Remembrance/ Armstice/ Veteran’s Day, 2012

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918, the guns ceased. During Remembrance Day, the British Commonwealth countries remember those who came before, and those who came after, and all who have given in their nation’s service. John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” is a common accompaniment at ceremonies, where the wearing of poppies is customary (on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible), and organizations like the Royal British Legion, Royal Canadian Legion, et. al. are supported.

A number of European countries know it as Armistice Day.

Americans celebrate it as Veteran’s Day, and we hope our American readers have a meaningful day this Monday at the commemorative event of their choice.

ATAC’s Aerial Opponent Training

Kfir C2 w. ALQ-167

Over the last 13 years, ATAC has performed a wide range of flight training operations for the US Navy, US Air Force and Air National Guard, including participation in US Navy fleet training, acting as adversary fighters for the “TOPGUN” program, Red Flag exercises and F-22 Raptor training; participating in JTAC/ FAC-A/ CAS ground controller training; and even serving American research & development programs like the Ship Self Defense System and ALE-50 towed decoy. Under their agreement with US Navy, their services have also been used to train militaries in the UK, Canada, Japan, the Philippines, and others.

Unlike most other contractors, who operate Learjets and similar business aircraft, ATAC operates fighters and attack jets.

Rapid Fire 2011-12-05: Japan’s ATD-X Stealth Fighter

• The Pentagon is considering updating Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate a “proposal adequacy checklist” for proposals in response to solicitations that require submission of certified cost or pricing data. Comments should be sent to DoD in writing before January 31, 2012, to be considered in the formation of the final rule.

• Switzerland’s largest socialist party (SPS) passes a resolution saying that they’ll try to stop the deal for 22 Swedish JAS-39 Gripen fighters. We aren’t surprised, either.

• Photos of a Japanese ATD-X stealth fighter mock-up. Which seems to be re-using a Mitsubishi F1 canopy. Still waiting for cool transforming robots…

Nov 11/11: We Remember

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918, the guns ceased. During Remembrance Day, the British Commonwealth countries remember those who came before, and those who came after, and all who have given in their nation’s service. John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” is a common accompaniment at ceremonies, where the wearing of poppies is customary (on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible), and organizations like the Royal British Legion, Royal Canadian Legion, et. al. are supported.

A number of European countries know it as Armistice Day. Americans celebrate it as Veteran’s Day.

Per DID tradition and policy, we remind our readers that we do not publish on this day. We hope you have a meaningful day at the commemorative event of your choice.

Little Birds’ Eye View: SOCOM Upgrading Their H-6 Helis

MH-6M’s NASCAR visit

US Special Operations Command’s helicopters are some of its most important assets. The service will need new helicopters in the near future, but meanwhile, they’re busy modernizing the helicopters they have. Sensor and targeting system improvements offer a lot of operational bang for the buck, as August 2011 contracts to improve the MH-60 and MH-47 fleets show. Now FLIR Systems, Inc. in North Billerica, MA has received a sole-source $24.6 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract under FAR 6.302-1, for new production or retrofit of AN/ZSQ-3 (V1 Assault) and AN/ZSQ-3 (V2 Attack), Electro-Optic Sensor Systems with laser rangefinder/designator units. Order 0001 is for $497,092, with the rest to be awarded as requested by US SOCOM’s Technology Applications Contracting Office until Sept 22/16 (H92241-11-D-0007).

The turrets will equip the 160th SOAR’s A/H-6M “Little Birds” at Fort Campbell, KY. These MD 530 derivatives serve in versatile roles with the Night Stalkers, quickly moving special forces troops into confined areas, or acting as light helicopter gunships. They were especially useful during Operation Gothic Serpent in Mogadishu, 18 years ago today, when they flew the only close air support available to the trapped Rangers and Delta force soldiers, sometimes even landing in narrow streets. The battle is known as the “Day of the Rangers” in Somalia, but it’s best known to most Americans by the movie/book name: “Blackhawk Down“.

Rapid Fire: Morning 2011-06-14

• The US Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) report [PDF] on policy options for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) estimates that DoD plans to acquire 730 UAS based on designs currently in operation, while also improving the unmanned aircraft already in service will cost $36.9 billion through 2020. The CBO also analyzed options that would cost from $3.7 billion less than the DoD’s plans through 2020 to $2.9 billion more.

• An independent review of 40 major programs concludes that the Pentagon’s Operational Test & Evaluation teams are not the cause of delays in all the weapons programs. Instead the report revealed that delays in 37 programs were caused by problems discovered during testing.

• Lockheed Martin will provide its Prepar3D visual simulation software to power the National Flight Academy’s (NFA) immersive aviation experience as part of the academy’s hands-on approach to teaching the principles of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

• Flight Global reports that Israel’s Aeronautics Defense Systems’ Orbiter Mini UAV and BlueBird’s SpyLite Multi Configuration Tactical UAS are two final contenders in the Finnish military’s unmanned air system contest.

• Intelligent Software Solutions (ISS) wins a contract from the the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) for software that will use predictive reasoning and pattern-analysis to improve situational awareness for British warfighters and help determine the level of risk for various missions.

• UAS Vision says the first meeting of the Netherlands’ new unmanned aerial sector (UAS) network attracted 70 individuals representing 40 different companies and organizations. One of the principal aims of the network is to advance the development and deployment of unmanned aircraft systems in the Netherlands.

• India’s Home Ministry to evaluate unmanned aerial system (UAS) technologies for law enforcement purposes.

• Cubic Global Tracking Solutions announces that it has received certification from Iridium Communications Inc. for its Global Sentinel System. The product tracks and monitors high-risk assets utilizing a variety of transmission links.

• Wired’s Danger Room reports on the evidence that Russia may have revived the Soviet-era Falcon-Echelon laser project. Potential targets include U.S. satellites.

Memorial Day 2011

Honor & Reflect
(click to view cartoon)

Monday, May 30th is Memorial Day in the USA. DID honors those who have given all of their tomorrows in American military service; we will not be publishing.

Readers are reminded that in America, the Memorial Day moment of silence takes place at 3:00 pm. It seems that lots of reminders are needed elsewhere in America; a survey commissioned by The National WWII Museum in Washington had only 20% say they were very familiar with the day’s purpose, which is to honor those who have fallen in America’s wars. This function is served by Remembrance Day/ Armistice Day (Nov. 11th) in the British Commonwealth and elsewhere, but in America, that day is Veteran’s Day, and honors all who served in the military.

For additional resources, USAA has a full video that includes Hugh Ambrose (Band of Brothers, The Pacific, etc.), and the American National WWII Museum’s MyMemorialDay.org offers some ideas for honoring this day. One more idea might to be teach our fellow Americans. Email a good treatment of the day to people you know outside the national security field, and encourage them to forward it on.

Nov 11/10: We Remember

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918, the guns ceased. During Remembrance Day, the British Commonwealth countries remember those who came before, and those who came after, and all who have given in their nation’s service. John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” is a common accompaniment at ceremonies, where the wearing of poppies is customary (on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible), and organizations like the Royal British Legion, Royal Canadian Legion, et. al. are supported.

A number of European countries know it as Armistice Day. Americans celebrate it as Veteran’s Day.

Per DID tradition and policy, we remind our readers that we do not publish on this day. We hope you have a meaningful day at the commemorative event of your choice.

Memorial Day 2010

Honor & Reflect
(click to view cartoon)

Monday, May 31st is Memorial Day in the USA. DID honors those who have given all of their tomorrows in American military service; we will not be publishing.

Readers are urged to peruse the US Department of Defense’s Memorial Day features, including this message from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. They are also reminded that in America, the Memorial Day moment of silence takes place at 3:00 pm.

November 11, 2009: We Remember

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in 1918, the guns ceased. During Remembrance Day, the British Commonwealth countries remember those who came before, and those who came after, and all who have given in their nation’s service. John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” is a common accompaniment at ceremonies, where the wearing of poppies is customary (on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible), and organizations like the Royal British Legion, Royal Canadian Legion, et. al. are supported.

A number of European countries know it as Armistice Day. Americans celebrate it as Veteran’s Day.

Per DID tradition and policy, we remind our readers that we do not publish on this day. We hope you have a meaningful day at the commemorative event of your choice. If physical attendance is not possible, the Government of Canada is making video available [Quicktime M4V/MPEG-4 formats], which contains Remembrance Day messages from its troops on the front lines.