Raw Intel

There is a moment when even a prisoner sees an opportunity to contribute to the war. Considering the nightmarish conditions experienced by prisoners of Imperial Japan faced in WWII ... the quiet bravery here is gobsmacking; A shipyard is a massive and highly complex industrial system. In 1943, before the age of computer automation, the basic production process could be roughly summarized as follows. A marine engineer would design, in blueprint form, drawings of a ship’s components. These parts would then be rendered into wooden moulds or templates that could be used to trace out the shape of each part on thick steel plate, which would guide the acetylene torches used t…

Americas Southeastern Computer Consultants won a $43 million task order, which shall provide Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS) Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) products and services in support of Training Support Activity responsibilities at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division. This is a single award, five-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee term level of effort task order that consists of one base year with four option years, which, if all line item quantities are ordered, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $42,989,767. The Tomahawk missile is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by…

The 2020 election is over … well, mostly over. Though there are a few threads to clean up, the fabric the next few years natsec policy will be sewn from is pretty well known – so where does that lead us? We’ll get to that – but once again we need to invest some time to talk about Midrats’s contribution to NavyCon! EagleOne presented a segment for NavyCon2020A, we we’re going to talk about that a bit … and then we’ll pick up where our pre-election left off. Come join us for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern as we discuss this and more with an open chat room and open phones if you want to join in. It will be an open topic, open phones free for all ...…

A sad chapter in the loss over two years ago of the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) has finally come to a close. With the loss of an almost freshly modernized large amphib and $1.2 billion already being cut in to scrap - the whole story is yet to play out, but one of the saddest chapters is now closed. In a just world there would be scalding Congressional hearings, but alas we do not live in such a world. Megan Rose at ProPublica put out a superb review and report a couple of weeks ago you really need to read in full. Considering all the own-goals our Navy has executed the last few years, a navalist can be a little numb to the ineptitude ... but we need to look at. We need …

I love our Navy, as I know almost everyone here does. As such, I try as hard as I can to be optimistic - not by experience - but by hope. We were granted by previous generations an advantage at sea not seen since the Royal Navy after the final fall of Napoleon. All today's leaders had to do was not screw it up. Since the victory in the Cold War - it was a victory - we seemed to have lost our way. Just look at the series of new major surface combatant failures of the last quarter century. Officially and unofficially, we've tried to admit our mistakes - we've even had "blue ribbon" commissions and reports outlining them and calling for corrections. It is one thing to ad…

Americas The US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) recently completed exercise New Horizon, the first at-sea evolution for its new unmanned task force. During the two-day training exercise, Task Force 59 integrated and evaluated new MANTAS T-12 unmanned surface vessels (USV) that operated alongside manned US patrol craft and Bahrain Defense Force maritime assets. BAE Systems won a five-year Systems Engineering and Integration Support Services contract to continue supporting the US Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) office. The contract, worth up to $478 million, was awarded in September 2021. Middle East & Africa Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and SixAI wi…

Sometimes, Midrats is like a VLS cell; you don't know what you have until ... wait ... bad analogy... but you get the concept. Today for the full hour, come join us for a classic Midrats melee ... we take on all topics as they come in to range. I'm sure we'll cover the latest Black Sea happenings, interesting justifications for more DDG in Rota, and WESTPAC always makes and appearance. Join us live if you can and roll in with your preferred topic in the chat room or call the switchboard number right here on the showpage. This Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern come join us for a Midrats free for all. Open topic, open chat, open phones. If you use iTunes, you can add Midrats …

Americas The US Air Force is integrating the Angry Kitten electronic warfare (EW) pod into larger aircraft, including the A-10 Thunderbolt II and C-130 Hercules. Developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the pod has already been tested on the F-16 and is currently being tested on the MQ-9 Reaper. Initial tests on the C-130 combat search and rescue aircraft have shown promising results, particularly for aircraft with larger radar cross-sections lacking robust EW capabilities. Future testing is planned for the KC-46 and KC-135 tankers, further expanding the Air Force’s electronic warfare capabilities. GE Aerospace has been awarded a $5 billion contract by the US Air…

Why do people leak? In the national security arena, there are broadly two kinds of leaks; - 1) the real dangerous ones that contain information that reveal sources and methods, or worse, put people in danger; - 2) the ones that simply provide evidence that an official position is a lie, or that someone who claims X happened when in reality Y happened … but there is nothing really “classified” about it that would put it in #1 above. You also need to look at who (organization/company/reporter) is reporting them. That can give you a hint as to how accurate they are (yes kiddies, some people invent leaks) and perhaps the motivation of the leaker. Also, if you have a lot of …

Americas The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) published a request for information on June 14 seeking industry feedback on a concept to wirelessly recharge unmanned air vehicles using a high-powered laser mounted on an external pod. Agency officials want industry feedback on the possibility of retrofitting aerial refueling aircraft like the Air Force’s KC-46 and KC-135 with “an underwing power beaming pod” to wirelessly recharge a fleet of unmanned aerial systems. The benefits of having drones recharge their batteries in mid-air include extended range and having small energy storage capacities. The installation of AN/APG-83 radars on 72 Air National Guard…

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won a $9.8 million order, which provides for modifications and updates to the CH-53K 2F243-1 Containerized Flight Training Device. Additionally, this order provides flight test data analysis required to update and validate the CH-53K flight model with available flight test data; produces materials focused on pilot and aircrew conversion courseware and maintainer conversion courseware; and trains the schoolhouse instructors at the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Marine Unit, New River, North Carolina; and Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron 302, in order to support initial operational capability. Work will take place in North C…

Of course we lost you nitwits. We've designed a palace of glass as our our fortress; In a fake battle for Taiwan, U.S. forces lost network access almost immediately. Hyten has issued four directives to help change that. An aggressive red team that had been studying the United States for the last 20 years just ran rings around us. They knew exactly what we're going to do before we did it,” Hyten told an audience Monday at the launch of the Emerging Technologies Institute, an effort by the National Defense Industrial Association industry group to speed military modernization. The Pentagon would not provide the name of the wargame, which was classified, but a defens…

For all those Afghan nationals who helped us and we promised we would take care of them, if they are not already out of the country, it looks like the Kabul airlift option is off the table; Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid gave a press briefing and asked the US not to encourage Afghan people to leave the country. He said the group is no longer allowing Afghan nationals to go to Kabul airport and called on crowds at the airport to go home. Mujahid said "our aim is to rebuild our country." "We are asking women to stay home at the moment," until security is guaranteed, the Taliban spokesperson said. He said Taliban fighters are not yet trained "how to deal with women.…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $25.8 million deal, which provides non-recurring engineering for the development, integration, testing, and deployment of the MH-60 Product Line System Configuration 24 fleet release for all MH-60 air platform variants, to include baseline management integrated management planning, integrated development environment support, support equipment baseline management, software architect, core lab support, problem trouble report legacy support, engineering tools support, and development aircraft support for the Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. The MH-60R Seahawk missions are Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Surveillanc…

Desire and will are powerful things. With luck, hard work, and good timing ... really wanting something enough can be the key to making things you desire come to pass. Little warning though ... wanting something by itself is not enough. It has to match with reality. Few things are more real than being cold, being able to produce products at market prices, and to be in control of the energy you need to be a modern nation. Germany is about to see if desire - to be a "green superpower" fully dedicated to the carbon-neutral pagan god - is enough. Germany is set to close almost half of its nuclear power capacity before the end of the year, putting further strain on European g…

Americas The US Navy announced, that it has finished a test of its first littoral combat ship-based unmanned mine detection system. The Unmanned Influence Sweep System designed for the LCS has a mine countermeasures unmanned surface vehicle, or MCM USV, and a towed minesweeping payload to sweep magnetic or acoustic mines, the Program Executive Office for Unmanned and Small Combatants. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has departed from Norfolk Naval Station to Newport News Shipyard for planned maintenance. According to a statement, the six-month maintenance period, called a Planned Incremental Availability, which includes modernization, maintenance …

I guess this is submarine week at CDR Salamander, because right after the Wednesday post, the Anglosphere decided to wake everyone up; Joint Leaders Statement on AUKUS SEPTEMBER 15, 2021 STATEMENTS AND RELEASES As leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, guided by our enduring ideals and shared commitment to the international rules-based order, we resolve to deepen diplomatic, security, and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, including by working with partners, to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. As part of this effort, we are announcing the creation of an enhanced trilateral security partnership called “AUKUS” — Austra…

A Chinese aerospace startup has begun offering a low-cost loitering munition closely modeled on the American Switchblade drone for just $13,000, excluding the warhead, according to promotional materials and technical documentation reviewed by Defence Blog. ShenZhen SkyWing UAV Technology Co., a private Chinese drone company, has released details of its unnamed system, which it claims […]View the full article

BZ to VFA-154, the Black Knights, on their Cruise 2021 video. Everyone else is going to have to up their game. 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=ixh5f2XItWY:z-gZNVyqt8A:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ixh5f2XItWY:z-gZNVyqt8A:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ixh5f2XItWY:z-gZNVyqt8A:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ixh5f2XItWY:z-gZNVyqt8A:F7zBnMyn0Lo http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/FAFV/~4/ixh5f2XItWYView the full article

Americas The US Air Force announced that Northrop Grumman would roll out the B-21 bomber in the first week of December at its production facilities in Palmdale, California. “We last introduced a new bomber over 30 years ago. As we look to the threats posed by our pacing challenge; we must continue to rapidly modernize. The B-21 Raider will provide formidable combat capability across a range of operations in highly contested environments of the future,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr said. Textron won a $7.7 million modification to remove work, incorporate additional work and exercise an option to a previously awarded contract FA8617-22-C-6238 for Building Par…