Raw Intel

What is duty, duty to yourself, those who work for you, your mission, those who gave you your mission, and the purpose the mission was created? How do you rack and stack these priorities? Once again, my mind went to the story of T.E. Lawrence; The next morning, 23 May, the party left Khabra` Abu Ajaj and rode northeast by north to a group of wells of `Arfajah, whereby they aimed at entering the lower Wadi Sirhan, passing over a vast, flat, empty, no-man’s land which was called Bisayt [Biseita] meaning a carpet. In the evening they came to the top of a sand ridge named Ja`ala [Jaala] and slept there peacefully. According to the maps to be mentioned later, this is exactly …

A few quick items of good news where we have some strong messaging coming out. First a report of SECNAV making the right stand against a weak organization;China’s increasingly muscular efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally have paid off in Washington after a foreign naval association caved in to Chinese pressure and reversed course on letting Taiwanese officers join the group. Several people familiar with the dispute said the Washington-based Naval Attachés Association rescinded an invitation for Taiwan to join the group, which includes officers from American allies, after China strongly objected.What did SECNAV Del Toro do?The US navy has banned officers from attendi…

Americas A US Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter made a crash landing in coastal Virginia. The incident took place shortly before 11:30 am on January 12. Virginia State Police said the aircraft hit several trees on the way down. The MH-60S was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, based out of Naval Station Norfolk, roughly 30 miles southeast of Smithfield. Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division achieved the Aegis light-off milestone on the US Navy’s first Flight III Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125). The Flight III upgrade incorporates a number of design modifications that collectively provide signif…

Americas The Pentagon has assigned BAE Systems to produce and install a new airborne high frequency radio to replace the AN/ARC-190 on various types of aircraft. The press release says approximately 2,500 radios will be installed on Air Force’s HC-130J, KC-135, C-130H, C-130J, C-17, C-5, B-1, B-52, and E4-B, as well as the Navy’s E6-B, the Marine Corps’ KC-130J, and the Coast Guard’s C-130 and C-130J. BAE Systems will be tasked to install 2,000 radios. The US Army is moving a step towards developing a new wheeled 155 mm howitzer and is asking companies to participate in a multi-year assessment that could lead to the design of a new weapon system. The US Army Contracting …

Any nation facing the Russians and are facing great odds usually look at two modern wars - the Polish-Soviet War of 1918-1921 and the Winter War of 1939 when plucky Finland held their own against the Soviet Union. Are there things Ukraine can learn from the Winter War? Over at USNIBlog, I think there is ... but it isn't tactical. Come on by and give it a read. 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=B3j6hXig1P8:GX0Q93banng:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=B3j6hXig1P8:GX0Q93banng:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/…

Both the Freedom and Independence Class LCS have been - if we are to be polite - suboptimal in both utility and performance. We've documented that for the better part of 17-years and that record is all available at the LCS tag, so no need to rehash the whole sordid thing again. Well ... maybe just a little bit. Of course we should have adopted Plan Salamander as outlined over 11-yrs ago, but we have what we have. Smart people with hard jobs given enough Sailor sweat and seabags of cash have managed to get the Independence Class to contribute to the presence mission in WESTPAC, but as outlined in Megan Eckstein's latest at Defense News, Freedom remains the more troublesome…

Americas United States Force in South Korea, is being outfitted with newest AH-64 Version 6 (V6) helicopter. “The upgraded aircraft integrates modern technology for both the aviator and maintainers in our battalion,” Capt. Timothy Luchs, D Company commander, said. “For our maintainers, the new systems onboard allows them better diagnostic capability and decreases the downtime of the aircraft. While for the aviator, AH-64E provides an overall increased situational awareness with an upgraded sensor suite, level 4 manned-unmanned teaming, and an upgraded drive system which is a vast improvement over the Delta variant of the model.” The US Air Force is passing targeting info…

Americas Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division launched the amphibious transport dock Richard M. McCool Jr. (LPD 29) being built for the US Navy. Richard M. McCool Jr., the 13th LPD in the San Antonio class of amphibious assault force ships, will support US amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions through the first half of the 21st century. The Argentinian Ministry of Defense has approved the purchase of two Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters for the Argentinian Navy. The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by …

Thought I would start out this week doing what I forgot to do last week - review the top posts from 2021. I looked over the unique visits at both the OG home at blogspot and the parallel universe over at substack (so places where readers' IT managers block blogger.com can see it) and this is what seemed to get the most interest via sharing and being picked up by large follower accounts. What does this tell us? I'm not sure, but I think it reflects a larger concern and feeling many people have that those we have trusted with the stewardship of our nation's military are not doing a good job. That and everyone is still fascinated by the Japanese Navy. What will 2022 be most …

Americas Bell Boeing won a $1.6 billion deal for the repair, replacement, required availability, configuration management, and inventory management for supply support for 228 MV-22B (Marine); CMV-22 (Navy); and CV-22 (Air Force) Osprey aircraft components. The V-22 Osprey is a family of multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical as well as short takeoff and landing capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. Work will take place e in Texas and Pennsylvania. Estimated completion will be by December 2026. Peraton Inc., a company that pro…

We're going to kick out Midrats' 13th year with someone who has been with us from the start, best friend to the show Dr. Claude Berube! If you care about American history in general, and US Navy history in particular, you won't want to miss a minute of this Sunday's show. Claude will be with us for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern to discuss his latest and 4th non-fiction book, On Wide Seas: The US Navy in the Jacksonian Era, just released by University of Alabama Press. Claude earned his PhD in Military History from the King's College, London and holds two master's from Northeastern and the Naval War College. In his 30-year career, he has worked as a defense …

A little different topic this Fullbore Friday as ... I want to make you mad. I won't be subtle or clever here ... thanks to a simple tweet from The Other Sal, I am just going to hit you right in the forehead with it. Here we are at the dawn of 2022 and all over the spectrum of American maritime "thought leaders" from the SECNAV, CNO, Congress, and ostensibly pro-Navy institutions - we have excuses, squid-ink cover stories, and simple defeatism flavored with a machoistic lust for decline. Decline is a choice, and bullsh1t to all that. We are a maritime and aerospace power by geography, economy, and national interest even if those who are trusted to maintain and leverage t…

This may get lost in the background noise, but if you are concerned about the rule of law, democratic governance and security in the Pacific, you would be hard pressed to find more important news than this; Australia and Japan are set to sign a treaty to beef up defence and security cooperation at a virtual summit on Thursday, in the latest move to strengthen ties amid China's rising military power and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the two leaders will sign a Reciprocal Access Agreement, which will for the first time set out a framework for the two countries' defence forces to cooperate with each other. What do t…

Americas One of two missile tracking ships operated by the Military Sealift Command was recently retired at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on December 15, 2021. The white hulled-ship was used previously to track ballistic missile activity in the Middle East using the GRAY STAR radar. The radar system will be repurposed by the Air Force Research Laboratory to conduct testing and evaluation of advanced radar technologies, says Air Force Technical Applications center. Elbit Systems’ Brazilian subsidiary, AEL Sistemas S.A. won a contract to supply additional Hermes 900 UAS to the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira). The contract is in an amount that is not mater…

If you recall, the "Arab Spring" started with increases in food prices going in to winter. The Kazakh government seems to have collapses due to civil disorder resulting from increasing LPG prices gong in to winter. Don't think inflation and supply chain issues are a national security issue? You're wrong. I'm pondering over at USNBlog. Come on by and bring a wheelbarrow of Papiermarks. 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=vsbpjpYdZoU:aDOK3unvZrA:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=vsbpjpYdZoU:aDOK3unvZrA:-BTjWOF_D…

Americas BAE Systems won a $24.6 million deal for the Military Global Positioning System User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 Miniature Serial Interface (MSI) contract. The modification incorporates MSI Engineering Change Proposal-1 into the baseline and provides continued MSI with Next Generation Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Technology Development capabilities. The goal of MGUE Inc 2 is to develop, integrate, and produce M-Code capable, GPS receivers for the service requirements specified in the Joint Requirements Oversight Council approved MGUE Inc 2 Capability Development Document. Work will take place in Iowa. Estimated completion date is August 31, 2025. Th…

I remain firm in my stance that Ike Eisenhower is one of the most impressive leaders this nation every produced and deserves to be in any Top-5 lists of great Americans. Perfect? No. Great? Yes. "To be well read..." - how often have you heard this phrase used? It is usually used as a way to make sure a curious mind does not - through conscious acts of commission or omission - put itself in a echo chamber. It has a secondary benefit; you find jewels you may not have found otherwise. Classic case last night when I found myself digging around for news the new German government and a whole host of problematic decisions. There happened to be an intersection with yesterday's n…

Americas Bell-Boeing won a $7.9 million contract modification, which provides for additional post-production repairs and related system engineering and program management support for the MV-22B Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization retrofit program. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft. The Marine Corps variant, MV-22B, provides reliable and safe transportation of personnel, supplies, and equipment. Work will take place in Pennsylvania and Texas. Estimated completion will be in March 2023. The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is underway for a patrol of the Indo-Pacific and this deployment notes a number of firs…

Happy New Year everyone on The Front Porch! 2022 will be 18th year that we've been meeting together here at CDRSalamander ... come July my alter-ego will be legal to vote. Damn, time flies. So many of you I see here have been with us from the beginning. I've only had the pleasure of meeting a few of you IRL, but I do appreciate you taking time from your busy lives to visit here, see what I think you might find interesting, and add your flavor to the stew. Some of you I count as friends, and almost all friendly acquaintances. I really do appreciate all of you and enjoy our exchanges here ... even when you tell me I'm wrong. I learn more from you as a collective than anyth…

Americas The Air Force awarded Canadian Commercial a $70 million deal for the Wescam Aggregate Services Plan. This contract provides for the continuation of contractor logistics support for the three configurations of L-3 Communications/Wescam MX Electro/Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Sensor System line replaceable units installed on the AC-130U/W/J. The AC-130U Spooky is the third generation of C-130 gunships. All gunships evolved from the first operational gunship, the AC-47, to the AC-119, and then the AC-130A which was the basis for the modern C-130 Hercules gunship. Work under the contract will take place in Florida and New Mexico. Estimated completion date is December 31,…