Record defense budget flunks the China test. (Real Clear Defense) Jeb Nadaner: “The 2023 budget funds just a little more than a thousand new mid-to-long range conventional missiles, to add to our inventories: approximately 80 Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASMs), 600 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs), 90 Extended Range HARMs (AARGM-ERs), 100 Naval Strike Missiles (NSMs), and 150 Tomahawks… This year’s new cruise missile appropriation covers a mere few days to few weeks of combat. Beijing understands our numbers. Does Washington? To deter China, we require months-worth of the long-bolts.”
The Army’s multiyear contracts are a model for other services. (Defense News) Mackenzie Eaglen and Bill Greenwalt: “Inking multiyear procurement contracts is a good first step towards reinvigorating the defense industrial base, especially when it comes to munitions.”
- Per legislation for this fiscal year, any multiyear contracts greater than $500 million require appropriators’ approval. This is too low, and constrains the type of large buys industry depends on to build up and hold excess capacity. For next year, appropriators should consider doubling that threshold to $1 billion, giving the services more breathing room.
- The Navy and the Air Force should also take advantage of the authorities provided to them in the recent National Defense Authorization Act and acquire more Harpoons, Naval Strike Missiles, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, and other sea and air-launched munitions using multiyear contracts.
Shipbuilding industry looks to 3D printing to accelerate pace. (Defense News) “… the Navy looked at 5,500 parts that have presented schedule challenges for new construction and maintenance availabilities for submarines and ships; six materials account for 70% of late deliveries. Additive manufacturing could get more of these parts to construction and repair yards faster and more reliably.”
- The Navy has developed a plan to mature the metals, printing machines and processes associated with those six materials this year, such that by March 2024 they can be printed in volume and put on submarines.
- “First-time quality is a lot better from a 3D printed part, and the cost is significantly less.”
- Additive manufacturing could shorten the production timeline for certain metal pieces by an average of 80%.
DoD Should Map Competing incentives that hinder innovation, says Air Force 3-star. (Defense One) ““At some point, we’re going to have to explore what types of transparency we need to get our congressional stakeholders semi-comfortable with, the type of flexibility that we know we have to get to,” [General Hinote] said.”
US Air Force pumps $30M into blockchain for supply chains. (Blockworks) “The US Air Force (USAF) has for a while experimented with blockchain solutions to manage cash flow and streamline data management operations. It was already collaborating with blockchain-as-a-service provider SIMBA Chain to develop a blockchain-based system for certain functions including supply chain quality and management.”
How to forge shells for Ukraine’s artillery. (NY Times) “In a series of buildings in Middletown, Iowa, empty shells are turned into weapons. The structures, and some of the machines, are roughly 80 years old. Built to fight German and Japanese armies, they now turn out shells for Ukraine.” [Lots of pictures and process at the link]
Navy destroyer modernization program could cost $17B, take up to 2 years per hull. (USNI News) “The service has been working for the last several years to develop a plan to back fit about 20 Flight IIAs with the AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3, the AN/SPY-6 air and missile defense radar and the Baseline 10 version of the Aegis Combat System.”
A 3D printer isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A 3D-printing factory. (Bloomberg) “One particularly radical approach comes from Freeform Future Corp., a five-year-old startup based in Los Angeles.”
- Instead of trying to build a single machine that can print three-dimensional objects, Freeform is looking to turn entire buildings into automated 3D-printing factories that would use dozens of lasers to create rocket engine chambers or car parts from metal powder. The company, which has never before discussed its approach publicly, says the technique could allow it to make metal parts 25 to 50 times faster than is possible with current methods and at a fraction of the cost.
We don’t have the missiles to stop China. Time for drone swarms. (Defense One) Bryan Clark: “Ramping up production of key missiles, therefore, will take two years or more. That is time the U.S. military may not have.”
- Using everything from DJI quadcopters with hand grenades to Shahed-136 suicide drones carrying 200 pounds of explosives, these militaries have circumvented opponents’ air defenses through a mixture of slow speed, low radar signature, and numbers.
- … by shifting more of its force design toward commercially-derived technologies, the U.S. military could create the potential for commercial mobilization on a scale not seen since World War II.
Australia’s Ghost Shark AUV: The end of conventional manned submarines? (Baird) “Enter stage left, the Ghost Shark, an extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XL-AUV). The prototype of this underwater drone was unveiled recently by an Australian company at a secret location in Sydney harbour. This prototype, about the size of a single-decker bus, is capable of 10 days underwater operation at depths of up to 6,000 metres, far beyond the capabilities of conventional submarines.”
China threat inflation and America’s nonsensical plans. (POGO) “The larger American ships give the fleet a significant advantage in a number of areas, including the capacity to launch cruise missiles. U.S. surface ships have more than 9,000 vertical missile launch cells, compared to the 1,000 in the Chinese fleet.”
- The U.S. Navy has a total of 71 submarines, with 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic missile submarines, and four guided missile boats.
Capella space creates US government-focused subsidiary. (C4ISRNET) “… to help meet the “heightened security and facility clearance needs” of U.S. government customers.”
A cadre of experts to boost Army, contractors’ management of IP. (Federal News Network) “The IP cell of experts, as the Army calls it, will work across all mission areas to help educate and provide hands on assistance to contracting officers as they write solicitations.”
- One of the problems is that the Army, and broadly the Defense Department, doesn’t have a ton of IP [expertise] within the corps. So we are going to put out some hiring announcements for civilians, but potentially bring on contracted support.
GAO finds Navy ships having more problems, less steaming time over past decade. (Breaking Defense) “The Navy’s inability to dig itself out of its ship maintenance issues means upkeep costs to the government have risen by $2.5 billion while ship steaming hours have decreased over the last decade.”
- The ships that experienced the worst cannibalization rate increases were the Freedom-class LCS and the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship.
Blue Force Technologies and Air Force Research Laboratory conduct propulsion flowpath test of Fury unmanned aggressor aircraft. (Aviation Geek Club) “The air vehicle technology developed under Bandit can be adapted for other Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) mission areas. The Bandit program further demonstrates the impact that small businesses can have in the defense industrial base.”
HII taps Chewning, former DoD chief of staff, as new exec for strategy development. (Breaking Defense) “The hiring move comes as HII this past year has actively and aggressively rebranded itself from shipbuilder to a defense technology firm. One example of that shift has been the company’s greater emphasis on unmanned technologies, such as the Remus UUVs being tested and developed in Massachusetts.”
F-16 fighter jet backlog will increase before production rate can improve. (Shephard Media) “Lockheed Martin is facing a backlog of F-16 aircraft that is set to increase as the list of countries that want the jet grows. However, the company is convinced it can increase production rates significantly throughout 2023.”
Rheinmetall ready to boost output of tank and artillery munitions. (Ukrinform) “”We can produce 240,000 rounds of tank ammunition (120mm) per year, which is more than the entire world needs,” Papperger said. Rheinmetall made some 60,000 to 70,000 rounds each of tank and artillery shells, but production could be boosted immediately. He added that the capacity for the production of 155mm artillery rounds can be ramped up to 450,000 to 500,000 per year, which would make Rheinmetall the biggest producer for both kinds of ammunition.”
Leave a Reply