Tomahawk Test. The U.S. Navy test fired two Raytheon Tomahawk cruise missiles from new payload tubes on the Virginia-class USS North Dakota (SSN-784) submarine in an initial test. The test occurred in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida and aimed to prove the submarine’s ability to load, carry, and vertically launch missiles from the Block III Virginia Payload Tube. Raytheon says the new tubes have fewer parts and will be more reliable.
Ford Commissioning. The U.S. Navy is commissioning its newest aircraft carrier, the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) during a ceremony July 22 at Naval Station Norfolk. During the ceremony President Trump will deliver the principal address while former President Ford’s daughter, Susan Ford Bales, will serve as ship’s sponsor. CVN-78 is the first of a new class of carriers that will replacement the Nimitz-class carriers. The ship has been beset by complaints of delays and cost overruns at about $1.4 billion over the original cost estimate. The Ford is expected to become operational by 2020.
Defense Approps. The full House is expected to take up the fiscal year 2018 defense appropriations bill during the week of July 24. The bill, which the House Appropriations Committee approved in late June, has been combined with several other appropriations bills to create a national security “minibus” bill. The defense measure would give the Department of Defense a total of $658.1 billion, including $584.2 billion in discretionary funding, $68.1 billion above the FY 2017 enacted level and $18.4 billion above the Trump administration’s request. It also contains $73.9 billion in overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism funding, or about $10 billion above the request.
JSTARS Debate. The Air Force’s selection of a replacement for its E-8C JSTARS ground-surveillance plane is “first and foremost a decision between business jets and jetliners,” says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group. Two business jets — a Gulfstream G550 offered by Northrop Grumman and a Bombardier Global 6000 proposed by Lockheed Martin – are competing against a Boeing 737 jetliner. “Jetliners have a lot more space for consoles and onboard battle management, but business jets perform well at higher altitudes, which confers an advantage for airborne ground-observation radars,” Aboulafia says. “A jetliner solution is a hedge against comms disruption, since sensors, information processing and battle management are all in one place.” The Air Force plans to award a contract by March 2018.
Strategy Panel. The chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have appointed a 12-person commission to make recommendations on national defense strategy. The panel members include former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), retired Navy Adm. Gary Roughead and retired Army Gen. Jack Keane.
Triad Debate. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, believes the United States should reconsider plans to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad. Speaking July 20 at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., he said that bombers and ballistic missile submarines might provide a sufficient nuclear deterrent, and that tens billions of dollars could be saved by scrapping plans to replace aging land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. “We could save an enormous amount of money in this area,” he said. “We really need to focus on having a limited nuclear deterrent that meets our national security objectives and fits our budget.”
Truman Cruise. The USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) finished a four-day fast cruise before departing for sea trials. The fast cruise assesses the ship’s mission readiness with drills and emergency scenarios with 3,000 sailors operating the ship as if it is transiting the Atlantic Ocean. CVN-75 has been at Norfolk Naval Shipyard since August 2016 to undergo 10 months of planned maintenance and improvements. The ship is preparing for a schedule of various training exercises as it goes to sea trials. The Truman is will return to homeport at Naval Station Norfolk before a planned deployment with Carrier Strike Group 8.
JASSM-ER Upgrade. The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $37.7 million contract to continue developing a new wing design for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER). The new design, which will refine the wing’s shape and size, will increase the reach of the stealthy, 2,000-pound cruise missile, whose current range exceeds 500 nautical miles. “We’ve developed a novel design that provides additional standoff range to further increase pilot survivability in an anti-access, area-denial threat environment,” says Jason Denney, program director for long-range strike systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. Lockheed Martin plans to begin wind-tunnel testing the new design in early 2018.
Army Computers. Leonardo DRS received more than $53 million in orders in 2017 to provide the U.S. Army with next-generation combat computing systems, called the Mounted Family of Computer Systems, or MFoCS. The orders are part of an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. “MFoCS is the most advanced family of ultra-rugged computers and display systems engineered for military application and it can be installed on every tactical platform variant in use by all of the services,” says Jerry Hathaway, vice president and general manager of DRS Land Electronics. MFoCS systems are being installed in ground combat and tactical vehicles to provide modular computing capabilities for the U.S Army and other services, giving warfighters the next-generation of computing and display technology with faster processing performance. This enables support for simultaneous applications as well as the integration of additional sensors and communications networks.
Enterprise Material. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded Hunting Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding segment an undefinitized fixed-price-incentive-firm target modification not to exceed nearly $14 million to purchase additional long-lead-time material in support of the Enterprise (CVN-80) aircraft carrier. The funding comes entirely from the fiscal year 2017 shipbuilding and conversion account and is expected to be finished by Jan. 2024.
DDG-114. The future USS Ralph Johnson (DDG-114) Arleigh Burke-class destroyer successfully completed its builder’s trials following spending four days underway in the Gulf of Mexico. The trials included a series of in-port and at-sea demonstrations that allow shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries and the Navy to assess the ship’s systems and readiness for delivery. DDG-114 demonstrated full power runs, self-defense detect-to-engage exercises, steering checks, boat handling, and anchoring. DDG-114 will later go back to sea conduct acceptance trials with the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. This is the 30th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer built by HII.
Intel Nominee. President Donald Trump intends to nominate retired Navy Vice Adm. Joseph Kernan to be undersecretary of defense for intelligence, according to a White House announcement. A former commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, Kernan is currently senior vice president of corporate development for SAP National Security Services, a software provider.
CNO China. Adm. John Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) held a first cvideo teleconference with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Adm. Shen Jinlong, Commander of China’s People’s Liberation Army (Navy). They discussed bilateral naval engagements and recent North Korean missile tests. The Navy says Richardson stressed the importance of regional maritime security and the need for both countries to work together to addresses North Korea’s military behavior. This is Richardson’s fourth VTC with a Chinese counterpart, the previous with Shen’s predecessor Adm. Wu Shengli.
F-35 Netherlands. Naval Air Systems Command awards Lockheed Martin a contract modification not to exceed $9.2 million to an advance acquisition contract for additional long-lead material and parts in support of low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lots 12, 12, 14 for the F-35 for the Netherlands. Work is expected to be finished in Dec. 2019.
UNITAS Exercise. The U.S. Navy participated with 18 other countries in the 58th annual UNITAS multilateral exercise, hosted in Peru. It includes Pacific and amphibious phases concurrently. UNITAS Pacific aims to train each navy in combined naval operations through littoral warfare, anti-piracy, maritime interdiction operations, countering transnational organized crime, anti-surface warfare, electronic warfare, communications exercises, and air and amphibious operations. UNITAS Amphibious is conducted with U.S. Marine Corps Forces South, the U.S. Fourth Fleet, the Peruvian navy and marines, and other regional partners to enhance interoperability, improve partner abilities, and develop common practices for use in future operations.
Behavioral Baloney. The Government Accountability Office says in a new report that there is no “valid evidence” that most of the behavioral indicators that the Transportation Security Administration’s Behavior Detection Officers use “can be used to identify individuals who may pose a threat to aviation security.” The agency uses its BDOs at airports to help spot potential mal-intent on the part of individuals.
…Blowback. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee and a frequent critic of TSA’s behavior detection program, says “it is ridiculous that TSA provide little more than news articles and opinion pieces,” to support behavior indicators. He says the “billion dollar” program “could be put to better use focusing solely on proven screening activities. It is clear, yet again, that Congress should cut funding for this troubled program, which is known more for racial profiling and ethnic profiling than detecting terrorist activity.”