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The INSIDER daily digest -- Dec. 8, 2023
By John Liang
December 8, 2023 at 1:15 PM

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news from the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization conference bill released this week, along with coverage of the Poland-based Aegis Ashore unit and more.

We start off with more Army and Navy coverage of the defense authorization conference bill:

Authorization conferees require Army to inform Congress on tactical vehicles strategy

House and Senate lawmakers agreed to a fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill that would require the Army to submit a tactical wheeled vehicle strategy every five years, beginning with the FY-25 budget.

Authorizers give go-ahead to Navy's Air Warfare Rapid Capabilities Office

Lawmakers plan to establish a Naval Air Warfare Rapid Capabilities Office to expedite the development, testing and fielding of naval air warfare capabilities, according to the fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill released late Wednesday.

Army active-duty end strength numbers reduced by conferees in FY-24 authorization bill

Conferees reduced the Army's active-duty end strength from 452,000 to 445,000 in the conference version of the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill, according to a congressional aide.

Authorizers OK cut in Navy carrier air wings

The Navy will no longer be required to maintain 10 carrier air wings (CVW), according to the fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill released late Wednesday.

The Poland-based Aegis Ashore unit should be ready to go next week:

After 'grossly unacceptable delay,' Aegis Ashore Poland set for Navy inventory, maintenance

Aegis Ashore Poland -- a key component of the Obama administration's 2009 initiative to defend U.S. deployed forces and NATO allies in Europe from Iranian ballistic missile threats -- will drag itself over the finish line next week after five years of construction delays when the Navy formally adds the land-based system to its inventory.

The Marine Corps' No. 2 uniformed officer spoke at a U.S. Naval Institute event this week:

Mahoney: Navy and Marine Corps need a bigger budget for significant force-structure changes

The Navy and Marine Corps will require a larger budget and significant changes in force structure to counter China in a quickly evolving security environment, according to Marine Corps Assistant Commandant Gen. Christopher Mahoney, who is performing the duties of the service's top two positions.

Satellite news:

SDA to add 18 more satellites on T2TL Beta variant satellite constellation

The Space Development Agency is planning to add another 18 space vehicles on the Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Beta variant satellite constellation, according to Derek Tournear, the agency director.

Army announces initial delivery of Precision Strike Missile Increment 1
By Dan Schere
December 8, 2023 at 11:27 AM

The Army today announced Early Operational Capability delivery of the Precision Strike Missile Increment 1, following successful production qualification testing last month at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

PrSM Increment 1, considered the Army’s next-generation Long Range Precision Fires weapon, is launched from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems. It is “capable of neutralizing targets at standoffs greater than 400 kilometers,” (248.5 miles) according to the Army.

Army acquisition chief Doug Bush said in a statement Friday that PrSM will “provide Joint Force commanders with a 24/7, all-weather capability that will counter the enemy’s ability to conduct combat maneuver and air defense operations.”

“The rapid development and delivery of this capability is a prime example of the Army’s aggressive use of new acquisition authorities from Congress that allow us to move at much greater speed to get improved equipment to soldiers,” he said.

The conference version of the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill, agreed to by House and Senate lawmakers this week, includes a provision directing the Army secretary to brief the congressional defense committees on the PrSM program by Feb. 29, 2024. The briefing is to include:

  • Analysis of the industrial base capacity to meet “steady-state and wartime surge requirements” in five years.
  • Options for accelerating PrSM munitions beyond current future years defense program projections.
  • A plan to reach procurement of 400 PrSM munitions per year in the shortest amount of time.
  • Funding profile and technology risk assessment of accelerating PrSM Increment to reach initial operating capability by FY-27.

Bush had said during a congressional hearing in April that PrSM could be “a very good candidate” for multiyear procurement in the future.

Lawmakers grant DOD's request for early prototyping authority
By Tony Bertuca
December 7, 2023 at 4:44 PM

The conference committee version of the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill would allow military service secretaries greater authority to initiate the rapid prototyping for new-start weapon systems.

The provision, which began as a legislative proposal in March and was championed by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, would allow military secretaries to “initiate urgent or emerging operational development activities for a period of up to one year, in order to leverage an emergent technological advancement of value to the national defense to address a military service-specific need, or to provide a rapid response to an emerging threat identified by a military service,” according to the bill.

Kendall, speaking at an annual Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs, CO, in April, said the authority is necessary for the service to move more quickly to counter emerging technological threats.

“The problem that I have is the amount of time I have to wait for Congress to act on the things we want to do,” he said.

The Pentagon, in its initial legislative proposal, said the current practice of waiting for new-start prototype approval until the next budget cycle is hobbling the department’s ability to compete with China, “particularly given the routine practice of extended continuing resolutions in which new-start reprogrammings are not allowed.”

Kendall, speaking in April, said he submitted 12 new-start programs with the Air Force’s budget after completing analysis for his seven Operational Imperatives.

“So, a year has passed since we did the analysis and formulated our recommendations, so what’s happened in that year?” he said. “We took those to [the Office of the Secretary of Defense], we went through the [program objective memorandum] program and the budget process over the summer, we put them into the budget, we submitted the budget to the Congress, and now we’re waiting for the Congress to act.”

Kendall said at the time that much of the prototyping and design work could have begun long ago.

“I could have started a lot of those things a year ago,” he said. “Now I’m going to wait a good year, I would expect, and I’m worried it might be longer than that” if there is an extended continuing resolution.

Congress, in fact, did end up passing a stopgap CR that, for DOD, runs through Feb. 2.

Bush says Army has nominated three systems for Replicator
By Dan Schere
December 7, 2023 at 4:38 PM

The Army has nominated three drone systems for the Pentagon’s new Replicator initiative, service acquisition chief Doug Bush said today.

The Pentagon’s Replicator initiative, announced this summer, aims to field thousands of low-cost, attritable, autonomous drone systems in two years or less. In the next few weeks, the Defense Department will select its “first tranche” of systems to be included in Replicator.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said on Nov. 21 that those selections will be made from programs within DOD’s research and development pipeline.

Bush said during an event hosted by Defense One in Washington Thursday that the three systems the Army has nominated are ones that are in production rather than those requiring R&D. He provided few details on the three systems, saying that they are “bigger than a quadcopter, but smaller than an MQ-1.”

Bush said he was optimistic the Defense Department would select at least one of the systems for Replicator.

“OSD will decide, but I think we’ve got some real good candidates,” he said.

“One of the things [Army Chief of Staff] Gen. [Randy] George has talked about is wanting to go faster on unmanned capability. That pairs perfectly with what Replicator is trying to do,” he said.

New DOD 'concierge' will identify candidates to fight communication barriers
By Georgina DiNardo
December 7, 2023 at 4:24 PM

(Editor’s note: This story has been updated following additional information from DOD regarding “transition concierge” work as a service.)

A senior Defense Department official announced the creation of a new "transition concierge" service that will work to help strengthen communication channels between government weapon system developers and non-traditional, commercial defense companies.

“The concept of a transition concierge is actually the doorway into that community who can act as that translator between the weapon system developer and a non-traditional technology deliverer so that you can marry the two up together,” Dave Tremper, deputy assistant defense secretary for acquisition, integration and interoperability, said at a DefenseOne conference today.

Tremper said DOD is searching for candidates to do the job, adding that he expected the job to be up and running in the “next few months.”

“We are identifying candidate [program executive officers] that we can work with to establish that communication pathway,” he said.

Tremper said there is a “significant language barrier” right now between government weapon system developers and non-traditional, commercial companies.

“There’s tons of acronyms that are used in a day in the life,” Tremper said. “If you take a non-traditional and you put them into that world, a non-traditional will talk about this technology and what it does and [say], ‘My God, it’s disruptive.’ You’ve got warfighters and DOD acquirers who can’t translate the significance of what they are talking about into their weapons systems, and you’ve got tech deliverers who don’t understand the acronyms that the warfighter and the acquisition is using.”

The INSIDER daily digest -- Dec. 7, 2023
By John Liang
December 7, 2023 at 2:38 PM

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news from the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization conference report released late last night and more.

House and Senate lawmakers late last night released the conference report for the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill. Here's our coverage so far:

House and Senate lawmakers advance bipartisan FY-24 defense authorization bill

House and Senate lawmakers have agreed to a fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill, releasing the text of the 3,000-page legislation last night that would, among numerous other things, authorize $886 billion in total national defense spending.

Congress set to limit Air Force fighter jet retirement plans

Congress is teed up to place limits on several Air Force-requested aircraft divestments in its fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill.

Conference FY-24 defense bill drills down on Army night vision approach

The conference version of the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill continues the trend of close congressional scrutiny on the Army's night vision procurement strategy.

Defense policy bill features provisions on cyber red teaming, State Dept. capacity building

Lawmakers have reached an agreement on the fiscal year 2024 defense authorization bill that includes provisions on modernizing cyber red teams, evaluating the creation of a U.S. Cyber Force and creating a fund at the State Department for capacity building.

Lawmakers limit Air Force's ability to buy more than six KC-46As

The Air Force will not be allowed to purchase more than six additional KC-46 tanker aircraft under the final lot of the contract with Boeing, according to Congress' fiscal year 2024 defense policy bill released Wednesday.

A senior NATO official spoke about Ukraine with reporters this morning during a Defense Writers Group breakfast:

Senior NATO official calls for more aid to Ukraine amid congressional arguments

While Congress remains mired in debate over whether to provide additional support to Ukraine, a senior NATO official today said that continued aid -- and U.S. leadership -- is vital for the nation's survival.

The House Armed Services cyber, information technologies and innovation subcommittee hearing featured testimony from experts with backgrounds in innovation and commercial/government relations:

Think tankers suggest paths for 'disruptive' DOD innovation

A House Armed Services subcommittee held a hearing today in which think-tank analysts told lawmakers the Defense Department needs to continue to focus on "disruptive innovation" that will advance emerging technologies to counter global adversaries like China and Russia.

Document: House hearing on 'back to the future'

More coverage from this past weekend's Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, CA:

'Pernicious effects' of sequester could begin rippling before April if CR extended again

SIMI VALLEY, CA -- Any extension of a stopgap spending measure beyond early February would be "pretty calamitous" for the Army, triggering immediate consequences that include delaying weapon system acquisition milestones, delaying production-ramp decisions and cancelling training, according to a senior service official.

Read our full Reagan Forum coverage here.

After a year of testing initial prototypes, designed by competing contractors General Dynamics Land Systems, Textron Systems and BAE Systems to serve as the ARV command, control, communications and computers/unmanned aircraft systems (C4UAS) mission role variant, the service now plans to procure ARV-30 prototypes for further testing:

Marine Corps to extend ARV prototyping phase and procure additional mission role variant for testing

The Marine Corps is extending the Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle prototype evaluation period until at least fiscal year 2026 and preparing to add an additional mission role variant, equipped with a 30mm gun and turret, to the assessment.

According to the Space Force, Integrated Mission Delta prototypes will assist in streamlining operations and "increase capability development" by combining the functional areas under one command:

Space Force sees 'emerging successes' from new IMD prototypes

The Space Force is seeing "emerging successes" from its Integrated Mission Delta prototypes within two months of their launch that aims to combine service activities under one command, the service said in a Dec. 5 statement.

First BRAVO hackathon to be held inside combatant command
By Georgina DiNardo
December 7, 2023 at 12:42 PM

The Defense Department announced today that it will host a "multiclassification hackathon" Feb. 5-9, using Indo-Pacific operational theater data to find solutions to combatant command challenges, marking the first time a hackathon will be held inside a COCOM.

The hackathon, an event technology companies commonly use to develop prototypes that can tackle enterprise hurdles linked with data, will occur at one of the DOD AI Battle Labs in Oahu, HI, and is working in collaboration with the Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Army Pacific Command and the Air Force.

The Air Force started organizing these events, known as BRAVO hackathons, in 2021 in attempts to use classified operational data to advance learning and capability development. This hackathon, called the BRAVO 11 Bits2Effects, will be the fourth BRAVO hackathon overall.

DOD announced their plans to form AI battlelabs in September, highlighting that hackathons hosted at the labs will help develop and strengthen the military’s artificial intelligence capabilities.

The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office will host the BRAVO 11 Bits2Effects hackathon in an effort to allow innovators the space and ability to develop and use “data-driven effects during competition and conflict,” according to a DOD press release.

According to the release, past hackathons have influenced DOD programs in areas like “large language models, space launch, flight telemetry and biometrics, unmanned systems, personnel recovery, security classification, sensing and targeting and battle damage assessment.”

People who want to participate in the hackathon may apply to be a “hacker,” a “hacker subject matter expert” or a “supporter.”

Applicants for “hacker” can have a wide range of experience, including “operational and warfighter expertise, software development, data science, machine learning, design and user interface/user design, data visualization and product management,” according to the release.

For the “hacker subject matter expert” role, applicants should be government employees or government contractors who have experience leading one or more teams through a use case or dataset.

Applicants interested in the “supporter” role should be government employees or government contractors with administrative support experience who can help the event by running security, assisting supplies delivery, putting social events together, organizing attendee check-in and delivering science fair materials, according to the press release.

Conference committee agrees to final defense authorization bill
By Tony Bertuca
December 6, 2023 at 11:34 PM

House and Senate lawmakers have agreed to a compromise version of the annual defense authorization bill, filing the 3000-page legislation late Wednesday night.

Watch Inside Defense for further reporting on this developing story.

Army outlines doctrine for 'information attack activity'
By Nickolai Sukharev
December 6, 2023 at 5:15 PM

Reducing an enemy's information command and capabilities are the Army's priorities when it comes to information warfare, according to a chapter in a new doctrine published last week.

“The threat is increasingly reliant on space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance,” the doctrine states. “Affecting the threat’s ability to use data and information to communicate, command and control its forces or conduct information warfare provides the friendly force an advantage.”

Consisting of eight chapters and titled “Information” (ADP 3-13), the doctrine’s seventh chapter outlines how the Army should degrade an enemy’s command and control as well as its information warfare capabilities during combat operations.

To degrade an enemy’s command and control, the doctrine directs the Army to reduce the enemy’s ability to collect, access or use information while affecting an enemy’s information warfare capabilities would include attacking an enemy’s communications and network systems.

“Information is central to everything we do,” Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle, commanding general of the Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, KS said in a press release. “It is the basis of intelligence, a fundamental component of command and control, and the foundation for communicating thoughts, opinions and ideas.”

“As a dynamic of combat power, Army forces fight for, defend, and fight with information to create and exploit information advantages -- the use, protection and exploitation of information to achieve objectives more effectively than enemies and adversaries,” he added.

Depending on the unit size, the doctrine’s attack methods include physical destruction, electromagnetic attacks, cyberattacks and space operations.

Brigade-level units would use physical destruction as their primary attack methods through missiles and artillery, depending on the specific unit.

“Physical destruction capabilities are inherent in combined arms formations and often provide more immediate results than employing other methods of attack,” the doctrine adds.

Larger units would conduct electromagnetic attacks using “electromagnetic energy, directed energy or antiradiation weapons” as well as cyberattacks to deny cyberspace capabilities or create manipulation effects.

“The effects from these attacks provide windows of opportunity Army forces can exploit,” the doctrine reads. “In some cases, cyberspace attack actions can lead to physical destruction.”

Space operations would be carried as joint operations with the other services to “enable freedom of action.”

Prior to all types of attacks, the doctrine directs commanders to consider rules of engagement, resources and intelligence.

“Our new doctrine makes it clear that everyone plays some role in achieving information advantage,” retired Army colonel and CADD Director Richard Creed said in a press release. “Similarly, commanders need to consider information from a combined arms perspective because all Army capabilities create effects in the information dimension of our operational environment.”

The INSIDER daily digest -- Dec. 6, 2023
By John Liang
December 6, 2023 at 1:51 PM

This Wednesday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on bolstering domestic arms production in Ukraine, a multibillion-dollar supplemental spending bill proposed by Senate Democrats, a DOD inspector general report on cybersecurity and more.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke this morning at the inaugural Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Summit hosted by the Commerce Department:

Austin calls on U.S. defense companies to rebuild Ukraine's armaments sector

Senior military officials are meeting with industry executives in Washington today to discuss a strategy for bolstering domestic arms production in Ukraine, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calling on the "full might of American industry" to aid Kyiv in what is expected to be a long-term battle against Russia.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) has released a new national security supplemental spending bill:

Senate Dems propose $110.5B national security supplemental package

Senate Democrats have put forth a $110.5 billion national security supplemental funding package, highlighting $43.6 billion that would be invested in the U.S. defense industrial base, along with establishing a new special inspector general to oversee assistance to Ukraine.

Document: Senate's national security supplemental

Our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity have the latest on a new Defense Department inspector general's report on cybersecurity "weaknesses" among defense contractors:

DOD IG identifies 'weaknesses' in cyber defenses from contractors handling CUI

A new report from the Defense Department inspector general details common cybersecurity "weaknesses" on federal contractor networks that are handling controlled unclassified information for military services and agencies.

Document: DOD IG report on contractors' cybersecurity 'weaknesses'

More coverage of this past weekend's Reagan National Defense Forum in California:

Modernization accounts squeezed in FY-25 proposal, debt-limit deal forces 'difficult choices'

SIMI VALLEY, CA -- The Defense Department's fiscal year 2025 budget request will -- at best -- squeeze investment accounts compared to Pentagon plans earlier this year as a result of the June debt-limit deal demanded by House Republicans, forcing what DOD's top weapons buyer calls "difficult choices" about where to trim planned spending.

LaPlante calls for new surge in counter-drone spending and production

SIMI VALLEY, CA -- A Navy destroyer shot down three incoming drones in the southern Red Sea on Sunday, a day after Pentagon acquisition chief Bill LaPlante announced that investments to counter unmanned aerial systems must go "through the roof" to meet an ongoing "crisis" in that area that has been highlighted by the ongoing wars fought by Ukraine and Israel.

Read our full Reagan Forum coverage here.

MDA gets full-fledged director
By Jason Sherman
December 6, 2023 at 1:49 PM

After more than four months without a three-star officer at the helm, the Missile Defense Agency today has a full-fledged leader after Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) abandoned his quixotic quest to change Pentagon health services for woman and the Senate confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins' promotion.

MDA today announced Collins -- the 12th MDA director since the agency was founded in 2002 -- was quickly installed following confirmation of his promotion to lieutenant general.

Rear Adm. Douglas Williams -- promoted from captain in June -- who was acting MDA director since late July, will still testify tomorrow before the House Armed Services Committee hearing on missile defense, according to a government official.

DOD announces $175M Ukraine weapons package
By Tony Bertuca
December 6, 2023 at 1:45 PM

The Defense Department today announced a $175 million weapons package for Ukraine as Congress argues over a major national security supplemental spending bill that would continue assistance to Kyiv and replenish U.S. weapons that have been sent there.

The new package, being funded via presidential “drawdown” authority, includes:

  • AIM-9M and AIM-7 missiles for air defense;
  • Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
  • 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
  • High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs);
  • Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  • Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
  • More than 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
  • Vehicles to tow and haul equipment;
  • Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing;
  • Equipment to protect critical national infrastructure;
  • Spare parts, maintenance and other ancillary equipment.

The announcement is the 52nd such transfer made to Ukraine using PDA since August 2021.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is seeking tens of billions more for Ukraine and the White House has warned that money is running out. Pentagon officials say they have around $4 billion in transfer authority remaining but only $1 billion to replenish U.S. weapons being transferred.

In related news, senior U.S. and Ukrainian military officials convened with defense industry executives in Washington today to discuss a strategy to rebuild Ukraine’s domestic weapons production capabilities.

SDA to procure 20 T2TL Gamma variant satellites to lift off in June 2027
By Apurva Minchekar
December 6, 2023 at 11:30 AM

The Space Development Agency is planning to procure 20 Tranche 2 Transport Layer Gamma variant satellites that are scheduled to launch by June 2027, according to a draft solicitation notice issued Monday.

“T2TL features multiple space vehicles and mission configuration variants procured through a multi-solicitation and multi-vendor acquisition approach,” the agency said in the notice.

The T2TL Gamma satellites will be equipped with unique payloads designed to “close future kill chains” through the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, the notice states.

Describing the system design, the agency noted that 20 SVs will be divided into two constellations, each with 10 satellites and will include optical communications terminals to assist in-plane and cross-plane links; links to terrestrial OCTs; and links to compatible SVs external to the Transport Layer.

SDA said the T2TL SVs, SDA operations centers and the T1TL SVs will create a communication web that will provide resilient, low-latency and high-throughput data exchange from anywhere across the globe.

The contract will be awarded to a single vendor who can develop OCTs; warlock mission payload; space vehicle bus; perform system integration; operations and sustainment personnel; and Network Established Beyond the Upper Limits of the Atmosphere operations, the agency noted.

The initial launch capability of the T2TL Gamma space vehicles is scheduled for September 2026, the notice reads.

Recently, the Defense Department also issued a request for information for developing warlock capacity for the T2TL-Gamma variant satellite constellation.

DOD staff working on new 'mil-to-mil' communication with China
By Tony Bertuca
December 5, 2023 at 5:25 PM

The Defense Department and the Chinese military are currently working at the staff-level to re-establish communication among the nations' top defense officials following a meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco last month, according to a senior Pentagon policy official.

Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told reporters at a Defense Writers Group breakfast today that senior U.S. and Chinese military leaders have not yet spoken, but stressed that “active discussions” are going on at the “working level” right now regarding the “sequencing” for planned meetings and engagements over the next 12 months.

“We are currently in the process of discussing with the PRC Defense Department about what that is going to look like in the months and years ahead,” he said.

Ratner would not give a specific timeline but said it should take “months” at “the very latest.”

Despite this, Ratner said, DOD does not believe China has changed its aggressive posture in the Indo-Pacific, especially regarding Taiwan.

“Leaders in Beijing have been crystal clear about their ambitions toward Taiwan,” he said. “They have already been engaged in an intensive pressure campaign . . . against Taiwan. They have yet to renounce the use of force. . . . I see my job as, in part, ensuring that the United States is prepared.”

Tuberville lifting hundreds of military holds
By Tony Bertuca
December 5, 2023 at 2:19 PM

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) announced today that he is lifting his months-long blockade on hundreds of military nominations, following pressure from several GOP colleagues.

Tuberville, who had been blocking military nominations and promotions since February over his opposition to the Defense Department’s travel and leave policy for servicemembers seeking abortions, told several media outlets that his holds, though lifted for about 440 nominees below the four-star level, will continue on approximately 10 senior nominees.

"I'm not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer," Tuberville told reporters. "We just released them -- about 440 of them. Everybody but 10 or 11 four-stars."

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said DOD is "encouraged by the news" but will work to get Tuberville to lift all his holds.

"There would be at least 11 four-stars that would be impacted by those continued holds,” he said. “All of those positions are key senior leadership positions to including the vice chiefs of the various services.”

Other holds impact the senior leaders of the Pacific fleet, U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Space Command.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed (D-RI), who has spearheaded a resolution to override Tuberville, released a statement saying the holds “have been an affront to the United States military and the Senate.”

Reed said Tuberville has “jeopardized our national security and abused the rights afforded to all Senators.”

“I am glad that hundreds of our nation’s finest military leaders will finally receive their hard-won, merit-based promotions,” he said. “They, and their families, have shown us what grace and grit look like in the face of hardship.”

The Senate soon after confirmed 425 military nominations, a move Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called "long overdue."

"These holds have already dragged on needlessly for months, degrading our military readiness and forcing far too many of our outstanding military families to put their lives on hold and endure even greater sacrifices," he said in a statement. "These unnecessary and unprecedented holds have forced multiple military services to operate without Senate-confirmed leaders and obligated some military leaders to take on two exceptionally demanding jobs at once.

"We also look forward to the Senate's confirmation of the remainder of our highly qualified and apolitical military leaders, so that America can have the fully fielded team it deserves during this critical moment for our national security," Austin added.