This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Air Force Sentinel ICBM program's cost woes, plus an upcoming Navy unmanned systems exercise and more.
We start off with coverage of a Defense Department Selected Acquisition Report on the Air Force's Sentinel ICBM program:
Sentinel sticker shock: runaway cost for new ICBM reached $152B, triggering review
The Air Force has revealed the runaway estimated cost for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program -- growth that triggered an ongoing statutory review of the project -- reached a staggering $152.4 billion last year, a 60% one-year hike following an internal 2023 assessment.
Document: DOD modernized SAR on the Air Force's Sentinel ICBM program
An upcoming exercise will take place over a two-week period in July 2025 and will "focus on effects of distributed electromagnetic attack, deception and concealment, digital payload delivery, resilient communications and electromagnetic warfare support with geolocation," according to the Navy:
Navy solicits electromagnetic warfare proposals for Silent Swarm 2025
The Navy is asking industry to submit technology proposals for participation in Silent Swarm 2025, the fourth iteration of the annual experimentation series that looks to outfit attritable, unmanned systems with early development electromagnetic warfare capabilities.
The Army's top civilian spoke this week at an event hosted by the Stimson Center:
Wormuth says lessons learned from Ukraine conflict will be reflected in next budget
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said this week that the "ubiquity and density" of drones that are being used in the Russia-Ukraine war have provided key lessons for the United States and will lead to "significant investments" in unmanned systems, counter UAS and electronic warfare in the fiscal year 2026 budget.
Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden spoke this week at Morgan Stanley's 12th Annual Laguna Conference:
Northrop not counting itself out of a reimagined NGAD competition
As the Air Force rewrites requirements for the Next Generation Air Dominance platform, Northrop Grumman is "monitoring" the program and may jump back into the competition, according to the company's chief executive.
Launched in June, the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network now has about 80,000 users:
AFRL generative AI program already has 80,000 users
Tens of thousands of Defense Department servicemembers and civilians are now using an Air Force-designed generative AI system plugged into the military's intranet, paving the way for the tool's future expansion.