Raw Intel

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…

Conventional submarine launched ballistic missiles. If you aren't mad that the South Koreans have them before we do, I don't know if we can be friends. I'm discussing over at USNIBlog. Come by and ponder a bit more. 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=VcUgSJWwBlY:Shp3qhh4r-w:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=VcUgSJWwBlY:Shp3qhh4r-w:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=VcUgSJWwBlY:Shp3qhh4r-w:V_sGLiPBpWU http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=VcUgSJWwBlY:Shp3qhh4r-w:F7zBnMyn0Lo http://…

TOW family (click to view full) Despite modernization that has led to advanced anti-armor weapons like the Javelin and Hellfire fire and forget guided missiles, the wire-guided, operator-controlled BGM-71 TOW missile family remains a mainstay thanks to modernization, specialization, improved sighting systems, and pre-existing compatibility with a wide range of ground vehicles. TOW remains the US Army and Marine Corps’ primary heavy anti-tank/ precision assault weapon deployed on more than 4,000 TOW launch platforms including HMMWV jeeps, the Army’s M1134 Stryker ATGM variant and M2/M3 Bradley IFVs; the Marines’ LAV-AT wheeled APC and SuperCobra attack helicopters; and n…

Americas General Electric Aviation won a $111.9 million contract modification, which procures 20 T408-GE-400 turboshaft engines, peculiar support equipment, and associated engine, programmatic and logistics services in support of CH-53K Lot 4 low rate initial production and spares. The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. The most powerful helicopter in the Department of Defense, the CH-53K is a new-build helicopter that will expand the fleet’s ability to move more material, more rapidly throughout the area of responsibility using proven and mature technologies. Work will take place in Lynn, Massachusetts. Expected comple…

There are good things, smart things, happening in The Philippines; "Meetings have already been set and probably we may have the Japanese and the Australians join in," Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez told Reuters. "They would like to join in for joint patrols to make sure that there's the code of conduct and there's freedom of navigation," adding it was still "an idea under discussion". If the plan materializes, it will be the first time the Philippines has joined multilateral maritime patrols in the South China Sea, a move that would likely anger Beijing, which claims most of the sea as its territory. The United States - quietly and wit…

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

New year, new decade, and a new President. Where should be be looking to have the right view on changes to strategy and maritime power? What existing trends are getting stronger, weakening - and what new things are starting to show up on the scope? Our guest for the full hour this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern to cover the full natsec waterfront as we find it will be returning guest James R. Holmes, PhD. James holds the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and served on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. A former U.S. Navy surface-warfare officer, he was the last gunnery officer in history t…

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bofj1zka7Tc/T4CfKmxTi9I/AAAAAAAABrg/ovZNCx9QrWY/s320/Thatcher_Pinochet.jpgPeople think they know the story of General Pinochet. 95% don't. In many respects, all you have to do is look at the political and economic stability he left Chile and compare it to the leftist dictators' legacy in Latin America. It speaks for itself. My long time readers know my views; no reason to go over them again. There is a lesser known story that all should know, and fleshed out the debt Britain owes the General. The following is from a man I wish we could have as our Secretary of the Treasury or Federal reserve; the great man José Piñera.General Pinochet and the F…

Do you ever listen to someone from this think tank or that, or read one of their reports and wonder, "Where do they get their funding?" Some think tanks are quite open on where their funding comes from, many are not. Does that matter? I'm pondering over at USNIBlog. Come by and ponder with me. 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=hgcN6EQgR0g:m9CTKAdfoE8:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=hgcN6EQgR0g:m9CTKAdfoE8:-BTjWOF_DHI http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/blogspot/FAFV?i=hgcN6EQgR0g:m9CTKAdfoE8:V_sGLiPBpWU http…

Americas Toyon Research won a $11.7 million contract modification, which procures the following AN/ALQ-231(V) Intrepid Tiger (IT II) Family of Systems production hardware: 24 (V) 4 maintenance stands; 18 (V) 4 radio frequency (RF) coupler sets (aft); 18 (V) 4 RF coupler sets (forward); seven IT II V3 direction finding array RF coupler sets; and seven IT II V3 RF couplers. Additionally, this contract provides engineering support to include life cycle and incidental engineering support as well as analyses, development, integration, test, documentation, repair/maintenance, and engineering test support for the Electronic Warfare Center and Electronic Attack communications jam…

Americas According to Lockheed Martin, the US Army’s new extended-range version of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) had a successful 80-kilometer flight demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on March 4. Lockheed Martin is the manufacturer of the GMLRS munition and has worked with the Army to double the rocket’s reach through extended-range capability development. The 80-kilometer shot fired from the Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System met the test objectives, Lockheed said in its news release. The release added that the demo “confirmed the missile’s flight trajectory performance, range and validated interfaces with the HIMARS lau…

There are but a few options here, none of which speak well of our Navy or its leadership – but we have to look at where this is with clear eyes. I have tried to be as clean-slate optimistic as possible with the CNO, Admiral Gilday. On a lot of actual Navy issues, I find him incredibly well informed, intelligent, and thinking in the right direction – but that is only part of his job. Another part of his job is to be a good steward of the position of the CNO, the Navy’s apolitical stance in line with our national traditions, and to ensure that all his Sailors can expect fair and equal treatment and consideration under his command. In the last respect, I can no longer giv…

Brisbane-based Skyborne Technologies has unveiled its CODiAQ robotic weapons platform at AUSA 2025, introducing a new class of autonomous ground systems that combine four-legged mobility with modular lethality and AI-assisted targeting. The system — formally named Controller-Operated Direct-Action Quadruped (CODiAQ) — is designed to deliver direct-fire precision using Skyborne’s proprietary payloads while remaining lightweight, low-cost, […] The post Australian firm arms robotic dog with grenade launcher first appeared on Defence Blog.View the full article

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $15.9 million contract modification to develop a second source for the qualification and facilitization of the Electromechanical Control Actuation System for the Hellfire missile. Hellfire is an air-to-ground, laser guided, subsonic missile with significant anti-tank capacity. It can also be used as an air-to-air weapon against helicopters or slow-moving fixed-wing aircraft. Work will take place in Orlando, Florida. Estimated completion date is August 28, 2021. Rolls-Royce won a $72.9 million contract modification, which exercises an option to procure 33 production AE1107C V-22 Osprey engines; 14 for the Marine Corps and 19 for the Navy for…

Americas The US Air Force is to contract Sikorsky to upgrade its HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter to improve on the 2012 requirements baseline. According to the service, the manufacturer is to bring the capabilities of the Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) up to today’s specifications, ahead of the commencement of full rate production in fiscal year 2022. Under the potential five-year deal for rolling capability upgrades to both the helicopter’s hardware and software systems, Sikorsky stands to receive up to $980 million. Work to integrate the AN/SPY-6 radar on the new Aegis Flight III guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Jack H. Lucas (D…

Americas Nammo Defense Systems won a $498 million contract for the full rate production of M72 Light Assault Weapon variants and components for shoulder-launched munitions training systems. The M72 LAW is a portable, one-shot 66mm unguided anti-tank weapon and was adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps as their primary individual infantry anti-tank weapon in 1963, Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Estimated completion date is December 19, 2026. The US Navy and Boeing have successfully maneuvered the T1 test asset on an aircraft carrier for the first time – an early step forward in ensuring the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueler will seamlessly integrat…

Want to know an organization's priorities? Follow the money. The skunk at the navalist picnic last week, in an already tough year, was the unexpected - by almost everyone - rather clunky MEMORANDUM of June 4, 2021 put our by the Acting Secretary of the Navy. You can read it in full here or below, but it outlines some significant cuts in to the Navy's teeth, - The Navy cannot afford to simultaneously develop the next generation of air, surface and subsurface platforms...prioritize of of the following (sic) capabilities and re-phase the the other two after an assessment of operational, financial, and technical risk. ... - The Navy cannot afford to own, operate, and…

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…

Americas A US Air Force KC-46A crew has flown the aerial refueling aircraft for 24.2 hours in a mission to gather human factors data on long-duration flights. The aircraft was flown by four pilots working on four-hour shifts with another two pilots acting as backup. They were joined by three boom operators, a photojournalist, and a physician assistant. Taking off from McConnell Air Force Base on May 5, the jet landed back at McConnell Air Force Base the next day with just one refueling from a KC-46A. Korte Construction Co., doing business as The Korte Co. won $37 million firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct an operations and test facility. Bids were solicite…

When people think of the freed slaves and freemen who fought for the Union in the formations then known as United States Colored Troops (USCT), they often think of July 18, 1863, when the 54th Massachusetts stormed Fort Wagner. Sadly, that more well known event - a Union defeat - overshadows an event six weeks earlier - a Union victory - that, at the time, probably had a greater impact on the growing support in the very racist by modern standards Northern Army to arming large formations of African-Americans than anything else. The attack on Ft. Wagner and the 54th Massachusetts were both in the Eastern theater of operations. As such, they naturally get more attention. T…