Raw Intel

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 Lockheed Martin won an $8.3 million deal to exercise an option for Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. Under this contract, the Aegis Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) develops, integrates, tests and delivers computer program baseline Advanced Capability Builds (ACBs) and supports Technology Insertions – a replacement and/or upgrade of combat system computing hardware and associated middleware/firmware. The Aegis CSEA also develops engineering products to support ship integration, supports developmental test/operational test events, develops training and l…

JAGM infographic (click to view full) The AGM-114 Hellfire missile remains a mainstay for the US military and its allies around the world, and efforts to replace it have repeatedly stalled. The Joint Common Missile (JCM) was meant to offer new guidance options, and use on fast jets as well as helicopters and UAVs. It performed well, but was canceled. It returned from the procurement dead as JAGM, a program that has undergone several major changes within itself. While other air forces field fast-jet solutions like MBDA’s Brimstone, JAGM will initially be limited to helicopters and UAVs, as a dual-mode guidance upgrade to current model Hellfire missiles. The JAGM Pro…

Today let's look not at tactical, operational, or even strategic challenges. No, let's instead look at the political, bureaucratic, and industrial structures that exist to enable everything else. There is a lot of money floating around the USA's defense budget and yet in the post-Cold War period no one feels we are making progress. On the naval surface side of the house, the promised future seems to underperform (LCS), be stillborn (DDG-1000), never arrive (CG(X)), or become limping testimony of institutional arrogance (FORD). On the land side, any attempt to move beyond Cold War era platforms fail to transition past prototype from self-propelled howitzers to amphibious a…

If you're on active duty or a civilian employee, you're going to have to go through a struggle session. The best thing you can do to prepare for it is to know what you are going to be subjected to ahead of time. That way you can better get through it. This training isn't as great as supporters say it is, nor is it as bad as it could have been. There is still a lot of problematic items in here - mostly because of who wrote it and the climate to anyone doing anything but saying, "Looks great!" Because it wasn't properly edited, yes, it is political. Anyone who watched the events of the summer of 2020 and have made an objective review of what happened in January (NB: …

Great men cannot do great things without a great staff. Educated people know who Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton is, but who knows who Frank Worsley is? Anyone who has been responsible for navigation should; When the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance was found nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea in March 2022, it was located just 4 miles from its last known position, as recorded by the Endurance’s captain and navigator, Frank Worsley, in November 1915. At the bottom of the world. No GPS, just math, the stars, and a bit of instinct ... and any hope of survival was riding on you. When the Endurance was crushed, the crew had to get themse…

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-…

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…

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), acting under the direction of the Department of Defense (DoD), has issued a new Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) establishing temporary flight restrictions over an area off the southeast coast of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The order, identified as FDC 5/9106, takes effect on November 1, 2025, and will remain […]View the full article

Cessna 208B: note ISR turret (click to view full) Iraq’s air force has been very slow in getting to its feet. A handful of Seeker light observation aircraft with their distinctive bubble-shaped fronts, a few Comp Air light propeller aircraft, a couple of old, refurbished C-130E transports, and a slowly growing fleet of helicopters. A few Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350s have been ordered for transport and surveillance duties, and an RFP for armed counterinsurgency aircraft has only given Iraq a set of unarmed T-6B trainers. Even subsequent orders for F-16C/D fighters and L-159 advanced trainer and attack jets leave the Iraqi air force a long way from being able to secur…

People who have both friends and enemies on the political left and the political right are, for me at least, some of the most interesting in the public arena. They are either doing something very right, or doing a lot very wrong - maybe both. What they usually are not are hyper-political random partisan talking point generators. One of those people is LTG H.R. McMaster, USA (Ret.). At the end of September, he showed up at a conference with a blow torch in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other. I have a few pull quotes and links to the full video from the 4th Great Power Competition Conference over at USNIBlog. Come by and give it a read and listen. http://feeds.fee…

If a nation is at peace where do you draw the line from a risk management point of view if you should meet a scheduled underway period? Where is a good example of when to decide it is just best to stay pierside? I think we have a good example from an unexpected ally. 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=6hc7TIVQ-RY:YREjStQHk6I:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6hc7TIVQ-RY:YREjStQHk6I:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=6hc7TIVQ-RY:YREjStQHk6I:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.…

Thought I would start out this week doing what I forgot to do last week - review the top posts from 2021. I looked over the unique visits at both the OG home at blogspot and the parallel universe over at substack (so places where readers' IT managers block blogger.com can see it) and this is what seemed to get the most interest via sharing and being picked up by large follower accounts. What does this tell us? I'm not sure, but I think it reflects a larger concern and feeling many people have that those we have trusted with the stewardship of our nation's military are not doing a good job. That and everyone is still fascinated by the Japanese Navy. What will 2022 be most …

Americas General Dynamics Bath Iron Works won a $23.9 million contract modification to exercise options for the accomplishment of planning yard efforts such as engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data and logistics efforts for DDG-1000 class destroyers post-delivery and in-service life-cycle support. The Zumwalt Class is the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world. Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power from the sea. Work will take place in Maine and California. Estimated completion will be by December 2021. The US Army and Clemson University ann…

As winter arrives in Eastern Europe and the Russo-Ukrainian war approaches the end of its first year, a very serious war will become even more serious. Both nations are increasingly fully invested in to seeing this to the end. Though on paper stronger, cracks in national resolve in Russia are showing much more than in Ukraine. Wars of choice for conquest – which is what Russia is engaged in – has a much different impact on a nation’s people than an existential war for national survival, which is the war Ukraine is in. As Russia’s problems in trying to achieve something that looks like victory manifests itself in to the Russian people’s waning support for the war, the rule…

Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won a $27 million contract modification, which adds scope for the initial and final technical directive to install the data transfer unit and Defensive Electronic Countermeasure System Replacement Phase III ARC-210 components into the CH-53K aircraft, support flight planning and testing of the components and supportability products for the US Navy. Work will take place in Connecticut, Maryland and New York. Estimated completion will be in April 2025. F/A-18F BuNo 166460 is the first Super Hornet to undergo the Service Life Modification (SLM) at the Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), the US Navy has announced. The aircraft’s service life …

One little nugget I’ve said too much that last week or so is that to many in the national security nomenklatura – especially in DC – the process is the product. The measure of effectiveness isn’t the ultimate delivery of useful kit to the fleet, but adherence to the process. Billions upon billions of dollars can be made for years and POM-cycles on end getting ready to think about possible things that might be of some use … maybe. We wind up with dead end programs that produce nothing. No one really is held to account. At the end of the day you have to do one of two things: 1. Like with the fail to transition that was ZUMWALT, you have to restart the legacy ARLEIGH B…

USS Helena (CL-50). Nothing "Light" about the Helena. Tough, hard fighter she was - with a lot to fire with. Armament : 5 - Triple 6"/47 main battery 4 - Dual 5"/38 DP secondary 8 - .50 caliber AA 4 - Curtiss SOC-2 Seagulls (Aircraft) on 2 Aft catapults. Yes kiddies - that is 15 6" guns and 8 5" guns. The Japanese (who if nothing else in WWII had no problem honoring a good fighter) said she had "6-inch machine guns." Read all about her here - but let's look at her final battle, the Battle of Kula Gulf. Background On 5 July, Task Group 36.1, commanded by Rear Admiral Walden L. Ainsworth, and consisting of light cruisers USS Helena, USS Honolulu, and USS St. Louis, plu…