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 now. The first step toward recapitalization involved a new Common Missile Compartment and Advanced Launcher for current and future nuclear missiles. The next step involves finalizing a design that can serve effectively to 2080, without destroying the US Navy’s shipbuilding budget in the process. Good luck with that one, but they have to to try. The maintenance of the USA’s nuclear deterrent is too important, in a world where nuclear weapons are proliferating.

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 now. The first step toward recapitalization involved a new Common Missile Compartment and Advanced Launcher for current and future nuclear missiles. The next step involves finalizing a design that can serve effectively to 2080, without destroying the US Navy’s shipbuilding budget in the process. Good luck with that one, but they have to to try. The maintenance of the USA’s nuclear deterrent is too important, in a world where nuclear weapons are proliferating.

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, other threats – such as nuclear-armed rogue states and non-state actors – have emerged. To address these new threats, the US Air Force undertook a major ICBM modernization program. To carry out this program, the USAF awarded a 15-year ICBM Prime Integration Contract (F42610-98-C-0001) in 1997 to a team led by Northrop Grumman. Since then, the team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and ATK, has been carrying out a major modernization of the ICBM system to ensure its readiness.

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, other threats – such as nuclear-armed rogue states and non-state actors – have emerged. To address these new threats, the US Air Force undertook a major ICBM modernization program. To carry out this program, the USAF awarded a 15-year ICBM Prime Integration Contract (F42610-98-C-0001) in 1997 to a team led by Northrop Grumman. Since then, the team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and ATK, has been carrying out a major modernization of the ICBM system to ensure its readiness.

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, currently represented by Trident, is likely to remain a necessary element of our security.” — UK SDSR, 1998 Britain has a big decision to make: do they remain a nuclear weapons power, or not? In an age of collapsing public finances and an uncertain long-term economic future, the money needed to design new nuclear missile submarines is a huge cost commitment that could crowd out other needs. Then again, in an age of collapsing non-proliferation frameworks, clear hostility from ideologies that want nuclear weapons, and allies who are less capable and dependable, the downside of renouncing nuclear weapons is a huge risk commitment. Pick one, or the other. There is no free lunch. This article covers that momentous decision for Britain, and the contracts and debates associated with it.

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 now. The first step toward recapitalization involved a new Common Missile Compartment and Advanced Launcher for current and future nuclear missiles. The next step involves finalizing a design that can serve effectively to 2080, without destroying the US Navy’s shipbuilding budget in the process. Good luck with that one, but they have to to try. The maintenance of the USA’s nuclear deterrent is too important, in a world where nuclear weapons are proliferating.

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 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. …to these (click to view full) 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 […]

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 open sources on India’s program. Unfortunately, it was compiled over a decade ago and has become rather dated. That project has continued, and this DID Spotlight article continues to collect open source information on the ATV program. More and more sources were claiming that a rented Russian Akula class boat would be operational as a training vessel by 2009. The concept was correct, but the date was not. A deadly accident during K-152 Nerpa’s sea trials delayed that project, and further complications pushed its hand-over date to 2012. As efforts to move the Nerpa into service continue, India has finally launched its indigenous nuclear sub Arihant, to begin sea trials and testing.

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 $31 billion this year. Ivanov said weapons purchases would include “17 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 4 military spacecraft with the same number of launch rockets for them,” as well as new bombers, ships, and other heavy equipment. The ICBMs are believed to be the new SS-27 Topol-M, and other plans reportedly include 50 new bombers, 31 ships of varying sizes, and fully re-arming 40 tank, 97 infantry and 50 parachute battalions. Some outside observers doubt Russia’s ability to fulfill these plans, however, given a closed military procurement system, that’s very resistant to scrutiny, in a country with a record of corruption. See Defense-Aerospace: “Russia to Spend $189bn on Weapons by 2015” | “Russia’s Defense Minister Unveils Plans to Overhaul Military.” Update January 19/17: Russia has test-fired a Topol-M ICBM, one of the first ballistic missiles to be developed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Capable […]

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 PRP began in 1998 as a Joint Venture between ATK and Pratt & Whitney, but all work content was transitioned to ATK in the 2003-2004 timeframe following a contract restructure. DID has covered related contracts in November 2006 ($222.5 million), March 2006 ($541 million) and January 2006 ($225.2 million). Presumably, the ICBMs’ Environmental Protection Agency certification has been taken care of by now. The purpose of PRP is to ensure MM Flight Reliability and supportability of the USA’s LGM-30G Minuteman III nuclear ICBMs through 2020 by correcting identified mission threatening degradations, sustaining existing reliability, and supporting Minuteman Life Extension Efforts. America chose to retire its larger, newer, and more capable MX Peacekeeper missiles in 2005, in compliance with arms control treaties it has signed. This contract action will purchase the remaining 56 Minuteman III booster sets, making a total of 601 sets acquired during the […]

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 constitute Britain’s entire nuclear deterrent as well. They were first deployed in 1990, and are planned for continuous deployment to 2042. The US Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs in Washington, DC and Lockheed Martin recently issued over $100 million in contracts related to the Trident II D-5 SLBMs, in order to maintain their propulsion and guidance systems.

“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 defense. The center develops technology in the areas of CBRNE detection, protection, and decontamination, and provides support over the entire lifecycle – from basic research through technology development, engineering design, equipment evaluation, product support, sustainment, field operations and disposal. The 10 ID/IQ contracts have a 5-year period of performance and a total value of $485 million for all awardees. Work will be performed at ECBC facilities on Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, at contractor offices, and at other customer sites as required. The winners of the 10 contracts are:

* 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 logistics plane for carrier deliveries with the V-22, replacing a 15 million pound-miles of transport for 3 million pound-miles of transport at a slower speed and smaller cabin that will not fit the carrier air wing’s coming engine of choice. Purchasing an airframe that competes with a particular service’s weapons-program-of-strategic-importance appears to be as politically unpopular as ever. * Kongsberg told Navy Recognition that the firm has been in consultation with Lockheed on a JSM integration, and that the model that has been making the rounds at trade shows in the Kongsberg booth has been geared to drum up interest from potential customers, which essentially means the U.S. Navy. Lockheed’s LRASM would seemingly be a competitive offering. The jockeying comes as the aging Harpoon missile is thought to be going to be replaced with an Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare Increment 2 procurement. * More coverage of […]

* 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 that: “the biggest long-term fiscal challenge facing the department is not the flat or declining top-line budget, it is the growing imbalance in where that money is being spent internally. Left unchecked, spiraling costs to sustain existing structures and institutions, provide benefits to personnel, and develop replacements for aging weapons platforms will eventually crowd out spending on procurement, operations and readiness – the budget categories that enable the military to be and stay prepared.” * It is unlikely that the The Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) will meet its goal to clear its huge backlog by the end of FY14 (i.e. Sept. 30, 2014).

* 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.” * The New York Times reports how Eastern Ukraine is emptying out as Russia renews its covert war activities in the region. * The European Council on Foreign Relations, on what Russia is up to in Ukraine: “Russian behaviour is not only aimed at realising its immediate military goals in the Donbass, which, if achieved, would ‘freeze’ the conflict. Constant military threat and escalation is a means to undermine Ukraine as a state.” * Who would head Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov was hanging on a lawsuit, and the final verdict was announced earlier this week. The administrative court of appeals confirmed an earlier decision by a district court in Kiev, which had overturned Sergii Merenkov’s appointment as Deputy President, and made Dmytro Kiva Antonov’s “only legal leader” despite an order from the Ministry of Industrial Policy to dismiss Kiva. This is the end of the […]

* 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 a European Commission building, but these allegations were denied by the Federal Prosecutor. The Guardian | Deutche Welle | L’Echo [in French]. * General Michael Nagata will head [Daily Beast] the US effort to support rebels fighting against ISIS in Syria. * The UK’s Telegraph reviews how Qatar is funding the rise of Islamist extremists. They note that Gerd Müller – Germany’s Economic Cooperation minister – had accused Qatar [ZDF, in Bavarian German] of financing ISIL troops last month. But they forget to mention that the Germans then quickly backtracked [Middle East Monitor]. Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani assured [WSJ] Chancellor Merkel a few days ago that his country “has never and will never support terror organizations.”

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 up 1/3 of the cost. The new boats are built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutche Werft AG (HDW) shipyard, in the Baltic Sea coastal city of Kiel, with deliveries originally scheduled to begin in 2010. Those have been delayed, and have not begun as of yet. Reports that an additional sale may be in the offing have now been confirmed, but just absorbing these 3 new boats will be no small challenge for Israel’s “3rd service”…

* 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 Indiana patrolled by radical extremists funded by hundreds of millions of dollars, and with tens of thousands of foreign fighters who are dedicated to extending their fight into the United States.” * The US expects to complete the delivery of 500 Hellfire missiles to Iraq within the next 3 weeks, and more troops are sent to protect the US embassy in Baghdad. But the White House’s website section about Iraq is suspended in a surreal state of denial and stuck to the 2009-2011 timeline. Yet the deadly insurgency in Iraq has been surging for more than a year. As the Daily Beast puts it: “So the real issue is not whether Iraq had been successfully stabilized, but why Obama would order a precipitous withdrawal of all U.S. troops and military advisers from such a fragile experiment in self-government. After all, the United States kept tens […]

* 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 scheduled to meet on May 20 right before these exercices to discuss energy deals. * WaPo: the security risks of China’s abnormal demographics. China has unique demographics, not just because of its sheer size or its one-child policy, but also because the population has 6 males for every 5 females. * US defense acquisition undersecretary Frank Kendall told a Senate panel that there is no “great solution” available to replace Russian engines in Atlas V rockets used by the Pentagon. * Turkey’s purchase of a Chinese missile defense system is still on hold. Syria’s WMDs * Daily Beast: Western Intelligence Suspects Assad Has a Secret Chemical Stockpile. State of Afghanistan * The Pentagon released its latest progress report [PDF] on Afghanistan: “Although the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) continues to develop capabilities, ANSF requires more time and effort to close four key high-end capability gaps […]

* 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 past closures or reuse useful bits from them.