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In the aftermath of the START-II arms control treaty, some of the USA’s nuclear-powered Ohio Class SSBN nuclear missile submarines were converted to become long range conventional strike and special operations SSGN “Tactical Tridents.” Four ultra-stealthy Ohio-class SSBNs had their 24 Trident II D-5 nuclear ballistic missiles removed. They were replaced with up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus space in the sub for 66-102 special forces troops, special attachments for new Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) or older Seal Delivery Vehicle (SDV) “mini-subs,” and a mission control center. Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, and even UAVs for aerial operations, are expected to become equally important options over the SSGN fleet’s career.

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These modifications provide the USA with an impressive and impressively flexible set of conventional firepower, in a survivable and virtually undetectable platform, which can remain on station for very long periods of time. As surveillance-strike complexes make the near-shore more and more hazardous for conventional ships, and the potential dangers posed by small groups continue to rise, America’s converted SSGN submarines will become more and more valuable. This updated, free-to-view article covers their origins and timeline, the key technologies involved, contracts from the program’s inception to the present day, with all 4 submarines back in service:

• The US Navy’s New SSGN Platform
• SSGN Conversions: Timelines & Program Contractors [updated]
• SSGN Tactical Trident: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• SSGN Tactical Trident: Ancillary Programs
• Additional Readings
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• US NAVAIR performs the 1st steam catapult launch of its carrier-borne F-35C Lightning II fighter, from its land testing facility at NAS Patuxent River, MD. Short video at the bottom of this entry.

• Should the US DoD be restricted to buying only steel melted in the US?

• The Pentagon presented its tentative Air-Sea Battle doctrine which will be developed by the creatively-named Air-Sea Battle Office (ASBO). Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) likes it, though that’s hardly surprising. Two elephants in the room: China, and the US Army. More: DOD Buzz | Defense News | Washington Times | Information Dissemination.
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• The USAF is restructuring its Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) from 12 centers to 5 is one of the major steps within broader changes in its civilian workforce which should amount to adding “5,900 positions in acquisition, the nuclear enterprise, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and other key areas while reducing approximately 9,000 positions in management, staff, and support areas.”

• The Russian Defense Ministry and United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) have sorted out their pricing disagreements on Yasen and Borey class nuclear-powered submarines. That’s their good news. Gaddafi’s fall on the other hand means billions of dollars of lost potential arms exports.

• In talks with the German government, EADS is reportedly ready to waive penalties triggered by reduced Eurofighter orders in exchange for Talarion UAV orders. Germany has been leasing IAI Herons for the last 2 years. [Nov. 7 update: Germany says no.]
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• The Pentagon wants to radically change the terms of the F-35 contract, and have Lockheed Martin pay for problems discovered through testing, and fixes to already-produced aircraft. Suddenly, the Pentagon’s plan to start production before testing is done has a contractor downside, not just a political engineering upside.

• More Q3 ‘11 financial results: General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin.

• Hackers hit Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which makes Japanese fighters and missiles, and license-builds Patriot PAC-3 missiles. PCs were infected with a Trojan application designed to send data to an outside server, and an internal investigation found signs that the stolen information had been transmitted.
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• Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) announced a voluntary layoff program to reduce its headcount by 250 in February 2012, out of a 30,000 total worldwide.

• Northrop Grumman to supply AQS-24A airborne mine-hunting system to Japan for their MCH-101 helicopters.

• The Begin-Saadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) in Israel released a preliminary evaluation of the Iron Dome anti-rocket system. Uzi Rubin, the author of the report [PDF in Hebrew], thinks it’s too early to assess the full impact of the system, but says it did save lives.

• An F-15C Eagle from Nellis Air Force Base crashed in Nevada yesterday without making any casualty.

• US DoD deputy chief information officer Robert J. Carey claims rapid IT acquisition programs often fail to scale.

• Son of Stuxnet: meet Duqu, apparently an iteration of the cyberweapon used to penetrate Iran’s nuclear plants in the last couple of years.

• Pantex in Texas is dismantling the last 9,000-pound B-53 nuclear bombs.

• In a letter [PDF] sent to the US Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) Chairman last week, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expresses its support for the version of the FY12 Appropriations bill approved by the SAC last month. The Senate still has to vote on the bill then go to conference with the House to agree on a common text for the bill.

• South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma appointed a Supreme Court of Appeal judge to probe the 1999 Strategic Defence Package (SDP).

• The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has a hearing today on the recent troop deployment in Central Africa. See video below:
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• US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) published its latest acquisition guide [PDF].

• Katherine Hammack, the US Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy, & Environment), presented “US Army Power & Energy” [PDF] last week during AUSA.

• MBDA announced that it is pitching its Taurus air-to-ground missiles in answer to a Request for Information from the Indian Air Force.

• According to the New York Times, the Obama administration considered using cyber warfare during the war in Libya, but balked because of legal concerns and to avoid setting a precedent.

• South Africa’s Department of Defense discloses the value of its assets but the country’s Auditor General could not audit that statement, reports DefenceWeb. This sounds familiar.

• South Korea’s Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is reportedly working on a tilt-rotor UAV.

• If Scotland were to break up from the United Kingdom – an event that is actually under serious consideration – what would be its defense policy?

• US Rear Admiral Craig Faller, Commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, muses over the value of a CSG in terms of power, flexibility and mobility.

• The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) released a briefing [PDF] on the state of Iran’s chemical, biological, and nuclear capabilities. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) also published several updates about Iran’s nuclear facilities and centrifuges.
• Winslow T. Wheeler from the Center for Defense Information (CDI) takes US SecDef Leon Panetta to task on the latter’s assertion that “the American military today is without question the finest fighting force that has ever existed.” Wheeler’s contention: “We got this smaller, older, less ready force not because of less money but because of more.” While some may object to Wheeler’s tone, he’s summoning accurate facts to support his rebuttal: the US Navy does have fewer ships than it used to, and USAF planes are indeed aging on average.

• Video below of a Q&A with Dmitri Trenin at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Russia where Putin is likely to again become President:
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Atlantic CommTech Corp. in Virginia Beach, VA received a $12 million firm-fixed-price contract. They’ll provide interior intrusion detection systems for protective aircraft shelters, and redundant cable, for the 498th Nuclear Systems Wing. Atlantic CommTech will be performing 100% of the work throughout 6 NATO installations in Europe. This is not surprising. Back in February 2008, “The Blue Ribbon Review of Nuclear Weapons Policies and Procedures” raised concerns about security practices at nuclear-capable facilities in Europe, and recommended a number of steps to improve the situation. Meanwhile, European countries’ waning desire to even host such weapons has become a subject of high-level debate among NATO members.

The 498th Nuclear Systems Wing is part of USAF Materiel Command, and handles nuclear maintenance projects, programs, & systems integration, advocacy, and oversight. The wing’s groups and divisions include the 498th Missile Sustainment Division based at Tinker AFB, OK, the 498th Nuclear Systems Division at Kirtland AFB, NM; the 498th Munitions Maintenance Group at Whiteman AFB, MO, and the 798th Munitions Maintenance Group at Minot AFB, ND. The USAF Nuclear Weapons Center/PKE at Kirtland AFB, NM, manages the contract (FA9422-12-F-0001).

Another research contract; WSJ Top 50. (Sept 23/11)

Achaogen in San Francisco, CA is working on “preclinical development of novel therapeutics that reduce the virulence of, and inhibit resistance in, Class A Bacterial Pathogens.” Achaogen closed a $26 million round of venture financing in October 2006, and they had raised $103 million in equity by March 2011. Their approach focuses on small molecules that inhibit the emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Initial efforts had the goal of making the bacteria susceptible to existing fluoroquinolones, and potentially to other classes of antibacterial drugs.

So, just what are “Class A bacterial pathogens?” You certainly know some of them by name…

Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) has recently released the following Requests for Proposals (RFP), modifications and other notifications:

• The US Navy adds an additional clause and extends the closing date to 9th September for its RFP for a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract for the acquisition of engineering and technical support services for the Virginia Class (SSN 774) submarine and the Ohio Replacement Program (ORP).
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The US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has a central role in addressing the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Their Research and Development Enterprise [PDF] is especially wide-ranging, covering everything from protective gear, to predictive and decision-support algorithms, to ScanEagle UAV variants that can monitor WMD levels, to co-operative non-proliferation programs, to development of new weapons like the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. Some of this work has even led to commercial spinoffs, vid. Sanofi Pasteur’s acquisition of VaxDesign and its DARPA/DTRA-financed MIMC model: an in vitro tool capable of predicting human immune response to specific bio-threat agents.