Raw Intel

Americas Lockheed Martin Space won a $558.8 million contract modification for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed systems support. The UGM-133A Trident II, or Trident D5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), built by Lockheed Martin Space in Sunnyvale, California, and deployed with the American and British navies. Work is expected to be completed September 30, 2026. Fiscal 2021 weapons procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $477,091,291; United Kingdom funds in the amount of $73,747,000; and fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) in the amount of $8,003,070 are being obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fi…

From our point of view from the other side of the Pacific, Americans tend to focus on the points of first resistance from the People's Republic of China - Taiwan, South China Sea, etc. Is that really what China is worried about? Is she really building her huge Navy to challenge us somewhere west of Wake, or is she thinking of something else we are just too parochial to see? Did you notice that France, UK, and even Germany have decided they need to head east of Suez to spend some time in the Indo-Pacific theater? Connected? As with most things, it is helpful to take a deep breath and ask yourself - what does the map say? h/t The Other Sal. http://…

Americas Raytheon demonstrated to the US Army that it can fire the Stinger missile from a Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Unit. The missile successfully took down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during the demonstration at Eglin Air Force Base. The LWCLU’s primary mission is as the launcher for the Javelin missile, however its superior optics also allow for stand-alone Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions. A category 2 deficiency for the KC-46A aerial refueling tanker is prevent pilots from taking off in the tanker until the On-Board Inert Gas Generation System (OBIGGS) countdown timer reaches zero. OBIGGS will fill the fuel tanks with nitrogen to p…

While the rest of the world paused to focus on COVID-19 the last year, even though the pandemic started there, the People's Republic of China did not stop her long, steady push out to the world to take the place she feels she in entitled to. From the border of India to South America and back to the Western Pacific, China feels the wind at her back. Where is China signaling she will be be the greatest challenge to her neighbors and the global community? Returning to Midrats this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern for the full hour will be our guest Dean Cheng. Dean is the Senior Research Fellow for Chinese political and security affairs at the Asia Studies Center of The Her…

What are you willing to do to get your squadron mates home ... or at least a chance? How far are you willing to push yourself and your equipment? How well do you know the capabilities - written and unwritten - of your equipment? Ponder Pardo's Push via Air and Space; The air strike that March day in 1967 was on the ferociously well-defended Thai Nguyen steel mill, north of Hanoi, North Vietnam. One of the attacking U.S. Air Force McDonnell F-4C Phantoms was hit twice by anti-aircraft fire, and gas was streaming from the fuselage. Pilot Earl Aman and weapons systems officer Bob Houghton no longer had enough fuel to return to safe territory. The airplane Bob Pardo an…

Americas US Air Force “Orange Flag” and “Black Flag” exercises this week tested mission planning with cross-domain data gathering, the Air Force said. The exercises involved the Air Force Test Center’s 412nd Test Wing, headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and the 53rd Wing of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in achieving what the Air Force terms All-Domain Command and Control. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin approved a request to extend the deployment of National Guard members in the Capitol through late May, the Department of Defense announced. Per a statement from Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, about 2,300 National Guard personnel will continue to suppo…

Take a moment and think about all that is going on in the world from the South China Sea, to Afghanistan, to the Sahel, to the Russian near abroad. Think about the challenges military members and their families face on a daily basis with record deployments, caring for kids in a COVID environment, take your pick. I now want you to think about what you want the scarce time available in each mortal's 24-hr day invested in by the following people: Deputy Secretary of Defense; Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; The Secretaries of the Military Departments, Military Service Chiefs, and the OSD Principal Staff Assistants. What if we had it a weekly meeting called the …

Americas Huntington Ingalls Industries announced that the Virginia Class submarine Montana was launched into the James River at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. The 7,800-ton submarine, which had been in a floating dry dock since being transferred from a construction facility in October, was submerged and moved by tugboats to the shipyard’s submarine pier, for final outfitting, testing and crew certification, it says in a news release. Through the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat approximately 10,000 shipbuilders, as well as suppliers from all 50 states, have participated in Montana’s construction since the work began in 2015. Montana…

Can you have a long war in Asia without putting a boot on the mainland? Should we be thinking that through? Have we looked at a map? Ponder with me over at USNIBlog. h/t CMD 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=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:F7zBnMyn0Lo http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspo…

Americas Honeywell International won a contract worth $476.1 million for the procurement of CH-47 aircraft T55 engines, CH-47 aircraft T55 engine electronic control units, and CH-47 aircraft T55 engine installation kits. The Honeywell T55 is a Family of military turboshaft engines. The most prominent aircraft application is the Boeing CH-47 Chinook and MH-47 helicopters. The new CH-47F uses more powerful Honeywell T55-GA-714A engines that improve fuel efficiency and enhance lift performance. The higher powerful Honeywell T55-GA-714A engines are fitted with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and have a thrust of 3,529kW (4,733shp). The operating range was increa…

We started the "Keeping and Eye on the Long Game" over a decade and a half ago. Many of you have been loyal members of the Front Porch since that time, so I know you are not surprised where 2021 finds us. Look at it. Don't avert your eyes. You ... yes you ... allowed this to happen because you elected the people you elected and promoted those you promoted. You allowed other priorities to creep in where maintaining the world's dominate navy should have been #1. Sadly, many are either refusing to accept this fact or are acting as if it all of a sudden snuck up on them. Fire them all. China was already in the midst of a shipbuilding spree like few the world has ever…

Americas According to Lockheed Martin, the US Army’s new extended-range version of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) had a successful 80-kilometer flight demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on March 4. Lockheed Martin is the manufacturer of the GMLRS munition and has worked with the Army to double the rocket’s reach through extended-range capability development. The 80-kilometer shot fired from the Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System met the test objectives, Lockheed said in its news release. The release added that the demo “confirmed the missile’s flight trajectory performance, range and validated interfaces with the HIMARS lau…

Mk54 HAAWC (click to view full) American maritime patrol aircraft currently carry torpedoes as part of their armament, which serve as key weapons against enemy submarines. As any high-diver of cliff-jumper knows first hand, however, water can feel surprisingly solid after a long fall. Torpedoes still have to be released from low altitude, typically 100 feet or less above the waves. Two recent developments, however, are making this approach less practical for the US military. One is tests of sub-launched anti-air missile systems, using modified short-range air-air missiles that do not require radar guidance. The other is its selection of the 737-based P-8A Poseidon as it…

To start your week off right you should give our friend James Holmes's latest over at Real Clear Defense a read, How to Overcome Weaknesses in the Western Way of Sea War. He starts by setting up two distinguishing characteristics of how we prefer to start a war; Chinese anti-access strategy envisions pummeling U.S. forces forward-deployed along the East Asian rimland while preventing the larger U.S. Pacific Fleet from reaching the battleground from its home ports in Hawaii or on the west coast in time to affect a war’s outcome. ... The second aspect is this: Western maritime services fight in “systems” that depend heavily on the electromagnetic spectrum to pass in…

Americas The Defense Department’s awarded a contract to Raytheon, which is meant to support integration of AMRAAM missiles with current and future Air Force aircraft. The $74 million deal to Raytheon Missile Systems was announced on Thursday, and provides the “necessary aircraft lab, flight test, flight clearance and simulation support during all integration requirements in AMRAAM for F-15, F-16, FA-18, F-22, F-35 and other current inventory or next generation platforms that may join the Air Force or Navy inventory before the end of fiscal 2029,” the Defense Department announced. The contract is the latest of several awarded by the Defense Department pertinent to the AIM-…

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 …