Raw Intel

This month when you say "tender" I am not thinking about a tender Turkey. I am not thinking about tender mercies. Nope. If we are really concerned about winning the next great Pacific war ... we need to grow up and get ready. Details over at USNIBlog. Tell me where I'm wrong. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=bQxRG1Fxo3I:eAmgwEpvilw:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=bQxRG1Fxo3I:eAmgwEpvilw:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=bQxRG1Fxo3I:eAmgwEpvilw:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f…

Americas Boeing won a $13.6 million contract modification, which exercises an option to perform 24 modifications in support of the Increment Three Block One retrofit as well as the procurement, manufacture and assembly of 25 additional retrofit kits supporting engineering change five for existing P8-A Poseidon aircraft. The P-8A Poseidon is the US Navy’s maritime patrol aircraft. It is capable of broad-area, maritime and littoral operations, and is also successful at search and rescue. Work will take place in Washington. Expected completion date is in December 2023. An annual air exercise between South Korea and the United States kicked off secretly on November 1. The ex…

I think this is going to be tender week ... as my post tomorrow will be on the same topic. I want you to think about 2012. Yes, it was nine years ago. Obama was running for re-election against Mitt Romney. The #1 song of that year was "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra. ISIS, in its present name, did not yet exist for another year. It also was the last time... The submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) completed a weapons handling exercise involving the transfer of a MK-48 inert training shape to a submarine, Oct. 22. This was the first expeditionary reload Frank Cable has conducted outside of Guam since 2012. OK. Here is a question I hope some…

In an incredibly important ... and silly drama over the last couple of years, some otherwise smart people in objectively important positions invested significant amounts of personal and professional capital trying to make an argument that the US Army - our land component, is the primary service ... here. No. Unless you want to get in to another land war in Asia from the Pacific approaches ... no. However, we have friends who share our concerns with the People's Republic of China who, in addition to having four times the USA's population, have significant land borders and territorial issues with the PRC. In a larger war, they may find themselves allied with us, and there a…

Americas General Electric won a $1.6 billion deal including all options for the F-15EX Lots 2+ propulsion system procurement. This contract provides for 29 F110-GE-129 engines (installs and spares) for the F-15EX fleet. The contract also provides seven option lots for a most probable quantity of 329 total engines if all options are exercised. The F-15EX is a ready-now replacement for the F-15C that includes best-in-class payload, range and speed. Work will take place in Ohio and Texas. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2031. Lockheed Martin won a $30.5 million modification, which exercises options to provide operation and maintenance support of F-35 Joint Strike Figh…

Americas Northrop Grumman Aerospace won a $298.2 million contract modification to repair common unmanned aircraft system components for the US Air Force. The deal provides for repair services for “common items” for both the RQ-4B and MQ-4C Triton. It will support reparable National Stock Numbers (NSNs) which encompass the Air Vehicle, multiple sensor packages, Mission Control Element, and Launch and Recovery Element. In addition, this effort includes support engineering services covered under the engineering delegation authority for NSNs transferred to and under the management of the 407 Supply Chain Management Squadron. Work will take place in California, Utah, Virginia,…

Most everyone knows that the Korean War, though mostly a South Korean and American affair, was a UN action. Students of the war know that many nations contributed forces to the fight, with the United Kingdom and Turkey known by most. Just a bit more than half a decade after liberation from a crushing Imperial Japanese occupation, the Philippines joined the fight as well. They didn't hide in the rear either. The below won't be a surprise to people who served in the US Navy. We, more than most, know the quality per pound of the people we served with of Philippine extraction. Take a moment to acknowledge an underknown battle and the heroism of an unappreciated fighting nat…

Americas The US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) recently completed exercise New Horizon, the first at-sea evolution for its new unmanned task force. During the two-day training exercise, Task Force 59 integrated and evaluated new MANTAS T-12 unmanned surface vessels (USV) that operated alongside manned US patrol craft and Bahrain Defense Force maritime assets. BAE Systems won a five-year Systems Engineering and Integration Support Services contract to continue supporting the US Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) office. The contract, worth up to $478 million, was awarded in September 2021. Middle East & Africa Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and SixAI wi…

Take a moment to think about all the news concerning the fragility of our maritime supply chain nodes. One good byproduct of this crisis is that the critical importance of merchant ships and maritime infrastructure to our national economy has come under the spotlight. For those who have spent their professional lives feeling like some Cassandra screaming in to a void of national disinterest – the opportunity to educate people while you have their attention is a once in a generation moment. In the US, in addition to the US Merchant Marine Academy, we have some states that have their own state merchant marine academies. It would be logical that the last year would have ins…

Do we have a problem in the profession or army of being loose with the truth? Where is the line between clever word games and lying? Who do we owe truth to, and who should we deceive? From the Army to our Navy, I'm pondering a bit on the topic over at USNIBlog. Come ponder with me. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=duAW8YSBLso:Q0JJbXrg9ZA:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=duAW8YSBLso:Q0JJbXrg9ZA:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=duAW8YSBLso:Q0JJbXrg9ZA:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.c…

Americas Raytheon won a $340 million deal for mobile sensors operations and maintenance services of the Cobra King radar system. Cobra King is a mobile radar system, called an active electronic scanned array, of S- and X-band phased radars in use by the Air Force Technical Applications Center. It provides radar data to the Department of Defense’s strategic community, the Missile Defense Agency and other government agencies. Work will take place in Florida. Estimated completion date is October 31, 2031. SECO has successfully tested a new deck control device (DCD) to be used for controlling the MQ-25 on aircraft carrier flight decks. The device was successfully tested earl…

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $50.9 million contract modification, which provides for repair services for 36 critical common items for the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton. It will support reparable National Stock Numbers (NSNs) encompassing the air vehicle, multiple sensor packages, Mission Control Element, and Launch and Recovery Element. In addition, this effort includes support engineering services covered under the Engineering Delegation Authority for NSNs transferred to and under the 407th Supply Chain Management Squadron. According to Northrop Grumman, the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system (UAS) provides real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissanc…

The news isn't that they have 60-days to get out, the news is they've been allowed to operate here for two decades. Washington has revoked the US licence of one of China's biggest telecoms companies citing "national security" concerns. China Telecom must stop providing services in America within 60 days. Officials said the Chinese government's control of the company gave it the opportunity "to access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute US communications". This in turn could allow it "to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the US", they said. China Telecom, which has provided telecoms services in the US for nearly 20 years, called the decision "disappoin…

SE=SL-RD-NL+DI-PL If you want to bench test an old Cold Warrior, put something like this out; The Navy has created a new task group on the East Coast to ensure it has ready destroyers that can deploy on short notice to counter the Russian submarine threat in the Atlantic Ocean.OK, Mallory Shelbourne's latest at USNINews got my attention.The plan is to take destroyers that have recently completed deployments and are awaiting maintenance availabilities and make them ready for training and operations in the Atlantic. ... The creation of the new task group comes as the Navy has refocused assets and efforts on the Atlantic region due to Russia’s undersea capability. The servi…

Americas Two F-15EXs that were delivered to the US Air Force have carried out the first operational test mission at Nellis Air Force Base. The evaluation involved F-15Cs and F-15Es as well. Running from October 18-25, the pilots were also evaluating the Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System while there. German company Rheinmetall will export a Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) Test Chassis to the United States of America from its factory in Redbank Queensland. The Lynx vehicle export order will be delivered to Rheinmetall in the United States supporting the business’s worldwide activities currently underway in the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle competi…

Americas The US Air Force Research Laboratory has partnered with ThermAvant Technologies and Maxar Technologies to develop and deploy the next generation of spacecraft thermal control technology. The groundbreaking technology, Oscillating Heat Pipes (OHPs), provides lightweight and highly efficient temperature control on higher power yet smaller spacecraft. The OHP was recently launched in the second quarter of 2021 on a Maxar-built satellite. The United States conducted the launch of a precision sounding rocket on October 20 to accelerate the development of advanced hypersonic weapons. The High Operational Tempo for Hypersonics flight campaign was conducted by the Navy …

What are the of economic, demographic, and political forces driving China through this decade? What direction is her growth heading and where will she find herself at the end of the decade? Are the forces in play likely to move her towards a more peaceful or a more militaristic stance? Using the recent article he co-authored with Gabriel Collins in Foreign Policy, A Dangerous Decade of Chinese Power is Here, as a starting point, returning to Midrats for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern will be Andrew S. Erickson. Andrew is a professor of strategy in the U.S. Naval War College's China Maritime Studies Institute and a visiting scholar in full-time residence at …

You graduated from the Naval Academy with the world at war. While it seemed your nation’s politicians were saying they would do all they could to stay out of this war – you probably knew better. It was a big war, and one side was being fed and armed from our side of the ocean. After graduation you get assigned to a battleship – and within a year, your nation goes to war. Your battleship was not just any ship, she was the USS Connecticut (BB-18), the flagship for The Great White Fleet a decade earlier, and now flagship of the Fifth Battleship Division. Yet, your war never really came. You spent the war never leaving the east coast. You spent the entire war on what you rea…

Americas Sikorsky won a $14.1 million contract modification to procure four retrofit kits and associated system engineering support for the incorporation of 34 deployable configuration changes into CH-53K System Demonstration Test Article 1-4 Aircraft. The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. Work will take place in Connecticut and Florida. Estimated completion is in November 2023. Lockheed Martin won a $206.9 million modification, which adds scope to provide non-recurring engineering, detailed aircraft modification execution planning and technical data packages in support of modifications to the F-35 developmental test …

The BONHOMME RICHARD fire report has the Surface Force in the news again, and one of our favorite ex-SWOs Bryan McGrath gave a speech to the Surface Navy Association's Washington DC chapter earlier today. He had a few things to get off his chest, and the things he said are worth a broader audience. Bryan has been kind enough to send along the text of his remarks for publication here - well worth your time. Bryan, over to you! Speech to the DC Chapter of the Surface Navy Association 21 October 2021“Three Rants”As Prepared for Delivery Thank you for the introduction, Captain Bryans. It was an honor to be asked to be here, and I am grateful for the opportunity. I hope t…