Opinion: How to partner with the Pentagon. (Aviation Week) AJ Piplica write: “Since the company’s founding in 2018, Hermeus has raised over $120 million in private capital, developed a hypersonic engine more quickly and at lower cost than comparable U.S. government programs (one-third schedule, one-eighth cost), and we are on track to fly our first aircraft, Quarterhorse, in 2023… In our experience, building that bridge involves the right mix and timing of Small Business Innovation Research funding, same-year budget reprogramming, intensive end-user engagement and lobbying Congress. All these pieces must fit together just right or the bridge collapses.”
Is the National Defense Strategy calling for acquisition reform? (CSIS) Cynthia Cook writes: “The 2022 NDS specifies that the current system is “too slow and too focused on acquiring systems not designed to address the most critical challenges we now face.” Why is this an issue? If the acquisition system is not postured to meet the threats in the 2022 NDS, which have not evolved dramatically since 2018, then this leads to two obvious questions: What systems is the acquisition system buying today, and why is it buying them if they are not designed address these challenges?”
Defense budget transparency and the cost of military capability. (AEI) Elaine McCusker’s key points:
- The US is not spending as much on defense as people may think.
- The US Department of Defense budget contains nearly $109 billion in spending that does not directly produce military capability.
- Defense resources and attention are diffused on programs and spending that should be managed by domestic departments and agencies, including the Departments of State, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Education and the Environmental Protection Agency.
DDG(X) destroyer could cost up to $3.4B a hull, SSN(X) attack boat up to $7.2B, says CBO report. (USNI News)
- Navy estimates DDG(X) will cost 10% more than DDG-51 flight III ($2.1B-$2.4B) but the full-load displacement will be 40% greater. CBO estimates DDG(X) at $3.1B-$3.4B. “The new DDG(X)’s combat capabilities would be equivalent or superior to those of the DDG-51 Flight III; it would also have a larger hull, substantially more power, more stealth characteristics, and a greater capacity to accommodate the installation of new weapon systems and other capabilities in the future,” reads the report.
- In the submarine realm, CBO estimates that the service’s planned next-generation attack submarine (SSN(X)) could cost between $6.2 and $7.2 billion – well above the Navy’s $5.6 billion estimate. The current Virginia-class boats cost about $2.8 billion per hull, while the Block Vs with the 80-foot Virginia Payload Module will cost about $3.2 billion. “Estimating the costs of the SSN(X) is difficult because the Navy has not yet determined its capabilities or size.”
Autonomous aircraft testing arrives. (Eglin AFB) “The 40th Flight Test Squadron took possession of the first of two government-owned Kratos XQ‑58A Valkyrie aircraft. “When you combine the XQ-58A with the Eglin Range infrastructure, you get an uncrewed aircraft that enables real, open-air test of flight autonomy software capabilities while also proving out the resource requirements that could be used for future combat collaborative aircraft,” Nygard said. “The goal by fall 2023 is to leverage this platform for experimentation with crewed-uncrewed teaming display solutions” said Nygard.”
IBCS completes key tests, teeing up full-rate production decision for Army. (Defense Scoop) “Officials say IBCS will not only be a central component of the Army’s future integrated air-and-missile defense capability but also a critical enabler of JADC2 by networking sensors and shooters across the services… The operational testing and evaluation included detecting, tracking and intercepting a “high performance” tactical ballistic missile and two cruise missile surrogates while the IBCS came under a “stressing” electronic attack, according to the company.”
- IBCS rapidly integrated a U.S. Marine Corps sensor, Marine Expeditionary Littoral Persistent Sensor (MELPS), allowing information to disseminate to the U.S. Navy’s Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) fire control network. Additionally, there was an airspace command and control (AC2) interface with the U.S. Air Force to provide increased situational awareness,” per the Northrop Grumman release.
The Navy want to turn submarines into UUV motherships. (Task & Purpose) “Right now the 600-pound Razorback UUV that the Navy has requires a dry-dock storage system and needs to be recovered by divers by hand, a cumbersome and time consuming task. The Navy has tested and proved that it can recover medium-sized UUVs… The service has yet to implement them fleetwide, he said. That is coming in the “near future.” “While the submarine is moving, the UUV has to find that torpedo tube and drive in,” Perry said to reporters. “
- The new UUV would also be based on the REMUS 600, but would be able to be modified with different sensors and equipment depending on the mission.
Ukraine will create a fleet of sea drones to protect water areas – Zelenskyy. (GaGadget) “A few weeks ago, a group of drones attacked the base of the Russian Federation’s Black Sea Fleet. At least three ships were hit, including the frigate Admiral Makarov, which became the flagship after the nearly $1 billion cruiser Moscow sank to the bottom of the Black Sea.”
- Before the attack on the Black Sea Fleet, an unknown underwater kamikaze drone had already been spotted off the coast of temporarily occupied Crimea. It was equipped with cameras, had a range of about 100 km and could reach speeds of over 70 km/h.
Five ways to deliver capabilities in the threat window. (AIDA Blog) Pete Modigliani writes: “The Air Force could deplete its entire inventory of JASSMs and LRASMs in about a week. While the war in Ukraine taught us some key lessons, we’re still not prepared for a major war with a near peer adversary today…. The 2024 – 2027 window opens in only 15 months. What are we doing to rapidly deliver mission impactful capabilities to INDOPACOM at the speed of relevance to deter or defeat China?”
Pentagon closing in on $9B cloud contract award after scuttling JEDI. (Defense News) “The complex JADC2 concept is “utterly reliant on having an enterprise cloud capability that operates at all three security classifications, top secret, secret, unclassified, from the continental United States all the way up to the tactical edge.””
- Award for JWCC is expected in about a month, in line with previous estimates for the end of 2022.
Congress poised to back multiyear weapons purchases, LaPlante says. (Defense News) More from GMU-DAU conference: “They’re going to give us multiyear authority, and they’re going to give us funding to really put into the industrial base ― and I’m talking billions of dollars into the industrial base ― to fund these production lines,” LaPlante said… “What industry means, and I get this, is: ‘Are you serious? Sure, you’re going to put a bunch of money against this now during the crisis, but two years from now, you’re going to leave me holding the bag,’” LaPlante said.”
We need to eliminate command and control. (Doug Thorpe) “I never thought I’d say those words. Being a former commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, command and control were integral to my success. The ability to stand on the rank and position I held helped direct troop movement and engagement… It is my humble opinion that command and control no longer have a meaningful place in today’s business world as a ‘leadership style.’ Too many things have changed with the way we do work and the way people view their lives as employees.”
Data driven capability portfolio management pilot. (AIRC) “There isn’t a single mission that the military accomplishes with only one system,” says DeLaurentis, who specializes in advanced technologies for space exploration and national defensive and offensive systems. “That’s not the way things work. There are always different sensors and logistics, and mobility platforms at play. If you just assess whether you’re doing the right things by looking at an individual program — the tank, the airplane, the ship — you will miss the gaps.”
Singapore yard may have quit US over cost overrun fears on $1.8bn order. (TradeWinds) “On Monday [Singapore Technologies] announced plans to dispose of VT Halter Marine and ST Engineering Halter Marine and Offshore (STEHMO) to Bollinger Shipyards for $15m. ST Engineering said the disposal comes following a “regular portfolio review and rationalisation to ensure that it focuses on businesses that are strategic and which yield higher returns.””
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