The INSIDER daily digest -- March 25, 2022

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news from the Pentagon’s satellite communications chief, a look at an Army effort cut by congressional appropriators, the ICBM threat posed by North Korea, and the Navy’s future air superiority program.

The top Defense Department satellite official sees a future built by a military, commercial and international team:

DOD data transport layer work extends beyond JADC2’s ‘backbone’

The Defense Department’s satellite communications chief envisions a data “transport layer” that involves commercial, military and international partners and extends beyond the Space Development Agency’s work in low Earth orbit.

Appropriators have thrown cold water on a new Army cannon program:

Congress bumps Army’s 1,000-mile cannon from appropriations bill

Congress cut all funding for the Army’s 1,000-mile cannon program and created additional restrictions on reprogramming money for its development in the fiscal year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill President Biden signed this month.

The head of U.S. Northern Command laid out his concerns about North Korea’s rocket program:

NORTHCOM 'very concerned' about pace, capacity of North Korean ICBM threat

The top U.S. military official responsible for defending the nation against a North Korean nuclear strike said he is "very concerned" about the Pentagon's ability to keep pace with Pyongyang's technical advances in developing long-range missiles and industrial capacity to expand its offensive fleet.

And finally, the Navy’s top aviation official discussed the service’s newest air superiority effort:

NGAD program to maintain Navy air superiority

Despite tight budget environments, the Navy is developing its Next Generation Air Dominance Family of Systems, hoping to expand its reach and maintain air superiority. 

In the past, a pilot was able to go on a flight deck, look around and see all the other ships in its strike group. This is a reality that has changed in the distributed maritime operations concept, according to Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, director of the Navy’s air warfare division.