Raw Intel

Americas Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV won a $10 million contract modification to support the Javelin Engineering Services contract. Javelin is a versatile one-man-portable anti-tank weapon, manufactured by the Raytheon/ Lockheed Martin Javelin joint venture. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2023. Sierra Nevada won a $34 million contract modification for the MC-130J Airborne Mission Networking program low rate initial production. This order provides for the procurement of production kits, spares, interim contractor support and weapon system trainer support. Work will take place in Colorado. Expected completion date is Janua…

While there is a lot more fighting left to be done in Ukraine, there is one safe assumption regardless of what happens; we will have to learn to live with Russia as she is. Russian victory in Ukraine runs the spectrum from unconditional surrender of Ukraine to a negotiated settlement that lets Russia retain Crimea and the Donbas. One may define a Ukrainian victory on an extreme edge with Russia retaining only Crimea over to being expelled entirely back to pre-2014 boundaries. The longer the war goes on, the less the Ukrainians will find the Crimea option acceptable, and we may already be past that point. If you think the war will be the end of the Russian desires in her …

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $13.3 million deal, which provides for engineering, development and production of Operational Test Program Sets (OTPS) to support AN/APY-9 Radar Avionics Line Replaceable Modules (LRMs). These OTPSs will provide support for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program and will be used at the depot level to provide test and repair capabilities for the LRMs. Work will take place in New York. Expected completion date will be in September 2025. Raytheon won a $422.6 million modification to previously awarded contract N00024-22-C-5500 to exercise options for hardware production of the AN/SPY-6(V) Family of Radars. Work will take place in Massachusetts, Cal…

Sometimes at gaff is just the truth spoken out of turn. Yesterday, President Biden said something that isn’t that surprising to those who have been pondering this for a while; Of course, there are those who will come out to “clarify” etc., but we nearing the point where we need to pause a bit and talk clearly to each other as adults; we need to be ready for the war to come because if we don’t, come it surely will. We need to move past the comfortable strategic ambiguity of the past and move forward based on the clear intent by the Commander in Chief. We should take the Commander in Chief at this word, the leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). They will act a…

Americas Airbus US Space & Defense won a $14.3 million deal for UH-72 Lakota helicopter contractor logistics support and engineering services. The UH-72 Lakota is the US Army’s multi-mission helicopter, which acts as the key platform for the US Army, Navy and National Guard in their mission of protecting and serving communities across America. It combines operational capability, reliability and affordability, fulfilling all the Army’s requirements for speed, range, endurance and overall performance. Work will take place in Texas. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2026. The US Navy’s Airborne Command & Control and Logistics Wing (ACCLOGWING) achieved a new…

On yesterday's Midrats David Larter mentioned something in passing that I really had not pondered since he was still on the journalism gig in 2020: In a move with sweeping consequences for the U.S. Navy’s battle force, the service is canceling plans to add 10 years to the expected service lives of its stalwart destroyer fleet, a cost-savings measure that would almost certainly hamper plans to grow the size of the fleet. In written testimony submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Navy’s Assistant Secretary for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts said performing service life extensions on Burkes designed to bring them up from 35-year hull liv…

If you've missed having David Larter on the Navy beat, well you're in for a treat. Though everyone's favorite former OS2 is no longer a defense journalist, like most Sailors, he doesn't leave his love of the sea or affection for his Navy behind. Returning to Midrats, but this time with a little California sunshine kissing his cheeks, David will be with us for the full hour Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. We will cover the waterfront from Ukraine, fleet size, how we treat our Sailors, global food security, China, and the things navalists should be thinking about, but aren't. Join us live if you can, but it not, you can get the show later by subscribing to the podcast. If you u…

Americas Kihomac won an $18 million deal for A-10 universal rudders. This contract provides for the acquisition of a maximum of 330 rudders. The A-10 is Air Force’s primary low-altitude close air support aircraft. Work will take place in Layton, Utah. Expected completion date is May 18, 2027. According to a news report, a team from Argentina has evaluated the JF-17 fighter in Chengdu, China. The team was later received by Argentine ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja, in Beijing. DangDai confirmed the visit of the Argentine delegation to the CATIC (China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation) facilities, located in the city of Chengdu. There, the …

A little over a decade ago, we lost the last half of one of the great teams of WWII; a local boy and father of USAF Special Operations. If what they did took place in Europe, they would have had a movie made out of it. As it took place in the Burma theater - well - at least we can cover it here. John R. Alison, a World War II fighter pilot who helped lead a daring and unprecedented Allied air invasion of Burma, has died, a son said Wednesday. The retired Air Force major general and former Northrop Corp. executive died of natural causes Monday at his home in Washington, John R. Alison III said. Alison's wartime achievements included seven victories, six in the air, qua…

Americas Raytheon won a $10.8 million delivery order for deploy and retrieve systems in support of the AN/AQS-20 mine-hunting program. The AN/AQS-20C sonar mine-hunting system is the U.S. Navy’s latest mine-hunting technology, which is integrated into the littoral combat ship mine countermeasures mission package. Work will take place in Washington and Those Island. Estimated completion will be by December 2023. DARPA has announced its new X-plane concept, a low-cost long-range seaplane that can fly up to 10,000ft. However, the aircraft will utilize the “wing-in-ground effect” to extend its range so that it can serve as a strategic or tactical transport. Middle East &amp…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a &632.1 million deal, which provides engineering, maintenance, logistics and material support to continue to develop, sustain and produce software builds, as well as carryout developmental flight tests in support of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales customer, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants’ funds. The deal also provides unique sea trials on aircraft carriers for the government of the United Kingdom. Work will take place in Texas, Florida, Maryland, New Hampshire, California, United Kingdom and Canada. Expected completion is in March 2024. A 50kW-class high en…

Especially for Finland, but less so for Sweden, their neutrality in Europe is in a large measure a Cold War relic. For old NATO hands like your humble blogg'r, this is a great moment. Though they were not NATO, you could find in most NATO HQs and operations, including Afghanistan, Finns and Swedes. Superb professionals and friends. To see them come fully in to the fold is just plain right - not just from a security perspective, but on a baseline of NATO's grown common values and shared baseline respect for the rule of law and liberty. They are great nations for those who value Western civilization. A historic day! Today, Sweden and Finland hand in letters expressing the…

We haven’t really discussed the imbroglio presently roiling USMC-world around General Berger, USMC and “USMC Force Design 2030.” Well, today we’re going to step in – second hand. The document itself isn’t as interesting to me per se as the reaction to it. Berger is trying to look at where we are today, what challenges the nation faces, what the USMC’s role in addressing that challenge is, what resources provided to do it, and has come up with a path he and his staff believes best addresses the challenge. No plan of vision is perfect. There are always weaknesses and imperfections, but decisions do need to be made. The old guard, or as Bob Work - Former Deputy Secretary of …

Americas Black Construction won an $83.7 million deal for design and construction of wharf improvements at Naval Base Guam. The work to be performed includes the renovation and modernization of Berth 2 to provide full capability to support two loaded T-AKE vessels with the proper depth of water, sufficient wharf length, and power and utilities. The Lewis and Clark Class T-AKE is a dry cargo/ammunition ship, totaling 14 ships. Designed to operate independently for extended periods at sea while providing underway replenishment services, the T-AKE directly contributes to the ability of the Navy to maintain a forward presence. Work will take place in Guam. Expected completion…

Time to raise a topic we first brought up the first year of this blog over 17-years ago; riverine. As we discussed at the time, we invaded a nation, Iraq, dominated by major river systems, yet because of the stupidity of the 1990s defense policies, we divested of our riverine forces. The last units left the reserves just a few years before we would need them again. As a result, we not only did not have the ability to take advantage of the unique mobility riverine environments can provide for our own military operations, we surrendered the waters to the enemy's use unopposed. The requirement was still there, we just ignored it in DC while the US Army did what it could wit…

Americas General Dynamics Land won a $29 million deal for Abrams Systems technical support. The M1 Abrams is a third generation main battle tank. Work will take place in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2023. The first C-130H with eight-bladed propellors assigned to the 133rd Airlift Wing has returned home after modifications. The aircraft arrived home on May 11 at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Another seven C-130Hs are undergoing the modifications with a completion date by the end of September 2023. After which the cargo planes will get new T56 3.5 turboprop engines. Middle East & Africa SpearUAV, an Israeli co…

What do the numbers tell us about the USN's expected fleet during the rest of what we call the Terrible 20s? We are going to spend an hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern digging in to that question with returning guest Matthew Hipple, active duty Surface Warfare Officer & former president of the Center for International Maritime Security. As a starting point for our conversation we will reference his May 9th article over at CIMSEC, "20 Years of Naval Trends Guarantee a FY23 Shipbuilding Plan Failure." "The FY23 Shipbuilding Plan proposes a 10-year drop in fleet numbers that deviates in spirit from every shipbuilding plan since 2012. During this dangerous decade, the…

Assuming you know what kind of war you are in, (not always known at the time) at the Strategic Level victory is achieved when there is a cascading series of Operational Level victories that brings your enemy to the point of combat ineffectiveness or collapse. At the Operational Level, victories are had when a series of Tactical Level victories achieve Decisive Points along various lines of Operations in support of Objectives and End States and undermining the enemy's Center of Gravity. Some victories are more important than others ... and the smallest thing can make all the difference, even something as simple as listening through the fog for an outboard motor. One day t…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $43.6 million order, which provides for diminishing manufacturing sources non-recurring engineering in support of a redesigned panoramic cockpit display electronic unit video mixer for F-35 Lightning II production aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-US Department of Defense participants. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in January 2029. Lockheed Martin Sippican won a $14 million contract modification to exercise options for engineering and maintenance services for the Heavyweight MK48 Torpedo Program at the Intermediate Maintenance Acti…

The best thing about LCS is that when you feel the need to take a break from the war in Ukraine, it delivers you news at just the right time. Via our friend Geoff Ziezulewicz at Navy Times;Since its commissioning in 2018, the littoral combat ship Omaha has developed cracks in its hull and superstructure that limit the speed it can travel and the sea states it can operate in.Four years old. Of course, cracks on warships are not new - we saw some issues with OHP, TICO and others ... but this is different. Before we dig more, let's pause a bit and talk to each other as adults. As was amply demonstrated again yesterday on The Hill in front of Congress, our Navy has a loose as…