Raw Intel

Known to all on and considered to be part of the Front Part is friend to the blog, Midrats, and me personally, is Dr. Claude Berube; reserve Naval Officer, author, professor, and all-around good guy. After a long record of service teaching political science and history at the United States Naval Academy and director of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Claude is moving on to start a new chapter. In a highly enjoyable retrospective of his time in Annapolis, Claude becomes a guest on the podcast he started, Preble Hall, as interviews by Dr. Marcus Faulkner. Enjoy. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?d=…

Some of you are keeping an eye on the latest Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, so if I may, let me put down a few markers here: 1. The Caucasuss have never been in the American sphere of influence. 2. The Caucasuss are not even tangentially adjacent to American national security concerns. With that set up, here's the summary from Anders Åslund at The Atlantic Council; The big lesson of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace settlement is that military power rules. In a matter of weeks, the use of force has achieved what decades of diplomacy failed to deliver. The only two relevant international players in the South Caucasus region are Russia and Turkey. The…

In what history will show was a failed effort, for almost two decades, the most advanced military and police forces in the West tried to build a security force for the people of Afghanistan, an effort that took off with great urgency towards the end of the first decade of the conflict. A cornerstone of that effort was NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan (NTM-A). Our guests Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern to discuss this effort and what lessons it holds for the future will be Dr. Martin Loicano and Dr. Craig C. “C. C.” Felker. Using extensive research and two combined years in Afghanistan, they've documented the 2009-2010 effort in their book, No Moment of Victory: the NATO Train…

Even though I posted this FbF again 6-months ago I wanted to bring it back just to add something quite special via twitter-friend Simon. From WWI we don't have must contemporary video of the people we read about, but in this case we do. Just 36. Men his age saw the height of Edwardian Empire as young adults leading in to the extinction of their world in WWI, the nightmare of the depression and WWII in their middle-age and then - for those who survived - the poverty and decline of the post-WWII era for Britain. 36 year old Captain Alfred Carpenter, R.N., after being invested with the Victoria Cross by King George V on 31 July 1918. #history pic.twitter.com/3JaPwn8mnG — …

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $191.2 million contract modification for the US and United Kingdom to provide strategic weapon system Trident SSI Increment 8 production of inertial navigation systems and associated inertial spares for the Ohio and Columbia ballistic missile submarine shallow water submersible platforms for the fleet ballistic missile program. The Trident II D5 is the latest generation of the USN’s submarine-launched fleet ballistic missiles. First deployed in 1990, the Trident II D5 missile is currently onboard the US Ohio Class and UK RN Vanguard Class submarines. Work will take place in Ohio, California, New York and Virginia. Estimated completion date i…

Americas Walsh Federal won an $184.8 million deal for construction of an aircraft maintenance hangar at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The work provides for the construction of a two-story, low rise, two squadron maintenance hangar for the F-35B Lightning II aircraft, including a high bay space, crew and equipment space, and administrative space. The deal also contains seven unexercised options, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $206,064,819. Work will take place in North Carolina and is expected to be completed by June 2025. General Atomics has flown the Leonardo Seaspray 7500E V2 AESA radar on the MQ-9A unmanned air…

Americas General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp. won a $2.4 million contract modification to exercise an option for the construction of one Block V Virginia Class submarine with Virginia Payload Module. Electric Boat Corp. will continue to subcontract with Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding. The Virginia-class is a nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack submarines (NSSN New SSN), currently in service in the United States Navy. Designed by General Dynamics’s Electric Boat (EB) and Huntington Ingalls Industries. The US Navy has been procuring Virginia (SSN-774) class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) since FY1998, and a total of 34 have been p…

Are we really using the right numbers when it comes to the PLAN"s amphibious capabilities? Are we paying attention to not-so-subtle capabilities? I'm pondering the topic over at USNIBlog. Come on by and join 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=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=yn6zH4CQkls:bHcijtQDbmw:F7zBnMyn0Lo http:/…

Americas Working together with the US Marine Corps, the 163rd Attack Wing has proven that the MQ-9 can be refueled on the ground while connected to an MV-22. The ground-breaking test was carried out in partnership with VMM-764 during Integrated Training Exercise 4-22 at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms last month. The refueling exercise was to help the Marines acquire tactics, techniques, and procedures to operate the MQ-9 in the future. The USMC has placed orders for the MQ-9. The US Navy contracted Schuyler Line Navigation with a $10.5 million deal with reimbursable elements to support Military Sealift Command’s Sealift Program for operation and…

FC-1/ JF-17, armed (click to view full) The FC-1/ JF-17 Thunder is a joint Chinese-Pakistani project that aimed to reduce Pakistan’s dependence on western firms for advanced fighters, by fielding a low-cost multi-role lightweight fighter that can host modern electronics and precision-guided weapons. It isn’t a top-tier competitor, but it represents a clear step up from Pakistan’s Chinese MiG-19/21 derivatives and French Mirage III/V fighters. This positioning addresses a budget-conscious, “good enough” performance market segment that the West once dominated, but has nearly abandoned in recent decades. Pakistan has fielded JF-17s in squadron strength, with more on order…

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation confirmed the new Su-57 prototype’s maiden flight, with test pilot and Hero of Russia Sergei Bogdan at the controls in a sortie described by officials as proceeding normally in accordance with its test plan. Denis Manturov, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister, announced the milestone, describing the aircraft as a platform combining […]View the full article

So, I guess we need to talk about the STOUT. This is a regular topic here, so let's see what the navy has to say. The Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55) returned to Naval Station Norfolk today, marking the end of a nine month deployment to U.S. 2nd, 5th, and 6th Fleet areas of operation. In mid- January Stout’s crew departed Norfolk and operated under U.S. 2nd Fleet, taking part in the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group’s (CSG) Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), the final certification exercise prior to deployment. Upon successful completion and certification, Stout and the rest of the IKECSG immediately crossed…

Americas Alliant Techsystems won a $41.2 million deal, which procures low rate initial production Lot One of the AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range (AARGM-ER). This contract provides for the production and delivery of 16 AGM-88G AARGM-ER All Up Rounds, six AGM-88G AARGM-ER Captive Air Training Missiles, four Common Munitions BIT Reprogramming Equipment Plus interface devices, initial spares, and required supplies and support. Work will take place in California and West Virginia. Estimated completion will be in March 2024. Northrop Grumman won a $12.9 million contract modification, which provides for the retrofit of Airborne Electronic Attack …

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…

Americas The US Marine Corps has used its Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) to attack a target ship more than 100 nautical miles away during a test in Hawaii. The actual firing of the Naval Strike Missile was carried out by engineers from Marine Corps Systems Command as the NMESIS is not an operational system yet. Two missiles were launched during the test on August 15. Raytheon won an $11.5 million order, which provides for the upgrade of 10 AN/APG-79 radars from Configuration A to Configuration B and continuing required efforts to repair Weapons Replaceable Assemblies identified as nonfunctioning following baseline testing. AN/APG-79 pro…

Americas Raytheon Missiles and Defense won a $77.1 million contract modification for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Production Lot 35 Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM) and CATM guidance sections. This Captive Air Training Missile is an inert store that is captive carried on the aircraft and simulates the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile for training purposes. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is April 30, 2024. According to Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division, the US Navy’s guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) completed builder’s trials. The Arleigh Burke Class destroyer spent three d…

Most readers here are aware of the fleets parked off major ports on both coasts; The number of container ships at anchor or drifting in San Pedro Bay off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has now blown through all previous records and is rising by the day. There were an all-time-high 65 container ships in the queue in San Pedro Bay on Thursday, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. Of those, a record 23 were forced to drift because anchorages were full. Theoretically, the numbers — already surreally high — could go a lot higher than this. While designated anchorages are limited, the space for ships to safely drift offshore is not. “There’s lots of…

Americas Oshkosh Defense announced a three-year extension of its contract with the US Army on Monday to build heavy vehicles, valued at $146.8 million. The deal calls for modernization of vehicles in the US Army and US Army Reserve Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle, also known as FHTV, fleets, which include 354 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, or HEMTT, and Palletized Load System, or PLS, trucks, as well as the construction of new PLS trailers. The FHTV fleet is designed to accommodate many mission packages, allowing it to support multi-domain operations as the battlefield continues to evolve, according to the company. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems wo…

Americas Bell Boeing won a $18 million contract modification, which exercises an option to provide systems integration, technical analysis, and engineering support for the V-22 aircraft. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft, which operates as a helicopter when taking off and landing vertically. The nacelles rotate 90° forward once airborne, converting the aircraft into a turboprop aircraft. Work will take place in Texas and Pennsylvania. Estimated completion is in December 2022. The Pentagon has given Northrop Grumman Corporation a task order to start engineering and planning work to reconfigure four EQ-4 Block 20 aircraft for…

While a lot of the attention in unmanned systems the last two decades has been in the air, significant developments on and under the surface of the oceans were happening in parallel. From small mine hunting unmanned surface vessels and the development of the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel above the seas, to unmanned systems the size of lightweight torpedoes to midget submarines below the surface, unmanned maritime systems capabilities are growing each year. With each incremental advance in engineering automation to autonomous operations, their utility from maritime security to war fighting increases as well. For the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern our guest to dis…