Inside Defense

President Trump has announced Adam Telle, the assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, will serve as acting Army secretary following Dan Driscoll’s departure. Telle, who is acting Army secretary “effective immediately,” according to a new Trump social post this evening, oversaw the Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program in his capacity as assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. He was sworn in to that role Aug.

Pentagon chief technology officer Emil Michael said today that AI firm Anthropic is still considered a “supply chain risk,” despite an endorsement from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and a new judicial ruling. Michael reaffirmed the Pentagon’s view of Anthropic in a statement today on X. “Anthropic is still a designated Supply Chain Risk at @DeptofWar and for the Defense Industrial Base,” he wrote.

The Defense Department is launching an effort to make classified work and workspaces more accessible to companies looking to do business with the Pentagon by deploying approximately 50 mobile Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and related information systems across the United States, according to a DOD announcement published today .

This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the fight in the Strait of Hormuz exposing Navy gaps, the Army's first directed energy production contract, DARPA's next-generation hypersonic cruise missile program, the Space Force's $11.6 billion strategic communications satellite program and a new industry day for companies interested in joining the National Security Space Launch Lane 1 vendor pool.

The Space Force will host an industry day this month for launch service providers interested in joining the vendor pool for National Security Space Launch, according to a notice posted yesterday. At the August 26 industry day at Los Angeles Air Force Base, the service will provide information and timelines for the next onramp for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1, which the service uses to buy launch services for all but the highest profile missions.

Maintenance and quality assurance of the Marine Corps’ war reserve materiel program in Norway could be improved, according to a new report from the Pentagon’s top watchdog. The Marine Corps Prepositioning Program - Norway (MCPP-N) includes the maintenance and oversight of reserve weapons and vehicles, an effort overseen by multiple Marine Corps groups and the Norwegian Defense Logistics organizations.

The Space Force has tallied an $11.6 billion price tag for its Evolved Strategic SATCOM space development and production program, a Boeing-led project to develop and buy seven satellites that will replace the strategic mission of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation and eventually provide protected communications coverage worldwide, including the Arctic.

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Marine autonomy provider Greensea IQ is launching the latest robot in its Bayonet line of expeditionary systems, which will be focused on hull and underwater infrastructure inspection for maritime force protection -- an area where the company says demand has surged recently due to underwater attacks in Middle East shipping lanes.

The Army will soon field a system that can survey the electromagnetic spectrum around the service’s command posts to sniff out friendly signatures and ensure units aren’t revealing themselves to the enemy. The Spectrum Situational Awareness System (S2AS) is two weeks out from fielding nine initial units after awarding a $350 million production contract to 3dB Labs in June, according to timelines service leaders gave reporters last week. “It’s meant to look at ourselves,” Lt. Col.