China’s 2nd Type 055 Destroyer ‘Lhasa’ Commissioned with PLAN. (Naval News) “The Type 055 destroyers are the largest surface combatant currently being built in the world with a length of 180 meters, a beam of 20 meters and a draft of 6.6 meters for a full load displacement of about 13,000t (compared to the US Navy’s Ticonderoga-class cruiser and the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer both at 9,800 tons or the Royal Navy Type 45 at about 8,500 tons).”
DOD official says budgetary flexibility is essential to countering China threat. (DoD) “The department has a budget cycle that requires years, from requirements to production. Brown said the department should have much shorter timelines like the private sector. Besides moving faster, the department needs more flexibility in how it spends the money. For example, Brown noted that DOD funds are placed in a variety of pots and it’s illegal to take money from one pot and move it to another one, even when an urgent need arises. “
USAF planning boss pushes for flexible budgets to keep up with new tech. (Air Force Magazine) “Cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning—these are all things where there’s a great amount of progress being made in a very short amount of time,” he said. “When I talk to leaders in the tech world, they look at me like I’m crazy when we start to say, ‘What’s going to happen in 2027?’” …The solution to budgeting uncertainty in the military technology race may be to rethink the way the armed forces plan their finances, Hinote said.”
When Hondo Talks, People should Listen. (National Defense Magazine) “How fast can we adapt? How fast can we learn? And what I’ve come to realize over time is pivot speed really relies on a strong foundation, right? You can’t pivot effectively if you don’t have a strong foundation on that fulcrum to pivot from.”
How a “small business” kingpin wins billions in defense contracts. (POGO) “According to the most recent official tally of top government contractors, ADS is ranked as the 24th largest federal contractor in fiscal year 2019 with more than $3 billion in sales and ADS is the only “small business” among the top 50 that year.”
Naval technology processes misaligned, research admiral says. (Seapower Magazine) ““Looking back over the last 20 years or so, we have tried to put in place ‘HOV lanes’ around the traffic, things like DIU [Defense Innovation Unit] are things primarily intended to go around the congestion,” he said. “The problem is they invariably have to start in the congestion or they totally merge back into it just because they have to.”
DARPA program that could enable JADC2 at risk of slipping through the bureaucratic cracks. (FedScoop) “The problem is no one can figure out what “color of money” to use for the program. It’s caught between the acquisition authority for research and development and that of sustainment. (There has been a recent push to give software its own color of money, or “budget activity” in legal terms, but has yet to materialize in regulations.) On top of this, DARPA’s funding for the program will run out in the spring after it already used an extension on the program.”
Securing information age combat capabilities demands a new approach. (C4ISRNET) “In a perfect world, the notion of common standards makes sense — all systems communicating in the same language. However, reality dictates a far different set of circumstances.”
JAIC Chief: culture and process biggest barriers to Pentagon adoption of AI. (Air Force Magazine) “You have personnel who have to take Navy data, put it on a hard drive, fly it to an Air Force network to transmit to another Air Force place, so they can push it out to different elements in the Joint Force,” said Groen. “That’s unacceptable, right? We’re moving data on hard drives … because we won’t allow each other’s personnel access to each other’s networks.”
What is a good RFP and how do you write one? (Edgeworth Box Blog) “It’s easy to tell if you have done this badly by how people respond to your job description. One scenario means that very few people respond, in which case you are much less likely to have cast a net that managed to catch at least one ideal candidate. (You’re confident that the ideal candidate exists.) Another scenario involves getting many responses, almost all of which are inappropriate. What’s worse is that it is costly for you to wade through this dreck, hoping to find the diamond in the rough.”
KC-46 tanker’s most infamous problem isn’t the one that impacts pilots the most. (Defense News) “The problem revolves around the Boeing-made tanker’s On-Board Inert Gas Generation System, which is used to convert oxygen in the aircraft’s fuel tanks to nitrogen, preventing the aircraft from exploding if the tanks are hit by lightning or enemy fire…The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46s over the program of record. The service already received more than 40 tankers from prime contractor Boeing.”
Northrop unveils new ‘sky viper’ chain gun as US army considers weapons for future helos. (Defense News) “The new gun is expected to increase the rate of fire that is seen now on the Apache. The company is taking experience from its suite of advanced ammunition technologies, like the 30mm ammunition line, to develop 20mm projectiles “with significantly improved lethality against a range of targets including troops, [unmanned aerial vehicles], rotary- and fixed-wing assets, and other assets in the deep battlespace,” Canole said.”
DOD announces $8 million DPA Title III agreement with GLOBALFOUNDRIES to strengthen th domestic microelectronics industrial base. (DoD) “GF will conduct initial engineering baseline activities to move a key 45 nanometer (nm) semiconductor manufacturing processes from the East Fishkill, New York facility to the Malta, New York facility. “
DOD officials discuss quantum science, 5G, and directed energy. (DoD) “The second category, he said, is made up of quantum sensors of different types, used for gyros, accelerometers, magnetometers and gravitational sensors, all of which are used for position, navigation and timing. Research is being done to improve quantum sensors as well.”
Lockheed-Aerojet deal clears another hurdle. (Defense One) “While U.S. regulators continue to review the [$4.4 billion] deal, Lockheed Martin says the planned acquisition of Aerojet will save the federal government $100 million annually by joining the makers of missiles and rocket motors into one company… “The reduction of fee-on-fee costs will drive direct cost savings for the U.S. government and American Tax Payer,” said Lockheed, in a promotional white paper.”
Pentagon processes ‘antithetical’ to AI development, former Google CEO warns. (C4ISRNET) ““All of our acquisitions are designed for building big systems, and these kind of monolithic upgrades,” Louie said. “Our adversaries are not doing that. For us to be competitive and for us to have the best software, as it’s happening, we need to reform how we do it.””
F-35 is a rathole, congressman says: F-35 problems and cost. (Popular Mechanics) ““I want to stop throwing money down that particular rathole,” [HASC Chair Adam] Smith said… So yes, the F-35 is arguably a rathole. But does that mean the Pentagon should stop “throwing money” at the F-35 program? No way. The F-35 program is literally too big to fail and must succeed. The fighter jet replaces too many older planes, many of which have no credible alternative.”
US Navy plans to buy 120 submarine-launched Blackwing UAVs. (Flight Global) “The first drone is expected to be delivered as early as August 2021, says the service in a sole source notice it posted online on 9 March. The Blackwing can be launched into the air via a submerged submarine. The UAV is packed into a canister that is ejected from an underwater submarine, the canister then floats to the surface and shoots the Blackwing into the air… AeroVironment has not disclosed the range of the Blackwing. However, it is based on the Switchblade 300 loitering munition, which has a range of 5.4nm (10km).”
Anduril hires Pentagon vet Zachary Mears as head of strategy. (Defense News) ““While there’s still work to do, I think Anduril offers a platform and approach that is at the core of what a defense prime contractor will look like in 10 to 15 years ― the way it organizes, the way it marries software and hardware to deliver strategic and operational outcomes,” Mears said.”
New Avenger combat drone cleared for flight in US airspace. (Autoevolution) “The Avenger is technically a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), like most other General Atomics Predator-series drones. It is built with a 44-foot (13 meters) long fuselage, and has a 76-foot (23 meters) wingspan. The drone is powered by a commercial Pratt & Whitney turbofan engine good for 5,000 pounds of thrust. It can take off from runways shorter than 5,000 feet (1.5 km), and can stay in the air for up to 20 hours”
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