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Navy shipbuilding, the Army's autonomous truck system, Air Force helicopters and more.

We start off with a bunch of news on Navy shipbuilding:

Lawmakers concerned Pentagon layoffs will undercut ship maintenance

Senate Democrats are worried the Pentagon’s plan to shrink its civilian workforce could further inhibit on-time ship and submarine maintenance if workers are laid off at the nation’s public shipyards.

GAO: Results of billions invested in shipbuilding efforts remain to be seen

Billions of dollars have been invested in the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base by the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, yet the effectiveness of these funds is difficult to determine -- made even more tedious by a lack of coordination between the two groups, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on Navy shipbuilding and repair


SECNAV nominee aims to review and potentially renegotiate Navy contracts

John Phelan, President Trump’s nominee to serve as the next Navy secretary, told lawmakers today that if confirmed, he will personally review all existing contracts and renegotiate them if needed.

Document: Phelan's SECNAV nomination APQs

Army Maj. Gen. Michelle Donahue, commanding general of Combined Arms Support Command, spoke this week at a conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association:

Army autonomous truck system slowed by CR

Lack of a full-year appropriation is shelving funding and bumping timelines for the Army's Autonomous Transport Vehicle System, set to be the largest transformation to the service's sustainment community since it debuted trucks in 1915, a senior Army official said at a Tactical Wheeled Vehicles conference in Reston, VA, Feb. 25.

Inside Defense chatted this week with Azeem Khan, Boeing's MH-139 program manager and executive director:

Grey Wolf helos began IOT&E in January; all outstanding issues mitigated

The Air Force's nascent MH-139 Grey Wolf program is "hitting the ground running" in fiscal year 2025, according to an executive for the helicopter-maker, with initial operational test and evaluation starting as planned in January despite outstanding issues threatening its timeline at the end of last year.

The head of U.S. Southern Command was on Capitol Hill recently:

Criminal orgs amass 'staggering' sums, outpace defense spending across SOUTHCOM

Transnational criminal organizations operating across Latin America and the Caribbean amassed a "staggering" $358 billion in revenue last year -- six times the combined defense budgets of all nations in the region including Mexico -- posing a growing strategic challenge to the United States, according to a senior official.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

Retired captain Hung Cao nominated for Navy under secretary
By Nick Wilson
February 28, 2025 at 9:57 AM

President Trump has nominated retired Navy captain and former Virginia Senate candidate Hung Cao to serve as Navy under secretary.

In a Truth Social post, Trump described Cao as the “embodiment of the American dream.” Cao is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who was commissioned as a special operations officer and served for 25 years.

“As a refugee to our great nation, Hung worked tirelessly to make proud the country that gave his family a home,” Trump wrote. “With Hung’s experience both in combat, and in the Pentagon, he will get the job done.”

Cao, who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with his family in 1975, challenged incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) for a Virginia Senate seat in 2024 and was endorsed by Trump. Previously, Cao ran for Virginia’s 10th congressional district in 2022. He was unsuccessful in both races.

The announcement follows a Thursday confirmation hearing for John Phelan, who has been nominated to serve as Navy secretary.

The INSIDER daily digest -- Feb. 27, 2025
By John Liang
February 27, 2025 at 2:21 PM

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's ability to carry an advanced bomb, plus coverage of the potential consequences of the Trump administration's proposed civilian workforce cuts and more.

We start off with news on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's ability to carry the Stormbreaker Small Diameter Bomb:

F-35s can't carry StormBreaker bomb until TR-3 is combat-capable

The Pentagon's lengthy effort to arm the tri-variant F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with StormBreaker precision-strike glide bombs cannot proceed until the aircraft's new Technology Refresh-3 software capability is fully operational, said an executive for the bomb-maker.

Previous reductions in civilian employees were due in part to the "night court" process that was started during the previous Trump administration:

DOD officials weigh consequences of civilian workforce cuts

Cutting the Pentagon's civilian workforce between 5% and 8% will undoubtedly have consequences but could also present "opportunities" when it comes to business transformation, officials from various agencies said Wednesday during the Govini Defense Software & Data Summit in Washington.

The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the U.S. defense industrial base this week, the same day the National Defense Industrial Association released its annual "Vital Signs" report on the DIB:

Defense industry advocates look to protect legacy companies from hi-tech disruptors

Leaders from some of the largest defense industry associations told lawmakers today that Congress should reform the Pentagon's labyrinthine acquisition system in favor of all military contractors, not just new-entrant technology companies angling to disrupt the status quo.

Document: House hearing on the DIB

More coverage of NDIA's "Vital Signs" report:

Defense group raises concerns over cost of CMMC implementation as companies prepare for assessments

The National Defense Industrial Association argues implementing the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program will put a significant cost on companies that could be a barrier to entry for industry partners, as part of an annual report taking the pulse of defense firms.

An upgraded version of the Army's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the JLTV A3, will host three key improvements that take on obsolescence issues already observed on the JLTV A2: swapping engines, changing shocks and implementing a new software system:

'Driven by obsolescence': Army sets sights on new JLTV version

The Army is eyeing a new, upgraded Joint Light Tactical Vehicle despite just starting production of its latest version in January, Army and Marine Corps officials announced at a Tactical Wheeled Vehicles conference Feb. 25.

A new Government Accountability Office report finds the Defense Department "has made progress in developing [technology for satellites to communicate via lasers], but it also faced delays and other issues -- and hasn't fully demonstrated that it works in space":

GAO: SDA not doing enough to ensure laser communications links work

The Space Development Agency isn't doing enough to demonstrate laser communications links work in each slate of launched satellites before moving onto the next, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Document: GAO report on laser communications in space

Rocket Lab passed its critical design review for VICTUS HAZE, the company announced this week, moving the effort into the production phase:

Space Force advancing TacRS with two VICTUS demonstrations in the works

The Space Force, in its effort to boost tactically responsive space capabilities, is moving forward with two demonstrations in its VICTUS series for agile and speedy deliveries to orbit.

The INSIDER daily digest -- Feb. 26, 2025
By John Liang
February 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on an ongoing Defense Science Board study on a Kwajalein Atoll facility, plus coverage of the submarine industrial base, the proposed "Golden Dome for America" system and more.

A new memo calls on the Defense Science Board to "conduct a study on the Designation of Certain Facilities on Kwajalein Atoll as a Major Range and Test Facility Base":

DSB to assess designation of Army missile defense test site as MRTFB

The Defense Science Board has been tasked with conducting a study on whether to designate U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll and the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site it houses as a Major Range and Test Facility Base, per a memo from the Pentagon's acting technology chief cleared for open publication Monday.

Document: DSB TOR memo on Kwajalein as major range and test base

The Submarine Industrial Base Council hosted an event this morning:

House GOP looks to reassure submarine industrial base amid budget uncertainty

House Republicans are attempting to reassure members of the shipbuilding industrial base that robust investment will continue -- when it comes to submarine production at least -- amid uncertainty over the Trump administration's defense spending priorities.

The Space Force's top uniformed officer spoke with reporters this week:

Saltzman: Space Force expects to play 'central role' in 'Golden Dome'

The Space Force will likely play a "central role" in developing and operating the next-generation homeland defense system outlined in an executive order from President Trump, according to Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Salzman.

Army Col. Eric Anderson, division chief of Logistics Division (G-8), spoke at an NDIA conference this week:

TWV commonality vital in the face of funding woes, Army leaders argue

The Army has a "math problem," because costs of Tactical Wheeled Vehicle initiatives are greater than the funding for them, a service leader said at a National Defense Industrial Association conference in Reston, VA.

Stephen Feinberg this week submitted written answers to advance policy questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee regarding his nomination to be deputy defense secretary:

Feinberg promises 'war room' reviews, wants new companies to take on 'major defense players'

Billionaire financier Stephen Feinberg said today that if he is confirmed as deputy defense secretary, he will establish a "war room" to review Pentagon spending in detail to ensure it is aligned to compete with China, highlighting his belief that the department is overly reliant on legacy systems and large prime contractors.

Document: Feinberg's nomination hearing APQs

The Navy aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford's (CVN-78) Total Ship Survivability Trial has been completed, while sortie-generation rate and Ship Self-Defense System test events are scheduled for fiscal year 2025:

Several Navy ship programs make progress in testing phase, including CVN-78 survivability

The Navy is progressing in testing across several ship programs, with advances that include the completion of key survivability testing for the lead Ford-class carrier.

Navy seeking information via survey on counter-uncrewed systems
By Abby Shepherd
February 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM

The Navy is seeking responses from industry members and government organizations regarding counter-uncrewed systems -- specifically capabilities with a technology readiness level of five or higher -- according to a government notice issued today.

Low collateral defeat options should be considered, according to the request for information. These methods are implemented in situations where friendly forces or civilians are close to the threat, and “are designed with precision and control requirements to ensure extremely low probability of collateral damage,” according to a survey accompanying the RFI.

Alternative low collateral small-unmanned aerial systems are in various development phases, and all options should be explored, the survey adds.

The survey form asks that industry members and organizations answer where their capability falls within the kill chain, if it is an individual system or system of components and what domain it operates in, among other questions. Those who respond will be considered for future test events and demonstrations, according to the survey.

Responses are due April 30.