Raw Intel

In a sharp departure from the ideas that brought them to the fleet, the Navy, "...appears poised to sunset the MK VI and Cyclone-class patrol craft programs in rapid succession, with no replacements on the horizon." Why are these small craft in our Navy today, what missions are they doing, and what risk are we accepting if we let this capability go? What follow on craft could even do the job better? To discuss these and related issues this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern will be LCDR Jordan Bradford, USN. The starting point for our conversation will be his article from the May 2021 Proceedings, "The MK-VI id Dead - Long Live the MK VII." Lieutenant Commander Bradford is…

This FbF I'd like to take a moment to recognize someone who is, in my mind at least, fullbore. He did not do anything exceptional in war or other usual benchmarks to make FbF ... but he did something more. He brought to life to a huge audience the great deeds of others in the naval service. He did it in a way that made people think about the example set and the lessons that could be useful for today and the future. Brain cancer took him this week, too soon, but he left behind a legacy generations will benefit from. Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, Neptune's Inferno, Ship of Ghosts, A Fleet at Flood Tide and more. Regulars here know these books and their author, Ja…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $49.5 million deal for the AH-64 Apache Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor performance-based logistics program. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. The Apache is a twin-engined army attack helicopter. The US Army has more than 800 Apaches in service, and more than 1,000 have been exported. Work will take place in Florida. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2025. In a report, the Defense Department cites 23 civilians killed, and 10 injured, during US military action in 2020. The unclassified, 21-page “Annual Report on Civilian Casualties in Connection with United States Milita…

Boxer MRAV (click to view full) Wheeled armored vehicles have become much more common, but the Dutch-German Boxer stands out from the crowd. Its English acronym is “Multi Role Armoured Vehicle” (MRAV), but rather than being a family of different vehicles, the Boxer will use a single chassis, with snap-in modules for different purposes from infantry carrier to command, cargo, ambulance, etc. The base vehicle has a maximum road speed of 100 km/h (60 mp/h) and an operational range of 1,000 km (600 miles). In its troop carrying configuration, it has a crew of 2 and can carry 10 fully equipped troops. The MRAV is fighting for space in a crowded market, but its principal cou…

So, as Russian hackers go after our supply chains, the Chinese fleet expands across the globe, hard drugs flood our cities via the sea, as piracy and Islamic inspired terrorism expands around the African littorals, what do you want the Office of Naval Intelligence to focus their finite attention on? The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has established an “Artwork Working Group” to develop more inclusive artwork for Naval offices. Internal communications obtained by The Daily Wire show that ONI created a “diversity and inclusion artwork working group” to “address the issue” of inclusion in artwork within the naval offices. According to emails, the group began after…

Americas The USS Paul Ignatius fired two Standard Missile-3 interceptors at the end of May in order to engage ballistic missile targets launched from the Hebrides Guided Weapon Range off the west coast of Scotland, the Navy announced. The test was carried out as part of a cooperative engagement with the Royal Netherlands Navy, which used its advanced combat system suite to warn the maritime task group of a threat, allowing the Ignatius to fire missiles and negate it, officials said. US B-52H Stratofortress aircraft flew over all 30 NATO allied nations in North America and Europe Monday. B-52s currently deployed to Morón Air Base, Spain, and US-based aircraft planned to f…

...we have better start planning to fight the marathon. Now that we are contested at sea, we are setting ourselves up to be unable to return ships to the fight. Details from the GAO's latest over at USNIBlog. Give it a read and wake up. 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=ljcXeWKB1UY:EKgL8FL2X5o:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ljcXeWKB1UY:EKgL8FL2X5o:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ljcXeWKB1UY:EKgL8FL2X5o:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=ljcXeWKB1UY:EKg…

Americas Marines assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC) practice using the Drone Buster at an undisclosed location. This hand-held jammer has the ability to force a drone to descend or return to its operator. The first Biden administration’s defense budget asks for $715 billion for fiscal 2022, including a $5.5 billion increase in research and development accounts and an $8 billion cut in procurement. This signals a new focus on new technologies at the expense of older programs. Middle East & Africa ULAQ Armed Unmanned Surface Vehicle (AUSV), developed by Turkish companies Meteksan Defense and ARE…

KAL A330-200 (click to view full) South Korea is moving to buy 4 long-range aerial refueling tankers with secondary transport capabilities, with a budget of WON 2 billion (about $1.8 billion). That capability isn’t a huge priority on the Korean peninsula itself, but it’s very useful for international operations. It’s useful as a way of projecting regional power, as territorial disputes flare with China. As Asian economies grow and militaries modernize, these factors have made long-range aerial refueling a growing regional priority. China, India, Pakistan and China deploy the Russian IL-78. Japan fields 4 Boeing KC-767As, and may raise that to 8 under recent plans. Simi…

Since I left active duty I really have not had all that much time to yell at DTS. I mostly just laugh at it from a distance as it was no longer my problem ... at least not directly. DTS has been horrible from day one. I know it. You know it. Worse, those who promoted and enforced it know as well. But, they didn't really care enough to do anything about it ... until it was a teenager. I am just old enough to remember how an efficient system worked. LT Salamander went to Admin and told a PN3/YNSN or whoever had the billet, “I need to travel to Norfolk with OPS for this conference (hands hard copy of message and travel request form). We need to leave next Monday AM. The c…

Americas The US Missile Defense Agency announced that the Flight Test Aegis Weapon System 31 Event 1 has failed. Two SM-6 missile interceptors were supposed to intercept a medium range ballistic missile target as the test object. The agency said “an intercept was not achieved.” It also failed to revealed the location of the test and the warship involved. A review to determine the cause of any problems has been initiated. Despite a 2017 order for managing fatigue after several ship collisions, few Navy officers get adequate sleep, a Government Accountability Office report says. The 81-page report on Navy readiness was released on Thursday, and notes that only 14 percent o…

Americas L3 Communications Integrated Mission Systems won an $18.9 million contract, which provides non-recurring engineering and material to develop and qualify the degraded visual environment helmet mounted display and processor capability for integration into the Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey aircraft. The MV-22 Osprey’s mission for the US Marine Corps is the transportation of troops, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases for combat assault and assault support. Work will take place in Texas, Illinois, California and Alabama. Expected completion will be in December 2024. The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has announced a decision to reduce the number of KC-390 tran…

Every few years I repost this little bit from 2005. It is time again. I'll add the commentary I put with it in 2013 and have slightly modified some personal items to keep it up to date. In a culture where more often than not, all your neighbors are really just transients - they move in an out every few years, chasing whatever they are chasing. Their families are scattered hither and yon; few really related to anyone. I've wondered for awhile what impact the reality of the rolling, self-imposed Internally Displaced Persons has had on our nation - perhaps causing us to miss something. Is it a net-gain, or a net-loss? Well, perhaps I am projecting; I have always thought…

Americas The US Air Force’s Golden Horde Vanguard program successfully completed the three objectives of the final flight test on May 25. Six Collaborative Small Diameter Bombs (CSDBs) were released during this test with four from one jet and the other two from another F-16. One objective of the test was to expand the coverage of the L3Harris Banshee 2 radio network to six weapons and to include a ground station into the testing. The ground station was able to send an In-Flight Target Update to the weapons while they were in flight, completing the second objective. The US Army has taken delivery of eight Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) prototypes that will be used in a seri…

As most of you have noticed, we could do a DivThu twice a day every day for the last nine months or so ... but this is supposed to be a side-show and not a primary subject of cdrsalamander. As the Front Porch knows, when we started this almost a decade and a half ago, we were pretty much it in going after the diversity bullies, their commissariat and constellation of grievance driven rent seekers. We are no longer alone. The issue broke out above the ambient noise a few years ago, and now has some top-shelf advocates such as Christopher Rufo going at it full time. It is great to have company, but we still need to keep the drum beat going. I've decided to do the …

Americas A US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II from the Idaho Air National Guard was given a heritage paint scheme to celebrate the unit’s 75th anniversary and to pay homage to its lineage from the 405th Fighter Squadron during the Second World War. The “8N” painted on the side of the aircraft indicates the aircraft code of the 405th Fighter Squadron. Boeing won a $101.7 million contract modification for KC-46 engineering, manufacturing, and development contract. This modification provides for the exercise of Option Five for interim contractor support and the exercise of the options for logistics service representatives/field service representatives support for Seymour John…

Are we giving China an opening in one of the last places we would want them to be? Maybe ... but if not, at least someone just decided to put down a marker on an important bit of forgotten real estate. Details over at USNIBlog. 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=zbWS1ByajDQ:sTdiSLvjIIQ:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zbWS1ByajDQ:sTdiSLvjIIQ:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zbWS1ByajDQ:sTdiSLvjIIQ:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=zbWS1ByajDQ:sTdiSLvjIIQ:F7z…

Are you numb when it comes to news of the maritime power growing on the other side of the Pacific? I hope not, but if you are the numbers are such that it should burn through to what few nerves you have left. We have been at this here for what; Long Game is this ... #90 (and that isn't even the number of China posts we've done over the years) a decade and a half or so? Well, no rest folks. We are well inside the quickening. Don't avert your eyes from the numbers. Let them soak in. Hoist them aboard. Ponder. Plan. Prepare. I'll let our friend The Other Sal warm things up for you; China’s new shipbuilding orders up 182.1% in first four months "China’s newly r…

Americas Boeing won a $24.1 million contract modification, which exercises an option to procure additional software builds to provide correction of deficiencies, to include software enhancements or improvements, engineering analyses and evaluations, and integration and test activity in support of the P-8A Increment 3 Acoustics Multi-static Active Coherent Enhancements program. The Poseidon’s increment 3 focuses on a network-ready open-systems electronics architecture and network-enabled weapons for existing P-8A aircraft. The Poseidon is a militarized version of the Boeing 737 single-aisle jetliner, while the much-older P-3 is a militarized version of the Lockheed Martin …

Before: M109 & M992 (click to view full) The USA’s 155mm M109 self-propelled howitzers (SPH) were first introduced in 1962, as a form of armored mobile artillery that could stand up to the massed fire tactics of Soviet heavy artillery and rockets. They and their companion M992 Armored Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AARV) have been rebuilt and upgraded several times, most recently via the M109A6 Paladin upgrade. In the meantime, the Army has re-learned a few home truths. Artillery arrives in seconds rather than minutes or hours, is never unavailable due to bad weather, and cheaply delivers a volume of explosive destruction that would otherwise require hundreds of mil…