The Insider

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
May 20, 2024 at 5:00 AM

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several public events this week. The House Armed Services Committee is slated to hold its marathon mark-up of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.

Tuesday

The Association of the United States Army hosts a discussion with the Army deputy chief of staff (G-8).

AFCEA NOVA hosts the DOD Enterprise IT Day.

The Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee holds a hearing on DOD space activities.

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee holds a hearing on the Army budget.

The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosts a discussion with the chief of U.S. Space Systems Command.

Wednesday

The House Armed Services Committee meets to consider the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.

The Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee holds a hearing on the U.S. nuclear weapons program.

Defense Scoop hosts its Defense Talks conference.

The Atlantic Council hosts a discussion with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion with the deputy director of the Joint Interagency Force South on combatting transnational drug flows.

Timeline for fielding MQ-25 on carrier shifts
By Abby Shepherd
May 16, 2024 at 3:17 PM

The Navy's timeline for fielding the MQ-25 Stingray uncrewed aircraft system on certain aircraft carriers has shifted, after a recent provision was included in this week's House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee mark-up of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill.

While modifications to the compartments and infrastructure of the aircraft carrier George Washington (CVN-73) were originally planned to occur during the vessel’s refueling complex and overhaul work, the schedule shifted, leading to this recent change. Now, the modifications will occur “before the planned deployment date of such vehicle,” according to this week’s mark-up.

While the FY-19 National Defense Authorization Act directed the program to modify CVN-73 during certain maintenance periods, these periods were very short in duration and didn’t align with the current MQ-25 carrier deployment plan, Navy Capt. Daniel Fucito said in a statement to Inside Defense.

“The Program Office worked closely with Fleet representatives, Requirements Officers, and the [House Armed Services Committee] Professional Staff Members to modify the language in a way that was more conducive to achieving the desired result,” he added.

Right now, the program team is currently working to update CVN-73’s deployment schedule, a Navy spokesperson told Inside Defense.

Fulfilling the necessary modifications to support unmanned systems on vessels while they are completing maintenance availabilities is important because of limited time, a senior congressional aide told Inside Defense.

Despite issues last year regarding scheduling for the aircraft itself, the program is moving “in the right direction,” the aide added.

According to Navy FY-25 budget information, a reprogramming for the MQ-25 program was necessary to resolve obsolescence redesign efforts and procure two more system demonstration test articles. An acquisition plan approved by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in June 2023 also delayed milestone C production certification to the third quarter of 2025.

House authorizers back Navy's CH-53K block-buy proposal
By Nick Wilson
May 16, 2024 at 3:10 PM

House authorizers are supporting a legislative request from the Navy that would give the sea service multiyear procurement authority to buy CH-53K heavy lift helicopters and their T408 engines.

A provision clearing the Navy to use multiyear procurement for the CH-53K is included in the House Armed Services Committee’s draft defense policy bill, which follows a legislative proposal submitted by the Pentagon in April.

In the proposal, the Navy asks Congress for the authority to enter a block-buy contract during fiscal years 2025 or 2026 for up to 37 CH-53K helicopter airframes. The Navy also asks for the authority to launch a separate multiyear procurement deal for up to 350 T408 engines from FY-25 to FY-29.

Taken together, the two multiyear deals are projected to save approximately $261 million compared to single-year contracts, according to the proposal. The aircraft will replace the legacy CH-53E as the Marine Corps’ primary, and only, heavy-lift aircraft.

The Marine Corps now anticipates an initial CH-53K deployment to begin in FY-26, marking a one-year delay compared to earlier plans as the service builds its inventory of spare parts and support equipment.

The Navy’s FY-25 budget request contains approximately $2.5 billion in procurement funding for 19 CH-53Ks and the Marine Corps’ unfunded priority list includes $250 million for two additional aircraft.

The INSIDER daily digest -- May 16, 2024
By John Liang
May 16, 2024 at 2:27 PM

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the unfunded priorities included in the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill, plus Army modernization issues and more.

We start off with an analysis of how much unfunded priorities funding is included in the House Armed Services Committee's FY-25 defense policy bill:

House defense bill would fund key items on INDOPACOM's unfunded priorities list

The House Armed Services Committee's draft of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill would approve funding for more than $1 billion in "unfunded priorities" identified by the military, mostly U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

The Senate Armed Services airland subcommittee received joint testimony this week on Army modernization programs from several senior service officials:

Bush says supplemental replenishment fund will help increase PrSM increment 1 production

Army acquisition chief Doug Bush told lawmakers today that the fiscal year 2024 defense supplemental package passed last month will be key in increasing production of the Precision Strike Missile Increment 1 in the near term.

Document: Senate hearing on Army FY-25 modernization programs

The U.S. government has set up a new program aimed at getting more weapons to Ukraine:

New $2B 'defense enterprise program' would build up Ukraine's weapons industry

A new $2 billion initiative announced in Kyiv today by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is intended to help build a domestic defense industrial base in Ukraine as it faces long-term conflict with Russia.

The Pentagon's top acquisition official testified before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee this week:

LaPlante highlights DOD's ongoing desire for new funding flexibility to counter drones

Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante told Senate appropriators today that new funding flexibility would allow the department to more quickly counter the evolving threat of battlefield drones.

. . . as did the Navy's acquisition chief:

Guertin: Navy must 'up our game in understanding how to build ships'

The Navy needs to "up our game in understanding how to build ships," a senior service official said today, citing efforts to expand the use of modern design tools and hire more naval architects and marine engineers.

Navy invests $345M over FY-23, '24 for munition production capacity, Guertin says

To strengthen its organic industrial base -- made up of government-owned industrial centers -- the Navy has invested $345 million across 200 various projects at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division in Maryland.

A new U.S.-Japan missile defense interceptor development deal apparently denies Japan a role it sought in the "front end" of the missile:

U.S., Japan ink GPI co-development agreement; Japan denied role on missile 'front end'

The United States and Japan have formalized an agreement to co-develop a major new weapon -- the first-ever, clean-sheet design for a counter-hypersonic missile called the Glide Phase Interceptor, an estimated multibillion-dollar development that will take about a decade to ready for production.

A recent letter from Senate lawmakers is the latest evidence of growing congressional support for restoring a second Virginia-class submarine to the FY-25 budget:

Senate authorizers join push to fund two Virginia subs in new letter to appropriators

A bipartisan group of 15 senators sent a letter to appropriations committee leadership calling for the full restoration of funding for two Virginia-class submarines in fiscal year 2025.

Document: Senators' letter on Virginia-class sub funding

Army acquisition chief wants to increase contracting workforce
By Dan Schere
May 15, 2024 at 2:19 PM

Army acquisition head Doug Bush told Senate appropriators today that the service could use more funding to increase its contracting workforce.

Bush, speaking during a Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing, said the Army’s contracting workforce currently numbers about 9,000. The workforce had to “double their workload” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed immediately by the start of Ukraine’s war with Russia, he noted.

“If I worry about one workforce, it’s the contracting workforce,” he said.

When asked by subcommittee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) whether 9,000 people was optimal, Bush said “some more would be helpful.”

“However, we are in the meantime focused on giving them better technology and tools to be more efficient. So, I think a little help in both realms, efficiency investment and perhaps some more people, would be warranted,” he said.

Tester asked later in the hearing whether the services utilize a “distinct appropriations account to ensure sufficient funding to recruit and retain acquisition personnel,” and Bush said the Army does for training.

“And if it was bigger that would actually be very helpful. And it wouldn’t have to be dramatically bigger. A little bit could go a long way across the services,” he said.

Bush told Inside Defense following the hearing that contracting centers such as Redstone Arsenal, AL and Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, as well as others, are the types of facilities that could use more workers.

Bush said the Army plans to come back to the Senate with a more precise number of how many more workers it needs but added the increase would not be a “dramatic number.”

“I’m not talking doubling it. I’m talking just some more people to make sure that as you have a churn of workforce in and out . . . that we have enough flexibility to make sure all the work gets covered as you have workforce churn,” he said.

The INSIDER daily digest -- May 15, 2024
By John Liang
May 15, 2024 at 1:24 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Navy seeking a cheap solution to defend against Houthi missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles, plus more coverage of the House Armed Services Committee's draft fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill and more.

The primary threats facing the collective of naval forces currently gathered in the Red Sea -- also known as Operation Prosperity Guardian -- are unmanned drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles:

Cost-effective method of battling Houthis poses challenge, Pyle says

The Navy needs to find a more cost-effective method of retaliating against Houthi drones and missiles in the Red Sea -- an ongoing threat posed toward merchant and military vessels since last October, Surface Warfare Division Director Rear Adm. Fred Pyle said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies panel Tuesday.

To that end, lawmakers are calling for a "re-arm-at-sea" capability:

House authorizers want a strategy to enable re-arming at sea within three years

House authorizers want an operational 're-arm-at-sea' capability within three years of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill's enactment, and are calling on the Navy to deliver a concrete strategy for developing and fielding the system on this timeline.

House authorizers also want a congressional mandate for stationing missile defense interceptors on the U.S. East Coast:

Draft legislation seeks statutory mandate for East Coast counter-ICBM location

House lawmakers are advancing a statutory mandate for an East Coast national missile defense location by the end of 2030, the latest development in a 12-year campaign to create a third Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptor field which the Pentagon doesn't want.

The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act designated the U.K. and Australia as “domestic sources” for DPA funds, while Canada has been a domestic source since 1992:

DOD seeks critical tech prototypes from U.K., Australia and Canada for DPA funding

The Defense Department has released an "open announcement" seeking proposals for critical technology prototypes from companies in the U.K., Australia and Canada that will be funded under the Defense Production Act.

Document: DOD critical technology prototypes 'open announcement'

More news on Canada:

Canada will bolster its northern defenses for changing threat environment, starting with OTHR

At least one of the four Over-The-Horizon Radar systems planned for Canadian soil will be in the country's southern region, Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair said Monday.

The draft FY-25 defense authorization bill would integrate some Air National Guard units into the Space Force:

House authorizers would allow National Guard transfers to Space Force with limitations

The House Armed Services Committee may allow the Space Force to integrate some units of the Air National Guard, but would limit the authorities the service sought in a proposal sent to Congress earlier this year.

The draft policy bill also has shipbuilding provisions:

More LSM design requirements need to be met, defense subcommittee says

Funding for the procurement of the Medium Landing Ship should be prohibited until the Navy secretary ensures the ship's design meets several requirements, according to the recently released House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee’s mark-up of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill.

Senate authorizers join push to fund two Virginia subs in new letter to appropriators

A bipartisan group of 15 senators sent a letter to appropriations committee leadership calling for the full restoration of funding for two Virginia-class submarines in fiscal year 2025.

Document: Senators' letter on Virginia-class sub funding

The Army's Program Executive Office for Aviation, in a May 10 statement to Inside Defense, said the the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft's program schedule "will be determined as part of the pending milestone B decision,” but that the goal is still to “get the initial aircraft delivered in 2030":

Army plans to determine program schedule for FLRAA as part of milestone B decision

The Army will have a more firm cost and schedule baseline for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft once it reaches a milestone B decision later this year, according to service officials.

VideoRay awarded $92 million contract for ROV technology
By Abby Shepherd
May 15, 2024 at 11:17 AM

A robotics technology company has been awarded a five-year contract for production, sustainment and development of the MK20 Defender Remotely Operated Vehicle platform -- which the Navy will use for its Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response (MESR) -- according to a contract announcement.

The contract -- worth over $92 million -- will allow defense company VideoRay’s underwater robotics systems to support the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Underwater Response Vehicle program, as well as MESR. MESR seeks to improve sensors, among other components, of remotely operated technology used for underwater explosive detection and removal. Work on the platform is expected to be completed by May 2029, the announcement said.

"This production contract with the U.S. Navy marks an exciting new chapter for VideoRay, acknowledging the dedication and hard work of our team to achieve this significant milestone," VideoRay Chief Executive Officer Chris Gibson said in a statement. "We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Navy and to receive valuable feedback, which has been instrumental in continuously enhancing our next-generation Expeditionary EOD and MCM systems to meet the fleet's requirements.”

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the U.S. Navy, along with our partners to advance our technology and capabilities to meet the needs of our defense and commercial customers alike worldwide,” Gibson continued.

Epirus delivers last two IFPC high-power microwave prototypes to Army
By Dan Schere
May 15, 2024 at 9:00 AM

Epirus has delivered the last two Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC)-high power microwave (HPM) systems to the Army, and the systems have completed new equipment training and engineering developmental testing, the company announced today.

The Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office awarded Epirus a $66 million contract in 2023 to develop IFPC-HPM prototypes, with the first of four being delivered to the Army last November.

Epirus CEO Andy Lowery said in a statement today that by March, all four systems had been delivered to the Army. Engineering developmental testing was conducted in April to determine the systems’ effectiveness against swarms of unmanned systems, “utilizing a range of increasingly complex flight patterns.”

Data collected during the test will inform Army Test and Evaluation Command’s test report for the program, which will have an impact on “follow-on programming, budget and operation utilization of the counter-drone solution,” according to the company.

Lowery told Inside Defense in an interview this week that the testing went well and served as an important “proof of concept,” but said he can’t discuss details about the test results until the test report is released this summer. Soldiers from Air Defense Artillery 51 participated in the test, he said.

“We’re not out there ready to go deploy today to [U.S. Indo-Pacific Command], but we were proving a concept for the very first time where we had real ADA soldiers. Not us doing it and soldiers standing behind us or something,” he said.

Lowery said the biggest challenge when it comes to HPM is rapidly integrating the system into a short-range air complex.

“You have to rapidly integrate it and ensure that you’re coordinated with [Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control] or whatever the C2 system of choice is,” he said.

The INSIDER daily digest -- May 14, 2024
By John Liang
May 14, 2024 at 1:38 PM

The bulk of this Tuesday INSIDER Daily Digest deals with the House Armed Services Committee's draft fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill.

We start off with House authorizers' thoughts on the Pentagon's most expensive weapon system acquisition program ever:

House authorizers cut F-35 procurement to reinvest $1B in mitigating production issues

The House Armed Services Committee's draft of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill would cut 10 of the Pentagon's 68 requested F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and reinvest about $1 billion in the production of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft, which continues to see performance and cost challenges.

House lawmakers also want more information on how vulnerable U.S. armored vehicles are:

House lawmakers want Army briefing on survivability of armored systems on the modern battlefield

House lawmakers are alarmed over the vulnerability of armored vehicles as shown in Ukraine, particularly from unmanned systems, and are asking the Army for a briefing on how it will address new battlefield threats, according to the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee's mark-up of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.

Additionally, unmanned systems are an area of focus in the draft policy bill:

DOD tasked with defining use of 'attritable UAS,' commonly used in describing Replicator

Lawmakers are asking the defense secretary, in coordination with the service secretaries, to provide a briefing to the House Armed Services Committee defining what an "attritable unmanned aircraft system" is, according to the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee's fiscal year 2025 authorization mark released this week.

House subcommittee mark-up would establish drone corps in the Army

The House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee has proposed establishing a drone corps as a branch of the Army in its mark-up of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill.

House authorizers propose adding CUAS funding from Army UPL in chairman's mark

House authorizers have proposed adding millions of dollars in counter-drone funding in the chairman's mark of the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2025.

The Navy's Constellation-class frigate program looks to be delayed:

House authorization mark adds $1 billion for a second Virginia sub and cuts frigate procurement

The House Armed Services Committee's initial mark-up of the fiscal year 2025 defense policy bill looks to add $1 billion for the purchase of a second Virginia-class submarine while cutting all procurement funding for the Constellation-class frigate program.

Authorizers also want the Defense Innovation Unit to set up a pilot program focusing on commercial, dual-use technologies, specifically technologies that aren't already included in an established program of record:

CITI mark-up assigns DIU to establish testing and evaluation pilot program

The House Armed Services cyber, information technologies and innovation subcommittee's fiscal year 2025 mark-up released today requires the Defense Innovation Unit to perform a pilot program that establishes new testing and evaluation pathways within the Defense Department.

Last but by no means least, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing last week on missile defense programs:

MDA: Even with additional funding, GPI fielding by 2029 'very hard date to meet'

The Pentagon's project to develop a new counter-hypersonic weapon cannot be accelerated by a funding increase, which means U.S. forces for the next decade will rely on a pair of advanced guided-missile interceptors that have some capability against ultrafast maneuvering threats in the terminal phase.

Document: FY-25 BMD budget request posture testimony

The INSIDER daily digest -- May 13, 2024
By John Liang
May 13, 2024 at 1:24 PM

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, Air Force depots and more.

The House Armed Services Committee today released the draft chairman's and subcommittee marks for the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill:

Document: House lawmakers' FY-25 defense policy bill marks

We also have a deep dive into the Air Force's depot overhaul efforts:

Air Force depots in line for robust, brand-new IT makeover

The Air Force in September will release a dramatic, three-phased plan to overhaul its depots to be better equipped for a potential fight with a near-peer adversary, formally dubbed "The Air Force Depot Infrastructure Optimization Plan," an service spokesperson told Inside Defense May 9.

Related Air Force aircraft news:

Air Force eyes $18B for new investment by retiring 938 'legacy' aircraft through 2029

The Air Force wants to harvest $18 billion for new modernization priorities by divesting 938 aircraft -- including fighters, bombers, cargo planes, trainers, rotorcraft and more -- according to a DOD report that reveals for the first time the scope of plans between fiscal years 2025 and 2029 to finance new capabilities -- such as uncrewed fighters -- out-of-hide.

Some potential Virginia-class submarine funding news:

Plans to fund two Virginia subs take shape in Congress, with or without defense spending cap

The push to procure two Virginia-class submarines in fiscal year 2025 is gaining momentum in Congress, where some lawmakers are preparing to fund a second boat regardless of whether the Pentagon's topline budget stays within Fiscal Responsibility Act spending limits or breaks its $895 billion cap.

The Defense Innovation Unit was also in the news last week:

DIU releases Replicator overview targeted at industry involvement

The Defense Innovation Unit released an overview of the Replicator initiative this week, answering frequently asked questions and focusing on increasing industry's involvement amid the private voicing of frustrations from some companies.

DIU seeks quantum sensing and hypersonics for new emerging tech portfolio

The Defense Innovation Unit launched the first solicitation under its new emerging technology portfolio today, focusing the first lines of effort on quantum sensing and hypersonics.

Republican lawmakers call on Austin to send small, U.S.-made drones to Ukraine
By Georgina DiNardo
May 13, 2024 at 12:44 PM

Eleven Republican members of Congress sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today calling for funds from the recent Ukraine supplemental to be spent on more small, U.S.-built drones and deployed to Ukraine, citing issues with Chinese-made drones being the main small drone supplier.

Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Jack Bergman (R-MI), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Nick LaLota (R-NY), Michael Turner (R-OH) and Don Bacon (R-NE) authored the letter.

The lawmakers note the recently enacted Ukraine supplemental, which provides $13.8 billion in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, calls on Austin to include small, U.S.-built drones in the appropriation of those funds.

“Without these drones, Ukrainian forces cannot conduct effective battlefield operations and must rely on insecure drones from China that are increasingly difficult to procure,” the letter states.

The lawmakers claimed that Ukraine uses around 10,000 small drones every month, most coming from a single Chinese company.

“These systems are the primary method for identifying targets, directing artillery fire, surveilling enemy positions and enabling battlefield maneuvers and force protection,” the letter said.

The lawmakers claim the State Department has sent Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior “several hundred small drones,” however the Defense Department has only sent larger systems to Ukrainian front lines.

The lawmakers call upon DOD to provide small drones to Ukraine for three reasons.

First, the lawmakers believe drones are vital to Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

“Without drones, Ukrainian forces are unable to direct battlefield fires, identify and surveil enemy positions, and protect their own forces,” the letter states.

Second, drone usage in Ukraine gives a glimpse into future “near-peer conflict” since drone tactics evolve regularly. By providing U.S.-made drones, the lawmakers believe the U.S. would be able to improve domestic drone capabilities for future military efforts.

“Surging small, American-made systems to Ukraine benefits the United States military and our industrial base by enabling rapid iteration and improvement in the world’s most demanding battlefield conditions,” the letter states. “The use of American drones in Ukraine allows the United States to iterate and build systems superior to Chinese drones and develop capabilities that are necessary for deterring -- and if necessary, winning -- future near-peer conflicts.”

Finally, the lawmakers state that delivering U.S.-made drones is a “geopolitical victory” as it displaces China’s hold on drone monopolies.

“Drone exports are an increasingly important tool for influence abroad; replacing Chinese systems in Ukraine will further erode Chinese influence and control of this critical global industry,” the letter states.

Lockheed awarded $332M contract for guided rockets
By Nickolai Sukharev
May 13, 2024 at 10:57 AM

Lockheed Martin received a $332 million contract to manufacture the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System for the Army, the Defense Department announced Friday.

In a modification to a 2022 indefinite-delivery contract, the Maryland-based company will build the rockets by an estimated completion date of Oct. 20, 2027, while the “work locations and funding will be determined with each order,” the May 10 announcement reads.

Launched from the ground, the GMLRS is a GPS guided rocket designed to hit targets up to 70km. The rocket can have a unitary warhead or cluster-like effects warhead and has an extended-range variant.

Earlier this month, the Army delayed design reviews and flight tests for the extended-range variant, Darrell Ames, a spokesperson at the program executive office for missile and space programs, wrote in an email to Inside Defense.

In January, the Army also proceeded with a production “cut-in” for the current batch of the Extended Range GMLRS variant to implement an engineering change proposal that will extend the maximum range of the missile from 70km to 150km.

The GMLRS is part of a family of munitions along with the Army Tactical Missile System and Precision Strike Missile that can be launched from the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

The Army plans to spend approximately $1.2 billion to 1.4 billion on the GMLRS between fiscal years 2025-2029, according to service budget documents.

The GMLRS will also be included in the Army’s multiyear procurement in the fourth quarter of FY-24, which is estimated to save $67.6 million, according to a service spokesperson, who spoke with Inside Defense in April.

Since February 2022, the U.S. has included the GMLRS as part of military aid for Ukraine as the country counters an invasion from Russia.

The week ahead
By Tony Bertuca
May 13, 2024 at 5:00 AM

Senior defense officials are scheduled to speak at several events around Washington this week.

Monday

The Center on Foreign Relations hosts a discussion with senior military leaders on U.S. defense strategy.

The Association of the United States Army holds its annual LanPac conference in Honolulu, HI.

The Atlantic Council holds a discussion on strengthening the “middle ground” of the defense industrial landscape.

Tuesday

The Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts a discussion on U.S. military operations in the Red Sea and lessons learned for surface warfare.

Wednesday

The Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee holds a hearing with senior Pentagon leaders on select defense acquisition programs.

The Senate Armed Services airland subcommittee holds a hearing on Army modernization.

Thursday

The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a hearing on the Navy budget.

DefenseOne hosts a discussion on Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The Center for a New American Security hosts a discussion with Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit.

Friday

The Atlantic Council hosts a discussion with Gen. Christopher Cavoli, chief of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander.

The Center for a New American Security hosts a discussion on developing drone and counter-drone capabilities with Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo.

The INSIDER daily digest -- May 10, 2024
By John Liang
May 10, 2024 at 3:26 PM

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on Virginia-class submarine funding, more details on the Pentagon's secretive Replicator program and more.

Draft marks of the FY-25 defense policy bill -- expected to appear in the coming weeks -- are likely to authorize the purchase of a second Virginia-class submarine and outline a strategy for funding the multibillion-dollar vessel:

Plans to fund two Virginia subs take shape in Congress, with or without defense spending cap

The push to procure two Virginia-class submarines in fiscal year 2025 is gaining momentum in Congress, where some lawmakers are preparing to fund a second boat regardless of whether the Pentagon's topline budget stays within Fiscal Responsibility Act spending limits or breaks its $895 billion cap.

On May 6, DIU released a brief overview of Replicator, which is the first time the unit has released a public document about the program due to the secrecy surrounding the initiative:

DIU releases Replicator overview targeted at industry involvement

The Defense Innovation Unit released an overview of the Replicator initiative this week, answering frequently asked questions and focusing on increasing industry's involvement amid the private voicing of frustrations from some companies.

The Defense Department issued a 50-page report in April that tallies 484 aircraft slated for retirement across the U.S. military in FY-25 to save $3 billion and 19 ships slated to be pulled from service for a savings of $224 million:

Air Force eyes $18B for new investment by retiring 938 'legacy' aircraft through 2029

The Air Force wants to harvest $18 billion for new modernization priorities by divesting 938 aircraft -- including fighters, bombers, cargo planes, trainers, rotorcraft and more -- according to a DOD report that reveals for the first time the scope of plans between fiscal years 2025 and 2029 to finance new capabilities -- such as uncrewed fighters -- out-of-hide.

A new Defense Innovation Unit solicitation is seeking sensors designed at the atomic level for better accuracy, responsiveness and less degradation of Global Positioning System signal:

DIU seeks quantum sensing and hypersonics for new emerging tech portfolio

The Defense Innovation Unit launched the first solicitation under its new emerging technology portfolio today, focusing the first lines of effort on quantum sensing and hypersonics.

News on the Army's Maneuver Short Range Air Defense system:

Army issues RFI for M-SHORAD increment 4

The Army released a request for information for the fourth increment of the Maneuver Short Range Air Defense system Wednesday, stating that this capability will focus on delivering “air defense capability to support dismounted maneuver.”

DOD announces $400M weapons package for Ukraine
By Tony Bertuca
May 10, 2024 at 1:45 PM

The Defense Department has announced a $400 million transfer of U.S. weapons to Ukraine to combat the ongoing Russian invasion, including air defense munitions, artillery rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank systems.

The package being provided to Ukraine via Presidential Drawdown Authority includes:

  • Munitions for Patriot air defense systems;
  • Munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
  • Stinger anti-aircraft missiles;
  • Equipment to integrate Western launchers, missiles and radars with Ukrainian systems;
  • Additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ammunition;
  • 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
  • Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles;
  • M113 Armored Personnel Carriers;
  • Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles;
  • Trailers to transport heavy equipment;
  • Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  • Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
  • Precision aerial munitions;
  • High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
  • Small arms and ammunition;
  • Demolitions munitions and equipment;
  • Coastal and riverine patrol boats;
  • Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment; and
  • Spare parts, training munitions, maintenance and other ancillary equipment.

The announcement is the 57th tranche of equipment the Biden administration has provided to Ukraine via PDA since August 2021. It is the second PDA to be announced since Congress agreed April 23 to a supplemental spending bill that will provide billions in additional aid to Ukraine.

The first post-supplemental PDA covered $1 billion in U.S. equipment and was announced shortly after the bill was passed.