Raw Intel

Americas According to sources and an Army document viewed by Defense News, the Brazilian Army has written out requirements for its next eight-wheel drive armoured reconnaissance vehicle, after authorization for the service to buy up to 221 of the platforms, each armed with a 105mm or 120mm gun. The VBC Cav-MSR procurement attempt will take the role of the VBR-MR programme. The Army’s General Staff is currently waiting for permission to publish the rules and schedule for industry bids. According to Jane’s, Information and network technology specialists at the US Department of Defense (DoD) want to evaluate potential solutions to meet multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) requi…

The People's Republic of China isn't hiding anything. Their plan is right there for all to see. If you can't quite understand what I mean at the end of May of 2022, the North American treasure who is Cleo Pascal will show you and tell you the story; Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, every island can get up to 200 nautical miles off its coast as an EEZ in which it controls resources, say, fisheries. That means, for example, Pacific Island Country (PIC) Kiribati may have a population of around 120,000, but, with its EEZ, it covers as much of the planet as India. Now let’s colour in the EEZs of the countries being visited at the moment by China’s Foreign Minist…

Americas Raytheon won a $624.6 million contract modification for the procurement of Stinger missiles and associated equipment for the US Army. The Stinger missile is a lightweight, self-contained air defense system that can be rapidly deployed by ground troops. Its supersonic speed, agility and highly accurate guidance and control system give the weapon an operational edge against cruise missiles and all classes of aircraft. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2026. Northrop Grumman won a $13 million order, which provides for the procurement for depot maintenance for the TE-6B in-flight trainer airc…

Americas Lockheed Martin Aeronautics won a $97.5 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure Block 4 special tooling and test equipment in support of non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer’s F-35 Lightning II delivery schedules. Work will take place in Texas, California, Orgeon, Tennesse, Israel, Michigan, Washington, Netherlands, Massachusetts and the UK. Expected completion is in December 2024. Lockheed Martin won a $10.5 million deal for logistics support labor for and a $10.5 million deal for product assurance basic labor for the PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 Missile Support Center post-production effo…

I am, generally, not all that taken in by large memorials to the fallen. Perhaps it is just me, but I find them cold, a bit off-putting, and many - but not all by any measure - seem to be more about something else than the memory of fathers, mothers, daughter, sons, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, and friends who answered the call of their nation and never came back. Like the little neighborhood memorial back when I lived in Norfolk I've written about before, I find the smaller ones speak to me more - they have an intangible quality to them. For this Memorial Day weekend I'm reaching out of the USA and in to a lost world that is still remembered. Well off the beaten p…

There are some smart decisions being made by the Army when it comes to what the cool kids call “long range fires” (I don't care if they call in medium) … and the products are blue and gold. Via Sydney Freedberg at BreakingDefense; Instead of picking a single missile to be its thousand-mile Mid-Range Capability, the Army has chosen to mix two very different Navy weapons together in its prototype MRC unit: the new, supersonic, high-altitude SM-6 and the venerable, subsonic, low-flying Tomahawk. ... Lockheed Martin won the OTA contract, worth up to $339.4 million with all options, to integrate the two missiles – both built by Raytheon – into the Army fire control systems, v…

Americas Bell Boeing Joint Project Office won a $61.1 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide additional non-recurring engineering to support the production line incorporation of nacelle improvements for the CV-22 aircraft. Additionally, this modification exercises an option to procure 14 nacelle improvements kits in order to accelerate the CV-22 installation schedule, as well as procure an additional six brackets to support the kit installation. Work will take place in Texas and Pennsylvania. Estimated completion is in December 2025. L3Harris Technologies has been chosen by Tactical Air Support to upgrade the F-5AT. L3Harris will provide GH-4001 Elect…

Americas Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV won a $10 million contract modification to support the Javelin Engineering Services contract. Javelin is a versatile one-man-portable anti-tank weapon, manufactured by the Raytheon/ Lockheed Martin Javelin joint venture. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2023. Sierra Nevada won a $34 million contract modification for the MC-130J Airborne Mission Networking program low rate initial production. This order provides for the procurement of production kits, spares, interim contractor support and weapon system trainer support. Work will take place in Colorado. Expected completion date is Janua…

While there is a lot more fighting left to be done in Ukraine, there is one safe assumption regardless of what happens; we will have to learn to live with Russia as she is. Russian victory in Ukraine runs the spectrum from unconditional surrender of Ukraine to a negotiated settlement that lets Russia retain Crimea and the Donbas. One may define a Ukrainian victory on an extreme edge with Russia retaining only Crimea over to being expelled entirely back to pre-2014 boundaries. The longer the war goes on, the less the Ukrainians will find the Crimea option acceptable, and we may already be past that point. If you think the war will be the end of the Russian desires in her …

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $13.3 million deal, which provides for engineering, development and production of Operational Test Program Sets (OTPS) to support AN/APY-9 Radar Avionics Line Replaceable Modules (LRMs). These OTPSs will provide support for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program and will be used at the depot level to provide test and repair capabilities for the LRMs. Work will take place in New York. Expected completion date will be in September 2025. Raytheon won a $422.6 million modification to previously awarded contract N00024-22-C-5500 to exercise options for hardware production of the AN/SPY-6(V) Family of Radars. Work will take place in Massachusetts, Cal…

Sometimes at gaff is just the truth spoken out of turn. Yesterday, President Biden said something that isn’t that surprising to those who have been pondering this for a while; Of course, there are those who will come out to “clarify” etc., but we nearing the point where we need to pause a bit and talk clearly to each other as adults; we need to be ready for the war to come because if we don’t, come it surely will. We need to move past the comfortable strategic ambiguity of the past and move forward based on the clear intent by the Commander in Chief. We should take the Commander in Chief at this word, the leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). They will act a…

Americas Airbus US Space & Defense won a $14.3 million deal for UH-72 Lakota helicopter contractor logistics support and engineering services. The UH-72 Lakota is the US Army’s multi-mission helicopter, which acts as the key platform for the US Army, Navy and National Guard in their mission of protecting and serving communities across America. It combines operational capability, reliability and affordability, fulfilling all the Army’s requirements for speed, range, endurance and overall performance. Work will take place in Texas. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2026. The US Navy’s Airborne Command & Control and Logistics Wing (ACCLOGWING) achieved a new…

On yesterday's Midrats David Larter mentioned something in passing that I really had not pondered since he was still on the journalism gig in 2020: In a move with sweeping consequences for the U.S. Navy’s battle force, the service is canceling plans to add 10 years to the expected service lives of its stalwart destroyer fleet, a cost-savings measure that would almost certainly hamper plans to grow the size of the fleet. In written testimony submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Navy’s Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts said performing service life extensions on Burkes designed to bring them up from 35-year hull liv…

If you've missed having David Larter on the Navy beat, well you're in for a treat. Though everyone's favorite former OS2 is no longer a defense journalist, like most Sailors, he doesn't leave his love of the sea or affection for his Navy behind. Returning to Midrats, but this time with a little California sunshine kissing his cheeks, David will be with us for the full hour Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. We will cover the waterfront from Ukraine, fleet size, how we treat our Sailors, global food security, China, and the things navalists should be thinking about, but aren't. Join us live if you can, but it not, you can get the show later by subscribing to the podcast. If you u…

Americas Kihomac won an $18 million deal for A-10 universal rudders. This contract provides for the acquisition of a maximum of 330 rudders. The A-10 is Air Force’s primary low-altitude close air support aircraft. Work will take place in Layton, Utah. Expected completion date is May 18, 2027. According to a news report, a team from Argentina has evaluated the JF-17 fighter in Chengdu, China. The team was later received by Argentine ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja, in Beijing. DangDai confirmed the visit of the Argentine delegation to the CATIC (China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation) facilities, located in the city of Chengdu. There, the …

A little over a decade ago, we lost the last half of one of the great teams of WWII; a local boy and father of USAF Special Operations. If what they did took place in Europe, they would have had a movie made out of it. As it took place in the Burma theater - well - at least we can cover it here. John R. Alison, a World War II fighter pilot who helped lead a daring and unprecedented Allied air invasion of Burma, has died, a son said Wednesday. The retired Air Force major general and former Northrop Corp. executive died of natural causes Monday at his home in Washington, John R. Alison III said. Alison's wartime achievements included seven victories, six in the air, qua…

Americas Raytheon won a $10.8 million delivery order for deploy and retrieve systems in support of the AN/AQS-20 mine-hunting program. The AN/AQS-20C sonar mine-hunting system is the U.S. Navy’s latest mine-hunting technology, which is integrated into the littoral combat ship mine countermeasures mission package. Work will take place in Washington and Those Island. Estimated completion will be by December 2023. DARPA has announced its new X-plane concept, a low-cost long-range seaplane that can fly up to 10,000ft. However, the aircraft will utilize the “wing-in-ground effect” to extend its range so that it can serve as a strategic or tactical transport. Middle East &amp…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a &632.1 million deal, which provides engineering, maintenance, logistics and material support to continue to develop, sustain and produce software builds, as well as carryout developmental flight tests in support of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales customer, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants’ funds. The deal also provides unique sea trials on aircraft carriers for the government of the United Kingdom. Work will take place in Texas, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, California, United Kingdom and Canada. Expected completion is in March 2024. A 50kW-class high en…

Especially for Finland, but less so for Sweden, their neutrality in Europe is in a large measure a Cold War relic. For old NATO hands like your humble blogg'r, this is a great moment. Though they were not NATO, you could find in most NATO HQs and operations, including Afghanistan, Finns and Swedes. Superb professionals and friends. To see them come fully in to the fold is just plain right - not just from a security perspective, but on a baseline of NATO's grown common values and shared baseline respect for the rule of law and liberty. They are great nations for those who value Western civilization. A historic day! Today, Sweden and Finland hand in letters expressing the…

We haven’t really discussed the imbroglio presently roiling USMC-world around General Berger, USMC and “USMC Force Design 2030.” Well, today we’re going to step in – second hand. The document itself isn’t as interesting to me per se as the reaction to it. Berger is trying to look at where we are today, what challenges the nation faces, what the USMC’s role in addressing that challenge is, what resources provided to do it, and has come up with a path he and his staff believes best addresses the challenge. No plan of vision is perfect. There are always weaknesses and imperfections, but decisions do need to be made. The old guard, or as Bob Work - Former Deputy Secretary of …