SSBN-X concept (click to view full) The US Navy needs new SSBN nuclear missile submarines. Their existing Ohio Class boats will begin to retire at a rate of 1 hull per year, beginning in 2027, as they reach the end of their 42-year operational lifetimes. Hence SSBN-X, also known as the Ohio Replacement Program for […]

SSBN-X concept (click to view full) The US Navy needs new SSBN nuclear missile submarines. Their existing Ohio Class boats will begin to retire at a rate of 1 hull per year, beginning in 2027, as they reach the end of their 42-year operational lifetimes. Hence SSBN-X, also known as the Ohio Replacement Program for […]

LGM-30G Minuteman III (click to view full) For 50 years, land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) have been part of the US primary strategic deterrence capability, the nuclear-armed triad that also includes submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long range heavy bombers. Although the main target for the US deterrent – the Soviet Union – imploded in 1991, […]

LGM-30G Minuteman III (click to view full) For 50 years, land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) have been part of the US primary strategic deterrence capability, the nuclear-armed triad that also includes submarine-launched ballistic missiles and long range heavy bombers. Although the main target for the US deterrent – the Soviet Union – imploded in 1991, […]

Successor Class (click to view full) “We are committed to working towards a safer world in which there is no requirement for nuclear weapons… However, the continuing risk from the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the certainty that a number of other countries will retain substantial nuclear arsenals, mean that our minimum nuclear deterrent capability, […]

SSBN-X concept (click to view full) The US Navy needs new SSBN nuclear missile submarines. Their existing Ohio Class boats will begin to retire at a rate of 1 hull per year, beginning in 2027, as they reach the end of their 42-year operational lifetimes. Hence SSBN-X, also known as the Ohio Replacement Program for […]

From these… 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 […]

SSN Akula Class (click to view full) According to GlobalSecurity.org, India’s ATV (advanced technology vessel) program to build a nuclear-powered submarine began in 1974, and became a serious effort in 1985. The Federation of American Scientists’ December 1996 document “The Indian Strategic Nuclear Submarine Project: An Open Literature Analysis” remains one of the best single […]

Making a comeback?(click to view full) The Russian Ministry of Defense plans to replace nearly half of the Russian Army’s hardware by 2015, according to Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. Ivanov said military spending over the next 8 years was planned at $189 billion, and that official Russian military spending had quadrupled from 2001 to reach […]

LGM-30G Minuteman III(click to view full) Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems of Clearfield, UT received a contract modification for $176.2 million, exercising the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Propulsion Replacement Program’s (PRP) final full rate production (year 7) option. NGC tends to sub-contract large portions of this work to ATK Thiokol; the Minuteman III […]

Trident II D-5 Carried on SSBN-726 Ohio Class submarines, The Trident II D-5 is the US Navy’s submarine launched nuclear missile, with exceptional range for a sea-launched weapon and accuracy figures that rival or even exceed land-based ICBMs. These missiles are arguably the most important and effective component of the US nuclear deterrent, and they […]

“Go Ahead, Make My Day”(click to view full) The US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) awarded 10 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts for CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive) support services at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. ECBC is the USA’s principal research and development center for non-medical chemical and biological […]

* The Air Force is trying to get ahead of cost issues by announcing an effort to introduce reforms to speed up procurement as well as to allow RFP responders to suggest alternative requirements where cost savings could be recognized. U.S. * Predictably, commentators are aghast at the Navy’s decision to exchange the C-2 Greyhound […]

* In a speech at the National Defense University, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the usual laudable calls for acquisition reform without quite explaining what would make it happen. Hagel asked for time and flexibility – as if huge bureaucracies ever willingly conducted meaningful reforms in the absence of true constraints – and pointed out […]

* Russian President Putin is bracing [FT] for a “catastrophic” slump in oil prices as he arrived at this year’s G20 summit in Australia. 4 Russian naval vessels are also on their way to Australia, which is Putin’s answer to Tony Abbott’s shirtfronting posture [Guardian]. Britain’s prime minister Cameron also denounced [The Independent] Russia’s “bullying.” […]

* A Belgian newspaper reported over the weekend that Belgium’s federal prosecutor had foiled several terrorist attacks in past months that had been planned by jihadists coming back from Syria. Another report, from the Het Laatste Nieuws tabloid, alleged that explosives had been found during a bust in Brussels before they could be used against […]

SSK Dolphin Class(click to view full) In November 2005, reports surfaced that that Germany would sell Israel 2 AIP-equipped Dolphin submarines, to join its existing fleet of 3 conventional diesel-electric Dolphin Class boats. In 2006, the deal for 2 Dolphin AIP boats was finalized at a total of $1.27 billion, with the German government picking […]

* Records gathered by the Pentagon and analyzed by RAND show how Iraqi extremists withstood U.S. anti-terror efforts. Sustained funding is a top predictor of a guerrilla/terrorist movement’s long-term viability. * Senator John McCain [R-AZ, SASC] may be isolated, but that doesn’t necessarily make him wrong: “You’ve got a territory larger than the state of […]

* China’s Ministry of Defense announced it will stage joint naval drills with Russia in the East China Sea at the end of the month. This, right after China’s foreign ministry criticized sanctions as a source of tensions. So much for American pundits claiming that China was “splitting ways with Russia.” Their two presidents are […]

* The US military cancelled so many billion dollar programs during the past decade that they developed the Smart Shutdown [PDF] guidance and online portal to try and salvage useful bits. However the GAO reckons in a new report that this resource may not be well known by program managers, limiting opportunities to learn from […]