The Insider

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the effects of a possible yearlong continuing resolution on the Air Force, plus coverage of a Senate hearing on military readiness and more.

We start off with news on the effects of a possible, yearlong continuing resolution on at least one service's budget:

Yearlong CR without anomalies could cost Air Force up to $14 billion

If Congress reaches a deal on a yearlong continuing resolution to keep the government running through September, the Air Force's foundational accounts could see a blow as high as $14 billion, a top service official told lawmakers yesterday.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) sent letters to the leaders of every military service on Feb. 14 asking them to "identify infrastructure, programs or processes which are no longer relevant to [the] National Defense Strategy or are not producing the intended effects." DOD has since responded:

DOD tells lawmakers to wait for list of proposed budget cuts

The Pentagon is telling the House Armed Services Committee that it cannot provide senior lawmakers with lists they requested identifying potential cuts to defense programs, but to instead wait for the rollout of the Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 budget request, according to a letter obtained by Inside Defense.

We also have news on Army electric vehicles that is now available for all to read:

Army chief moves to foil Biden-era electric vehicle test plan

A Biden-era plan to test electric Infantry Squad Vehicles is in jeopardy as Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George contends the capability is not suitable for battle, while new political opposition has emerged in the White House and Pentagon to initiatives adjacent to clean energy or climate change.

Some Defense Innovation Unit news:

DIU announces 18 awardees under quantum sensing project

The Defense Innovation Unit is set to field and test quantum sensing systems for military applications, awarding Other Transaction Agreements to 18 vendors under its Transition of Quantum Sensing program, according to an announcement.

More coverage from last week's AFA Warfare symposium in Colorado:

NGAD decision not final, but officials want a new manned fighter

DENVER -- The Air Force needs a Next Generation Air Dominance penetrating fighter jet to maintain survivability and lethality in a contested Indo-Pacific environment, top service leaders said last week.

The Senate Armed Services readiness and management support subcommittee held a hearing this week with the service vice chiefs on military readiness:

Army vice warns of budget challenges to support growth of troop levels

The Army's active-duty end strength is projected to expand by the end of the fiscal year to 10,000 troops more than the service budgeted for in FY-25, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus told lawmakers Wednesday.

Air Force 'fully committed' to moving KC-135 recapitalization forward

The Air Force is still "fully committed to tanker recapitalization post the KC-46" Pegasus program, a top service official told lawmakers Wednesday.

Acting CNO: Ship availability sits at 67%, CR will be a setback for combat surge readiness

Naval ship availability is about 67% depending on the day, a senior Navy official told lawmakers Wednesday -- far from the 80% combat-surge readiness goal set in place by former Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti in a plan to effectively counter China by 2027.

Document: Senate hearing on military readiness

The Space Force will make a certification decision for the Vulcan rocket soon:

ULA completes Vulcan investigation, awaits Space Force certification

United Launch Alliance completed its investigation into the anomaly on its Vulcan rocket in October that delayed National Security Space Launch certification, ULA President Tory Bruno told reporters.

The defense secretary in a recent memo codified the Software Acquisition Pathway as the “preferred pathway for all software development components of business and weapon system programs” for all DOD components and made Commercial Solutions Openings and Other Transactions the default contracting vehicles for acquiring capabilities under SWP:

Industry leaders see promise in Hegseth's new software push, with caveats

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new memo directing the adoption of special contracting pathways for rapid software procurement is a positive sign for the Pentagon acquisition process -- but there are some caveats, industry leaders told Inside Defense.

Contractors Saildrone and Palantir Technologies today announced the formation of a new strategic partnership intended to leverage artificial intelligence tools from the latter company for maritime domain awareness applications on the former’s autonomous platforms.

According to a Saildrone announcement, the partnership will “revolutionize maritime intelligence capabilities” by streamlining manufacturing and improving fleet capabilities.

Saildrone makes multiple long-endurance unmanned surface vessels used by the Navy and other U.S. and international agencies largely for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The vessels use “sophisticated and proprietary edge-computing AI/ML algorithms” to detect and track threats including adversary submarines, illegal fishing and drug trafficking, the notice states.

“As demand for Saildrone services surges, the company will integrate Palantir’s sophisticated AI cloud infrastructure to enable rapid scaling across its entire operational spectrum -- from transforming its manufacturing, supply chain, and fleet operations with Warp Speed to enabling AI-powered tasking of autonomous assets in the field,” the announcement states.

Federal civilian employees working in shipyard maintenance facilities and depots are exempt from the Trump administration's sweeping federal layoffs, a defense official told Inside Defense today.

Layoffs have begun in other unspecified areas of the Navy’s civilian workforce, the official confirmed. However, shipyard employees working at government facilities including the United States’ four public shipyards are safe from the cuts.

Testifying before Congress today, Adm. James Kilby, the vice chief of naval operations who is currently performing the duties of CNO after Adm. Lisa Franchetti was abruptly fired last month, said public shipyard workers and civilian mariners at Military Sealift Command are also exempt from an otherwise service-wide hiring freeze.

“We are trying to shape this in a manner that allows us to continue the most important work as we work through guidance from the administration,” Kilby told Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) today during a hearing on Defense Department readiness.

In late February, the Pentagon announced plans to cut its civilian workforce by between 5% and 8% -- 35,000 to 56,000 jobs -- starting with the termination of about 5,400 probationary workers.

Lawmakers have previously raised concerns over the impact of these layoffs on ship maintenance, with Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) directly calling on the Navy and Office of Personnel Management to exempt public shipyards from the cuts.

Today, Kilby said ship availability rates sit at about 67% with the Navy still working toward the 80% combat-surge readiness goal established by Franchetti.

The Navy estimates the maritime industrial base -- including both private industry and public maintenance facilities -- will need to hire 25,000 workers each year over the next decade to catch up with ship construction and maintenance demand.

As part of a new Australian AUKUS submarine industry strategy, shipbuilder HII has been awarded a $9.6 million (AUD) -- or roughly US$6 million -- contract to deliver a pilot program meant to integrate more Australian suppliers and products into the U.S. industrial base.

The Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification pilot program will be implemented over the next two years and will “accelerate the identification and qualification” of these Australian sources, according to an HII news release.

“This contract represents a significant milestone in building a resilient and globally integrated supply chain for nuclear-powered submarines,” HII CEO Chris Kastner said in a statement. “HII has a long history of working with suppliers to ensure they meet the highest standards in safety, security, and performance. We welcome Australian partners to help build out this critical nuclear shipbuilding capability and ensure the long-term success of AUKUS.”

The new Australian strategy released last week calls for AU$30 billion to be invested in the country’s industrial base and calls for further investment in workforce training and educational programs.

The U.S. has agreed to sell at least three Virginia-class submarines to Australia starting in the early 2030s, yet builders are currently unable to deliver these boats at a two-a-year cadence. Australia has pledged to give $3 billion to the U.S. to aid on-time production and has already delivered $500 million of this.

Elbridge Colby -- the Trump Administration’s pick for under secretary of defense for policy -- told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing last week that he does support AUKUS and called it a “model of the type of cooperation we need to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

Yet, Colby did bring up concerns related to the U.S. shipbuilding industry’s ability to meet the country’s own force structure goals, as well as the targets to deliver boats to Australia by a certain date. The potential threat posed by China in the Indo-Pacific means the U.S. should be poised to defend itself with its own submarines, he said.

“If we can produce the attack submarines in sufficient number and [at] sufficient speed, then great,” Colby said. “But if we can’t, that becomes a very difficult problem because we don’t want our servicemen and women to be in a weaker position and more vulnerable and God forbid, worse, because they’re not in the right place at the right time.”

Michael Obadal, currently an executive at Anduril, has been nominated by President Trump to be the Army's next under secretary, according to a nomination posting from Congress.

Obadal’s LinkedIn page lists him as a “senior director” with Anduril for the past two years.

Obadal is an Army veteran who earned a degree in international studies from Virginia Military Institute, then served both overseas and in stateside posts as an attack helicopter officer before joining U.S. Special Operations Command, according to a biography from the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, where he is listed as an ambassador.

He spent 18 years commanding units and task forces throughout Army and Joint Special Operations, according to the bio. Obadal also worked on counterterrorism efforts when he commanded Joint Special Operations Command’s Joint Inter-Agency Task Force for the National Capital Region, and Operation Gallant Phoenix in Jordan.

If confirmed, Obadal would succeed Gabe Camarillo, who served as under secretary during the Biden administration.

Obadal’s nomination follows the Senate confirmation of Trump nominee Dan Driscoll as Army secretary last month.

This Monday INSIDER Daily Digest has coverage of a new Joint Strike Fighter simulator trainer, space-based missile warning satellites and more.

We start off with continuing coverage of last week's AFA Warfare symposium in Colorado:

F-35 pilots at Nellis Air Force Base could train on JSE as soon as this month

DENVER -- The Joint Integrated Test and Training Center at Nellis Air Force Base, NV could soon receive a final assessment of its Joint Simulation Environment before the synthetic test system can be officially stood up in the next few weeks, a senior Air Force materiel leader said Wednesday.

Next Gen OPIR GEO readying for launch this year, needs ULA's Vulcan rocket certified

DENVER -- The first satellites of the Space Force's program to augment missile warning from geosynchronous Earth orbit will be ready to launch this year, a top official said this week, but they will need the United Launch Alliance's rocket to be certified to launch such a mission.

(Read our full AFA Warfare Symposium coverage)

Some Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture news:

SDA Tranche 1 satellites to begin launching in late summer

The Space Development Agency is now expecting its first operational satellites for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture to launch late this summer, the agency announced, about a year after initially scheduled.

The Light Marine Air Defense Integrated Systems (L-MADIS) capability, which was developed in-house by the Marine Corps' ground-based air defense program office, consists of a "fighting pair" of Ultra-Light Tactical Vehicles:

Marine Corps using L-MADIS to protect ships from aerial threats as Pentagon continues hunt for low-cost drone defense

The Marine Corps is using a mobile air defense system to protect amphibious warships from drones and other aerial threats, according to a service spokesperson, who told Inside Defense the recently developed capability now deploys with each Marine Expeditionary Unit as part its Low Altitude Air Defense detachment.

In a recent memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed "all DOD Components to adopt the Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP) as the preferred pathway for all software development components of business and weapon system programs in the [Defense] Department":

Pentagon moves to streamline and scale new software procurement

The Defense Department is being directed to adopt special contracting pathways for rapidly acquiring software, according to a new memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Document: Hegseth memo on software

Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky successfully flew its "rotor blown wing" uncrewed aerial system prototype in both helicopter and airplane modes, the company announced today.

Weighing 115 pounds, the rotor blown wing UAS has a twin proprotor, which takes off in a fashion similar to a helicopter and can then “transition” to horizontal forward flight for “long-endurance missions,” according to the company.

Sikorsky announced in May 2024 that it was conducting flight tests of the UAS to support the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s initiative to develop vertical takeoff and landing UAS that can operate in a variety of weather conditions. The drone can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, among other applications.

In January, Sikorsky completed more than 40 takeoffs and landings with the aircraft, including 30 transitions between helicopter and airplane modes, according to the company. It reached a cruising speed of 86 knots during its horizontal flight, and wind-tunnel tests provided “validation of the newly developed control laws by correlating them with real-world experimental data.”

Sikorsky Innovations Director Igor Cherepinsky said in a statement that the new control laws were required “for this transition maneuver to work seamlessly and efficiently.”

“The data indicates we can operate from pitching ships decks and unprepared ground when scaled to much larger sizes,” he said.