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…

Americas Raytheon Technologies won a $14.9 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide for the planning, implementation, management, and reporting of sustainment affordability in support of initiatives that reduce future F-35 propulsion sustainment cost for the F-35 Joint Program Office. Work will take place in Connecticut and Oklahoma. Expected completion will be in September 2024. Boeing won an $8.5 million modification for Option 3 of the Hunter Phase 2 program. Work will take place in Huntington Beach, California. Estimated completion date will be in March 2023. Middle East & Africa Israel Aerospace Industries subsidiary ELTA Systems will receive …

Our Navy would be such a more powerful force if we had kept with the mindset of the Aegis and Standard Missile evolution. Bit by bit, step by step, increment by increment, baseline by baseline, we got a stronger, more effective Navy. A few hiccups like in any long running program ... but the success is undeniable. The latest example; In a first-of-its-kind test, the United States has successfully used a small ship-fired missile to intercept a target Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), according to the Missile Defense Agency. The successful test shows the U.S. military now has another missile defense system capable of defending against North Korean ICBM’s…

Allow me a little self indulgence (again) this Friday. USNI triggered me this AM: #OTD in 1918, British Grand Fleet flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth celebrated Armistice Day by signaling to "Splice the mainbrace. Negative 6th B.S." The order meant that all sailors could have a drink except the Americans of the 6th Battle Squadron because U.S Navy ships were dry. pic.twitter.com/CglUoGvD6Y — U.S. Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) November 11, 2021It made me grin a bit because my paternal grandfather was a Sailor on the USS ARKANSAS (BB-33) with the 6th Battle Squadron that day. The Germans never made their last thunder run in 1918 as that horrible and useless war ground to a h…

It is one thing to talk about a "Pacific Pivot" or the importance of the Indo-Pacific theater ... but you signal you are serious by your actions. I think Australia has put down a marker ... and they are making the correct move. They see the Long Game. A three-decades-long Australian naval presence in the Middle East will come to an abrupt end this year as the Federal Government grapples with an increasingly uncertain strategic environment closer to home. Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has announced Australia will no longer send a Royal Australian Navy ship to the Middle East every year. ... The shift was flagged in the Government's recent Defence Strategic Update,…

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 …

A little different DivThu today. I’m not going to cover a specific outrage or Orwellian program, no, something different but more important. Consider this a war warning. Firstly, I need to repeat something for my Trump supporters here; until the Summer of 2020, he completely failed in this area. As people are policy, he failed in that he did not appoint people who understood what was going on in the larger culture. He finally caught on to what was going on and acted, specifically on Critical Race Theory, but that was him. He quickly saw what it was and took action. He needed dozens to hundreds of political appointees to see the problem and act on their own as he did, b…

Simply a superb interview with General Anthony Zinni, USA (Ret) by Mie Augier and Major Sean F. X. Barrett, USMC over at CIMSEC. What is so impressive about it is the the focus of the interview - wargaming. There are few things more misunderstood, abused, and poorly done than wargaming. Done incorrectly, either by incompetence or malice, it can lead to the death of millions and the destruction of nations. No, that isn't an exaggeration. Let's pull a few quotes that grabbed my attention; I think gaming was more valuable at the lower levels, at the tactical level, maybe lower operational level. ... As you go higher up, I found there was too much in the way of service po…

Most people do not realize that one of the largest Pacific nation, if you measure by territorial seas, is France. She has a lot to lose in a world where fleets of hundreds of Chinese fishing boats in fleet movements go from place to place, strip mining already stressed fishing resources. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday France and South Pacific nations would launch a South Pacific coastguard network to counter "predatory" behaviour, which an adviser said was aimed at illegal fishing, as China expands its maritime reach. The United States and allies including France, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, are actively expanding their activity in the Pacific…

One of the most dangerous yet commonly held beliefs about a future conflict with China is that we could somehow hold China back by convincing them we could defeat them in 72-hrs. Another is that, for some reason, the US Army should have a role - somehow - in significant numbers. That would imply action on mainland Asia. Even though WWII has mostly faded out of living memory, the Korean War is still inside that fading line. One would think - especially with all the belated focus of the last few years - we would have a greater understanding of the Chinese military history and tradition that, at least to them, goes back thousands of years. Many will make comments about t…

Sal and EagleOne are tanned, rested, and ready to dive in a … well … where does one start for the last couple of weeks. Australia pivots strong to China with here plans to move to SSN, France gets grumpy with the Anglosphere as a result but still kills a baddie for us, fleets of container ships are haunting out ports, and we’re all digesting what happened in Afghanistan. That’s just a start. Join us for the full hour LIVE Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. The chat room will be open and the studio line too. 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. If you use iTunes, you can add Midra…

Americas Parsons Government Services won a $953 million deal for US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) Air Base Air Defense services. The deal provides the USAFE-AFAFRICA with a layered base defense capability. According to the DoD, the capability will be employed across various sites within the area of responsibility. Work will take place in various locations throughout Europe and Africa. Estimated completion date is July 20, 2031. Lockheed Martin won a $19 million contract modification to to procure 16 Operational Data Integrated Network Base kits, to include software installation and integration support for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fig…

Our Navy has a problem, or a series of problems, and everyone knows it. It is a problem of long standing that manifests itself in a variety of ways. Our inability to design warships, or properly maintain the ones we have, is one example. Our shrinking carrier airwings - in aircraft numbers and range - is another. Not unrelated to the issues on the pointy end is the groaning weight of staff bloat and a top-heavy leadership structure. Our self-selected elite - in uniform and out - have failed us. The system and structure that motivates, rewards, and encourages them share the blame, but mostly this is a people problem. As such, the cure will have to come from people. Cong…

Americas Boeing won a $49.7 million deal for the inspection and overhaul of the CH-47 Chinook mechanical transmission. The CH-47D Chinook helicopter transports troops, artillery, supplies and equipment to the battlefield with other applications ranging from medical evacuation, aircraft recovery, parachute drop, search and rescue to disaster relief, firefighting and heavy construction. Work is estimated to be completed by August 23, 2025. The US Army, together with the Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) announced the successful first life fire of its Iron Dome air defense system engaging eight cruise missile targets. Soldiers from the Army’s 3-43 Air Defense Arti…

Americas Teledyne Brown Engineering won a $39.2 million contract modification for the production of MK11 shallow water combat submersibles. The Shallow Water Combat Submersible (SWCS) is a manned submersible and a type of swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV). In the US Navy, SWCS, designated as Mark 11 SDV, will replace the current Mark 8 SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV). It is also requested by the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Service (SBS), which currently operates 3 SDV’s. Work will take place in Huntsville, Alabama. Expected completion will be by September 2024. The US Navy plans to integrate anti-ship missiles aboard its amphibious ships, it announced this month, part of a larger…

Americas The US Navy took delivery of the newest Virginia-class fast-attack submarine Montana (SSN 794) on Monday. Montana (SSN 794) completed sea trials last month. It is the third of the 10-ship group of Virginia-class submarines known as Block IV. Virginia-class submarines displace 7,835 tons, with a hull length of 377 feet and a diameter of 34 feet. They are capable of speeds in excess of 25 knots and can dive to a depth greater than 800 feet, while carrying Mark 48 advanced capability torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Overhaul Support Services LLC won two contracts in support of the CH-47 Chinook. swashplates. A $15.8 million deal ist to overhaul aft control s…

Americas Vertex Aerospace won an $8.7 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide intermediate-level maintenance and repair services and logistics support for the T-45 aircraft and T-45 support equipment in support of the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department for Chief of Naval Air Training aircraft, tenant activities, and transient aircraft. Work will take place in Texas, Florida and Mississippi. Expected completion is in September 2022. The Boeing-made KC-46A Pegasus multirole tanker has been given the green light to refuel all versions of F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. Gen. Mike Minihan, commander of Air Mobility Command, approved a third Interim Ca…

Americas The Navy awarded 600 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contracts (MACs) to businesses in multiple locations across 29 of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia for future competition of support service requirements to be solicited by Department of the Navy activities under rolling admissions of the SeaPort Next Generation (SeaPort-NxG) multiple-award contract vehicle for engineering support services and program management support services in 23 functional areas. The government estimates the Navy will procure $5 billion worth of services annually through task orders issued under SeaPort-NxG. Each multiple-award contract has a base p…

It wasn't supposed to end like this. If in the early fall of 2001, just as we just finished OPERATION RHINO, someone at C5F put up a picture of a 10-yr old boy standing behind a group of five newborns, three 1-yer olds, three 2-yr olds, and a 4-yr old and told us, "We will take Kabul, and after 18-months without a single casualty, we will abandon everything. We will be allowed to go home only at the pleasure of the Taliban and after we sacrifice these 13-children and abandon hundreds of American citizens behind us as we leave in darkness, tens of billions of dollars of our equipment left as tribute in addition to our children." we would have thought you insane, sick, and…

Americas The US Air Force has secured funding to buy the first of six new E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communication Node aircraft. The press release from the 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs says the BACN Program Office is expected to award the contract by end of March, and the aircraft to be delivered by the end of June. The five-year indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity agreement also includes funds for research, development, testing and evaluation, and integration of existing and future payloads. The contract also provides support for infrastructure contained in or connected to the BACN system and associated ground stations, controls, and ancillary or support equi…