Raw Intel

Americas The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has successfully completed its third and final round of Full Ship Shock Trials. According to the Naval Sea Systems Command statement. The third explosive event was conducted Sunday off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. A research paper by a team from the US Air Force Institute of Technology describes how a tanker-centric stereo vision system can be used for automated aerial refueling (AAR). Currently, differential GPS is used so that the tanker and receiver are on a stable flight path for the transfer of fuel. The authors argued that by having a vision-based system can improve the integrity of the process…

Yesterday, SECDEF Austin put out the memo we all knew was coming. General Mark A. Milley, USA, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, followed up with his own memo that had a handwritten note at the bottom. (NB: old trick knowing that most military eyes will glaze over the typed world, but if in a hurry, will read what is written by hand by the author). His note is, really, all you need to know. “Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a key force protection and readiness issue.” The military has a long history of over compensating when it comes to vaccinations. I have been vaccinated against everything from chicken pox to small pox and everything in between. Whe…

Americas Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) UX-24 Unmanned Test Squadron, teamed up with Military Sealift Command and the crew of MSC’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO 188) to test a new concept in material transportation, while the ship was underway in the Atlantic Ocean, July 15-16. The Blue Water logistics Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) carried out three test flights by transporting an internal cargo consisting of simulated repair parts. AeroVironment, Inc. introduced standardized modular payload interface kits for RQ-20B Puma tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) recently. The Modular Payload Standard was established by US Sp…

What the Spanish Civil War was to WWII armor and air tactics, the extended conflict in Ukraine and to a lesser extent Syria is to electronic warfare. There isn't so much "new" that is being developed, but hard lessons forgotten since the fall of the Soviet Union. The closer you get to Ukraine, the more clear it becomes. Poland gets it.Polish firm WB Group harnesses low-power radios and quasi-satellites in a scalable and adaptive communication system.A Polish company has developed a tactical communication system called Cicha Sieć (Silent Network) with a low electromagnetic signature that leverages lessons learned from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. WB Group launched Sile…

Americas According to Jane’s, the US Navy is not keen to use the MQ-4C in an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) role. The Hudson Institute’s senior fellow, Bryan Clark, had told Janes that the new sensors onboard IFC-4 variant of the MQ-4C have passive sensing capability to be used for AEW&C. Doug Shaffer, Northrop Grumman vice-president and program manager for Triton programs, also revealed that the company is thinking about having the E-2D and MQ-4C share each other’s pictures in demonstrations. But the mission set has been ruled out by Captain Dan Mackin, the maritime UAS manager. Mackin wants the unmanned air vehicle to focus on maritime surveillance. …

Shipping rates, supply bottlenecks, and some nightmare abandonment stories for some mariners, like everything else on our water plant, COVID-19 impacted our shipping industry hard at sea and ashore. The impacts of which rippled in to everything. As economies, nations, and corporations adjust to the new reality, what trends can the consumer and maritime professional expect? It’s time to catch up with returning guest, Salvatore Mercogliano this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. Sal sailed with MSC from 1989 to 1992, and worked MSC HQ as Operations Officer for the Afloat Prepositioning Force 1992-1996. He has a BS Marine Transportation from SUNY Maritime College, a MA Maritime Hist…

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4367154917_8641d731c4.jpg Via Sid's suggestion and tin-can.org, the fuzzy-face Navy at its best. Rowan was a Gearing class destroyer commissioned too late in World War II to see any combat. That changed just a few years later when she was bloodied for the first time during the "Forgotten War" when she took a medium caliber shell hit in her starboard quarter, damaging the after steering compartment and causing a number of casualties. She had been providing counter-battery fire against North Korean shore batteries when she was hit. And counter-battery would prove to be her specialty in another twenty year. ... 27 August 1972 ... the …

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $35.6 million contract modification for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system. Under this contract modification, Lockheed Martin will provide 36 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTs) A2 as a lifetime buy to support the THAAD weapon system. Work will take place in California, Texas and Wisconsin. Estimated completion date is August 4, 2021. Skydweller Aero has been given $5 million by the US Navy to demonstrate its unmanned air vehicle (UAV) that is based on the Solar Impulse 2. The US-Spanish startup has tested and flown autonomous flight software on the Solar Impulse 2. The company hopes to fly the plane …

We've been making the point here for years that of all the institutions and groups in the United States, the Navy is one of the least racist places a person could find themselves in. It was for me. Especially when people make the the charge of "systemic racism" against our Navy, any well meaning person of experience will know the charge is just baseless. What if I was wrong? Maybe I was. Maybe things have changed. There was an amazing admission earlier this week from the Chief of Naval Personnel, Vice Adm. John Nowell Jr., that I am still trying to get my head around; “I think we should consider reinstating photos in selection boards,” Nowell said Tuesday at The Navy Le…

You're a reader of CDRSalamander ... so I know that you not only find port clearing sexy ... but you know it's important. Do you know the story of Umm Qasr in 2003? Well, head on over to USNIBlog and ponder with 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=9b9wbfxCB0I:6VtvehTZbSA:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=9b9wbfxCB0I:6VtvehTZbSA:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=9b9wbfxCB0I:6VtvehTZbSA:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=9b9wbfxCB0I:6VtvehTZbSA:F7zBnMyn0Lo htt…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $51.8 million deal, which provides for program management support to include development of customer unique capabilities in support of the continued development of the air system for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program for a Foreign Military Sales customer. Work will take place in Texas, California and Florida. Estimated completion date will be in January 2024. The US Air Force has carried out wind tunnel testing of directed energy system turret earlier this year. “There is a growing interest for directed energy systems within the DOD for many purposes, especially defending our systems and personnel,” said Dr. Rich Roberts, c…

People are policy. That explains a lot. What an amazing bit of commentary that really reads like parody, but it isn’t. Given the history of the UN from Rwanda to Haiti, you would think there would be a bit more of a humble attitude from the UN, but amazingly, no. Some of these people seem like they never left the Model UN camp they went to while they waited to take their AP History exams. One guy, Eide, I remember from my time in Kabul, so let’s do things in reverse and show you the CV of the authors of this article; Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat, served as the United Nations secretary general’s special representative for Afghanistan from 2008 to 2010. Tadamichi Y…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $108.8 million modification for AEGIS combat system engineering agent (CSEA) efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. The Aegis combat system uses powerful computers and radar to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. More than 100 Aegis-equipped ships have been deployed in five navies worldwide. Aegis, not an acronym, refers to the shield of the mythical Greek God Zeus. Work will take place in Moorestown, New Jersey. Expected completion date will be in December 2021. The US Air Force has successfully demonstrated that the F-16’s Electronic Warfare System can receive sof…

While the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier and her battlegroup heading east of Suez for a bit of showing the flag, with her Dutch and American friends along for comic relief, the Arabian sea the last week seemed to wake up. The chief of Israel’s armed forces spoke with his British counterpart on Sunday, the Israeli military said, after London accused Iran of carrying out an attack on an Israeli-managed ship off Oman last week that killed a Briton and a Romanian. Lieutenant-General Aviv Kohavi and Britain’s Staff General Nick Carter “discussed recent events in the region and common challenges faced by both countries,” said an Israeli military statement... In case…

Americas General Atomics won a $33.7 million contract, which provides for logistic support, maintenance services, supply chain and spares management, and sustainment support in support of the MQ-9 Reaper aircraft and its dual control mobile ground control station. The MQ-9 Reaper is the primary offensive strike unmanned aerial vehicle for the US Air Force. It is part of a remotely piloted aircraft system. A fully operational system consists of several sensor/weapon-equipped aircraft, ground control station, Predator Primary Satellite Link, and spare equipment along with operations and maintenance crews for deployed 24-hour missions. Work will take place in Arizona, Bahrai…

For coming up on two decades, the United States military has been engaged - if you want to call it by the medal they give everyone for it - a Global War on Terrorism. As we have invested two decades, trillions of dollars, and thousands dead across the globe in response to the attacks of September, 2001 - our best friends have been with us. They do this of their own free will, and share the good fortune and bad with us in our contact of the war. Today’s Midrats is a wide ranging discussion on the history, theory, and application of American leadership with our guest, Gray Connolly. Gray Connolly (Graham Alfred Frederick Connolly) is an Honors graduate in Arts and Law f…

What can one small ship, well trained, well led, and well armed do when she finds herself in the right place at the right time? I give you the USS ENGLAND, (DE 635), via Michael Peck at TheNationalInterest; The saga of the England began on May 18, 1944, when the England and two other destroyer escorts received orders to find a Japanese submarine reported heading toward the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. On the afternoon of May 19, the England's sonar detected the submarine I-16. What happened next is detailed in an account written by Captain John Williamson, who served as the England's executive officer during that time. In a March 1980 article in Proceedings Mag…

Americas Raytheon won a $482.8 million contract modification, which provides for the exercise of the pre-priced options for Lot 35 production of AMRAAM missiles, AMRAAM Telemetry System, initial and field spares, and other production engineering support hardware and activities. The AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) is a new generation all-weather, missile. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is May 31, 2024. Sikorsky won a $26.9 million contract modification for UH-60M green aircraft. The UH-60 Black Hawk has been operational in the US Army since 1978. More than 2,000 aircraft of different variants are in service with the U.…

It’s July, so I guess it is time for another overwrought ethno-masochistic virtue signaling article by CDR Wolf Melbourne, USN. You can read last year’s here where he strangely implies guilt on everyone, and this year’s here where he's making another run, both in Proceedings … if you are so inclined. A few of you asked my thoughts and being that I’m not one to ignore the audience, here you go. In its reaction to the death of George Floyd, the Navy has had to face the deficit between its own ideals and its reality. Despite many pioneering and rightfully laudable advances in racial equality and a genuine desire to be meritocratic, it remains clear the Navy continues t…

Americas Five defense contractors have been awarded contracts for the second phase of development of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, which is planned to replace the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. Point Blank Enterprises, Oshkosh Defense, BAE Systems and Land Armaments, General Dynamics Land Systems and American Rheinmetall Industries will share a $299.4 million deal to develop digital designs of the new IFV. President Joe Biden told US intelligence officials that he thinks a cyber breach could lead to a “shooting war” with a major global power. “I think it’s more likely we’re going to end up—if we end up in a war, a real shooting war, with a major power—it…