Stryker combat vehicle mounted laser weapon fends off mortar rounds. (New Atlas) “Using a 50-kW high-energy laser weapon, a US Army Stryker combat vehicle acquired, tracked, targeted, and defeated multiple 60-mm mortar rounds and other threats during four weeks of live-fire exercises at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico… The recent tests were carried out by a private industry team led by Raytheon Intelligence & Space, which supplied the laser weapon module, and Kord Technologies, which handled the integration with the Stryker combat vehicle. During the exercises, the solid-state laser took on mortar rounds as well as a mixture of small, medium, and large drones. The team is scheduled to deliver four of the DE M-SHORAD units to Army Brigade Combat Teams later this year.“
German shipbuilders warn of risks of being too reliant on China. (Splash) “Chinese shipyards are offering shipbuilding prices today which are up to 30% lower than 15 years ago although average wages in China have risen by nearly 400% within the same period. Korean shipyards which have kept up with this price competition recorded losses of $3.3bn in 2021… Europe’s market share has dropped to less than 4%… Europe will lose the capability to build seagoing merchant ships on any significant scale over the coming 10 years.”
Photos show China has fielded another semi-submersible transport ship. (Defense News) “The official China Military Online website showed the semi-submersible heavy ship Yinmahu transporting a Type 958 air-cushioned landing craft. The Yinmahu is similar in layout to the semi-submersible expeditionary transfer dock of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command… [but] is substantially smaller than its counterpart in the U.S. Navy — the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer dock, which is 785 feet long [vs. 575 ft] with a beam of 164 feet and a displacement of 78,000 tons [vs. 20,000 tons].”
Space Systems Command refines front-door concept. (Space News) “By emailing SSCFrontDoor@spaceforce.mil, companies can find contacts within program offices as well as information on filing paperwork with the State Department and Defense Logistics Agency related to government contracts… In most cases, the front door will direct companies to the Commercial Services Office, SpaceWERX or the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC).”
Lockheed Martin, Filecoin Foundation plan demonstration of decentralized data storage in space. (Space News) “Lockheed Martin is working with the Filecoin Foundation to demonstrate a blockchain network in space… the goal of the project is to develop a mission to demonstrate the Interplanetary File System, or IPFS, in space. IPFS is an open-source network that stores information that can be shared by users… IPFS allows users to back up files and websites by hosting them across numerous nodes. Landon said this project aims to bring the benefits of decentralized storage systems to space. “Ultimately, by minimizing the number of times that data has to be transmitted to Earth and return to space, IPFS’s decentralized storage model will enable more efficient data transfer and communication in space,” he said.”
Filecoin slips nearly 4% as new allegations of fraud emerge. (Coin Gape) “Chinese companies operating Filecoin mining pools have been under police investigation due to suspected pyramid schemes… Lai Chuhang, the boss of Shikongyun- Filecoin’s largest firm, has been arrested by the Guangxi police on suspicion of fraud and organizing a pyramid scheme. In November, several Chinese Filecoin companies were under investigation by the police for running pyramid schemes and FIL mining scams. The police arrested nearly 3o people involved in the scam and seized more than $50 million.
Updated autonomous weapons rules coming for the Pentagon. (Breaking Defense) “The department characterizes an “autonomous weapon” as an autonomous or semi-autonomous system that can choose its own targets and apply lethal or nonlethal force without a human in the loop… The update [to DoDI 3000.09] is occurring not because a major technological breakthrough is on the horizon, but because of a department standard that requires directives be updated every 10 years… Horowitz declined to go into details about where he thinks changes may be needed.”
Navy’s unmanned task force turns to a venture capital-inspired process to find investments. (Defense News) “The U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Task Force spent its first nine months developing a venture capital model for selecting promising technologies and is now beginning to identify candidates that could solve warfighter problems within the next five years… A top operator need that has emerged is AI-enabled maritime domain awareness... A rapid acquisition cell under the task force then looks at the best way to acquire the technology itself or the data it generates… the Unmanned Task Force is weighing the best acquisition models for future unmanned technologies, including a contractor-owned/contractor-operated model. In that scenario, the Navy only pays for the data it needs, rather than buying hardware to operate and maintain… the task force had early meetings with the staff of some congressional committees to explain how the work was incorporating congressional concerns about moving too quickly and ending up with an unsuccessful or unreliable product. He said those conversations also included the idea of an innovation fund, which he says the task force needs to be able to field new tech within the next five years.”
Navy’s 85-foot Orca unmanned submarine will be a minelayer first. (The Warzone) “Testing begins this summer on the Orca extra-large unmanned underwater vehicle, or XLUUV, in its primary role of carrying anti-ship mines in a 34-foot modular payload compartment… The 34-foot modular mid-section has an eight-ton payload capacity. It’s reconfigurable to carry payloads to suit a range of long-endurance missions, including undersea mines and synthetic aperture sonar for ocean-floor mapping. Navy requirements indicate the UUV will also perform underwater surveillance, electronic warfare, and minesweeping missions. Beyond that, it is planned for Orca to be able to do everything from launching cruise missiles and aerial drones to hunting submarines in the future… Also worth noting is that the Navy is seeking to cancel Snakehead — a large UUV you can read all about here — because it couldn’t be deployed by a nuclear submarine’s dry dock shelter (DDS) as originally envisioned, among other issues.”
Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks’ engagement during first meeting of the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) reform. (DoD) “During her comments to the commission members, Deputy Secretary Hicks identified key areas in the PPBE process which are most likely to benefit from the commission’s guidance, as well as areas where the department is making improvements… The deputy secretary thanked the commission members for their willingness to support Congress and the department in joint efforts to identify areas for future reforms that will ultimately improve the DoD’s ability to flexibly and efficiently match resources to strategy.”
Pentagon to Congress: Inflation… what inflation? (Breaking Defense) “… defense leadership’s 12-page memorandum in response to Congress essentially says five things:
- No inflationary adjustments were made to the budget since November
- The Pentagon does not track inflation’s effect in budget execution
- Leaders are not updating their forecasts even though six months of new data has emerged
- No financial help is needed from Congress at this time; and
- None in the department are seeking a higher pay raise for military members because of inflation.
… at a minimum, the Pentagon should ask for additional reprogramming authority for FY22 and FY23 that will enable the services to help themselves accordingly. Next, the Pentagon should ask for a two-year inflation transfer fund to help blunt some of the impact of inflation.”
The Army’s dream of artillery that fires 1,000 miles is officially a dud. (Task and Purpose) “The Army has decided to cancel the research effort for the Strategic Long-Range Cannon program [a]fter Congress cut funding for the project… there was speculation that the system would use something similar to the 155mm rocket-assisted projectile currently used by the service, which gets a boost in range after being fired through a standard artillery barrel. Another possibility was a ramjet shell… The Army currently has four other long-range fires programs expected to reach operational Army units by 2023. [ERCA 43 miles; LRHW 1,725 miles; anti-ship battery; and PrSM of 499km]
DoD not meeting same standards it plans to hold contractors to under CMMC. (Fed Scoop) “Under CMMC 2.0, contractors will have to meet, at minimum, 110 security practices to do business with the U.S. military on projects that call for cybersecurity beyond the most basic level. But according to the Government Accountability Office, though not legally required to, DOD components have only met 78% of those 110 requirements for systems that manage controlled unclassified information (CUI) — the type of data CMMC aims to safeguard.
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