www.exensor.com
————————————————————————-
12 Jan 24. Statement From Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder on Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s Health Status. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following update on Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III’s health status:
Secretary Austin continues to be hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and remains in good condition.
He’s in contact with his senior staff and has full access to required secure communications capabilities and continues to monitor DOD’s day-to-day operations worldwide.
Secretary Austin was actively engaged this week in overseeing and directing the U.S. military’s participation in last night’s multinational strikes against military targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. At the President’s direction, he gave the order yesterday to U.S. Central Command to execute the strikes and monitored the operation real-time with a full suite of secure communication capabilities. The Secretary’s post-strike statement can be found here.
Today, Secretary Austin conducted phone calls with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker, and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith.
We do not have a specific date for Secretary Austin’s release from the hospital at this time but will continue to provide daily updates until then. (Source: U.S. DoD)
12 Jan 24. DOD Releases First Defense Industrial Strategy. The Defense Department today released its first strategy for ensuring that the U.S. defense industrial base meets the demands of a challenging national security landscape well into the future.
The 59-page National Defense Industrial Strategy lays out long-term priorities that will guide DOD actions and resource prioritization with the aim of creating a modern, resilient defense industrial ecosystem designed to deter U.S. adversaries and meet the production demands posed by evolving threats.
“We are implementing the National Defense Industrial Strategy now to ensure that our defense industrial base continues to both strengthen our national security here at home while reassuring and supporting allies and partners,” said Laura D. Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, in unveiling the strategy from the Pentagon.
Taylor-Kale underscored the urgent need to shore up the defense industrial base as U.S. adversaries build up their military power to levels not seen since World War II. She noted China’s increasing threat to upend existing international order. She also highlighted the United States’ continued support for Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression and for Israel in its fight against Hamas.
The defense industrial base must continue to meet present demands, while at the same time remaining capable of adapting to future conflicts.
“This arsenal of democracy helped win both world wars and the Cold War,” Taylor-Kale said. “And long into the future, it can and must provide that same enduring advantage in support of integrated deterrence.”
The strategy focuses on four key areas critical to building a modernized defense industrial ecosystem over the next three to five years. Those areas include resilient supply chains, workforce readiness flexible acquisition and economic deterrence.
The strategy calls for several actions to achieve resilient supply chains, including establishing public-private partnerships, risk-sharing mechanisms and technology. These are sharing structures aimed at incentivizing industry to improve resilience and invest in extra capacity.
The NDIS also calls for increasing stockpiles of strategic and critical systems to decrease near-term risk, diversifying the defense industrial base supplier base, expanding production methods, and addressing evolving cyber threats to the supply chain, among other actions.
In terms of workforce development, the strategy aims to develop a “sufficiently skilled and staffed workforce that is diverse and representative of America.” It calls for investments in skill development programs and advanced manufacturing workforce pipelines and the expansion of recruitment efforts for nontraditional communities, among other actions.
The strategy also seeks to develop flexible acquisition strategies by emphasizing interoperability with key partners and paying consideration to exportability during the system design phase. The NDIS also calls for the prioritization of commercial, off-the-shelf acquisition where applicable to drive innovation and expand the defense supplier base.
Additionally, the NDIS calls for strengthening economic security agreements and creating new mechanisms for sharing technology with allies in order to achieve economic deterrence.
Defense officials said the strategy was far more than an “aspirational document,” noting that the department is finalizing its implementation plan, which will detail measurable actions and metrics to gauge progress on the goals.
“The plan is going to focus on actualizing the four strategic priorities laid out in the strategy, along with more than two dozen discrete, specific actions and associated outcomes and illustrative outputs that we detailed in the plan,” said Halimah Najieb-Locke, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base resilience.
An unclassified overview of the implementation plan is slated for publication in February with the full classified version to follow in March, Najieb-Locke said.
Officials said the strategy is the product of months of engagement from stakeholders from across industry and government, which began at the direction of Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks in March 2023.
The document also reflects President Joe Biden’s broader efforts to shore up domestic manufacturing and critical supply chains in the U.S.
“The department’s most senior leaders directed and guided development of this first ever NDIS, a part of the effort to reenergize U.S. manufacturing and build the kind of modernized defense industrial ecosystem we need to enable our national defense strategy and to meet the global challenges our nation and our allies will confront,” Taylor-Kale said.
“We can no longer afford to wait,” she said. “The time for action has come, and we are starting it with this strategy.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
11 Jan 24. DOD Releases First-Ever National Defense Industrial Strategy. The Department of Defense today released its inaugural National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS), which will guide the Department’s engagement, policy development, and investment in the industrial base over the next three to five years. Taking its lead from the National Defense Strategy (NDS), this strategy will catalyze generational change from the existing defense industrial base to a more robust, resilient, and dynamic modernized defense industrial ecosystem.
“The current and future strategic environment demands immediate, comprehensive, and decisive action to strengthen and modernize our defense industrial base ecosystem so it delivers at speed and scale for our warfighters,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said. “DoD’s first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy will help ensure we build the modern defense industrial and innovation ecosystem that’s required to defend America, our allies and partners, and our interests in the 21st century.”
“We are proud to release this ground-breaking strategy,” said Dr. William A. LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, added. “The NDIS recognizes that America’s economic security and national security are mutually reinforcing and, ultimately the nation’s military strength cannot be untethered from our overall industrial strength. We must act now to build on recent progress and ensure we have the capacity to produce at speed and scale.”
While the NDS identifies risk to the industrial base, it also guides the Department to solutions. Recognizing that the defense industrial base must provide the required capabilities at the speed and scale necessary for the U.S. military to engage and prevail in a near-peer conflict, the NDIS strategy calls out challenges, solutions, and risks of failure concisely. The strategy offers a strategic vision and path along four strategic priorities: resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisition, and economic deterrence. This proposed pathway to modernize the defense industrial ecosystem also recognizes that this effort cannot be a Department of Defense-only solution, repeatedly emphasizing cooperation and coordination between the entire U.S. government, private industry, and international allies and partners.
The full NDIS and a fact sheet are available at: https://www.businessdefense.gov/NDIS.html
About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD(IBP))
The OASD(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future. (Source: U.S. DoD)
12 Jan 24. Navy secretary calls for comprehensive navy shipbuilding review. US Navy (USN) Secretary Carlos Del Toro has told Nickolas Guertin, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, & Acquisition (ASN RD&A) and Vice Admiral James Downey, commander Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the navy shipbuilding portfolio, the USN confirmed on 11 January.
Guertin and Vice Adm Downey are to provide an interim progress review to Del Toro within 45 days, the USN confirmed.
“I remain concerned with the lingering effects of post-pandemic conditions on our shipbuilders and their suppliers that continue to affect our shipbuilding programmes, particularly our Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines and Constellation-class frigate,” Del Toro said in a statement.
The USN confirmed the review on the same day Andy Bosak, Constellation-class deputy programme manager, acknowledged during a briefing at the Surface Navy Association (SNA) National Symposium 2024, that there were concerns about meeting the proposed shipbuilding schedule.
The USN was analysing the situation to assess what steps might need to be taken to address the potential schedule slippage, Bosak said. (Source: Janes)
11 Jan 24. Navy secretary underscores need for rearming and refuelling surface fleet. As the US Navy (USN) continues to deploy its surface fleet to hot spots around the globe, the service must hone its ability to rearm and refuel those ships at sea, according to USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
“Every day, our ships respond to aggression and illegal activities with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, the Arabian Gulf, the Caribbean, and across Europe,” Del Toro said on 10 January during a keynote speech at the Surface Navy Association (SNA) National Symposium 2024.
Noting in particular recent missile-defence operations by USN surface ships in the Red Sea, Del Toro said, “To maintain a global, sustainable maritime posture, we must continue to innovate and invest in capabilities that keep our ships at sea, especially as their weapons magazines run low.”
He cited the development of the USN’s Transportable Rearming Mechanism (TRAM) at Port Hueneme in California. (Source: Janes)
11 Jan 24. Inspector General Initiates Review of DOD Procedures Following Austin Hospitalization. The Defense Department’s inspector general yesterday sent a memorandum announcing a review examining the roles, processes, procedures, responsibilities and actions related to the secretary of defense’s recent hospitalization.
” assess whether the DOD’s policies and procedures are sufficient to ensure timely and appropriate notifications and the effective transition of authorities as may be warranted due to health-based or other unavailability of senior leadership,” the memorandum said.
During a briefing today, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the department welcomes the review and will cooperate with the IG to ensure its success.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, in late December for surgery to treat prostate cancer. He returned home the following day.
On Monday of last week, the secretary was again admitted to Walter Reed with complications related to that earlier surgery. Those complications included nausea, along with abdominal, hip and leg pain. In response to those complications, Austin underwent additional treatment at Walter Reed, and he remains there recovering from those additional procedures.
After Austin’s admission to Walter Reed last week, the Defense Department failed to properly notify appropriate parties, including President Joe Biden, about the secretary’s condition.
In addition to the inspector general review, the secretary’s chief of staff directed the DOD’s director of administration and management to conduct a 30-day review of the department’s notification process for assumption of functions and duties of the secretary of defense.
“While understandably many outstanding questions, it’s also important to allow both of these reviews to run their course so that we can assure a full accounting of the facts and importantly to ensure that we can most effectively improve processes and procedures as necessary, as well as meet the standards of transparency expected by the American public, Congress and the news media,” Ryder said.
Ryder also told reporters that while certain notifications hadn’t been made while Austin was in the hospital, the Defense Department’s command and control was not at risk.
“This is an important point, that during this situation at no time was there a gap in command and control for the Department of Defense,” he said. “At all times, national security was in good hands and either the secretary or the deputy defense secretary were at the helm.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
10 Jan 24. Navy tests how to relieve carrier strike group warships on station. The Navy is exploring a new surface fleet model that would augment a carrier strike group with additional destroyers and cruisers that the strike group did not initially deploy with, a move leaders hope will bolster readiness and improve flexibility of forces worldwide.
Such a model brings a “plug-and-play” capability to naval forces like those currently in the Middle East – allowing for a sustained gray hull presence at a given location, according to U.S. Fleet Forces Command head Adm. Daryl Caudle.
The move would essentially allow warships to relieve other warships that have been on station for long periods of time, Caudle told reporters Tuesday at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference.
It’s a model that could prove useful as the Navy faces a variety of contingencies worldwide that could test its surface combatants, from the risk of wider war erupting out of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East, to continued deterrence needs in the Mediterranean Sea and the ever-present concern about a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
“In large conflict, I’m going to deploy ready-up strike groups,” he said. “But eventually, as everybody knows, when you’re on station for a long time on a ship, you got to take a knee. And so as you roll out to take a knee and somebody rolls in, I have to have high confidence that they come in at the right level of training, certification, mastery and the ability to plug and play into that strike group.”
The Navy tested this array during its response at the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and also last fall following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, when the Ford Carrier Strike Group steamed to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
In the Ford’s case, destroyers The Sullivans and Delbert D. Black inserted themselves into the strike group so that the strike group’s original destroyers could return home.
“What we found is I didn’t have good standing capability to go do that,” Caudle said. “I had to start from scratch, develop that training plan, that training model. How am I getting the ordnance on them? I had to do an assessment of their people. And all those things are necessary to make sure they go over there ready. And so I’m trying to make that more of a standing capability.”
The current strike group architecture requires carriers, destroyers and cruisers to complete work-ups and certifications together before deploying as part of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan that the Navy uses to man, train and deploy ships during on a 36-month cycle.
Caudle wants to improve “training density” for those replacement ships and get them certified at the contingency response force level – ready to flow to combat within 30 days.
“It’s the difference between training to integrate, and integrate to train,” Caudle said. “And so mine is the former – I like to train so that I can integrate.”
Caudle broke down the Fleet into thirds, where roughly 100 ships are deployed, 100 are undergoing maintenance and the remaining 100 could be mobilized with more agility. This would allow the Navy to transition to a “warfighting footing” more swiftly and surge forces if needed, Caudle said.
The new plan focuses on making that remaining 100 ready to go as quickly as possible, he said.
“I want to make that 100 efficiently obtain a certification, that I can flow that force into harm’s way and know that it can shoot its offensive weapons, it can defend itself, it can communicate, it can interoperate, and basically it can maintain itself, sustain itself and have mobility,” Caudle added.
Caudle said he’s tasked the Ford’s replacement ships with providing feedback as they return from deployment that Fleet Forces can use to improve the “fungibility” of these vessels.
“I think what we’re going to see in the post-deployment analysis is they plugged in seamlessly, and the fact we’re able to do that is a testament to how we generate those forces,” Caudle said. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
10 Jan 24. Pentagon Officials Host Chinese Counterparts for High-Level Talks. Senior U.S. and Chinese military officials met at the Pentagon this week for discussions focused on U.S.-China defense relations.
The two-day meeting marked the resumption of the U.S.- People’s Republic of China Defense Policy Coordination Talks last held in September 2021. This was the first time the dialogue has been held in-person since January 2020.
Michael S. Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, led the U.S. delegation in hosting Chinese army Maj. Gen. Song Yanchao, deputy director of China’s Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation. The talks are designed, in part, to set the agenda for further exchanges between the U.S. and China for the remainder of the calendar year.
U.S. defense officials said resuming the talks, which were once held annually, was an important step toward reopening lines of communication between the two sides.
“Dr. Chase highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict,” the meeting summary stated.
The meeting also provided a forum for the two sides to discuss regional and global security issues.
During the discussion, Chase underscored the importance of maintaining operational safety across the region and “reaffirmed that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows,” according to the meeting summary.
Chase also underscored the United States’ commitment to allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and across the globe.
Defense Department officials have repeatedly raised concerns over China’s lack of communication with U.S. military leaders, noting that Beijing has consistently denied or ignored U.S. requests for defense engagements at multiple levels.
President Joe Biden secured China’s agreement to return to military-to-military talks in November following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in San Francisco.
Last month, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. held talks with his Chinese military counterpart, Gen. Liu Zhenli, for the first time since Brown became chairman.
In previewing this week’s talks, a U.S. official welcomed both meetings as signs of progress, but said there is more work to do in reestablishing normal military-to-military communications.
“The bottom line is that we’re going to keep working to open these lines of communication because they’re important for preventing competition to veering into conflict,” the official said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
09 Jan 24. Readout of 2024 U.S.-PRC Defense Policy Coordination Talks.
DOD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout:
Dr. Michael Chase, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, met with People’s Republic of China (PRC) Major General Song Yanchao, Deputy Director of the Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, at the Pentagon for the 17th U.S.-PRC Defense Policy Coordination Talks from January 8-9, 2024.
The two sides discussed U.S.-PRC defense relations, and Dr. Chase highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict. He also discussed the importance of operational safety across the Indo-Pacific region; reaffirmed that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows; and underscored that the U.S. commitment to our allies in the Indo-Pacific and globally remains ironclad.
The two sides also discussed regional and global security issues. Dr. Chase underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law in light of repeated PRC harassment against lawfully operating Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. He also discussed Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine and expressed concerns about recent provocations from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Dr. Chase also reiterated that the United States remains committed to our longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances, and he reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Strait.
This week’s talks follow President Biden’s November 15, 2023 summit with PRC President Xi Jinping, as well as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr.’s call via video teleconference with his People’s Liberation Army counterpart on December 21, 2023. The Department will continue to engage in active discussions with PRC counterparts about future engagements between defense and military officials at multiple levels. (Source: U.S. DoD)
05 Jan 24. US DoD deploys F-35s across armed forces in a deal worth $1.1bn. The Defense Department will deploy the fighters to various military sites across the country and to international customers as part of its ‘site activation’ process.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has initiated the ‘site activation’ of F-35 A, B and C fighter jets to the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps as well as foreign military sales customers.
Site activation – a DoD phrase – refers to the process by which systems and equipment are delivered to an put into service by operational units in the field.
On 4 January 2024, the department issued a contract modification worth $1.1bn to the manufacturer of the world’s most complex aircraft, Lockheed Martin, to provide “site activation and hardware requirements.” This involves activities such as site activation events and training devices as well as contract management, planning and readiness reviews and associated non-recurring introduction to F-35 service activities.
Toward the end of 2023, Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and the 173rd Fighter Wing, based at the Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Oregon both received a Site Activation Task Force (SATF), whereby experts come together to assess and evaluate multiple areas in these military sites.
These SATFs prepare to accommodate the sophisticated fighter aircraft ahead of their deployment to the two sites in 2029 and 2026 respectively.
Progression and problems with the F-35 programme
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
View profiles in store
Last year, we saw Canada finalise a deal for 88 F-35A fighters in January, while the Belgian Air Force saw the rollout of the first of its 58 F-35A fighters in December.
Meanwhile, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on 30 May 2023 that found that the DoD neglected to take important steps to evaluate the development of the world’s leading combat aircraft. The programme is now more than a decade behind schedule and $183bn over original cost estimates.
Additionally, the GAO also found that the Block 4 upgrade will prove to be far less sustainable, which leads to limitations to the future capabilities employed by the aircraft.
While facing up to this overwhelming deficit, an additional $1.1bn toward deployment of the platforms without appropriate survivability will certainly lead to further costs and delays down the line. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
————————————————————————-
Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
————————————————————————-