September 24th, 2013 By Army News Service - defencetalk.com

The Army doesn’t know for sure what the global environment will look like around 2030, but it’s likely going to have to conduct operations then when called upon to do so.

To prepare for that time, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command conducted a Unified Quest Deep Futures Wargame at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., Sept. 16-20, 2013.

The wargame takes predictions about the future strategic environment, from insights that come from the National Intelligence Council 2030 study and other sources, including the Army’s own studies, and uses that environment as the foundation for two teams to independently wargame the same fictional futures scenario.

While the future strategic environment is something nobody can be 100 percent sure of, the Army’s wargame works on a futures model predicted by using 40 geostrategic, military, science, and technology trends.

Included in futures predictions are the effects of expanding nation states, non-state actors that include groups like Hezbollah and al Qaeda, non-government agencies and even large global corporations. Also included in futures predictions are the effects of climate change, shifting demographics, urbanization, information, and technological trends, said Maj. Gen. Bill Hicks, deputy director, Army Capabilities Integration Center.

“What you see in terms of the environment — because of this interconnection, which is also reflected in the globalized nature of our society and the increasing technological dependence of global society — [are] events unfolding more quickly,” Hicks said. “You see the second- and third-order effects of those events impacting on a wider scale in terms of having a global impact. That drives us to consider how do we influence those events at speed — arrest their acceleration, control those events and try to restore to some degree of stability an area that has gone ’tilt,’ if you will.”

One team involved in the wargame was equipped as today’s Army, as it is programmed to be in 2030. The other team is equipped with “things that are possible but not yet programmed into the Army,” Hicks said.

“One of the outcomes of the more technologically enabled force is that they can respond in the game more rapidly,” Hicks said. “They can cut the time in half, or maybe two-thirds. It allows the political leadership to respond very rapidly to something that is happening very quickly. If the event can be responded to over a longer period of time, what we are really doing is giving the president, the secretary and others more political space to maneuver.”

While the two teams worked through the challenges of a theoretical conflict more than 17 years in the future, and each used a different capability set, they were able to develop insights into how today’s Army can better prepare for an uncertain future.

This wargame, Hicks said, focuses on two operational issues; one of those is the “imperative of speed.” Key findings of the emerging operating environment is the “momentum of human interaction.” Hicks said that includes the information that can be amassed, and the ideas that can be shared by people through the use of technology, as well as the ability to organize and take action.

“That momentum is something we see accelerating into the future, which will compress the decision space of our political leadership, and will drive the imperative for Army forces to be able to respond to it and influence events at the speed at which they occur,” Hicks said. “This creates options both militarily, and, potentially, we should be able to provide more decision space back to our political leadership.”

New operational approaches are also a focus in the wargame, he said, in addition to “revisiting” old ones.

“Non-linear operations, such as what we saw when we conducted Just Cause in Panama, is something we’re looking at,” he said. “How do we do that on a more routine basis against a variety of different challenges?”

The outcome of a wargame such as the one conducted at Carlisle Barracks is the ability to help Army senior leadership of today chart a better course for the Army of tomorrow. Right now, Hicks said, the Army is spinning down from being an operational Army to one that is preparing, or getting ready for the next fight. He said being prepared means being ready for the next fight, and it also means laying the groundwork today that will help an Army in the future be ready to fight.

“There are a couple of things we can impact today that we will see the effects of in 2030 and 2040,” Hicks said. “The senior leaders of the Army in 2030-2040 are in the Army today. So we need to look at what are the implications and the things that we need to start doing today with the officers and non-commissioned officers that we have, to start educating them over time, so they are prepared to deal with that environment.”

Hicks also said the Army can start thinking now about what types of Soldiers it will need to fight in a future environment; what types of Soldiers it will need to recruit today and in the near future, in order to have a capable Army in 2030.

In addition to personnel issues, the Army must also lay the groundwork today to ensure the future Army has the tools and technology it will need. Hicks said that doesn’t necessarily mean buying new equipment today, or spelling out exactly what kinds of weapons are going to be needed. Instead, it means ensuring the Army remains committed to robust science and technology development.

“[It's] not predicting the systems the future force will need, but looking to make sure we are focusing our science and technology investments today so that in the mid-2020s, those leaders have more options to draw from as they reshape the force for that decade,” Hicks said.

While a “deep futures” wargame can’t truly predict what the strategic environment will look like, Hicks said already the Army is aware of some things it needs to focus on to be more prepared for the uncertainty that is going to come.

“It is to our advantage to be more involved in the international environment, working mil-to-mil relationships, enabling diplomatic, economic and information activities around the world, attracting partners, reassuring allies, creating deterrent structures to maintain a degree of balance strategically, and then through all those activities being postured to respond when that strategic balance is upset,” he said.

The goal of the Unified Quest Deep Futures Wargame, Hicks said, is to “inform decisions today so we can create options for tomorrow.”

The wargame will generate some “insights,” he said, that can be brought to Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Ray Odierno, to better inform him on decisions he will make now to ensure the Army can be successful in the future.

“What we will be able to do is bring him some insights and help him think about the implications of this deep future, which really isn’t that far away; to inform his thinking on where he needs to make investments,” Hicks said.

Those investments in the future mean the right technology and the right kinds of people, Hicks said.

Sep. 24, 2013  MARCUS WEISGERBER - c4isrnet.com

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to shrink its organization tasked with defeating roadside bombs and reorganize other quick-reaction task forces born out of more than a decade of counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The decision by senior U.S. Defense Department officials to truncate the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) and realign the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force comes after a year of debate over how to institutionalize these entities.

The reorganizations were set in motion by Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in a memo earlier this month.

DoD officials had been contemplating three options for JIEDDO’s future: Eliminate the organization; break up its duties among the military services through a process called disaggregation; or restructure JIEDDO into a smaller office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD).

JIEDDO’s mission will continue to evolve, a defense official said. The organization’s “evolution will continue to support DoD efforts to retain a flexible and an agile force and also the ability to respond to urgent warfighter needs as they may arise.”

Defense officials are still determining the specifics of the downsizing, and the final path forward is still to be determined and pending the budget review process.

Senior JIEDDO officials, during a recent visit to Afghanistan, said the organization will be smaller but should maintain some of its most important capabilities, according to a DoD press article.

“If you look at the mission statement for JIEDDO, it’s to defeat the IED as a weapon of strategic influence,” Maj. Gen. Patrick Higgins, JIEDDO’s deputy director, said in the article. “Now I’m not ready to come out yet and say ‘mission accomplished,’ but if you look at the work over the last decade of war, what we have done in Iraq and what we are in the process of doing here, that is demonstratively proven.”

JIEDDO officials must submit a drawdown plan to OSD in the their 2015 budget proposal. JIEDDO should reach its lower staff level in 2017.

As for the ISR Task Force, Michael Vickers, the undersecretary for intelligence, must submit a plan to align the organization as a “permanent entity” within his directorate.

“The transitioned organization will be staffed appropriately to enable rapid fielding of new ISR capabilities in support of global warfighter requirement,” Carter wrote in a memo.

In addition, Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale and the head of the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell have been tasked with institutionalizing the funding process for urgent battlefield needs.

Sep 24, 2013 ASDNews (AFP)

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that he remained ready to use force over Syria's chemical weapons as he demanded that the United Nations take action.

In a sometimes defensive speech at the UN General Assembly, Obama said the United States was ready to defend interests in the Middle East including ensuring "free flow of energy" and prohibiting weapons of mass destruction.

"The United States of America is prepared to use all elements of our power, including military force, to secure these core interests in the region," Obama told world leaders.

Obama said that the world's credibility was at stake after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons.

"There must be a strong (UN) Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments, and there must be consequences if they fail to do so," Obama said.

"If we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the UN is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws.

Read more

September 25, 2013 defense-update.com

Aurora Flight Sciences Orion UAS has made its first flight last month, on August 24, 2013 the Orion took off from an unnamed airfield in the western test range, on a flight that lasted three hours and thirty-one minutes. The drone reached an altitude of 8,000 feet above mean sea level on that flight.

This mission was the first step towards demonstrating a 120-hr. flight at 20,000 ft. carrying a 1,000-lb. multi-sensor payload. Such extended endurance would allow the new drone to provide continuous surveillance carrying a Predator-class payload with fewer takeoffs and landings than current medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS flying 24-hr. missions, significantly reducing the manpower burden and operating cost.

Powered by a pair of fuel-efficient Austro Engine AE300 turbo-diesels, the aircraft flew for 3.5 hr., reaching an altitude of 8,000 ft. and airspeed of around 60 kt., says Tom Clancy, vice president of Aurora’s UAS business sector. Within the Defense Department, ownership of the Orion program has changed hands several times.

Aurora declined to identify its current customer, but Aviation Week understands it is the U.S. Air Force’s Big Safari program office, which manages the acquisition and modification of special-mission platforms. Using the composite wing and tail of the original HALL design, the Orion was rolled out at Aurora’s Golden Triangle, Miss., plant in November 2010, when it was expected to fly in August 2011.

In spite of program delays the basic objectives set at the beginning remain: a 120 hr. autonomous UAS carrying 1,000 lb. to 20,000 ft. There was no mission system on board for the Orion’s first flight, but there will be a payload on the aircraft for the 120 hr. demonstration flight, expected to be conducted by mid-2014. A number of different multi-intelligence payloads are potentially part of the program.

September 24, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: US Air Force; issued Sept. 23, 2013)

100K & Going: Global Hawk Makes Mark As Safest Platform

GRAND FORKS AFB, N.D. --- Although the days of the bombers and tankers are long gone, Airmen at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., are still finding ways to make Air Force history thanks to the Global Hawk mission.

The Northrop Grumman Corporation recently announced that its high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft systems achieved 100,000 flight hours Sept. 5.

News of the milestone was well-received by the leadership and members of the 69th Reconnaissance Group, the unit at Grand Forks AFB directly in charge of conducting Global Hawk missions.

"This milestone is something in which those of us involved in the Global Hawk mission take great pride," said Col. Lawrence Spinetta, 69th RG commander.

According to the Air Force Safety Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M., approximately 85 percent of the 100,000 flight hours for this aircraft were logged by U.S. Air Force Global Hawks. Credit for the remaining flight hours was split among the NASA, German and U.S. Navy versions of the aircraft.

The Global Hawk also has the safest record of any fighter, bomber or reconnaissance aircraft in the Air Force's active inventory.

"The safety record of the U.S. Air Force Global Hawk fleet is remarkable, especially given the fact that the system was rushed to combat and flew 75 percent of its first 100,000 hours supporting our warfighters in Afghanistan and elsewhere," Spinetta said. "These figures prove the reliability of unmanned aircraft technology. More importantly, it's testament to the professionalism of our Airmen and the pride they take in accomplishing our mission."

The Global Hawk is aptly named. Every day, RQ-4s circle the globe, providing critical strategic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to six combatant commands.

"The jet's long endurance is a significant combat force multiplier," Spinetta said.

The RQ-4, which can fly for upwards of 30 hours nonstop, has the ability to cover almost half the circumference of the world without refueling. That capability makes it a key contributor to the global vigilance, global reach, and global power of the U.S. Air Force.

Spinetta reflected on the recent aviation milestone and contemplated what it means for the history of the Air Force.

He told members of the 69th RG that their hard work is "the realization of an Air Force prophecy" by Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold. As the commanding general for the U.S. Army Air Force in 1945, Arnold said, "We have just won a war with a lot of heroes flying around in planes. The next war may be fought by airplanes with no men in them at all...Take everything you've learned about aviation in war, throw it out the window, and let's go to work on tomorrow's aviation."

Members of the 69th RG will receive patches from Northrop Grumman commemorating the milestone.

"Some people might refer to the patch as badge of honor, however, we know the real honor is knowing we are doing an excellent job protecting our warriors and our nation," Spinetta said. "That's exactly what we will continue to do."

September 24, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Lexington Institute; issued September 23, 2013)

Time to Add A Pinch of Industrial Policy to the Defense Department’s Recipe for Acquisition

Through good times and bad, one near-constant in the Department of Defense (DoD) is its refusal to consider an explicit industrial policy. On occasion, the Pentagon’s leadership will make a rather hesitant foray into the world of industrial planning and policy as in the 1990s when there was an attempt to make performance-based logistics common practice in sustainment contracting or in 2009-2010 when insourcing was prescribed as the solution to rising O&M costs. The only concrete example of industrial policy in recent memory was the so-called “Last Supper,” when then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin told the assembled titans of industry that with the fall of the Soviet Union and planned decreases in defense spending there would not be enough money for all of them to survive. Consequently, Aspin announced, they needed to merge.

It is long past time for DoD to get serious about its industrial policy and to tie the maintenance of critical parts of the aerospace and defense industrial base to its acquisition policies and programs. The leadership of U.S. companies, regardless of sector but particularly in the defense space, are neither suicidal nor stupid. It does no good for the Pentagon to urge private companies to be more innovative and spend more of their own resources on R&D for products that the military will not have the money to procure. DoD needs to realize that they will have to take concrete steps to maintain a viable, modern and responsive defense industrial base.

Rather than the Pentagon jumping into the deep end of industrial policy, what about taking a baby step? This would be like adding a little salt or pepper to the old family recipe just to spice it a bit. I am thinking specifically about maintaining the C-17 production line which is due to close in the next few years absent major foreign contracts.

The end of C-17 production means that this nation will not be producing a large body military aircraft for the first time in some 70 years. Another large body, purpose-built military aircraft will not come along until such time as the Air Force begins acquiring its new strategic bomber. DoD should seriously consider buying a minimum sustaining number of these aircraft to replace older models. Because these airframes still have life left in them, they could be sold internationally.

September 24, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Northrop Grumman Corporation; issued September 23, 2013)

Northrop Grumman, U.S. Army Incorporate Patriot and Sentinel Capabilities Into Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The U.S. Army and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) have successfully incorporated a key capability of the Patriot family of missiles and the Sentinel radar into the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS).

Under the direction of the IAMD Project Office, the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Company, the Sentinel Project Office and Lockheed Martin worked together to host the Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) and PAC-3 missile capability into the IBCS. This allows the Patriot family of interceptors to be launched and controlled by an IBCS engagement operations center in a net-centric approach. The government-industry team also added the Sentinel radar to the IBCS Integrated Fire Control Network, validating the common open architecture-based approach to integrating sensors.

"The IBCS open architecture facilitates plugging disparate missiles and sensors into the Army's integrated fire control network," said Kelley Zelickson, vice president of air and missile defense systems for Northrop Grumman Information Systems. "Thus, in addition to affordable integration and expanded capability, IBCS provides the Army with alternatives to buying or upgrading unique command and control systems when it desires to incorporate new missile or sensor components."

Northrop Grumman will participate with IBCS in an Army IAMD demonstration planned for the fourth quarter of 2013 at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. The demonstration is a snapshot of IBCS capabilities in the development process and will show integrated Sentinel and Patriot battle command operations. Development and operational testing planned by the Army to begin in 2014 includes testing the IBCS capability to direct the firing of Army IAMD weapons at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

The IBCS program resulted from analysis of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom operations to improve mission command as a top priority. By implementing an open, network-centric, system-of-systems solution, IBCS optimizes battle management command and control and significantly improves cost effectiveness and flexibility. IBCS uses an enterprise, plug-and-fight approach to ensure that current and future sensors and weapon systems can be easily incorporated, allowing warfighters to take advantage of integrated Army and joint capabilities. The IBCS program also focuses on warfighter decision processes and tools to ensure intuitive situational understanding for time-critical engagements.

Northrop Grumman's IBCS industry team includes The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Harris Corporation, Schafer Corporation, nLogic Inc., Numerica Corporation, Colsa Corporation, EpiQ Inc., Space and Mission Defense Technologies, CohesionForce Inc., Daniel H Wagner Associates, Qtec Inc., RhinoCorps, Tobyhanna Army Depot, Ultra Electronics Advanced, Sparta Inc., Instrumental Sciences Inc., Intelligent Systems Research Inc., 4M Research Inc. and Cummings Aerospace Inc.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Sep 24, 2013 ASDNews Source : Rockwell Collins

    Patrol Persistent Surveillance System combines sound, vibration and imaging sensors for enhanced situational awareness

The constant monitoring of threats against military bases, forward observation posts and other secure facilities can be time-intensive and dangerous. To solve this problem for the Australian Defence Forces, Rockwell Collins developed and recently delivered the Patrol Persistent Surveillance System (PPSS).

Read more

Sep 24, 2013 ASDNews Source : The Boeing Company

    Provides next generation of combat training for US Air Force

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Air Force have completed the first unmanned QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target flight, demonstrating the next generation of combat training and testing.

Two U.S. Air Force test pilots in a ground control station remotely flew the QF-16, which is a retired F-16 jet modified to be an aerial target. The QF-16 mission profile included auto takeoff, a series of simulated maneuvers, supersonic flight, and an auto land, all without a pilot in the cockpit.

Read morehttp://www.asdnews.com/news-51259/Boeing_QF-16_Aerial_Target_Completes_1st_Pilotless_Flight.htm

September 24, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued September 23, 2013)

Pentagon Contract Announcement

United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, East Hartford, Conn., is being awarded a $214,843,107 modification to the previously awarded F-35 Lightning II Lot VI low rate initial production advance acquisition contract (N00019-12-C-0090).

This modification provides for initial spare modules, initial spare parts, replenishment spare parts, and production non-recurring efforts, including tooling, for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, the United Kingdom, Italy, The Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark, and Norway.

Work will be performed in East Hartford, Conn. (67 percent); Bristol, United Kingdom (16.5 percent); and Indianapolis, Ind. (16.5 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2016.

Fiscal 2011 and 2012 procurement, Air Force, fiscal 2011and 2012 procurement, Navy, and international partner funding in the amount of $214,843,107 will be obligated at time of award, $33,328,898 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps ($111,245,364; 51 percent); U.S. Air Force ($72,711,358; 34 percent); and the Governments of Italy ($8,850,625; 4 percent), the United Kingdom ($6,824,288; 3 percent), Australia ($6,245,484; 3 percent), The Netherlands ($2,350,434; 1 percent), Turkey ($2,722,643; 1 percent), Canada ($1,769,504; 1 percent), Denmark ($816,366; 1 percent) and Norway ($1,307,041; 1 percent).

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Sep 24, 2013 ASDNews Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received an $18 million contract from the National Warhead and Energetic Consortium to transition the Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) to production.

The contract includes developing production line tooling, test equipment and manufacturing process plans for initial production of the advanced projectile. The guidance and control unit will be assembled at Lockheed Martin’s Ocala, Fla., facility. Final assembly of LRLAP will be performed at the company’s Troy, Ala., facility.

Read more

September 24, 2013 @PeterDoerrie - war-is-boring

 

Drones are useless against advanced enemies, so “pivot to Asia” actually means “drones to Africa”

Not too long ago, Mohamed Bazoum, the foreign minister of the western African nation of Niger gave a provocative endorsement to unrestricted drone warfare. The target: drug dealers moving their wares through the country — along with everyone else who makes money from the narcotics trade.

“I would really welcome armed drones to shoot down drug traffickers,” Bazoum said. “And all those who live from activities linked to drug trafficking. I don’t see why that shouldn’t be possible.”

It’s not, yet. But Niger’s government has gotten a taste of the capabilities of U.S. drones with the deployment of two MQ-9 Reapers (the successor of the pop-culture famous Predator drone) to a base near Niamey, Niger’s capital, in February. The unmanned planes are armed with only cameras and sensors — not bombs — but Niger’s government isn’t the only African nation that’s acquired a taste for more.

Many African states sport huge territories, of which large swathes of land are only sparsely inhabited. This is exploited by armed rebel groups all over the continent, who use the remote areas to prepare for attacks.

Some of these groups, like Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) or Al Shabaab in Somalia have made international headlines in recent years, ousting the government from large parts of the national territory in Mali and Somalia, respectively. Al Shabaab is believed to be responsible for carrying out the worst terrorist attack in Kenya since the 1998 embassy bombings.

The U.S. government probably wouldn’t have cared very much, but both AQIM and Al Shabaab are Islamist groups with strong links with Al Qaeda in Pakistan and Yemen, and members of the African affiliates have been involved with organizing and staging terrorist attacks abroad.

Other armed groups — both Islamist and others — kindle the interest of U.S. militaries and policy makers as well. Boko Haram is another Al Qaeda affiliated group that’s in open warfare with the Nigerian government. The defeat of Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army (though now active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic) has been made a cause célèbre by American advocacy groups. Various rebel groups in eastern Congo have made it on the government’s radar as well.

Last but not least, there are a range of other armed groups with little impact on U.S. interests directly, but which are a huge thorn in the sides of important U.S. allies — the Oromo Liberation Front in Ethiopia is a case in point.

Read more

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 23 (UPI)

A Naval Sea Systems Command contract has been given to McKean Defense Group LLC for services in support of the Deputy Commander for Surface Warfare.

Under the award, McKean will provide program management support, budget/finance support, operations support and administrative services to the Commander, Navy Regional Maintenance Centers (CNRMC) and the Surface Team One (ST1) initiative to enhance surface ship maintenance and modernization efforts.

The cost-plus fixed-fee award carries a value of more than $24.8 million. It is for three years.

"One of McKean's core competencies is surface navy maintenance, modernization and sustainment," McKean Defense Chief Executive Officer Joseph L. Carlini said Monday. "With this dedicated contract, Team McKean will be able to more efficiently execute the customer's mission."

McKean's team for the contract includes Alion Science and Technology Corporation, American Systems Corp., CACI Enterprise Solutions Inc., Delta Resources Inc., eNthusaProve LLC., Herren Associates Inc., Life Cycle Engineering Inc., Patrona Corp., Science Applications International Corp., Thor Solutions LLC. and Valkyrie Enterprises LLC.