Why Microsoft (Not Amazon) Could Win The Pentagon Contract

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  July 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Armed with a new Arctic strategy, the Air Force seeks increased connectivity in the region

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — With commerce, travel and international competition in the Arctic region on the rise, the Department of the Air Force will prioritize making investments that will enable greater connectivity among U.S. military assets, the Air Force's top general said July 21. “Missile warning, space capabilities, air capabilities, how you marry up fifth generation and fourth generation [fighter jets]. It's more the case as we look at the future of warfare that data will be the currency that we operate on,” said Air Force Gen. Dave Goldfein at a roll out of the department's new Arctic strategy hosted by the Atlantic Council. “It's access to data, its manipulation at the speed of relevance. ... How we build the networks that we can operate seamlessly on is where you're going to see most of our investment,” he said. In the new strategy, the U.S. Air Force and Space Force commit to enhancing its northernmost missile defense capabilities, exploring new surveillance and communications technologies and updating its dilapidated infrastructure in the region. But the strategy doesn't provide specifics on how much the service is willing to spend to make its goals a reality, and Goldfein, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond on Tuesday didn't provide much clarity on whether the department's strategic goals will turn into actionable investments. Although the U.S. Navy has a major interest in the region's waterways, the Department of the Air Force maintains the military's largest presence in the Arctic, making up 80 percent of the Defense Department's funding efforts in the region. “We've always valued the Arctic and recognized the importance of its geostrategic location,” Barrett said. However, she added that Russia's recent build-up in region, including “a network of offensive air assets and coastal missile systems,” has led the department to be more aware of the need to recapitalize its own technology in the Arctic. Meanwhile, China — which is not technically an Arctic nation — is attempting to insert itself in the region's affairs as part of its “One Belt, One Road” initiative. That country seeks access to “rare earth minerals, hydrocarbons, and fisheries,” according to the strategy, and has pursued strategic investments that would enhance its air and sea transportation options, such as a failed plan to build an airport in Greenland. The strategy lays out several goals that could result in greater investments in areas like command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C3ISR), space operations and missile defense. It also states that the Air Force and Space Force will work with the other services on an Arctic communications roadmaps that explores current and emerging technologies that could expand connectivity to military forces in the region. It will also work with the joint force on developing data links and ensuring satellite coverage. For missile defense, the strategy states an interest in “continuing to work with Canada to identify materiel and non-materiel solutions to the North Warning System” and updating the missile defense surveillance system in the Northern tier. The Space Force will “develop new technologies and modernize existing assets in the Arctic necessary to ensure access to and freedom to operate in space,” the strategy states, though it does not explain what types of capabilities will be necessary. It will also develop capabilities that can better predict the weather and environmental disturbances. U.S. Air and Space Force operations in the Arctic will have to become more agile, and could involve “expanded fixed bases, unoccupied airfields, or portable radar systems.” But even though the strategy also recognizes the difficulty of moving to a more modular way of operations given the complex nature of supplying installations in remote areas that may be almost completely inaccessible during the winter months, it provides few answers on what a more disaggregated approach to Arctic operations could look like. The department needs to advocate for additional funding to modernize Air Force and Space Force installations in the region, which include major air bases in Alaska like Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Thule Air Base in Greenland, and remote radar sites that make up the North Warning System, the strategy said. “To survive in the region, materials need to meet standards including: high thermal efficiency; long-term durability; tolerance to repeated freeze and thaw cycles; and resistance to permafrost degradation. Infrastructure in many austere locations, like Thule, Greenland, has deteriorated due to extreme environmental factors,” it said. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/07/21/armed-with-a-new-arctic-strategy-the-air-force-seeks-increased-connectivity-in-the-region/

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  June 11, 2021 | International, Naval

  Ingalls to hire 3,000 full-time shipbuilders

  America’s largest military shipbuilder is adding blue-collar jobs.

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  June 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Will US foreign military sales catch the coronavirus?

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Economic shock waves from the coronavirus pandemic are threatening U.S. arms sales to its allies and partners, who may suddenly have less to spend. U.S. defense exports, through either the Foreign Military Sales process (which is government-facilitated) or the Direct Commercial Sales process (from a firm to a nation), are a means for the U.S. to strengthen ties with friendly countries and, as President Donald Trump likes to make explicit, pump revenue into the U.S. economy. Though the U.S. made $55 billion in foreign military sales in fiscal 2019, observers see headwinds in declining oil prices and the potential for allies to prioritize their domestic response to COVID-19 over defense spending. The Middle East is a leading market, and Saudi Arabia the world's leading purchaser. But the falling price of crude oil has fueled projections that Gulf Cooperation Council budgets will shrink, and with them demand for U.S. weapons. To boot, a Saudi-initiated oil price war has only added to Capitol Hill's ire toward the kingdom. Arms sales to Saudi Arabia reentered Congress' crosshairs as lawmakers probed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for firing of a State Department inspector general who'd been investigating Pompeo for bypassing a congressional freeze on arms sales to the kingdom. Previous objections to the sale centered around Riyadh's role in Yemen's civil war and — U.S. intelligence agencies believe ― the death of columnist Jamal Khashoggi. “I think the trends are a bit worrisome,” Roman Schweizer, the managing editor of Cowen Washington Research Group, said during a Defense One event. “The Saudis have been in the penalty box with the U.S. Congress since the Khashoggi killing, and most recently with the overproduction of crude oil. ... So getting a deal though the U.S. Senate for the Saudis are probably a bridge too far.” Within NATO and the European Union, allied purchases of U.S. equipment have been lagging, as Trump has jousted with leaders in Western Europe, Schweitzer said. At the same time, allies nearer to the border with Russia have been buying U.S. arms more heavily. In the long term, tensions with Russia and China are still likely to drive demand, observers say. China ― the Pentagon's pacing threat ― is raising defense spending by 6.6 percent in 2021 even as it cuts education and public services. “The growth rate may have slowed, but the fact the budget increased is still a significant indication of the focus and prioritization that the [Chinese Communist] Party puts on modernization plans and national security interests,” Meia Nouwens, an expert on Chinese military affairs with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said at the same event. For now, it's unclear whether COVID-19 will turn Europe's focus away from burden-sharing, said Edward Ferguson, a former British ambassador now serving as minister counselor for defense at the U.K. embassy. What is clear: European governments will have to have difficult conversations. “Right now within NATO, what we see are allies proliferating rather than reducing,” Ferguson said at the event. “Notwithstanding the additional demands on treasuries and exchequers is the fundamental shifts in technologies we're seeing and [the] need to invest in that, and the increasingly complex strategic environment, whether it's Russia or China. " Along similar lines, the industry itself has been largely optimistic about the prospects of overseas sales. On recent investor calls, Lockheed Martin executives said there's been no reduction in demand from the Middle East. They touted F-16 fighter jet deals with Bahrain, Bulgaria, Slovakia and ― pending government approval ― Taiwan, as well as demand for Hellfire missiles and the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile. Lockheed Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Possenriede, on an investor call earlier this month, pointed to demand for the F-35 jet from Poland, Belgium and Japan, and Lockheed's plans to participate in aircraft competitions in Switzerland, Spain and Finland. “We're in the final stages of the Canada competition, which we feel pretty good about,” he said. In Raytheon's May 7 earnings call, CEO Greg Hayes acknowledged Saudi Arabia is challenged by the lower oil prices, but added: “I don't think peace is breaking out anytime soon in the Middle East.” The company anticipated Riyadh will buy its AN/TPY-2 Surveillance Transportable Radar, which is linked to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system. “So far, we have continued to see good cash come in from the Middle Eastern customers during the first quarter, surprisingly even with oil out there,” Hayes said. “They need the equipment, they want the equipment and we need to help them defend themselves.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/15/will-us-foreign-military-sales-catch-the-coronavirus