The Insider

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 28, 2023
By John Liang
March 28, 2023 at 1:03 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the future of the Pentagon's unfunded priorities lists, the Navy's shipbuilding plans, the Sentinel LGM-35A nuclear missile program and more.

Looks like Sen. Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) efforts to outlaw unfunded priorities lists are bearing fruit:

DOD supports repealing law requiring unfunded priorities lists

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin supports an ongoing effort by some lawmakers to repeal a law requiring that military leaders send annual "unfunded priorities lists" to Congress outside the regular budget submission, according to a new letter from Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord.

The Navy's shipbuilding plans have come into question by at least one lawmaker:

Collins questions proposed ship buying levels for FY-24

Contrasting projections for the U.S. fleet of 291 ships by 2028 to forecasts for China to have 440 ships, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) told naval officials Tuesday she is concerned about the Navy's shipbuilding plans in the fiscal year 2024 budget.

Related:

Kaine: Classified study affirms 31 amphibious warships; seapower subcommittee remains supportive

The Navy's classified amphibious warship study supports the need for 31 L-class ships, according to Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee chairman, who said he is "mystified" by the lack of amphibs in the Navy’s budget request.

The successor to the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile could be facing a delay:

House panel questions potential delay in Sentinel nuclear missile

House lawmakers expressed concern Tuesday over a schedule slip in the Sentinel LGM-35A nuclear missile program, which faces a potential two-year delay.

Some funding news for the Army's Future Unmanned Aircraft System program:

Army includes $53 million in FY-24 request for new-start FUAS

The Army's fiscal year 2024 request includes $53 million for the procurement of the Future Unmanned Aircraft System family of systems.

Last but by no means least, a look at the Space Force's FY-24 budget request:

Space Force seeks $30B in FY-24 to combat emerging space threats

The Space Force is requesting $30 billion in its fiscal year 2024 budget, an increase of $3.4 billion over the FY-23 enacted figure. This funding is a critical step to combat emerging space threats and meet pacing challenges, according to an FY-24 budget overview document.

Senate panel advances DOD noms
By Tony Bertuca
March 28, 2023 at 9:56 AM

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted today to advance the nominations of two key Pentagon officials.

Prior to a hearing on the fiscal year 2024 defense budget, the committee voted to advanced the nominations of Nickolas Guertin to be Navy assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition, and of Ronald Keohane to be assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs.

The nominations now advance to the full Senate, where many of President Biden’s Pentagon picks have been blocked for months by some GOP lawmakers.

Ingalls Shipbuilding gets new top lawyer
By John Liang
March 27, 2023 at 4:19 PM

HII has announced that Julie Jarrell Gresham has been named vice president and chief counsel of the company's Ingalls Shipbuilding division.

Gresham will succeed George Simmerman, who will retire at the end of this month after 32 years with the company.

Gresham, who has been with HII since 2014 and previously served as deputy chief counsel and director of compliance and privacy, will report directly to Chad Boudreaux, HII’s executive vice president and chief legal officer, and indirectly to Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 27, 2023
By John Liang
March 27, 2023 at 2:32 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on more of the Pentagon's unfunded priorities lists, a new Army surface-to-surface missile, the Pentagon's Glide Phase interceptor program plus coverage of a bunch of Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve initiatives.

We start off with some of the latest unfunded priorities lists:

Navy sends Congress $2.5B unfunded priorities list

The Navy has sent Congress a $2.5 billion list of unfunded priorities, highlighting $45.3 million for development of the "Maritime Targeting Cell Afloat" as its No. 1 unmet need, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.

Air Force submits $2.4B unfunded priorities list, keying accelerated E-7 procurement

The Air Force has sent Congress a list of $2.4 billion in unfunded priorities, citing the accelerated delivery of the E-7 aircraft as its top unmet need, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.

SOCOM submits $847M unfunded priorities list

U.S. Special Operations Command has sent Congress an $847 million unfunded priorities list, naming a cybersecurity initiative as its top unmet need, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.

The Army's Aviation and Missile Center last month awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to develop what could be a precursor to Precision Strike Missile Increment 4, to develop what is dubbed the Long Range Maneuverable Fires missile:

Army taps Lockheed to advanced development of extended range PrSM Increment 4 candidate

The Army is advancing development of a potential 1,000-kilomter surface-to-surface missile, a new variant of the Precision Strike Missile that aims to double the range of the baseline weapon, expand the service's deep-attack reach and give U.S. commanders a new capability by 2026 for a multidomain fight against a near-peer adversary such as China.

The Joint Requirements Oversight Council is scheduled this week to review the Pentagon's Glide Phase Interceptor effort, the latest in a string of high-level program reviews since last fall required to build the case for a major new weapon system program built around the Aegis defense system that will be fielded to the Navy and possibly the Army:

Glide Phase Interceptor poised to pivot from concept analysis to technical development

Pentagon top brass are set to review progress in the U.S. military's signature hypersonic defense project which is now poised to pivot from concept development to building hardware for the Glide Phase Interceptor, a major milestone review that will focus on efficacy of proposed GPI designs to defeat ultrafast maneuvering glide vehicles.

The Navy's fiscal year 2024 request contains $214 million for a bunch of Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve initiatives out of a $687 million DOD-wide RDER request:

Navy seeks $214 million for 24 RDER initiatives

The Navy's research and development budget request includes 24 new initiatives within the Defense Department's rapid prototyping and experimentation fund, which looks to field transformational capabilities across services.

Air Force preparing EIS for B-21 beddown in Texas and Missouri
By Shelley K. Mesch
March 27, 2023 at 11:38 AM

The Air Force will prepare Environmental Impact Statements for the second and third main operating bases for the B-21 Raider nuclear bomber that is in development, according to a notice of intent posted Monday.

The service will evaluate the potential beddown impacts at Dyess Air Force Base, TX, and Whiteman AFB, MO, which will be MOB2 and MOB3, respectively, the notice states. The evaluation will include the effects associated with infrastructure construction, demolition and renovations along with additional personnel and changes in aircraft operations, it said.

Ellsworth AFB, SD, was chosen as MOB1, according to the notice.

“The EIS will analyze Dyess AFB and Whiteman AFB as basing alternatives for the proposed action as well as a no action alternative,” the notice states. “The basing alternatives were developed to minimize mission impact, maximize facility reuse, minimize cost and reduce overhead as well as leverage the strengths of each base to optimize the B-21 beddown strategy.”

The Air Force and Northrop Grumman are developing the B-21 to replace the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers. Air Force officials have said first flight is expected later this calendar year.

ARRW misses mark in second test
By Jason Sherman
March 27, 2023 at 9:36 AM

The Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon apparently suffered a significant setback during the second of four planned flight tests which the Air Force notably declined to call a "success" as it did the first ARRW launch.

Late Friday, the Air Force disclosed -- nearly two weeks after the fact -- a highly anticipated ARRW flight test took place when a B-52 released an All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon off the Southern California coast on March 13.

“This test was the second launch of a full prototype operational hypersonic missile and focused on the ARRW’s end-to-end performance,” according to an Air Force statement. “The test met several of the objectives and the ARRW team engineers and testers are collecting data for further analysis.”

The Defense Department has a long history of describing test events that are scored failures as also achieving multiple objectives.

The 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, executed the ARRW test flight.

Air Force leaders have effectively put the ARRW program on probation -- declining to plan for procurement funding in the fiscal year 2024 budget request and requesting nothing for the program in research and development beyond the FY-24 proposal for $150 million.

The week ahead
By John Liang
March 27, 2023 at 5:00 AM

Senior Pentagon officials will be on Capitol Hill this week talking about the fiscal year 2024 budget request.

Monday

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosts a discussion on Next Generation Air Dominance.

The Air and Space Forces Association holds a "fireside chat" with Col. Christopher Putnam, head of the new Space Forces Central.

Tuesday

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon's fiscal year 2024 budget request.

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee holds a hearing on the Air Force and Space Force FY-24 budget requests.

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee holds a hearing on the Army's FY-24 budget request.

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee holds a hearing on the Navy and Marine Corps FY-24 budget requests.

The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee holds a hearing on nuclear forces and atomic energy defense activities.

The House Armed Services readiness and seapower and projection forces subcommittees hold a joint hearing on U.S. Transportation Command and the Maritime Administration.

The Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee holds a hearing on Navy and Marine Corps investment programs.

The Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee holds a hearing on regional nuclear deterrence.

Wednesday

Austin and Milley testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon's fiscal year 2024 budget request.

Defense One holds a "State of the Space Force" event.

The House Appropriations defense subcommittee holds a hearing on the Navy and Marine Corps FY-24 budget requests.

The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee holds a hearing on fixed-wing tactical and training aircraft programs.

The House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee holds a hearing with the military services' personnel chiefs.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee holds a hearing on oversight, transparency and accountability of Ukraine assistance.

The Senate Armed Services cybersecurity subcommittee holds a hearing on enterprise cybersecurity to protect DOD information networks.

Thursday

The House Armed Services cyber, information technologies and innovation subcommittee holds a hearing on cyberspace operations and conflict in the 21st century.

The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the Army's FY-24 budget request.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 24, 2023
By John Liang
March 24, 2023 at 3:16 PM

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's latest fiscal year 2024 unfunded priorities lists, a Navy-Boeing dispute over Super Hornet intellectual property, the Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance effort and a lot more.

Let's start off with coverage of the latest unfunded priorities lists:

AFRICOM submits $397M UPL for Somalia; TRANSCOM's list empty

U.S. Africa Command has sent Congress a list of $397 million in unfunded priorities, citing the need to establish a "persistent presence" in Somalia to counter violent extremist organizations, "assure freedom of navigation through the Bab al Mandab sea-lane and monitor the expanding Chinese presence in Djibouti," according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.

CENTCOM highlights counter-drone tech in unfunded priorities list

U.S. Central Command has sent Congress a list of $280 million in unfunded priorities, highlighting the need for nearly $30 million to counter unmanned aerial systems, according to a document obtained by Inside Defense.

INDOPACOM sends Congress $3.4B unfunded priorities list

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has sent Congress a list of $3.4 billion in unfunded priorities, with more than $2 billion identified for research and development programs not included in the regular fiscal year 2024 budget request, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.

Looks like Boeing and the Navy are arguing about intellectual property regarding Super Hornet fighter aircraft:

Lawmaker spotlights Super Hornet IP dispute

The Navy and Boeing are tangled in a legal dispute over intellectual property related to 20 F/A-18 Super Hornets in a yet-to-be-awarded contract on a production line that is set to be shut down, according to Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA), who sits on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.

More than a decade after the Pentagon brass approved Air Force plans to begin work on an F-22 follow-on capability, the FY-24 budget includes substantial sums that indicate the service has now crafted a clear path forward for Next Generation Air Dominance -- a project largely shrouded in secrecy:

Air Force eyes $22 billion for NGAD in future years plan to keep ahead of China

The Air Force is backing plans that aim to "sustain" air supremacy over China with $22 billion in the fiscal year 2024 five-year spending plan, a 70% hike compared with the $13 billion FY-23 future-years forecast for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) capability by significantly increasing research and development funding in FY-27 and FY-28.

The top House defense appropriator wants to plus up the Pentagon's budget:

Senior GOP appropriator pledges to work for higher defense budget

House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert (R-CA) said today he intends to work to increase the fiscal year 2024 defense budget, demonstrating the challenges many Republicans will have as some in their party look to slash federal spending.

The Navy wants to spend billions on four big missile programs:

Key Navy missile programs target bulk buys

The Navy plans to pilot a "large-lot" purchase program for four critical missile systems -- the Standard Missile-6, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile, Long Range Anti-Ship Missile and Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile.

John Daniels, speaking at an event hosted by the Association of the United States Army in Arlington, VA, said DE M-SHORAD was an area of the budget "they went after hard" because "technology was not quite ready yet for fielding":

Army official: Some DE M-SHORAD money in FY-24 request was reapplied for other modernization priorities because technology was 'not quite ready'

Some money for the Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense system in the Army's fiscal year 2024 budget request was reapplied toward other modernization priorities due to the technology not being ready, the service's deputy assistant secretary for plans, programs and resources said Thursday.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 23, 2023
By John Liang
March 23, 2023 at 2:46 PM

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Air Force's Next Generation Reentry Vehicle program, Pentagon efforts to help small businesses work on defense contracts and more.

The Air Force is seeking $15.5 million in next year's research, development, test and evaluation budget to begin early acquisition activities for the Next Generation Reentry Vehicle program:

Air Force to pursue Next Generation Reentry Vehicle for nuclear missiles

The Air Force will begin funding research for a Next Generation Reentry Vehicle for its LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear missile, according to justification documents released along with the fiscal year 2024 budget request.

The Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing this week on Defense Department small business tools for enhancing the industrial base:

Senate committee seeks to end decline in small business defense contractors

Small business represents 99% of U.S. businesses. Yet their participation as contractors in the defense industrial base has declined by 40% in the past decade.

Document: Senate hearing on DOD and small businesses

The Navy's fiscal year 2024 budget request seeks $557.5 million for 80 Amphibious Combat Vehicles and anticipates procurement to climb to over 100 vehicles in FY-25:

Steady ACV acquisition continues while Force Design cuts total procurement plan

The Navy's fiscal year 2024 budget request looks to continue a steady procurement schedule for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle while Marine Corps force design efforts scale back total procurement quantities for the program.

U.S. Northern Command has submitted its FY-24 unfunded priorities list to Congress:

NORAD chief seeks 3DELRR radars to fill homeland defense 'surveillance gaps' in FY-24 wish list

The head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace and Defense Command has identified a $211.5 million project not funded in the Pentagon's fiscal year 2024 budget request that would buy nine Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long Range Radars to monitor domestic airspace if Congress were to provide additional funding.

The latest cyber defense news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Pentagon finalizes rulemaking directing contracting officers to consider supplier risk during evaluation process

The Defense Department has finalized a rulemaking to revise the use of its supplier risk system platform for acquisition officials when evaluating bids for contracts, making a move that stakeholders see as a precursor for the Pentagon's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program becoming part of the formal acquisition process.

Other transaction authorities, 'Shark Tank-like competition' part of Army's strategy to increase small business contractors
By Dan Schere
March 23, 2023 at 11:12 AM

The Army is using other transaction authorities, as well as a competition under the Defense Department's Small Business Innovation Research program to help increase the number of small business contractors, a service official told the Senate Armed Services readiness subcommittee Wednesday.

Senators on the subcommittee asked questions of representatives from the Army, Air Force, Navy and DOD during Wednesday’s hearing about steps they are taking to counteract the recent trend of small business contractors having declined by 40% in the defense industrial base over the past decade.

Kimberly Buehler, the director of the Army Office of Small Business Programs, said the Army is using OTAs to expand the non-traditional vendor base participating in critical technology areas.

“That is a low-barrier-entry program where we can reach those companies that have no experience or limited experience working with the government, so that’s been an effective tool for us in trying to reach new vendor populations,” she said.

When Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the chair of the subcommittee, asked each panelist about their efforts toward mentor-protégé programs, Buehler said the Army has six active agreements.

DOD’s Mentor-Protégé Program helps eligible small businesses “expand their footprint” in the defense industrial base by pairing small businesses with larger companies.

“We recently changed our process so that we have a yearlong open solicitation, so that mentor-protégé proposals can come in at any point during that year, so that gives industry the ability to come to us on their timetable and not necessarily on ours,” Buehler said during Wednesday’s hearing.

Hirono also asked the panelists about how much the services have used the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

“At a time where we really need to shore up our ability to be innovative, compared with the near-peer competitor, i.e. China, I would like to know if each of you have fully utilized the SBIR and STTR programs to really push innovation to small businesses,” she said.

Buehler said the Army has been using the SBIR and STTR programs to develop innovation, and the service has developed transition teams along eight lines of effort that are aimed at trying to fill technology and capability gaps.

She added that under the SBIR program, the Army is conducting a “'Shark Tank'-like competition in which companies propose technological solutions.

“We will give them small contracts and take them through a . . . downselect competition over a period of time until we get to a winner. So, we’re utilizing the SBIR authorities to also facilitate that,” Buehler said.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 22, 2023
By John Liang
March 22, 2023 at 2:02 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on more unfunded priorities lists making their way to Congress, the Pentagon's new biomanufacturing strategy, the final flight test of a prototype hypersonic weapon and more.

More unfunded priorities lists have made their way to Congress:

Combatant commands begin submitting unmet needs lists to Congress

Three combatant commands have sent Congress unfunded priorities lists, identifying items that were unable to be included in the fiscal year 2024 budget, according to documents obtained by Inside Defense.

Document: COCOMs' FY-24 UPLs

The Pentagon says biomanufacturing, which leverages biological organisms in the manufacturing process, is "rapidly advancing" for the production of fuels, chemicals and some construction materials:

DOD releases new Biomanufacturing Strategy to 'seed opportunities'

The Defense Department today released a new Biomanufacturing Strategy intended to "guide research efforts, industry partnerships and relationships with allies" as DOD considers investments in the emerging field.

Document: DOD's biomanufacturing strategy

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has sponsored a program that aims to develop a novel ground-launched system that can be hauled by truck on a standard military trailer to employ hypersonic boost-glide weapons to penetrate modern enemy air defenses and rapidly and precisely strike critical, time-sensitive targets:

DOD plans final flight test, intends to shelve prototype ground-launch hypersonic weapon

The Pentagon is planning the final flight test of a prototype ground-launched, medium-range hypersonic weapon this spring before shelving the design, a culminating event for the OpFires program launched in 2018 that promised a new strike capability to hit targets at varying ranges -- but could not find long-term sponsors in the Army or Marine Corps.

An aircraft carrier industry group is lobbying for advanced funding for future flattops:

Coalition advocates for advance funds for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers

Rick Giannini, who leads the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC), is meeting with congressional leaders this week to advocate for the advance funding of two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers that would be built over the next eight years.

The Army's top uniformed officer spoke this week at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington:

Army chief emphasizes patience and persistence on IVAS, despite program delays

Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said Tuesday that despite the multiyear delays with the service's Integrated Visual Augmentation System, he remains confident in the ability of the 1.2 variant to be transformative on the battlefield.

Inside Defense obtains FY-24 unfunded priorities lists
By Tony Bertuca
March 22, 2023 at 10:04 AM

Inside Defense has obtained several of the U.S. military’s fiscal year 2024 unfunded priorities lists. Subscribers can access them below.

Army

Navy

Air Force

Space Force

Marine Corps

U.S. Special Operations Command

U.S. European Command

U.S. Northern Command

U.S. Southern Command

U.S. Central Command

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

U.S. Africa Command

U.S. Transportation Command

Watch Inside Defense for further reporting as additional UPLs are obtained.

DOD accelerating tank deliveries to Ukraine, planning fall arrival
By Tony Bertuca
March 21, 2023 at 3:00 PM

The Defense Department announced today that it will accelerate the delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine by several months, now planning for the tanks to arrive sometime this fall.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said the department is able to speed up the delivery because, rather than delivering the M1A2 tank variant as originally planned, DOD will now be providing Ukraine with the M1A1 variant.

“This is about getting this important combat capability into the hands of the Ukrainians,” he said during a Pentagon press conference.

Ryder said the timeline can be compressed because the M1A1s will be built using “excess hulls in our inventory that we will refurbish.”

Though DOD never detailed a specific delivery timeline when it tapped Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds in January to award $400 million to General Dynamics Land Systems to provide 31 M1A2 tanks, Ryder said the department’s initial projection was that it would probably take more than a year.

Ryder declined to say where the work will be performed, though GDLS builds the Abrams at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, OH.

The M1A1 will now provide the Ukrainians a “very similar” capability much sooner than planned, Ryder said.

Ryder said he does not anticipate the new deal will cost “very much beyond” what GDLS was originally awarded.

“This was the approach we landed on and we feel confident we’ll be able to get those tanks to them by the fall,” he said.

Ryder said the expedited delivery to Ukraine is not expected to delay foreign military sales to other nations.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 21, 2023
By John Liang
March 21, 2023 at 2:40 PM

This Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Army's efforts to overcome delays to the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, the Marine Corps' fiscal year 2024 unfunded priorities list and more.

The Army's top uniformed officer spoke this morning at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington:

Army chief emphasizes patience and persistence on IVAS, despite program delays

Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said Tuesday that despite the multiyear delays with the service's Integrated Visual Augmentation System, he remains confident in the ability of the 1.2 variant to be transformative on the battlefield.

The Marine Corps this week sent its fiscal year 2024 unfunded priorities list to Congress:

Marines' $3.6B unfunded priorities list includes San Antonio-class amphib

The Marine Corps has sent Congress an unfunded priorities list totaling $3.6 billion, including $1.7 billion for a San Antonio-class amphibious dock ship that was not included in the Pentagon's fiscal year 2024 budget request.

Document: USMC's FY-24 unfunded priorities list

The Marine Corps has also released its latest doctrine document on logistics:

Marine Corps updates logistics framework, looks to develop resilient 'sustainment webs'

The Marine Corps is modernizing its logistics framework as the service looks to improve the resiliency of its supply networks and elevate the self-sufficiency of stand-in forces.

Document: Marine Corps logistics doctrine

The Air and Space Forces Association hosted a discussion this week with the chief of Pacific Air Forces and Air Component Command:

PACAF commander calls for more anti-ship munitions

The Air Force will need more anti-ship weapons to gain air superiority in a conflict with China over Taiwan, Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said Monday.

In its latest budget request, the Air Force is seeking $40 million in FY-24 to replace the Hawaii Air Route Surveillance Radar Version 4 (ARSR-4) with what is called the ARSR-Replacement Hawaii (ARSR4-HI) Long Range Radar:

AF seeks FY-24 new start for Hawaii radar to meet 'urgent' cruise missile detection need

The Air Force wants to launch a competition for a new "state-of-the-art" long-range radar in fiscal year 2024 to defend Hawaii from cruise missile threats in response to an "urgent mission need" from U.S. Indo-Pacific and Northern commands along with the Federal Aviation Administration and have the new sensor operational by 2027.

The INSIDER daily digest -- March 20, 2023
By John Liang
March 20, 2023 at 2:08 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon's response to proposed defense budget cuts, the Air Force's successor to the Minuteman III ICBM and more.

Bringing fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending back to FY-22 levels, as Republicans are reportedly considering, would result in a nearly $100 billion cut to DOD based on President Biden's FY-24 request, the Pentagon is telling lawmakers:

Pentagon says House GOP's reported budget cuts would be 'potentially devastating'

Should House Republicans support returning federal discretionary spending to levels not seen since fiscal year 2022, the nearly $100 billion reduction in funding to the Defense Department could have "harmful and potentially devastating" effects, according to a new letter from the Pentagon comptroller.

News on the Air Force's successor to the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile:

USAF to seek $1B down payment to support new ICBM production start in FY-26

The Air Force's fiscal year 2024 budget advances the first part of a planned $1 billion down payment needed to launch production in FY-26 of the U.S. military's next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile, seeking $539 million in advanced procurement for the LGM-35A Sentinel.

The head of the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital spoke late last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

DOD planning new initiatives to attract private investments to critical technologies

The Defense Department's new Office of Strategic Capital is looking to launch several initiatives this year to attract "patient investment" to areas of emerging technology deemed critical for national security, with an eye toward loan guarantees and potentially co-funding the development of new capabilities.

The first of the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers is getting a new lease on life:

Arleigh Burke gets five-year service extension

The first-of-its-class destroyer Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), which was scheduled to be retired in fiscal year 2026, will get five more years of service, the Naval Surface Force Atlantic announced this week. The warship will continue operating through FY-31, when it will turn 40.

The Navy's fiscal year 2024 budget request looks to alleviate fleet-wide maintenance delays with $13.9 billion to fund 75 ship availabilities across public and private yards and additional dollars to accelerate Virginia-class repairs:

Navy budget aims to speed submarine maintenance and production

The Navy's latest budget proposes substantial investments in submarine production and sustainment as the service looks to cut down on maintenance delays, ramp up deliveries of Virginia- and Columbia-class boats and prepare to deliver on a new agreement between the U.S., U.K. and Australia to supply the latter country with nuclear-powered subs.

Last but by no means least, a look at how inflation could impact the Army's budget:

Analysts say inflation will be higher in FY-24 than Army projects, but what will take the biggest hit in the budget?

There is general agreement that the Army has less buying power in its fiscal year 2024 budget request compared with the FY-23 enacted budget. But analysts believe inflation will be higher than the Defense Department's projection of 2.4%.