Raw Intel

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $14.1 million contract modification for AN/SLQ-32(V)6 design agent engineering services. The AN/SLQ-32 is a shipboard electronic warfare suite built by Raytheon and the Hughes Aircraft Company. It is currently the primary electronic warfare system in use by US Navy ships. AN/SLQ-32(V)6, the latest fielded variant of the AN/SLQ-32, incorporates receiver, antenna and combat system interface upgrades developed under the SEWIP Block 2 ACAT II program and adds the High Gain High Sensitivity adjunct sensor developed under the SEWIP Block 1B3 ACAT II program. Work will take place in Syracuse, New York, and is expected to be completed by November 20…

History is funny about how it delivers leaders. Some nations, when they need it most, are given the worst leaders who on paper at least, should have been the right leader at the right time. Other nations are provided leaders who, on paper, seem to be a disaster in the making ... but don't just rise to the occasion, come to dominate the occasion. A comic. They elected a comic. Ukraine's President Zelensky's May 9th address to his nation - and to everyone else - is a masterpiece of the right man at the right time with the right words. Take time to listen to it. This is what a sharp, vibrant, focused, and grounded leader looks like. At least at this moment, at this time, I d…

F-35A (click to view full) In December 2011, Japan picked Lockheed Martin’s new F-35A stealth fighter as its next fighter aircraft, to replace its aging F-4 “Kai” Phantom fleet. The F-35 was actually their 2nd choice. Back in February 2006, Inside The Air Force (ITAF) reported that momentum was building within the USAF to sell the ultra-advanced F-22A Raptor abroad to trusted US allies, as a way of increasing numbers and production. Japan clearly wanted them, and the Raptor was a topic of diplomatic discussions in several venues, including a 2007 summit meeting. In the end, however, US politics denied export permission for downgraded export variants of the F-22, and it…

The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) has reached a new operational milestone with its fleet of Chinese-built Wing Loong II drones, logging 5,000 flight hours as of May 2024, according to the Defense Arab. The Wing Loong II, manufactured by China’s Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) and exported through its subsidiary, the China National Aero-Technology Import […] The post Chinese combat drones log over 5,000 flight hours in Saudi Arabia first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

As Western armies adapt to lessons from the war in Ukraine, France’s 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment has begun training its soldiers to use shotguns against small aerial threats, including low-cost FPV drones. “In an environment of constant aerial threat, the regiment is expanding its counter-drone capabilities,” the French military unit said in a recent statement. […] The post French army adopts hard-kill tactics for drone threats first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas Honeywell International won a $15.8 million delivery order for V-22 spare parts. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. The delivery order was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year contract with no option periods. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is October 31, 2021. L3 Technologies von a $23.8 million contract to perform…

Americas The MQ-9 in service with the US Air Force has carried out an Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) test and the drone is now cleared for Agile Combat Employment operations. A specialized launch and recovery crew is no longer required when the MQ-9 land and the unmanned air vehicle can now be diverted to a foreign field where it has never been before. The test was carried out by the 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron on July 8. On the first day, the drone was flown from Creech to Cannon air force base using satellite control. Kitty Hawk’s Heaviside aircraft has obtained airworthiness approval by the US Air Force, allowing the aircraft to enter its next …

We picked Option A it appears. I remember when we thought about Option C and believed Option B was too long. I have extended thoughts on the Afghanistan withdraw announcement today over at USNIBlog. It's been a long time coming ... but regular readers here know that. Come on by and give me your thoughts. 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=A_rxYai-AN4:JiIqTl4iUrM:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=A_rxYai-AN4:JiIqTl4iUrM:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=A_rxYai-AN4:JiIqTl4iUrM:V_sGLiPB…

Austrian Typhoons w. IRIS-T missiles (click to view full) In 2003, Austria signed a EUR 2 billion contract to receive 18 EADS Eurofighters plus required support (just over $2.5 billion, or about $140 million per plane). The aircraft were already under construction in Germany when the 2006 election results forced the leftist SPO party, whose campaign promises included canceling the fighter deal, into the Austrian government coalition. That shift led to a fraught series of negotiations within Austria, and then with EADS. The 2 sides played a game of billion-dollar chicken, leading to a settlement in 2007. The Eurofighter’s rough ride in Austria seemed to be over with de…

OK folks, today is the day. You know what you need to do. I already voted last week, so I've already checked the block. If you have not, go out and vote today. I won't tell you who to vote for. Every man and woman needs to make that choice themselves ... and anything I may say won't change your mind one way or another. We have issues with our voting here, that is true. Shame on our political class and self-identified "experts" that they - in their cowardice - have not implemented a voting system here that would meet international standards when it comes to voter rolls and vote counting. That is immaterial. Such problems have been with us for decades and is on the marg…

Americas The USAF Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded General Atomics $18 million to design and develop an unmanned Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) aircraft. AFRL is developing an open architecture concept Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) to achieve its goals of rapid time-to-market and low acquisition cost, while extending and enhancing the sensing volume of manned platforms. Sentry View Systems won a $63 million deal for the Minuteman III Remote Visual Assessment Contractor Logistical Support 2.0. The LGM-30 Minuteman III, built by Boeing, is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It is a long-range, solid-fuel, three-stage ICBM with the capability to car…

Americas Textron Systems won an $11.3 million deal for the logistics and repair support of MV-22B, CMV-22 (Navy) and CV-22 (Air Force) Osprey components in support of the Joint Service Electronic Combat Systems Tester system. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Work will take place in Maryland. Estimated completion will be by August 2026. An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test re-entry vehicle was launched by Airmen from the Global Strike Command on August 11. During this launch, a Hi Fidelity Joint Test Assembly re-entry vehicle that detonate…

Ordinary men often find themselves in extraordinary times, become extraordinary, and then return to ordinary. That does not prevent us from remembering them. On the eve of the Second World War if you found yourself in Birmingham, England you may have found yourself in the company of a middle aged optician Edward John Hicks and his wife Ethel. Perhaps their 19-yr old daughter Barbara or 15-yr old Pamela, born a few years after what they would call "The Great War," might make an appearance. They lived in a simple duplex at 46 Brompton Road. That one on the right. You wouldn't know that your neighborhood optometrist who makes your glasses was also this man.Say hello to Lie…

It may have taken over 1/3 of his first – and perhaps only – Administration for President Biden to publish his National Security Strategy, but it finally hit earlier this month – so let’s look at it. What I’d like to do is not dig into the details, as to be blunt – it isn’t the details that matter. Though it sounds cynical perhaps, it really isn’t. The primary purpose to have a National Security Strategy is to say you have one. It isn’t meaningless, but this political document (and it is political, heck its title is officially “National Security Strategy” but on the Whitehouse website the file is stored under, “Biden-Harris-Administrations-National-Security-Strategy-10.20…

As I snarkly said over on twitter, if the adults are back in charge, would they please act like it. First of all, just look at the Marshall Islands located east of Guam, west of Hawaii, and south of Wake Island. During WWII, Americans lost 611 men, suffered 2,341 wounded, and 260 missing and killed over over 11,000 Japanese while capturing 358 to secure these islands. An independent nation with some unique security and immigration agreements with the United States, one shouldn’t have to over-emphasize the strategic importance. However … For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally … But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washin…

Americas Leonardo announced that it is working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to install the former’s Seaspray 7500E V2 radar on the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. To be mounted into the centerline radar pod, this radar will be made available to international customers. It replaces the GA-ASI Lynx Multi-mode Radar. According to Leonardo, the Seaspray 7500E V2 is well-suited to the SeaGuardian mission set, using Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology to detect, track and classify hundreds of maritime contacts. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the thousands of National Guard troops who will provide security in Washington, DC, for the inaugurat…

KODEF ’11 slide (click to view full) South Korea has been thinking seriously about designing its own fighter jet since 2008. The ROK defense sector has made impressive progress, and has become a notable exporter of aerospace, land, and naval equipment. The idea of a plane that helps advance their aerospace industry, while making it easy to add new Korean-designed weapons, is very appealing. On the flip side, a new jet fighter is a massive endeavor at the best of times, and wildly unrealistic technical expectations didn’t help the project. KF-X has progressed in fits and starts, and became a multinational program when Indonesia joined in June 2010. As of March 2013, howe…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $97 million modification by the US Army for the PAC-3 Missile Field Surveillance Program and missile post-production activities. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 19, 2023. The US Army tapped General Dynamics with a §146.7 million deal for flat-bottom hull Stryker vehicles. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of November 30, 2024. Middle East &am…

Two of the greatest self-inflicted institutional failures of the USN in the last half-century were Tailhook 91 and Fat Leonard. They decimated a generation of leaders and the hard-won service reputation with the American people and their elected representatives that we are still trying to climb out of. While Tailhook 91’s failure was mostly in the response of senior uniformed and civilian leadership to the political pressure by feeding their young to Vaal hoping to save their own skins, Fat Leonard exposed a greater, more dangerous rot that tied in all the worst features of human nature; greed, lust, envy, and addiction. As much of Fat Leonard was avoidable if there were…

Here is one hard fact; Australia has 1.7% of the population of Communist China. Additionally, Australia is 80% of the landmass of Communist China. Australia is also heavily reliant on China with regard to trade. 39% all goods exported in 2019-20 go to China, while 27% of all goods imported were from China. This is top of mind to the Chinese Communist Party. As they have in other parts of the world, once China gets comfortable with their economic leverage, they will begin to use it against you. They are not too good at it, and more often than not they come out as rather thuggish. They also lack cultural competence to see that what may work in some parts of the w…