Raw Intel

Harpoon in flight (click to view full) The sub-sonic, wave-skimming GM-84 Harpoon is the US Navy’s sole anti-shipping missile, with the minor exception of small helicopter-borne AGM-119B Penguin missiles. The Harpoon has been adapted into several variants, and exported to many navies around the world. At present, the Harpoon family includes AGM-84 air, RGM-84 sea/land, and UGM-84 submarine-launched versions. Variants such as the Joint Standoff Land Attack Missiles and the upgraded AGM-84K SLAM – Expanded Response will also be covered in this DID FOCUS Article. It describes the missiles themselves, and covers global contracts involving this family. The Harpoon family’s …

If geography is destiny, then Singapore is a nation of destiny. Sitting astride one of the world's most critical chokepoints, this polyglot island republic with a population of Denmark on a spot of land 1/4 the size of Rhode Island. For her size, she has a modern, large, and capable navy and military - important for what has always been a rough neighborhood. What makes Singapore's national security requirements unique, and what role does she play as the Indo-Pacific Theater becomes the center of global concern? Returning to Midrats this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern to discuss this and more will be Blake Herzinger. Blake is a Non-resident WSD-Handa Fellow with the P…

The Biden Administration is still filling out the mid and lower echelons of their national security and defense team, but the major players are in and the “people are policy” effect is kicking in. If you were paying attention to the 2020 election, you have a general idea where things are going, but it is always best to wait to see what is put out … because that is what good staff people do; wait for higher Direction and Guidance, and then form your actions to align with them. This week, everyone has something to chew on, President Biden’s Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. As I like to do with such documents, I look for larger themes through the use of…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $38.7 million contract modification, which exercises an option for ordering emerging capabilities and analysis systems engineering to include programmatic and logistics tasks that will analyze the F-35 air system’s ability to meet future operational requirements, investigating cost and weight reduction program options and conducting modeling and simulation activities. Additional assessments may include such efforts as analyzing changes to design life, operational readiness, reliability and air system design and configuration. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas. Estimated completion is in December 2021. The 85th Test and Evaluation Sq…

Americas BAE Systems was awarded a $58 million contract from Boeing. The deal is to start low rate initial production of the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System for the US Air Force. “The start of EPAWSS production marks a critical milestone and is a testament to the dedication and commitment of our industry team,” said Jerry Wohletz, BAE’s VP/GM of Electronic Combat Solutions, in a press statement. “Our technology is cutting-edge, our factories are world-class, and our people are innovative and mission-focused.” The all-digital system EPAWSS enables pilots to monitor, jam and deceive threats in contested airspace and combines multispectral sensors …

Since 17 of our Sailors drowned in berthing after the collisions of the summer of 2017 to now - we have covered almost the time it took from the attack on Pearl Harbor to victory in Tokyo Bay ... and yet ... what have we really done? Look at the metrics. That's what I did over at USNIBlog. Come and see. 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=g3oFD2hsujQ:40ZR1PD4JA8:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=g3oFD2hsujQ:40ZR1PD4JA8:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=g3oFD2hsujQ:40ZR1PD4JA8:V_sGLiPB…

Americas Lockheed Martin Space won a $128.7 million contract to support the integration of the Trident II (D5) Missile and Reentry Subsystems into the Common Missile Compartment (CMC) for the US/United Kingdom Columbia/Dreadnought Submarine construction programs. The Trident II D-5 is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles (4,600 statute miles or 7,360 km). Work will take place in Florida, Colorado, California, Utah and Tennessee. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2027. According to the US Navy, Sailors aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg are among the first to test a stress-mitigation in…

For a whole host of reasons, Australia needs a potent and numerous submarine force. Geography and potential opponents make the case pretty straight forward. It looks like they are not on a smooth path; As this is written, the head of the French naval construction company Naval Group, Pierre Eric Pommellet, is in Australia meeting federal ministers in an attempt to rescue the contract. Tragically for Australia – and for Monsieur Pommellet – not one of those ministers has the experience or competence to wrangle a successful result. Many informed commentators in France, Australia and elsewhere now expect the much-celebrated deal to be abandoned. If that happens, replacing…

Americas CAE USA-Mission Solutions won a $10.8 million contract modification for the F-15E, F-16 and F-22A contract aircrew training and courseware development contract. The modification is for exercising Option Year Four. The Boeing F-15E dual-role fighter is an advanced long-range interdiction fighter and tactical aircraft. The F-15E is the latest version of the Eagle, a Mach 2.5-class twin-engine fighter. The F-16, the mainstay of the Air Force aerial combat fleet, has been adapted to complete a number of missions, including air-to-air fighting, ground attack and electronic warfare. The F-22A Raptor is an advanced tactical fighter aircraft. Work will be performed at Jo…

Javelin, firing (click to view full) The FGM-148 Javelin missile system aimed to solve 2 key problems experienced by American forces. One was a series of disastrous experiences in Vietnam, trying to use 66mm M72 LAW rockets against old Soviet tanks. A number of replacement options like the Mk 153 SMAW and the AT4/M136 spun out of that effort in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until electronics had miniaturized for several more cycles that it became possible to solve the next big problem: the need for soldiers to remain exposed to enemy fire while guiding anti-tank missiles to their targets. Javelin solves both of those problems at once, offering a heavy fire-and-forget missil…

What is the reality of 2021 for those concerned with the direction of our nation's defense? With no constituency of any significant power in the Executive or Legislative branches of government willing to expend political capital for a larger defense budget, much less a larger Navy, everyone should accept that through at least mid-decade there will be flat to decreasing DOD budges. If you want to know where the low hanging fruit is from the perspective of those in the Biden Administration given responsibility for making policy in DOD, keep an eye on Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks. She knows her business. This summary by Paul McCleary at Breaking Defense is so…

Americas Lockheed Martin won an $8.3 million deal to exercise an option for Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. Under this contract, the Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) develops, integrates, tests and delivers computer program baseline Advanced Capability Builds (ACBs) and supports Technology Insertions – a replacement and/or upgrade of combat system computing hardware and associated middleware/firmware. The Aegis CSEA also develops engineering products to support ship integration, supports developmental test/operational test events, develops training and l…

Where is European naval power in 2021, what is shaping it, and where is it going? This week returning guest Jeremy Stöhs is with us to review the above issues as outlined in an exceptional report he produced for the Centre for Military Studies at the University of Copenhagen., "How High? The Future of European Naval Power and the High-End Challenge." Jeremy is the Deputy Director of the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies and the editor for their journal, JIPSS. After service in the Austrian Federal Police in 2005-2010, he studied History and English/American Studies at the Universities of Graz, St. Petersburg (USA) and Marburg (GER) …

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2394/2283121435_9a6ede08e9_o.jpg25 FEB 1852. Discipline. Honor. Sacrifice - and steadfast leadership. Do you really know what they mean? How do you know you, as well as the men and women under your command, can do what is needed - and do it with cold firmness? Are you ready for the Birkenhead Drill?To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about, Is nothing so bad when you’ve cover to ’and, an’ leave an’ likin’ to shout; But to stand an’ be still to the Birken’ead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew, An’ they done it, the Jollies—’Er Majesty’s Jollies—soldier an’ sailor too! Their work was done when it ’adn’t be…

Americas Boeing won an $11.6 million contract modification, which adds scope for engineering services in support of Next Generation Jammer software development. Next Generation Jammer, an external jamming pod, will address advanced and emerging threats alike, as well as the growing numbers of threats. NGJ uses the latest digital, software-based and Active Electronically Scanned Array technologies and will provide enhanced airborne electronic attack capabilities to disrupt and degrade enemy air defense and ground communication systems. Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri. Expected completion will be in December 2021. The first Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demons…

EA-18G Growler (click to view full) The US Navy owns the only operational tactical jamming fighters in the world, but the AN/ALQ-99 pods they depend on use analog technologies, are hard to maintain, and have reliability issues. All-digital technologies and modern transmit/receive electronics offer huge leaps ahead in capability and availability, which is why the US military is working on a Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) replacement for the pods on its tactical strike aircraft. The EA-18G Growler will be the NGJ’s first platform, but the flexibility of modern technologies mean that it may not be the last. Next-Gen Jammer: The Program EA-18G systems (click to view fu…

This is the 4th and a half draft of this week's DivThu ... a much more simplified version. I did have a very long post, but decided that was unnecessary. It was better, especially with Part 2 - the Navy's Reading List - added below, to keep this rather simple as I think it speaks for itself. Let's go. Part 1: Navy Task Force One. If you were going to try to get the temperature of race relations in our nation, probably the worst time to do it in the last 35 years would have been over the summer and fall of 2020. As our Navy reflects the society it comes from, it would be only natural that the high emotions, cultural climate, and all that happened in that time period w…

Americas Naval Air Force Atlantic tested a long-range aerial drone last weekend, the Navy announced. The long-range cargo transport, dubbed Blue Water UAS, is designed to operate with Naval Forces that typically operate in heavy winds over open water and require aircraft to land on vessels that are moving rapidly at sea. The proof-of-concept test was conducted last Sunday by transporting lightweight logistical equipment from the mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center at Naval Station Norfolk on board USS Gerald R. Ford while the carrier was in-port. Boeing announced that its T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer has entered production at its plant in St. Louis. Chuck Dabundo,…

They are ugly, boring, quiet, sedentary, misunderstood, ignored, disrespected ... yet in crisis - surprises & terrifies everyone. They are also something we need to be ready to use immediately if we are serious about confronting China. I'm pondering things that go bump in the night over at USNIBlog. Come by and ponder with me for a bit. 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=Qs8UOVkwgLs:tEqoTjxpyvk:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Qs8UOVkwgLs:tEqoTjxpyvk:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAF…

If you're on active duty or a civilian employee, you're going to have to go through a struggle session. The best thing you can do to prepare for it is to know what you are going to be subjected to ahead of time. That way you can better get through it. This training isn't as great as supporters say it is, nor is it as bad as it could have been. There is still a lot of problematic items in here - mostly because of who wrote it and the climate to anyone doing anything but saying, "Looks great!" Because it wasn't properly edited, yes, it is political. Anyone who watched the events of the summer of 2020 and have made an objective review of what happened in January (NB: …