Raw Intel

Americas L-3 Communications Vertex Aerospace won a $23.5 million modification, which extends services and adds hours for continued depot level maintenance, logistics, and sustaining engineering services in support of the C-12 Navy aircraft and the C-12 Marine Corps Reserve aircraft. The Beechcraft C-12 Huron is based on the Super King and 1900 series platforms and serves with the United States military as a utility transport among other roles. Work will take place in Louisiana, Japan, Bahrain, Cuba, North Carolina and Maryland. Estimated completion will be in January 2023. Boeing won an $18.7 million modification, which exercises options to procure the following aircraft…

Usually things flow from here to twitter, but now and then I pop something off that - knowing that not everyone who reads CDRSalamander is on twitter - deserves to flow the other way. As a Navy guy who spent almost half a decade doing an Army guy's job as an operational planner, a few ideas popped in to my head this AM about "what next" in Ukraine. Generally I'm not a fan of winter offensives, but when they work - they work. I am even more not a fan of wasting momentum when your larger enemy is on the back foot. So, three Courses of Action for you to consider ... with absolutely no Commander's Intent or Higher Direction and Guidance ... but when has that ever stopped a co…

Was it Ukrainian Special Operations forces? Did the Ukrainians operationalize their Grom SRBM? Did the USA sneak in some ATACMS along with HARM missiles to strike Saki Airbase in Russian occupied Crimea? My bet is in that order, and in time we will find out … but there is one thing I do know for sure; this is just another reminder that this regional conflict is telling us a lot about what we need to understand about the future of war that will manifest itself in the likely big war to come in the Western Pacific. Multiple explosions on Tuesday rocked a Russian air base in occupied Crimea — killing at least one and wounding several others, Russian authorities said. Videos…

One of the highest forms of the military arts is to use your enemy's habits against them. Not forcing them, but simply opening a door for them they are simply too willing to enter out of habit. Anyone who has lived in Europe - especially around or with Germans, French, Dutch, and Scandinavians, will enjoy this FbF. This story is short, but it is important in a couple of ways. First, the French military was never really given a chance in WWII. Beset with spotty leaderships and in some cases just bad luck, the incredible martial example of WWI just two decades earlier was as if it never happened. They had a few bright spots against the Germans ... and this was one. Seco…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $35.6 million contract modification for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system. Under this contract modification, Lockheed Martin will provide 36 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTs) A2 as a lifetime buy to support the THAAD weapon system. Work will take place in California, Texas and Wisconsin. Estimated completion date is August 4, 2021. Skydweller Aero has been given $5 million by the US Navy to demonstrate its unmanned air vehicle (UAV) that is based on the Solar Impulse 2. The US-Spanish startup has tested and flown autonomous flight software on the Solar Impulse 2. The company hopes to fly the plane …

So, we’ve made it – 2020 is about done. It is cliché to go over all the things that will make this year stand out more than any other, but for the navalists out there, perhaps we should take a moment to ponder the Top-5 events that come to mind. 1. Captain Crozier, USN and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71): it would be difficult to write a screenplay – and I am sure we will see one after the book – of the circumstances in the 1QCY20 as COVID-19 appeared on the scene. This will be a study in leadership for a long time. I think with time and distance that my original take, with sympathy towards Corzier, will become the standard. As more is found out about what happened up t…

Americas Boeing won a $198 million contract modification, which provides for the integration of a ground control station that provides command and control capability in support of the MQ-25 air vehicle for the Navy. The Boeing MQ-25 Stingray is an aerial refueling drone. In early December Boeing has flown its MQ-25A test asset (T1) with an aerial refuelling store under its wing for the first time. Earlier this year the US Navy exercised an option to acquire three additional MQ-25 air vehicles, bringing the total aircraft Boeing is initially producing to seven. The Navy intends to procure more than 70 aircraft, which will assume the tanking role currently performed by F/A-…

Even though it shouldn’t be necessary, I guess I should start this out by saying I actually support think tanks. I have a whole gaggle of acquaintances and friends who are associated with this think tank or another. They can produce good work – and even though some have clear biases in either their mission or their people – there is good value to read from smart people you disagree with on issues of substance. As long as you know they may or may not be objective – that is fine. As always, a serious read of contrary opinion will either by the strength of their argument make you reassess your previously held position, or by the weakness of their argument, further reinforce …

Americas Four B-1B bombers left Texas this week, arriving in Guam for Bomber Task Force training missions with allied partners, the US Air Force announced. On the way, the bombers integrated with 16 F-15 and two F-2 planes of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force for training over the Sea of Japan, the Air Force said. They also conducted a training exercise with the amphibious assault ship USS America in the western Pacific Ocean. The visit to Guam comes after the Air Force adjusted its force employment model, enabling strategic bombers like to B-1B to be forward deployed in the Indo-Pacific region from a broader array of worldwide locations. The first AC-130W gunship to reco…

Americas The Navy contracted Raytheon Missiles $ Defense with a $24.8 million modification for procurement of fiscal 2021 Navy Standard Missile-2 intermediate level provisioned items ordered spares; and to exercise one-year options for fiscal 2021 Standard Missile-2 and Standard Missile-6 repairs and maintenance. The SM-2 is the U.S Navy’s primary surface-to-air defense weapon and is part of the AEGIS Weapon System along Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke Class destroyers. The SM-6, also known as RIM-174, is a ship-launched extended range variant of the anti-air and anti-surface interceptor missile developed by Raytheon Company. It is also a key part of the AEGI…

Americas General Atomics won an $11.2 million contract modification, which exercises options to procure Group 5 Unmanned Air System (UAS) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance support for outside the continental US (OCONUS) Task Force Southwest and Marine Corps operations using contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 Reaper UAS. The MQ-9 Reaper has an operational ceiling of 50,000ft, a maximum internal payload of 800lb and external payload exceeding 3,000lb. It can carry up to four Hellfire II anti-armor missiles and two laser-guided bombs (GBU-12 or EGBU-12) and 500lb GBU-38 JDAM (joint direct attack munition). Work will take place in Arizona and California. Es…

Americas AV Inc. won an $11.3 million contract modification for RQ-20B Puma 3 AE systems. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2023. Puma is a third-generation tactical UAS that provides precise intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance utilizing an enhanced digital data link to transmit real-time imagery. Raytheon won a $17 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure 40 learn to build AIM-9X Systems Improvement Program (SIP) III configured guidance units (GUs), and associated nonrecurring tooling and test equipment to support build and checkout of the SIP III GUs in a pro…

Americas The Defense Department’s awarded a contract to Raytheon, which is meant to support integration of AMRAAM missiles with current and future Air Force aircraft. The $74 million deal to Raytheon Missile Systems was announced on Thursday, and provides the “necessary aircraft lab, flight test, flight clearance and simulation support during all integration requirements in AMRAAM for F-15, F-16, FA-18, F-22, F-35 and other current inventory or next generation platforms that may join the Air Force or Navy inventory before the end of fiscal 2029,” the Defense Department announced. The contract is the latest of several awarded by the Defense Department pertinent to the AIM-…

Can you have a long war in Asia without putting a boot on the mainland? Should we be thinking that through? Have we looked at a map? Ponder with me over at USNIBlog. h/t CMD 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=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=Z13H-FRyDH0:Rgat6d_HksI:F7zBnMyn0Lo http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspo…

Americas International Enterprises won a $12.5 million requirements contract requirements contract for F-16 modular low power radio frequency (MLPRF) and dual mode transmitter (DMT) repairs. This contract provides for the repair of both MLPRF and DMT, which function as part of the radar systems of each F-16 C/D aircraft. The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. One of the most versatile aircraft in the US Air Force inventory, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the Air Force aerial combat fleet. With over 1,000 F-16s in service, the platform has b…

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…

Today we are going to discuss military strategy from the a macro level. We will cover the ways to teach military strategy to already seasoned military and civilian personnel, some of the significant members of the strategic canon, and larger strategic challenges we find today. Our guest for the full hour Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern will be Dr. Alessio Patalano. Alessio is Reader in East Asian Warfare and Security at the Department of War Studies (DWS), King’s College London (KCL), and specializes in maritime strategy and doctrine, Japanese military history and strategy, East Asian Security. From 2006 to 2015, he was visiting professor in Strategy at the Italian Naval W…

Americas The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will soon start testing unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) on par with human-piloted vehicles being built under the Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency (RACER) program. The DARPA RACER program will develop and demonstrate autonomy technologies that enable unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to maneuver in unstructured off-road terrain at the limit of the vehicle’s mechanical systems and at, or beyond, human-driven speeds and efficiencies. The US Space Development Agency is planning to deploy 144 transport layer satellites and 28 tracking satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) by 2024 to detect mane…

Americas Raytheon won a $482.8 million contract modification, which provides for the exercise of the pre-priced options for Lot 35 production of AMRAAM missiles, AMRAAM Telemetry System, initial and field spares, and other production engineering support hardware and activities. The AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) is a new generation all-weather, missile. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is May 31, 2024. Sikorsky won a $26.9 million contract modification for UH-60M green aircraft. The UH-60 Black Hawk has been operational in the US Army since 1978. More than 2,000 aircraft of different variants are in service with the U.…

Do you see the connection? Ref. A.: Ref. B.: How should this impact policy? 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=fjhqizXZb-E:5FSOOn6K-9M:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=fjhqizXZb-E:5FSOOn6K-9M:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=fjhqizXZb-E:5FSOOn6K-9M:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=fjhqizXZb-E:5FSOOn6K-9M:F7zBnMyn0Lo http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/FAFV/~4/fjhqizXZb-EView the full article