Navy tries to cut four littoral combat ships to save $186M in FY 22 budget. (USNI News) “… the second Independence-class aluminum trimaran USS Coronado (LCS-4) and three Freedom-class variants… Gilday said it would cost approximately $2.5 billion to upgrade the first four hulls to prepare them for combat… Every LCS now is getting NSM, the (naval) strike missile, so that’s a capability that we’re really excited about.”
Navy wants $110M in FY 22 R&D funds to develop next-generation destroyer, submarine. (USNI News) “The Fiscal Year 2022 submission asks for approximately $29.8 million to develop SSN(X) and about $79.7 million for concept development of the DDG(X)… Unlike the VIRGINIA Class Submarine, which was designed for multimission dominance in the littoral, SSN(X) will be designed for greater transit speed under increased stealth conditions in all ocean environments, and carry a larger inventory of weapons and diverse payloads”… “DDG(X) will integrate non-developmental systems into a new hull design.”
US Navy destroyer uses Thales’ radar for SM-3 launch on remote test. (Naval Technology) “The SMART-L MM/N long range surveillance radar successfully tracked the ballistic missile for more than five minutes as it reached speeds of 3km/s and an altitude of more than 300km.”
US Navy creates DDG(X) program office after years of delays for large combatant replacement. (Defense News) “Though the Navy isn’t looking to buy the first DDG(X) ships until fiscal 2028, the program office would oversee the development of an acquisition strategy… DDG(X) will also likely be asked to carry hypersonic missiles or other long-range weapons that are too large to fit in today’s Mk 41 vertical launching system tubes. And it will be asked to host directed energy weapons, electromagnetic warfare tools and more that consume a large amount of power.”
Cyber Command plans bigger budget for mission planning tool. (C4ISRNET) “the increase is due to the transfer of several requirements and their funding to the JCC2 program to operationalize prototype battle space management, as well as the transition from the planning phase to the execution phase of software development. One big reason for the change is Project IKE, a tool to help military commanders make better decisions.” [$79M up from $38.4 last year.]
Navigation Technology Satellite-3 NTS-3. (AFRL) “… developing advanced techniques and technologies to detect and mitigate interference to PNT capabilities… NTS-3 will test a new digital signal generator that can be reprogrammed on-orbit, enabling it to broadcast new signals, improve performance by avoiding and defeating interference, and adding signatures to counter spoofing.”
Army’s 1,000 mile range supergun set to see its budget slashed. (The Drive) ” In lieu of funding for the SLRC [super long range cannon] line item, the service asked for just over $72.6 million for a new account called Technology Maturation Initiative (TMI) Planning for Super-System and Technology Product Prototyping… Guns, as well as rocket artillery systems, are a highly efficient way to provide persistent fire support across a broad area.”
Army modernization budget drops $4.2B; Budget drops $3.6B overall. (Breaking Defense) ” with the Army widely expected to be the big billpayer for a large boost in Navy shipbuilding… In the first round of so-called “night court” cuts, Whitley explained, the Army moved $22.4 billion over the five-year budget plan (for 2020-2024), eliminating 93 programs and reducing 93 others. In the second round, it moved $13.5 billion (over 2021-2025), eliminating 41 programs and reducing 39. In this third round, it moved $9.1 billion (over 2022-2026), eliminating just seven programs and reducing 37.”
Oshkosh wins $942M Stryker upgun contract, unseating GDLS. (Breaking Defense) “General Dynamics Land Systems builds the Stryker vehicle and won the initial contract to urgently install a 30 mm gun turret on 83 vehicles for the Europe-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which was badly undergunned compared to Russian vehicles.”
US Air Force awards $465M contract for new E-11A planes. (Defense News) “Bombardier Global 6000 business jets… a potential total of six planes. That aircraft will become an E-11A once it is modified with Northrop Grumman’s Battlefield Airborne Communications Node payload [which] provides relay, bridging, and data translation for platforms that are not able to communicate.”
Mach 30 wind tunnel to ‘put China decades’ ahead in hypersonic race. (South China Morning Post) “A Chinese physicist has said that a new wind tunnel in Beijing to be unveiled “soon” will put China decades ahead of the rest of the world in hypersonic technology.”
Stabilized detonation could speed aircraft to Mach 17. (Auto Evolution) “Two types of reactions that create combustion waves are known to exist: deflagration and detonation. A deflagration produces subsonic shock waves, and it is an inefficient process, so it is a no-go for the purpose of this study. On the other hand, detonation shocks are ultra high-speed supersonic reaction waves that are highly energetic, and could produce more thrust than any other form of propulsion currently in use.”
Biden curtails US investment in AVIC, other aerospace players. (Flight Global) “Joe Biden has issued an executive order that bars US securities investment in 57 Chinese companies with defence ties, with airframer AVIC featuring prominently on the list… Initially Comac, which is developing the C919 and CR929 airliners, was not listed, but it was subsequently added in January 2021.”
With Austin’s signature on JADC2 strategy, top general says it’s ‘delivery time.’ (C4ISRNET) “First, the DoD needs to settle on the definition of a federated data fabric, which is a data management environment with common standards and tools… The department is also searching for identity and network access management tools that can verify users on the battlefield, while recognizing that it will have to improve cybersecurity by moving to a zero trust environment… It’s difficult to determine how much money the Pentagon plans to spend on JADC2 because the program is not a specific budget line. [$204M for ABMS, $106M for Project Convergence, and Project Overmatch is classified across three program elements.]
Pentagon procurement system: too much overpromising and underdelivering? (Clearance Jobs) ““Members of Congress, the Pentagon and defense contractors all bear some responsibility for this challenge, and we all must make changes to address it.” [Adam Smith said]
The Pentagon wants to use private rockets like SpaceX’s starship to deliver cargo around the world. (CNBC) “The Air Force’s 2022 budget proposal requested almost $50 million for Rocket Cargo to continue the study concept… ocket Cargo effectively describes the Starship rockets that SpaceX is developing, as the military program will look at fully reusable private rockets that can launch between 30 and 100 tons.”
Leave a Reply