Raw Intel

The news does not stop on the national security front, and as we approach the end of 1QCY23, a couple of weeks without a Midrats can only add to everyone's confusion. For the full hour we're going to cover the waterfront from the Sea of Azov to the parking lots of San Diego's waterfront. As with all our free-for-all formats, we have open topic and the switchboard phone line is open. If you have a topic you would like to discussed or want to call in with a question for the hosts ... join us live from 5-6pm Eastern. No guests, no set agenda, just open phones, open minds, and open chat room for those who are with us live Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. Join us live if you can, bu…

Though the Americans are now in the fight, still on every front; desperation. At every morning brief, more ships sunk. The enemy surrounds you as you starve. Your ships and aircraft sit idle for lack of fuel and parts. Through waves of attacks, a relief convoy comes ... and you wait. Do they know your desperation? Will they make it? What can be done? Well, in comes the US merchant marine professional, Captain Dudley Mason - the master of the tanker SS OHIO - and his crew and convoy. For the details, let's look at the citation for his George Cross and the award to two of his crew, Frederick August Larsen, Jr., Junior Third Officer and Francis A. Dales, Deck Cadet-Mi…

Americas The US Army has approved the requirements to begin prototyping its new Electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (eLRV). According to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainment Timothy Goddette, the budget is now being prepared. Prototyping and the early stages of the program could begin as early as next year. However, the first prototypes may be partially electric […]View the full article

Some developments on the "Diversity Statement" front ... or "DEI Statement" or "DEIA Statement" or whatever they are calling it this week. How do you connect the U.S. Naval Academy to the University of South Carolina, Florida, VMI, and the University of North Carolina System? Let's check in where the other school's are, and then we'll finish up what is happening at our Navy's undergrad institution. Thanks to John Sailer we have a look behind the curtain at the not so innocent "Diversity Statements" that so many colleges are making people fill out when applying for a teaching or tenure track position. Sure, they may tell you that there is no correct answer ... but ... …

Americas Boeing won a $1.2 billion contract action for the E-7A Rapid Prototype program. This contract provides for the initiation of the development activities for the program. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be complete by August 2024. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is […]View the full article

There are good things, smart things, happening in The Philippines; "Meetings have already been set and probably we may have the Japanese and the Australians join in," Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez told Reuters. "They would like to join in for joint patrols to make sure that there's the code of conduct and there's freedom of navigation," adding it was still "an idea under discussion". If the plan materializes, it will be the first time the Philippines has joined multilateral maritime patrols in the South China Sea, a move that would likely anger Beijing, which claims most of the sea as its territory. The United States - quietly and wit…

Americas Boeing won a $50 million modification, which exercises options to procure eight P-8A Increment 3 retrofit A-kits, to include associated special tooling in support of anti-submarine warfare capabilities upgrades for the Navy. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida; and St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed in July 2026. Fiscal 2023 […]View the full article

Americas Science Application International won a $102.5 million to exercise options for the production, spares, production support material, engineering support and hardware repair of components for MK 48 Heavyweight Torpedo All Up Round. This modification is in support of the MK 48 Mod 7 Heavyweight Torpedo program. This contract combines purchases to support the Navy, […]View the full article

Last Friday we looked at the seven points we discussed a year earlier the day the Russo-Ukrainian War broke out. As promised, today we look at seven points a year in everyone needs to hoist onboard. Though I nibble on the edges a bit, these are not detailed, tactical “lessons learned.” Land combat details simply are not my bag. No, these a big pixel items. Mostly land centric like the war, but are directly transferrable to the maritime and other domains. 1. Short-War Snake Oil Salesmen are Worthy of Little but Scorn: a bit more muted than a year ago, even in winter of 2023, American short-war salesmen continue to push the WESTPAC 72-hour victory concept. In the run up to …

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $32.5 million modification, which adds scope to design, develop, and establish the F-35 NextGen Open Mission services in support of the Mission Planning Enterprise Software, encompassing the usage of modern cloud-based technologies and modern software methodologies for the Joint Strike Fighter Program. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas; […]View the full article

The three day war Russia thought it started a year ago is still going strong. There are a lot of "One Year" think-pieces out there that are long and detailed. I want to keep things short. On the day the war started I made 7-points. Let's review them and see how I did back on 24 FEB 22. 1. The remaining delusions about the post-Cold War security arrangements in Europe should be firmly buried. History is back and she has her Festivus pole front and center. She has some issues with us, and we’re going to hear about it. This continues to get firmer and displayed in stark relief. All the "offsets" and "transformations" and "war is new" snake oil sold the last few decades rea…

Yes, progress towards a color blind society where individuals are seen as - individuals - who should be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin (or other immutable characteristics) can be found here and there, but we have a long way to go. It appears that things will have to get worse - much worse - before they get better. Elections have consequences, and when one side conducts a full court press when they are in power, and then cow the other party to only stand still when they get their turn in power, you get what you get. Though it is happening on his watch and with his Executive Orders, this cannot be put squarely on the shoulders of P…

Americas The US Army has exercised a $76.1-million option to provide extended support for its Shadow tactical aerial drones. Under the agreement, Shadow developer Textron Systems will continue to supply maintenance, logistics, and field services for the fleet through 2023. The effort is being coordinated with the Shadow systems’ ongoing transition to the Block III configuration, […]View the full article

Americas Raytheon won a $77 million modification, which adds scope to procure five APY-10 Radar System production kits, as well as provide non-recurring engineering to address obsolescence issues within the Receiver Exciter Processors and Radar Data Centers in support of the P-8A Poseidon aircraft for the government of Germany. Work will be performed in McKinney, […]View the full article

All the usual caveats apply; yes she is officially a communist country. On Freedom House's Freedom Index she scores a 19, right there with Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo ... but one point better than Egypt's 18. Egypt. You know, the nation that is #4 in foreign aid from the USA, right between Jordan and Iraq. The nation that has everything from M-1 tanks to Apache helicopters and we conduct exercises with on a regular basis? Yes, that Egypt. So, yes with the caveats ... but that clearly is not a barrier to good partnerships. Sometimes - within reason - you take the world as it is. Of course, we fought a long and devastating (especially for the Vietnamese No…

Americas The US Navy awarded Gibbs & Cox a $39.6 million future surface combatant force (LSCF) design and engineering contract. The contract, through February 2024, supports the next-generation guided-missile destroyer (DDG(X))and other emerging ship concepts. It also includes feasibility studies in support of the broader navy fleet. President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Moscow would suspend its participation […]View the full article

Americas The US Air Force has contracted Raytheon Technologies to produce new advanced propellers for its C-130 Hercules aircraft. Valued at $135 million, the agreement will require the company to deliver NP2000 propeller systems, including electronic control systems and spare parts. According to Raytheon, the eight composite-bladed propeller system will improve the performance of the […]View the full article

In the second half of the first decade of this century, I had the chance to work with two Estonian Officers, one a Major and the other a Colonel. The Major was a talkative and entertaining man who had some great stories about being a conscript at the end of the Soviet Union. The Colonel started his career as a Soviet Junior Officer - and a very serious man. His Russian was better than his English, and though he was a nice man and great professional, he was not a chatty person about anything prior to 1991. In Afghanistan, I kept an eye on the exceptional work the Estonians did in RC(S), and before I moved back to the USA at the end of the decade I had a chance to visit Ta…

Americas The Charles Stark won a $95.1 million modification, which exercises fiscal 2023 options to provide technical and engineering services necessary to maintain and sustain the Trident II Strategic Weapon System MK 6 Guidance subsystem. The effort also includes a requirement for strategic guidance, navigation, and control subject matter expertise and resources to plan and […]View the full article

"Lost at sea." Sailors always get a little bit of the feels when they hear that phrase. The oceans are a large, beautiful, and terrifying place. People and ships can, and do, just disappear without a trace, especially at war. In time, some are found - and there is peace in that discovery. They found the USS Albacore (SS-218). NHHC’s Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) used information and imagery provided by Dr. Tamaki Ura, from the University of Tokyo, to confirm the identity of Albacore, which was lost at sea Nov. 7, 1944. “As the final resting place for Sailors who gave their life in defense of our nation, we sincerely thank and congratulate Dr. Ura and his team for …