US Navy’s new destroyer will be ‘bodyguard’ of carrier strike group
The U.S. Navy is now in possession of its newest guided-missile destroyer, DDG 125, also called the Jack Lucas. HII delivered the ship to the Navy after wrapping up acceptance trials in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Jack Lucas is the first of the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, ships that will assume the air defense mission in carrier strike groups.
The Jack Lucas is the first ship to carry the AN/Spy-6 air and missile defense radar made by RTX, formerly known as Raytheon. The Lucas also features the latest updates to the Aegis Combat System, meaning the ship can perform anti-air warfare and ballistic missile defense at the same time. It’s a critical need for any enhanced surface combat ship.
Destroyers essentially act as bodyguards in carrier strike groups. They have cannons to take out surface threats, torpedo launchers for submerged threats, and missiles to take out air-borne targets.
In addition to the Jack Lucas, the Navy contracted HII to build four more Flight III guided-missile destroyers. The Flight III destroyers are considered the world’s most capable surface combatant platforms. In its 2024 budget, the U.S. Navy is asking for $5 billion to build two more Flight III destroyers.
However, the service said with the new upgrades, it has maximized the space, weight, power, and cooling capabilities of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and it’s time to think about the next class of guided-missile destroyer, currently referred to as DDG(X).
The Navy is asking for $187.4 million in its 2024 budget to begin research and development on DDG(X). Initial building plans have the ship displacing around 13,500 tons, making it almost 40% bigger than Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
The Navy said the increased capacity will allow for larger missile launchers and increased flexibility as future weapons systems like lasers start to be more widely integrated. The DDG(X) will also feature an integrated power system. The IPS means the ship’s operators can direct power to propulsion or combat systems, depending on the current need.
While there is no debating the U.S. Navy needs new and upgraded ships, there is some discrepancy about what types of ships those should be. The DDG(X), like most destroyers, is based on the idea of putting as much lethality into one asset as possible.
It’s why some military strategists contend if the U.S. and its allies want to combat the growing threat of the Chinese navy, the rational response is a greater dispersion of forces. By spreading weapons capabilities among multiple ships, each ship is, in theory, less vulnerable to devastating attacks.
Electric vehicle-based attacks pose threat to military bases
While once a novelty, electric vehicles are now a common sight on roads and highways around the world. By their nature, EVs are built differently, which means highway safety features like guardrails needed to be built differently as well.
Cody Stolle helped make that happen in the civilian world. Now, he and his team are bringing that knowledge and experience to the United States Army.
“It really is a group effort to design the best products and make the bases as safe as we can possibly make them,” Stolle said.
He and his colleagues are part of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska. They just received a $3.6 million grant to develop passive safety measures around the entry points of U.S. military bases, specifically designed to counter threats posed by hostile-driven electric vehicles. That means it’s their job to figure out how to stop bad actors from using an EV as a battering ram.
“Our goal here in the design is to try to design very cost-effective structures,” Stolle said. “We want to make things that the Department of Defense doesn’t have to spend unreasonable amounts of money on and still provide excellent quality containment and protection for all those who are on the base.”
Stolle said EVs are much heavier than their gas-powered counterparts. They also have a lower center of gravity.
“Now if that center point is located at 27 or 28 inches above the ground,” Stolle said, “you’re going to design one system with one height that captures that vehicle and interfaces with the bumper to resist loads right at that height.
“But if you’re changing that center of gravity, from 27 or 28 inches for a pickup truck down to 11 inches or 12 inches for an electrical vehicle, you’re changing where you’re designing your principal load members. The big parts of the roadside barriers that resist with the highest force have to change location.”
While EVs have become more popular, they still make up less than 20% of new car sales, meaning there are still plenty of gas-powered vehicles that will need to be considered in any new barrier design. So, Stolle and his colleagues are creating what he calls “universal structures,” barriers that will be compatible across all ranges of vehicles.
Testing is still ongoing, but Stolle said he expects the new barriers will be ready for installation on the first U.S. military bases in the next few years.
The United States is making plans to evacuate its citizens from Taiwan. This doesn’t mean the government thinks a Chinese invasion is imminent, but it is more proof the government sees it as a very real possibility.
According to reporting by the Messenger, planning for the potential evacuations started at least six months ago. The Messenger quoted a senior U.S. intelligence official who said planning for a possible evacuation was driven by heightened levels of tension, both in the region and abroad.
China considers the island of Taiwan part of its sovereign territory and said its willing to use military might to force its reunification. While some analysts see that as a diplomatic blustering from Beijing, it can’t be discredited.
China has the world’s largest navy, leads the world in hypersonic weaponry, and makes a regular habit of encircling Taiwan in military drills. The fact is if China does invade, evacuating U.S. citizens from the island will be nearly impossible.
In 2019, there were around 80,000 Americans living in Taiwan. The island’s geography will play a huge factor in any evacuation plan. Most of the population lives along the coast and there is often only one route between any two areas. If the U.S. did issue an evacuation order for its citizens, it’s also more than likely thousands of Taiwanese residents would also be trying to get off the island as well, clogging the roads and overwhelming civilian transports.
Again, just because the U.S. government is making a plan to evacuate Americans from Taiwan does not mean the plan will ever actually be implemented.
If the government wants to avoid another evacuation disaster like the one seen in Kabul, then planning is prudent. Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines are also making contingency plans to evacuate their citizens if China invades.
Beyond protecting civilians, Taiwan also needs to protect its growing arsenal of weapons and military vehicles. A senior adviser with Taiwan’s Institute for National Policy Research said Taiwan’s military should disperse its assets across the island to prevent their destruction.
The adviser suggested hiding ammunition in civilian ships or creating underground bunkers for its aircraft and other military hardware. Also, since Taiwan is an island, there won’t be a front or rear of the attack. It will come from all sides. So, the adviser said Taiwan needs to be ready to defend in all directions.
And to that end, Taiwan is going to need some friends. The U.S. is repositioning Marines throughout the Pacific into littoral regiments. The Corps wants to use a new variant of Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike Chinese ships from a thousand miles away. The Marines can use some of the many small islands around Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines to carry out these attacks.
Not to be left out, Japan just announced it would earmark an additional $2 billion to develop hypersonic missile technology. Like the U.S., Taiwan, the Philippines and Australia, Japan sees China as the biggest regional threat to a peaceful Pacific.
Suspected Chinese spies pose as tourists to infiltrate US military bases
Suspected Chinese spies tried to infiltrate military bases in Alaska. According to an Army officer who spoke with USA Today, they were pretending to be tourists.
There have been similar encounters of tourists attempting to enter military bases in Alaska. Oftentimes, the incidents are ruled as mistakes. But other times, the incidents are found to be intentional in order for suspected Chinese spies to gain information on U.S. military sites.
According to first-hand accounts from several soldiers, they witnessed a vehicle with Chinese citizens blowing past a security checkpoint at an Army base in Fairbanks, Alaska. The vehicle was eventually stopped and searched. A drone was found inside. The Chinese citizens claimed to be tourists who were lost.
Alaska is home to some of the Pentagon’s most sophisticated military facilities which can attract foreign spies. But Alaska is also home to wildlife attractions and the Northern lights which attract tourists.
The challenge is deciphering the intentions of someone who claims to be sightseeing, but could also be tapping sensitive military communications.
Attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on the U.S. are rather common according to FBI Director Christopher Wray. He said the FBI opens a new investigation on Chinese espionage every 12 hours.
Wray claims the greatest long-term threat to the U.S. is China. That threat is what makes stories of a Chinese spy balloon hovering over U.S. military bases such a serious breach and why skepticism over the tourism industry persists.
The United States military has a new “X” plane; the X-65. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency made the announcement on social media on May 15.
The technology in the X-65 could represent a monumental, paradigm-shift for modern aviation. It’s an uncrewed, experimental aircraft designed by Aurora Flight Sciences. The X-65 is being developed under DARPA’s Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors, or CRANE, program.
Unlike virtually every other aircraft that’s ever flown in Earth’s atmosphere, the X-65 will have no external moving parts. No flaps. No rotors. No elevators, rudders, stabilators or any other method of maneuvering typically seen on aircraft since the Wright Brothers. Instead, the X-65 maneuvers in flight using bursts of air, a process called Active Flow Control.
The theory goes, if there aren’t any jointed surfaces, flight can be improved while also reducing costs, and wear and tear on the aircraft. Also, its smoother surface should help improve the X-65s stealth characteristics, since it will most likely be harder to spot on radar.
DARPA awarded Aurora Flight Sciences (AFS) a phase 2 contract in January for the CRANE program. Building on its existing X-plane candidate, DARPA’s phase 2 funding finances the detailed engineering design work needed to create a full-scale X-65. The DARPA contract awarded to AFS includes phase 3 option, as well, that includes flying a full-size X-65.
If DARPA executes phase 3 and green lights building a full-size X-65, the craft will have a 30-foot wingspan and should weigh just 7,000 pounds. AFS said it designed the X-65 to include “a modular wing configuration that enable future integration of advanced technologies for flight testing.”
The X-65 is the U.S. military’s first “X” plane since the X-62 Vista, an experimental aircraft the U.S. Air Force uses to test new technologies. DARPA is also working on other “X” plane programs like the “Liberty Lifter.” AFS also has a candidate for that DARPA program as well.
US military needs troops. Top brass look for ways to improve ‘quality of life’
The United States military is struggling to find enough recruits to fill its ranks. The nation’s top brass are taking several steps to rectify the problem, including taking advice from some of their own.
Mandatory Funday is the online handle of a social media influencer who caters to a specific audience. Straight Arrow News is honoring his request to not use his real name, but can report he’s an active-duty lieutenant in the United States Army. He’s also what’s called a “Mustang officer” because he served as an enlisted soldier first.
As the lieutenant explained, “I humanize the uniform, so to speak. I’ve been shocked to find out that there’s a lot of people that believe that you have to be some kind of, like, superhuman to join the military. And it’s just not the case. We can take damn near anybody, and turn them into what we need to turn them into.”
The videos Mandatory Funday creates poke fun at a range of topics to which most military families can relate. One video explores what many call the “paradox of service,” where a person may disdain certain aspects of the military, but still misses it when they leave.
The lieutenant said he first started making videos because he wanted to have some fun and share his experiences in the Army. As it turns out, those funny videos are leading to real changes.
“I have gotten messages from many senior leaders too, at this point in, in every branch of service and even some people in other NATO militaries telling me that they’re implementing new policy, or a new way of doing things based on some of the videos that I’ve created,” the lieutenant said. “It’s been really cool because there’s a disconnect between senior leadership and junior guys, right? And I feel like I’m bridging that gap a little bit.”
The videos Mandatory Funday creates, as well as the impact they have, are a sort of microcosm of a much larger effort within the military: senior leadership listening to junior enlisted on ways to improve military life.
During the opening ceremonies of the Navy League’s Sea Air Space 2023 Exhibition in National Harbor, Maryland, the top officers from the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard all talked about the immediate need to invest in people.
The Honorable Erik Raven, the under secretary for the Navy, said, “Our navy and Marine Corps are more than just advanced platforms and weapons systems. Our people remain our greatest strength and are at the heart of everything that we do.”
Adm. Linda Fagan, the commandant of the Coast Guard, said “If we don’t make the investments in the people [then] the aircraft won’t operate. The ships won’t be able to maneuver.
“If nothing else, I’ve learned in the past years the most important thing, most often, we can do is listen. Actually not talk,” explained Gen. David Berger, the commandant of the Marine Corps.
“If we ask them what’s important to them, it’s not all that complicated. They live somewhere: the barracks or their family housing. They get up and they work out in the morning: fitness centers. And then they go home and if they have kids, they’re going to need to find a place to watch their kids during the day: child development centers. And they’re going to work somewhere in a hangar or a maintenance bay or go to the field. Where they work, where they eat, where they live. All these are things that some people call ‘quality of life,’ but I think they are the centerpiece. They’re the focus. And we must invest in that now,” Berger said.
To be clear, the United States government is making investments toward improving the quality of life for military members, but it may not be enough.
Included in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Bill was a provision to set aside more than $17 billion to help restore and improve military facilities. Another $2 billion went to improve privatized housing. The most recent National Defense Authorization Act also increased pay by 4.6% for military members and civilians serving in the Department of Defense.
At the same time, a recent study showed around 1 in 4 military members went through some form of food insecurity recently. There’s a growing number of military families qualifying for SNAP benefits, also called food stamps. And just like in the civilian world, access to affordable childcare can be a struggle.
“We have to adjust our pay, or the basic allowance for subsistence now,” Congressman Don Bacon said. The Nebraska representative is also a retired Air Force general. He’s the chair of a new house subcommittee focused on quality of life for U.S. military members.
In addition to raising housing and food allowances for junior enlisted through mid-level enlisted soldiers, particularly those with families, the congressman said there are other challenges that need to be addressed.
“We have housing that’s falling behind. We have medical care that’s being hollowed out a little bit at a time. We have families on long waiting lists to get daycare. We have spouses who can’t get jobs because we move them too often,” Bacon said. “So, I wanted to look at this holistically and say ‘we could do so much better for quality of life.’”
Bacon said improving the quality of life in the military will also make it easier to get new members to sign up. In 2022, every service branch except the Space Force missed its recruiting goals. 2023 isn’t looking much better.
Bacon’s subcommittee will meet twice a week for eight months starting in June. From there, the committee will offer up its recommendations to be included in future legislation.
“This [subcommittee] is going to be something in the House that won’t be Republican versus Democrat,” Bacon said. “It’s going to be Americans, and patriotic Americans, trying to solve a problem for patriotic Americans.”
Patriotic Americans like the Mustang lieutenant behind Mandatory Funday. The lieutenant said he’s not surprised there’s a House subcommittee on improving quality of life in the military. For him, it’s proof of what the Army teaches in its official doctrine: Good leaders listen.
“I think the Army and, you know, the military in general does a fairly good job of trying to meet people halfway, if that makes sense,” the lieutenant said.
Sec Def: GOP senator’s hold on military promotions poses national security risk
In an ongoing standoff over the Defense Department’s abortion policy, the confirmation of 160 military promotions remains on hold, causing concerns among top officials and raising questions about the impact on U.S. national security. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has utilized the promotions as leverage to urge the Defense Department to rescind its policy that utilizes taxpayer money to fund abortion services for members of the military community.
“This is not about abortion,” Tuberville said. “We’ve had abortions for years in the military. We have a law in this country called the Hyde Amendment that says taxpayer money will not be used for abortions, because some people believe in it, some people don’t. Again, this is a change in the policy from the White House.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently addressed Senate Democrats through a letter, highlighting the self-inflicted harm being caused to national security due to the delay in confirming top military generals. The letter underscored that 64 nominations for three- and four-star positions, including the chief of staff of the Army, chief of naval operations, commanders of the Marine Corps, and commanders in the Middle East, are currently pending.
“Never before has one senator prevented the Department of Defense from managing its officer corps in this manner, and letting this hold continue would set a perilous precedent for our military, our security, and our country,” Austin wrote in the letter to Democratic lawmakers. “Delays in confirmation will soon foist vacancies on the most senior military positions across each of the Services, imposing new and unnecessary risks on U.S. warfighters across multiple theaters of operations.”
Additionally, there are numerous one- and two-star nominations on hold for general officers and flag officers. Austin emphasized that the prolonged hold-up is generating confusion and uncertainty throughout the U.S. military’s chain of command.
However, Sen. Tuberville has shown no signs of relenting, as Senate Republicans continue to advocate for the Pentagon to suspend its abortion policy until the Senate can vote on the matter. Tuberville has expressed his commitment to maintaining the hold until his concerns are addressed satisfactorily.
“My hold is not affecting readiness and they won’t make anybody starve,” Tuberville wrote in a guest opinion column for Alabama.com. “No matter the name calling and media pressure, I will keep my holds in place until the Biden administration follows the law.”
Austin revealed that approximately 650 general and flag officers will require Senate confirmation by the end of the year, placing all these critical positions in jeopardy until the impasse is resolved.
New AI platform can create military battle plans using classified networks
The uses for and abilities of artificial intelligence are growing at an exponential rate. Advanced militaries like the U.S. and China already use the technology to gather intelligence, pilot drones and target enemy positions. The U.S. even lets AI agents fly an F-16.
It’s just a matter of time before a military starts using AI to plan battles, and the AI agent to do that may already be here.
In a video released on April 25, Palantir Technologies introduced the world to its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). On a core level, the system integrates large language models (LLMs) and AI into a private network. A military can then use AIP to create battlefield plans as easily as students can use Chat-GPT to write a paper.
Palantir said its AIP operates on three core pillars:
AIP launches LLMs and AI across multiple classified networks and devices.
AIP connects the streams of data to create real-time environments.
AIP has security features to limit the access of the AI.
The video introducing AIP demonstrated a scenario of a soldier monitoring Eastern Europe. The artificial intelligence detected enemy movement and, using a virtual-assistant type of interface, suggested ways to do more reconnaissance.
At this point in the video demonstration, AIP suggested the soldier launch a Reaper drone for an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission. AIP and the soldier monitored the incoming data and once the threat was identified, AIP offered suggestions on ways to deal with the threat based on a slew of logistical considerations like troop and weapons availability, distance to target, even terrain.
Palantir said its Artificial Intelligence Platform keeps a complete digital record of everything it does for later review if necessary.
Also, while the human involvement in the process may seem more like someone playing a video game than crafting actual battle plans, Palantir said the fact a human is involved in each step of the process should help ensure AIP is following the rules of engagement on the battlefield, and not taking any unauthorized actions. At least let’s hope so.
US preparing troops for American Embassy evacuation in Sudan
The United States is reportedly deploying additional military forces to an East African base as part of preparations for a possible evacuation of American diplomatic officials from Sudan. Three U.S. defense officials who confirmed that the troops would be based in nearby Djibouti, according to NBC News.
Pentagon opposes offshore wind sites in Atlantic over security concerns
In an effort to expand clean energy along the East Coast, President Biden has big plans for offshore wind projects in the Atlantic. But the Pentagon is pushing back against where the administration was planning to build the mid-Atlantic wind farms because the locations interfere with military operations.
The Navy and Air Force call some of the prime real estate off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware “highly problematic” sites to build wind energy projects. The Pentagon warns wind farms, in four of the six planned zones, could pose a threat to national security.
The Biden administration plans to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power, the equivalent of 30 nuclear reactors, within the next 10 years.
But the advancements in green energy haven’t come easy. The Biden administration has faced serious opposition for a list of underlying concerns before the Pentagon scrutinized the projects.
Some lawmakers have called for a congressional investigation into the impacts of offshore wind development. They say offshore wind projects could be the cause of dozens of whales and other marine life washing ashore and dying. They also believe the projects could harm tourism, commercial fishing and real estate values.
“This president and this administration continue to disregard these valid concerns. And now the Pentagon is reiterating the potential impacts the industrialization of our coast will have on our national security. We need to put America first and we need a moratorium on these projects until it is far too late,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said.
The Biden administration is not deterred by the Pentagon’s report. It will continue to seek leasing areas in the central Atlantic to expand green energy, and to provide cleaner and cheaper energy along the East Coast.