Trump's nuclear options: Upcoming review casts a wide net: On Dec. 22, just weeks from taking office, then President-elect Donald Trump shook the military and nuclear communities by tweeting out that the U.S. "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes."
It was a stunning statement, as the push to limit expansion of atomic arms has been a cornerstone of American policy since the height of the Cold War. But Trump doubled down the next day.
"Let it be an arms race,” the president said, according to Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “We will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all.”
Now, having ordered a new review of America's nuclear arsenal, the world is watching to see how Trump will follow through on those comments.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Unmanned warfare office eliminated in US Navy shuffle
Unmanned warfare office eliminated in US Navy shuffle: A U.S. Navy office set up less than two years ago to oversee the warfare development of unmanned systems has been eliminated, the Navy said Wednesday.
The Office of Unmanned Warfare Systems — coded N99 in the Navy’s system of identifying offices reporting directly to the chief of naval operations, collectively known as OPNAV — is being broken up and its functions distributed to other offices, Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, told service leaders in a Feb. 8 message.
The reorganization, said Lt. Jackie Pau, a Navy spokesperson at the Pentagon, “is the next step in the Navy's ongoing process to mainstream the complementary warfighting effects of manned and unmanned warfare systems.”
The move, Moran said in the message, was done “with the goal of creating a leaner, more agile organization.”
The N99 office was established in mid-2015 as part of an initiative by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to place unmanned warfare on a par with other OPNAV warfare divisions.
The Office of Unmanned Warfare Systems — coded N99 in the Navy’s system of identifying offices reporting directly to the chief of naval operations, collectively known as OPNAV — is being broken up and its functions distributed to other offices, Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, told service leaders in a Feb. 8 message.
The reorganization, said Lt. Jackie Pau, a Navy spokesperson at the Pentagon, “is the next step in the Navy's ongoing process to mainstream the complementary warfighting effects of manned and unmanned warfare systems.”
The move, Moran said in the message, was done “with the goal of creating a leaner, more agile organization.”
The N99 office was established in mid-2015 as part of an initiative by then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to place unmanned warfare on a par with other OPNAV warfare divisions.
Top Marine Corps aviator wants F-35Bs faster than planned
Top Marine Corps aviator wants F-35Bs faster than planned: The Marine Corps’ top aviator is hungry for more F-35Bs, telling reporters on Wednesday that he would like to see the service’s buy rate increase to 37 jets per year.
That would almost double the planned rate of F-35B procurement over the next few years, which is projected to sit at 20 aircraft per year from fiscal years 2018 to 2021.
"We have the infrastructure in place,” said Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation. "Bottom line is we've had a very anemic ramp, so we've been holding onto the older airplanes longer. If asked by the American people to get the airplanes faster, I guarantee we'd put them into play very, very quickly.
“We'd transition squadrons faster is what we'd do,” he said, adding that if the service were allowed to purchase 37 B-variants a year, it would be able to retire its legacy F/A-18 Hornet and Harrier planes by 2026.
The Marine Corps currently owns about 50 F-35Bs in test, training and operations squadrons, and is gradually making the shift from Hornets and Harriers to F-35s, Davis said.
That would almost double the planned rate of F-35B procurement over the next few years, which is projected to sit at 20 aircraft per year from fiscal years 2018 to 2021.
"We have the infrastructure in place,” said Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation. "Bottom line is we've had a very anemic ramp, so we've been holding onto the older airplanes longer. If asked by the American people to get the airplanes faster, I guarantee we'd put them into play very, very quickly.
“We'd transition squadrons faster is what we'd do,” he said, adding that if the service were allowed to purchase 37 B-variants a year, it would be able to retire its legacy F/A-18 Hornet and Harrier planes by 2026.
The Marine Corps currently owns about 50 F-35Bs in test, training and operations squadrons, and is gradually making the shift from Hornets and Harriers to F-35s, Davis said.
Army Builds Cyber Combat Teams, Studies Recruitment Pilot | Military.com
Army Builds Cyber Combat Teams, Studies Recruitment Pilot | Military.com: In an effort to strengthen its cyberwarfare prowess, the U.S. Army is deploying teams of specially trained soldiers to launch cyberattacks on Islamic State extremists, as well as embarking on an effort to recruit cyber experts from the civilian world.
Since 2010, Army cyber experts have been standing up new commands, developing training programs and forming a cyber mission force to help combat units survive the cyber battlefield.
The Army has a requirement to field 41 teams in the cyber mission force for U.S. Cyber Command. Currently, the service has 30 fully operational teams and is scheduled to meet the requirement before the fiscal 2018 deadline, Brig. Gen. Patricia Frost, director of Army Cyber Directorate G3/5/7, told a group of defense reporters Wednesday at the Pentagon.
"We believe that it will happen by the end of 2017, which will be early," Frost said.
Since 2010, Army cyber experts have been standing up new commands, developing training programs and forming a cyber mission force to help combat units survive the cyber battlefield.
The Army has a requirement to field 41 teams in the cyber mission force for U.S. Cyber Command. Currently, the service has 30 fully operational teams and is scheduled to meet the requirement before the fiscal 2018 deadline, Brig. Gen. Patricia Frost, director of Army Cyber Directorate G3/5/7, told a group of defense reporters Wednesday at the Pentagon.
"We believe that it will happen by the end of 2017, which will be early," Frost said.
European Command Regional Operations Directorate
European Command (EUCOM) Regional Operations (RO) is a directorate within the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, that manages $18 billion in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases and security assistance programs with 51 nations and nine international organizations throughout Europe. The EUCOM RO Directorate's emphasis on building partner capacity and supporting combatant command (COCOM) engagement strategies further strengthens regional partnerships across Europe.
What is the Army doing?
USASAC is part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is funded by the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act to counter Russia's attempted annexation and occupation of Crimea and continued aggression by combined Russian-separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. USASAC has delivered more than $600 million in training, equipment, supplies and services to help Ukraine:
Build their combat capability.
Preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian and Russian-backed separatist aggression.
Support agreed-to ceasefire agreements.
These provisions have included counter-artillery radars; unmanned aerial surveillance systems; communication, medical and personal protection equipment; and sustainment materiel and services.
EUCOM RO Directorate continues to support COCOM priorities, Global Peace Operations Initiative, Global Train and Equip, Counter-Terrorism Partnership Fund, Global Security Contingency Fund and European Reassurance Initiative to build and enhance partnership capacities throughout the European theater. The directorate delivered major defense equipment in 12 countries as part of 34 FMS cases valued at $460.6 million in fiscal year 2016. These cases have helped weaken terrorist operations and increase regional security throughout the globe.
What continued efforts are planned for the future?
The EUCOM RO Directorate is working with EUCOM headquarters on a Rotary Wing Initiative to enhance the rotary wing capabilities of 11 countries and transition foreign partners from legacy Russian equipment to U.S. equipment, increasing joint interoperability. The focus of Department of Defense efforts is to work with, by, and through European governments to build the necessary military capability to defend its borders and support NATO.
What is the Army doing?
USASAC is part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is funded by the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act to counter Russia's attempted annexation and occupation of Crimea and continued aggression by combined Russian-separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. USASAC has delivered more than $600 million in training, equipment, supplies and services to help Ukraine:
Build their combat capability.
Preserve their sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian and Russian-backed separatist aggression.
Support agreed-to ceasefire agreements.
These provisions have included counter-artillery radars; unmanned aerial surveillance systems; communication, medical and personal protection equipment; and sustainment materiel and services.
EUCOM RO Directorate continues to support COCOM priorities, Global Peace Operations Initiative, Global Train and Equip, Counter-Terrorism Partnership Fund, Global Security Contingency Fund and European Reassurance Initiative to build and enhance partnership capacities throughout the European theater. The directorate delivered major defense equipment in 12 countries as part of 34 FMS cases valued at $460.6 million in fiscal year 2016. These cases have helped weaken terrorist operations and increase regional security throughout the globe.
What continued efforts are planned for the future?
The EUCOM RO Directorate is working with EUCOM headquarters on a Rotary Wing Initiative to enhance the rotary wing capabilities of 11 countries and transition foreign partners from legacy Russian equipment to U.S. equipment, increasing joint interoperability. The focus of Department of Defense efforts is to work with, by, and through European governments to build the necessary military capability to defend its borders and support NATO.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
The Army's More Lethal M1A2 SEP v4 Abrams Tank Variant Will Start Testing in the 2020s - Warrior - Scout
The Army's More Lethal M1A2 SEP v4 Abrams Tank Variant Will Start Testing in the 2020s - Warrior - Scout: The Army is now engineering a far-superior M1A2 SEP v4 Abrams tank variant for the 2020s and beyond --designed to be more lethal, faster, lighter weight, better protected, equipped with new sensors and armed with upgraded, more effective weapons, service officials said.
Advanced networking technology with next-generation sights, sensors, targeting systems and digital networking technology -- are all key elements of an ongoing upgrade to position the platform to successfully engage in combat against rapidly emerging threats, such as the prospect of confronting a Russian T-14 Armata or Chinese 3rd generation Type 99 tank.
The SEP v4 variant, slated to being testing in 2021, will include new laser rangefinder technology, color cameras, integrated on-board networks, new slip-rings, advanced meteorological sensors, ammunition data links, laser warning receivers and a far more lethal, multi-purpose 120mm tank round, Maj. Gen. David Bassett, Program Executive Officer, Ground Combat Systems, told Scout Warrior in an interview.
While Army officials explain that many of the details of the next-gen systems for the future tanks are not available for security reasons, Basset did explain that the lethality upgrade, referred to as an Engineering Change Proposal, or ECP, is centered around the integration of a higher-tech 3rd generation FLIR – Forward Looking Infrared imaging sensor.
Advanced networking technology with next-generation sights, sensors, targeting systems and digital networking technology -- are all key elements of an ongoing upgrade to position the platform to successfully engage in combat against rapidly emerging threats, such as the prospect of confronting a Russian T-14 Armata or Chinese 3rd generation Type 99 tank.
The SEP v4 variant, slated to being testing in 2021, will include new laser rangefinder technology, color cameras, integrated on-board networks, new slip-rings, advanced meteorological sensors, ammunition data links, laser warning receivers and a far more lethal, multi-purpose 120mm tank round, Maj. Gen. David Bassett, Program Executive Officer, Ground Combat Systems, told Scout Warrior in an interview.
While Army officials explain that many of the details of the next-gen systems for the future tanks are not available for security reasons, Basset did explain that the lethality upgrade, referred to as an Engineering Change Proposal, or ECP, is centered around the integration of a higher-tech 3rd generation FLIR – Forward Looking Infrared imaging sensor.
Army combines sensors in attempt to fly blind
Army combines sensors in attempt to fly blind: The Army is experimenting with combinations of sophisticated sensors in an effort to make it safer for pilots to fly in a degraded visual environment, or DVE.
The service has been pursuing DVE mitigation for about a decade. Successful ground sensor tests in 2015, followed by flight testing this fall, suggest the Army may be closing in on a solution.
Smoke and sand, snow and rain, fog and darkness: Any of these can obscure a pilot’s vision, making it difficult to fly and eroding the tactical edge. DVEs “have been the cause of a significant number of Army aviation accidents in the last decade,” Army officials told a House subcommittee on tactical air and land forces in March 2016.
DVE have been the cause of 24 percent of aircraft crashes and 44 percent of aviation fatalities since combat operations began in 2002, according to officials from Sierra Nevada Corporation. That company has been addressing the problem with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center's Aviation Development Directorate.
The service has been pursuing DVE mitigation for about a decade. Successful ground sensor tests in 2015, followed by flight testing this fall, suggest the Army may be closing in on a solution.
Smoke and sand, snow and rain, fog and darkness: Any of these can obscure a pilot’s vision, making it difficult to fly and eroding the tactical edge. DVEs “have been the cause of a significant number of Army aviation accidents in the last decade,” Army officials told a House subcommittee on tactical air and land forces in March 2016.
DVE have been the cause of 24 percent of aircraft crashes and 44 percent of aviation fatalities since combat operations began in 2002, according to officials from Sierra Nevada Corporation. That company has been addressing the problem with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center's Aviation Development Directorate.
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