Raw Intel

Are you as frustrated as everyone else the inefficiency and petty squabbling in our natsec ecosystem? There are things that are due to change. I'm pondering over at USNIBlog. Come over and give it the smell test. 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=81_K0132AiU:vrFhPdfGAV8:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=81_K0132AiU:vrFhPdfGAV8:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=81_K0132AiU:vrFhPdfGAV8:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=81_K0132AiU:vrFhPdfGAV8:F7zBnMyn0Lo http:…

Americas The US Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command announced that it has test fired its Low-Cost Extended Range Air Defense (LOWER AD) missile interceptor. The LOWER AD is part of the Army’s roadmap to modernize its air defense system. The interceptor is design to defeat subsonic cruise missiles and unmanned aerial systems. It fills a capability gap between man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) and high-end Patriot interceptors. The CCDC Aviation & Missile Center is developing and demonstrating the Low-Cost Extended Range Air Defense (LOWER AD) missile interceptor technology that is smaller and less costly than larger systems. L-3 Electron Devices wo…

P-3 Orion, armed – note Sidewinder (click to view full) The P-3 Orion remains the USA’s main maritime patrol aircraft, and is also finding use in overland surveillance roles despite the fleet’s age. Earlier DID articles have noted the extra effort required to preserve the USA’s P-3C Orion maritime surveillance & patrol aircraft, along with radar and weapons upgrades to improve the fleet. Lockheed has even opened a new production line, to deal with planes whose wings that are so aged and worn that they need a full replacement. The SMIP (Sustainment, Modification, and Installation Program) is intensive depot-level inspection and repair process that includes P-3 airf…

BZ to the Army for selecting some excellent weapons to tweak a bit to suit their specific requirements, and then add to their weaponeering tool kit. As covered by Syndey Freedberg at the end of last week; ...the Army has chosen to mix two very different Navy weapons together in its prototype MRC (Mid-Range Capability) unit: the new, supersonic, high-altitude SM-6 and the venerable, subsonic, low-flying Tomahawk. “Following a broad review of joint service technologies potentially applicable to MRC, the Army has selected variants of the Navy SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles to be part of the initial prototype,” says a Rapid Capabilities & Critical Technologies Office (R…

Americas The US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $17.5 million contract modification to exercise options to provide design agent engineering services for the MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) electronic systems and computer programs. The modification is for software design, systems engineering, ship/missile integration services, and depot operations services for the MK 41 VLS module electronics and launch control system. According to the DoD, these services include new missile integration into MK 41 VLS including launcher design, launcher integration into new ship classes and the new AEGIS shore based component, Life Cycle Support Facility depot operations, system produ…

MK 41s in action (click to view full) The naval MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) hides missiles below decks in vertical slots, with key electronics and venting systems built in. A deck and hatch assembly at the top of the module protects the missile canisters from the elements, and from other hazards during storage. Once the firing sequence begins, the hatches open to permit missile launches of various types. It is also being adapted for land use, as part of the USA’s plan to forward-deploy ballistic missile defense in allied countries. The Mk.41 is the most widely-used naval VLS in the world, in service with the US Navy and with many countries outside the United …

HH-60G, Afghanistan (click to view full) In 2006 the US Air Force awarded Boeing a contract worth north of $10 billion for 141 HH-47 combat search-and-rescue helicopters, but by mid-2009 the CSAR-X program was cancelled during its System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase by the Pentagon. At the time Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wrote that this program had “a troubled acquisition history and raises the fundamental question of whether this important mission can only be accomplished by yet another single-service solution.” That cancellation may have been warranted, but the underlying operational constraints are increasing as years go by, with a tentative repl…

Americas The US Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $9.5 billion contract modification for the construction and test of the lead and second ships of the Columbia Class. The contract modifies a $5 billion deal awarded in 2017. It exercises an option to test the ships and to provide design and engineering support. „This modification to the integrated product and process development (IPPD) contract supports the fiscal 2021 construction start of the lead ship (SSBN 826) and advance procurement, advance construction, coordinated material buys and full construction of the follow hull (SSBN 827) in fiscal 2024“, the Pentagon said in a statement. The original contract w…

SSBN-X concept (click to view full) The US Navy needs new SSBN nuclear missile submarines. Their existing Ohio Class boats will begin to retire at a rate of 1 hull per year, beginning in 2027, as they reach the end of their 42-year operational lifetimes. Hence SSBN-X, also known as the Ohio Replacement Program for now. The first step toward recapitalization involved a new Common Missile Compartment and Advanced Launcher for current and future nuclear missiles. The next step involves finalizing a design that can serve effectively to 2080, without destroying the US Navy’s shipbuilding budget in the process. Good luck with that one, but they have to to try. The maintenanc…

67% of the fleet (click to view full) DID’s FOCUS Article for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class “destroyer” program covers the new ships’ capabilities and technologies, key controversies, associated contracts and costs, and related background resources. The ship’s prime missions are to provide naval gunfire support, and next-generation air defense, in near-shore areas where other large ships hesitate to tread. There has even been talk of using it as an anchor for action groups of stealthy Littoral Combat Ships and submarines, owing to its design for very low radar, infrared, and acoustic signatures. The estimated 14,500t (battlecruiser size) Zumwalt Class will be fully multi-…

The 2020 election is over … well, mostly over. Though there are a few threads to clean up, the fabric the next few years natsec policy will be sewn from is pretty well known – so where does that lead us? We’ll get to that – but once again we need to invest some time to talk about Midrats’s contribution to NavyCon! EagleOne presented a segment for NavyCon2020A, we we’re going to talk about that a bit … and then we’ll pick up where our pre-election left off. Come join us for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern as we discuss this and more with an open chat room and open phones if you want to join in. It will be an open topic, open phones free for all ...…

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lo0Cr35ltBM/VbIvaIF-7_I/AAAAAAAAKDk/Mc_0Q7hSJYA/s320/1p1.jpg Most of your people slaughtered. In front of you is the land of your ancestors, a land you do not know, mostly desert and waste. You are surrounded by large numbers of a well armed enemy on the march. You have the option of going home, or to ride off to war in a cheap copy of an outdated weapon. Of course, you gather around you fast friends, and head to the sound of rolling tanks. WWhen Lou Lenart was growing up in a Pennsylvania mining town, he endured beating after beating because he was Jewish. After he took a Charles Atlas bodybuilding course, he joined the Marines and fought in t…

So, the day after the election, what does the USCG really want its officers performance evaluated on? Of course. Para 3 covers it. R 041533 NOV 20 FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-1// TO ALCOAST UNCLAS //N01000// ALCOAST 399/20 COMDTNOTE 1000 SUBJ: GUIDANCE FOR TARGETED MID-TERM COUNSELING FOR OFFICERS A. Officer Accessions, Evaluations, and Promotions, COMDTINST M1000.3 (series) B. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 041026 NOV 20/ACN 129/20 C. COMDT’s Guidance to Officer Boards and Panels D. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 251640 JUN 20/ALCOAST 252/20 1. All reported on officers (ROOs) must receive mid-term counseling as required by REF (A) and as updated by REF (B).…

Americas The Navy contracted Raytheon Missiles $ Defense with a $24.8 million modification for procurement of fiscal 2021 Navy Standard Missile-2 intermediate level provisioned items ordered spares; and to exercise one-year options for fiscal 2021 Standard Missile-2 and Standard Missile-6 repairs and maintenance. The SM-2 is the U.S Navy’s primary surface-to-air defense weapon and is part of the AEGIS Weapon System along Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke Class destroyers. The SM-6, also known as RIM-174, is a ship-launched extended range variant of the anti-air and anti-surface interceptor missile developed by Raytheon Company. It is also a key part of the AEGI…

SM-2 Launch, DDG-77 (click to view larger) Variants of the SM-2 Standard missile are the USA’s primary fleet defense anti-air weapon, and serve with 13 navies worldwide. The most common variant is the RIM-66K-L/ SM-2 Standard Block IIIB, which entered service in 1998. The Standard family extends far beyond the SM-2 missile, however; several nations still use the SM-1, the SM-3 is rising to international prominence as a missile defense weapon, and the SM-6 program is on track to supplement the SM-2. These missiles are designed to be paired with the AEGIS radar and combat system, but can be employed independently by ships with older or newer radar systems. This article c…

CF-18: which way? (click to see clearly) The F/A-18 Hornet is the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet‘s predecessor, with the first models introduced in the late 1970s as a spinoff of the USAF’s YF-17 lightweight fighter competitor. Hornets are currently flown by the US Marine Corps as their front-line fighter, by the US Navy as a second-tier fighter behind its larger F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, and by 7 international customers: Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, and Switzerland. The USA’s aircraft were expected to have a service life of 20 years, but that was based on 100 carrier landings per year. The US Navy and Marines have been rather busy during the Hornets’ s…

Americas The United States Air Force is reportedly ready to move forward with the second program aimed at renewing its fleet of aerial refuelers, formerly known under the codename KC-Y. Head of Air Mobility Command Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost indicated that the service will be moving forward with the bridge tanker KC-Y acquisition program. The competition will be full and open plus “non-developmental“, meaning it will be based on an existing, proven aircraft, according to an Air Mobility Command spokesperson. The Air Force is defining which capabilities it needs in its next tanker and how it will “immediately follow the existing KC-46A delivery timeline,” she said. KC-Y …

Everyone should just let the system work out. There is a lot of emotion on all sides, but don’t assume the worst of your fellow neighbors. There remains a lot of slop and imperfection in our voting system. If you are unhappy with what your state does, then change it. Florida did over the last two decades after the 2000 debacle, your state can too. It appears that there was no big wave or endorsement of either side, but hopefully we’ll have an answer by the end of the week at latest … worst case by Christmas. What we will have is an incredibly divided government – as close to a 51/49-49/51 nation as you can get. That can be a feature or a bug, but what it isn’t is a m…

Americas Huntington-Ingalls Industries won a $284.3 million contract modification for the accomplishment of CVN 79 single phase delivery and Joint Strike Fighter (F-35C) capabilities. The contract actions shifts the delivery strategy for the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) from a two-phase delivery to a single phase. It reportedly comes as a result of extensive collaboration with the Navy to support legislative requirements for Kennedy to be delivered with its complete warfare system, including F-35 Joint Strike Fighter capabilities, before the ship is commissioned into the fleet. Kennedy is approximately 76% complete. The ship was launched in December 2019, and…

USA’s Nimitz Class & UK’s Invincible Class (click to view full) Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t, while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at just 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s excellent new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and …