The Insider

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the possibility of the Army undergoing a new base realignment and closure initiative, plus the service distributing a force design update for the its new Mobile Brigade Combat Teams and more.

We start off with a deep dive into what looks like the Army undergoing a base realignment and closure initiative:

Army mum on depot plans, but it has echoes of a BRAC

After a sweeping set of proposals to restructure multiple Army depots and arsenals, former officials, local leaders and experts are scrutinizing vague signals from service leadership, and seeing signs of what resembles a potential base realignment and closure (BRAC).

The Army is turning all its Infantry Brigade Combat Teams into MBCTs in a move to become more mobile and deadlier "in a leaner formation" under its Transformation Initiative:

New MBCT structure will be flexible, Army chief says

A force design update for the Army's new Mobile Brigade Combat Teams is "out on the street," the service's chief of staff announced this week, but it will need to be fluid.

The Army plans to field a combination of air and ground Launched Effects in every division by the end of 2026:

With user demo at JBLM, Army getting ready to field Launched Effects across divisions

With soldiers participating in a three-week special user demonstration for short-range Launched Effects last month at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, the Army is preparing to embark on its goal of fielding the capabilities across the force within a year.

The Marine Corps wants to know if more than one vendor can deliver a commercially available radar to support two vehicle-mounted systems, which have identical radar requirements and have in the past used the RPS-42 radar from RADA Electronic Industries, a subsidiary of Leonardo DRS:

Marine Corps seeks new radar for mobile air defense systems

The Marine Corps is looking for additional radar systems to pair with two of its mobile air defense capabilities, the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) and Light-MADIS, according to a new request for information.

The Pentagon will soon be putting out a letter on the "10 commandments" for its risk management framework, followed by a new DOD instruction no later than Nov. 30 detailing plans:

Arrington: DOD guidance on 'blowing up' risk management framework expected by Nov. 30

Katie Arrington, performing the duties of the Defense Department chief information officer, spoke about the need to move at speed when it comes to cyber in an appearance at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit, where she provided updates on "blowing up" DOD's risk management framework and on a final rule seven years in the making to launch the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Army Launched Effects, a Marine Corps Radar System, plus coverage from the Billington Cybersecurity Summit and more.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's April 30 memo, directing the Army Transformation Initiative, spells out a plan for the service to field a combination of air and ground Launched Effects in every division by the end of 2026:

With user demo at JBLM, Army getting ready to field Launched Effects across divisions

With soldiers participating in a three-week special user demonstration for short-range Launched Effects last month at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, the Army is preparing to embark on its goal of fielding the capabilities across the force within a year.

Intended primarily to detect and track drones and manned aircraft, the Marine Corps' desired radar solution will have a technology readiness level of eight or higher and will cost no more than $1.5 million per unit:

Marine Corps seeks new radar for mobile air defense systems

The Marine Corps is looking for additional radar systems to pair with two of its mobile air defense capabilities, the Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) and Light-MADIS, according to a new request for information.

Our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity have coverage from this week's Billington Cybersecurity Summit:

Arrington: DOD guidance on 'blowing up' risk management framework expected by Nov. 30

Katie Arrington, performing the duties of the Defense Department chief information officer, spoke about the need to move at speed when it comes to cyber in an appearance at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit, where she provided updates on "blowing up" DOD's risk management framework and on a final rule seven years in the making to launch the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

DOD plans to release CMMC training materials for acquisition officials as final rule rolls out

The Pentagon is developing resources to train acquisition officials on setting requirements under its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, following the release of a final rule set to go into effect on Nov. 10.

With the latest cash infusion, Apex Technologies can bring production capability from 12 to 18 satellite platforms per month:

Apex raises $200M to fund facility expansion, scaled production

Apex Technologies has secured $200 million in new private funding to boost monthly production of its satellite bus platforms and more than double the size of its California manufacturing facility, CEO Ian Cinnamon told Inside Defense.

Marine Corps Gen. Christopher Mahoney submitted answers to advance policy questions and prepared testimony regarding his nomination to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this week:

Mahoney ready to accelerate acquisition and budget reform

Gen. Christopher Mahoney, who has been nominated to serve as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers today he is fully behind the multiple lines of effort now being pursued to reform the Pentagon's bureaucratic acquisition and budgeting process.

Document: Mahoney's nomination APQs

The Navy is accepting bids for design work on its Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) and plans to award up to three concept refinement contracts in the near future, according to a Sept. 10 request for proposals.

Also known as the Light Replenishment Oiler, the NGLS is intended to augment the Combat Logistics Force as a relatively small and inexpensive logistics craft capable of refueling, rearming and resupplying Navy and Marine Corps platforms and installations.

According to the RFP, selected contractors will be tasked with delivering “cost effective ship designs and approaches” to the Navy. Responses to the notice are due Oct. 10.

The contractors will “conduct a global market survey for replenishment ships that could be built in United States shipyards, assess feasibility and affordability of current NGLS requirements by performing design development and provide information regarding compliance with 2025 [National Defense Authorization Act] basic and functional design requirements,” the notice continues.

Last month, the Navy published a presolicitation indicating it would soon award multiple contracts to industry members to perform “concept refinement studies” for the program, which was initiated in the fiscal year 2021 budget cycle.

A detailed design and construction award is now expected in FY-28, according to budget documents, marking a multiyear delay compared to earlier estimates that once projected procurement to begin in FY-26.

The Navy’s budget request seeks about $1.1 million in research and development funding in FY-26 to support the ship’s preliminary design development after receiving about $7.7 million in FY-25.

HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding is scaling up outsourcing work on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer program, tapping six different partner companies to build outfitted structural units for Flight III ships Thad Cochran (DDG-135), John Lehman (DDG-137) and Telesforo Trinidad (DDG-139).

Production work is underway at these third-party facilities, which are building select structural units that will later be delivered to Ingalls’ Pascagoula, MS yard for integration into the destroyer hulls, according to an HII announcement.

The notice doesn't name the six companies but says they were “strategically selected beyond [HII’s] traditional labor market, at locations with existing skilled labor and facility capacity.”

Across the maritime industrial base, shipbuilders are increasingly turning to outsourcing efforts in a bid to improve schedule performance and meet the Navy’s demand for submarines and warships.

HII, which is involved in most Navy shipbuilding programs between Ingalls Shipbuilding and Virginia-based Newport News Shipbuilding, has made the approach a focus in recent years, working to develop what today’s announcement describes as a “more distributed shipbuilding model.”

The company has expanded its structural assembly network to 23 partner companies to date, according to today’s announcement. Additionally, Newport News is outsourcing submarine module and structural aircraft carrier unit work to a separate facility in Charleston, SC acquired by HII earlier this year.

“We’ve already doubled our outsourced hours in 2025, and we are on track to quadruple them in a two-year period,” HII CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement in the release, adding that HII’s hiring and attrition are improving.

Additional work packages involving more domestic partners are under evaluation, the release continues. Internationally, HII recently entered partnerships with Hyundai Heavy Industries and Babcock International Group.

Today, Babcock and HII announced the signing of a new memorandum of understanding to collaborate on autonomous launch and recovery of unmanned underwater vehicles from submarine missile tubes, using HII’s REMUS UUV and Babcock’s weapon handling and launch systems technology.

The House voted 213 to 196 to pass its version of the annual defense authorization bill that will need to be reconciled with the Senate.

The bill authorizes $896 billion in total national defense spending and contains key bipartisan legislation that would reform the Pentagon acquisition process.

The bill was passed out of the House Armed Services Committee by a vote of 55-2 but lost most of its bipartisan support on the floor following politically controversial amendments sought by the GOP.

Only 17 Democrats voted for the bill, while only four Republicans opposed it.

Many Democrats said they opposed the bill because it included measures blocking gender-affirming medical care for servicemembers.

Meanwhile, the bill includes an amendment that would repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force for Iraq.

Other amendments were unsuccessful, like ones proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would have blocked U.S. aid to Ukraine and Taiwan.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, thanked Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) for his bipartisanship during the writing of the initial bill but blamed GOP leadership for sidelining Democrats in the amendment process.

“For the third year running, Republican leadership cast aside that time-honored tradition and strong bipartisan work, placing politics above the needs of our troops and our national security,” Smith said. “They included countless partisan amendments that sought to score points in a right-wing culture war rather than focus on the real needs of our service members and their families. And they refused to include meaningful amendments offered by Democrats, silencing debate of critical issues including the Trump administration’s politicization of our military and executive overreach that threatens our constitutional democracy, which undermines the authority of the Congress. That is why I voted against final passage today.”

Rogers said the bill has a strong, bipartisan “core,” highlighting acquisition reform.

“The FY-26 [defense authorization bill] cuts red tape, streamlines bureaucracy, and refocuses acquisition on its most important mission: getting our warfighters what they need when they need it,” he said. “In addition to modernizing our military and accelerating innovative technologies, the FY-26 [bill] invests in the men and women who serve our country, with a 3.8% payraise for all servicemembers and improved schools, housing, and access to healthcare.”

The bill must now advance to a conference committee with the Senate, which is also considering its version of the bill on the floor this week.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George has chosen Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, currently assigned to the G-3/5/7, to lead the new counter-drone Joint Interagency Task Force 401 announced by Pentagon leadership last month.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo Aug. 27, establishing JIATF 401, which will report directly to the deputy defense secretary and have acquisition and procurement authority. This new task force, once established, will dissolve the Pentagon’s current joint counter-drone office.

Lt. Gen. Joseph Ryan, the Army deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and training, told attendees at the Maneuver Warfighting Conference at Ft. Benning, GA Wednesday that Ross would be running the task force, calling him a “particularly talented individual.” Ross was most recently the deputy commander for maneuver of the 3rd Infantry Division, Ft. Stewart, GA.

Among the other federal agencies that will be a part of JIATF 401 will be the CIA, FBI, NSA and Federal Aviation Administration, Ryan added.

The number 401 in the name of the task force refers to the need for the Defense Department to coordinate with “all kinds of different interagencies to figure out how we’re going to shoot things down,” when drones are flying at more than 400 feet, George explained during the conference Tuesday.

George and other top officials within the Army have consistently said the United States must close the gap with adversary nations when it comes to producing cheap drones en masse -- a point Ryan reiterated Wednesday.

Ryan said Wednesday that the U.S. military “can’t win” when it is shooting down $10,000 drones using missiles that cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce.

“Our adversaries are ahead of us here. The Ukrainians are ahead of us here. We're watching it in real time every day, and we're trying to take some of those lessons, because that Ukraine-Russia battlefield is a living laboratory of everything we're seeing and learning about the effects that a counter UAS system must have,” he said.