Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 Winning the Long Range Strike-Bomber contract would not change Northrop Grumman’s expectation of $700 million in capital expenditures for calendar year 2015, while losing the competition would have little effect on whether the company would acquire or be absorbed by another company, Northrop officials said on Wednesday during a company […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 The Air Force plans to release a concept of operations (CONOPS) and a draft request for proposals for the estimated $62.3 billion Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) as early as September, NS&D Monitor has learned. The service then in January is expected to award two parallel nonexclusive teaming contracts to carry […]

Valerie Insinna Defense Daily  7/31/2015 Adm. John Richardson, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the next chief of naval operations (CNO), told senators yesterday that the planned design requirements for the Ohio-class Replacement submarines are “exactly what we need.” Speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing, he specifically cited the ship’s […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  7/31/2015 On Tuesday, command of the Air Force Global Strike Command shifted from Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson to Gen. Robin Rand, according to an Air Force press release, marking the first time the unit has become a four-star command. "Today is a great day to be an American airman and it’s […]

The Ohio-class Replacement was one of two main drivers for General Dynamics’ 5.5 percent overall revenue increase from the second quarter of fiscal 2014 to the second quarter of fiscal 2015, as sales rose from $7.5 billion to $7.9 billion, company officials stated yesterday. GD CEO Phebe Novakovic said the program is on schedule. “Ohio[-class […]

Winning the Long Range Strike-Bomber contract would not change Northrop Grumman’s expectation of $700 million in capital expenditures (CapEx) for calendar year 2015, while losing the competition would have little effect on whether the company would acquire or be absorbed by another company, Northrop officials said yesterday during a company conference call. Aerospace analysts and […]

At 10 a.m. CDT yesterday, the commandership of Air Force Global Strike Command shifted from Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson to Gen. Robin Rand, according to command spokeswoman Carla Pampe, marking a historic moment for U.S. nuclear forces as AFGSC became a four-star billet for the first time. "Today is a great day to be an […]

The La Vista (Neb.) Conference Center on Wednesday and Thursday will host the annual United States Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium. The conference will feature speeches by STRATCOM Commander Navy Adm. Cecil Haney, and incoming STRATCOM Deputy Commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, along with foreign government ministers, policy experts, and former Pentagon and State […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 Command of the Air Force Global Strike Command will shift from Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson to Gen. Robin Rand on July 28, ending Wilson’s nearly two-year tenure as commander of the service’s nuclear deterrence branch, command spokeswoman Carla Pampe confirmed to NS&D Monitor on Wednesday. The change of command will […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center has awarded BAE Systems a $11.1 million contract modification, which will effectively extend the company’s role as integration support contractor (ISC) for the Minuteman 3 on to the ICBM’s planned follow-on, the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, for at least one year, the Defense Department announced […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/24/2015 Northrop Grumman demonstrated the ability to “rapidly integrate” subsystems onto the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber using Open Mission Systems (OMS)-compliant architecture in June at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the company announced this week. "This demonstration paves the way for the B-2 weapon system to provide new operational capability […]

 The commandership of Air Force Global Strike Command will shift from Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson to Gen. Robin Rand on July 28, ending Wilson’s nearly two-year tenure as commander of AFGSC, command spokeswoman Carla Pampe confirmed to Weapons Complex Morning Briefing yesterday. Wilson has commanded AFGSC since October 2013. The change of command, which involves […]

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert released the CNO’s Navigation Plan for 2015-2019 yesterday, and listed maintaining a “credible, modern, and survivable sea-based strategic deterrent,” including existing Ohio-class submarines, Trident 2s, and nuclear command, control and communications, as the Navy’s No. 1 overall priority. The plan also notes the Ohio-class Replacement whose construction is […]

Northrop Grumman demonstrated at Edwards AFB, Calif., in June the ability to “rapidly integrate” subsystems onto the B-2 using Open Mission Systems (OMS)-compliant architecture, the company announced yesterday. "This demonstration paves the way for the B-2 weapon system to provide new operational capability well into the future at an affordable cost," said Brig. Gen. Eric […]

The following interview with Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration (A10), and Michael Shoults, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, was conducted at the Pentagon by NS&D Monitor reporter Brian Bradley. Before the interview, Maj. Gen. Harencak told NS&D Monitor […]

The Navy has awarded Electric Boat a $9.8 million not-to-exceed, undefinitized contract modification for the procurement of the “first article” common missile compartment tube-to-keel robotic weld skids to the robotic welding integrator and engineering services for the Ohio-class Replacement (OR), the Defense Department announced yesterday. “The contractor will be procuring hardware relating to the fixture […]

Pat Host NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 The Air Force is about one-to-three months away from its decision on a contractor for its widely- anticipated Long Range Strike Bomber (LRSB) program, its acquisition czar said Thursday. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force William LaPlante defended the timing, saying it is more important that it gets started at […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 The U.S. currently deploys 449 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 248 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and 88 heavy nuclear-capable bombers, according to a New START fact sheet recently released by the State Department. The document released July 1 lists the quantity of nuclear warheads for each category of deployed and non-deployed U.S. nuclear […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 7/10/2015 Navy Strategic Systems Programs has awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems a $27.5 million sole-source, unpriced-letter contract for long lead material and the “labor, planning and scheduling necessary” to sustain the Fiscal Year 2015 Trident 2 production schedule, the Defense Department announced on July 6. Work is expected to complete by […]

The Air Force is seeking sources as part of a market research effort to determine whether responsible vendors exist to build and test an additional Minuteman 3 Missile Procedures Trainer (MPT) at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., the service announced yesterday. The MPT is a computer-driven simulator that provides instruction and practice to trainees in classified Minuteman […]

Navy Strategic Systems Programs has awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems a $27.5 million sole-source, unpriced-letter contract for long lead material and the “labor, planning and scheduling necessary” to sustain the Fiscal Year 2015 Trident 2 production schedule, the Defense Department announced yesterday. Work is expected to complete by Sept. 30, 2020. The FY 2014 Navy […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 Despite recently expressed industry concerns, the Air Force this week maintained that it is continuing its stated course of action of analyzing the business case for re-engining the B-52, with a hopeful RFP release for the planned program by the end of this summer, a service spokesperson told NS&D Monitor […]

The Navy’s Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair at Groton, Conn., has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat an $8.7 million modification to the Ohio-class Replacement (OR) design contract originally awarded in December 2012, according to an announcement by the Defense Department yesterday. The modification will cover the procurement of the U.S./U.K. “E Fixture Robotic Cut” […]

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, during a full House Armed Services Committee hearing on nuclear deterrence Thursday said he hopes the Defense Department will clearly articulate whether the Congressionally established Sea-Based Deterrence Fund is the appropriate method to fund the Ohio-class Replacement (OR). “What […]

Brian Bradley  NS&D Monitor  6/26/2015 The long-range strike bomber will eventually replace all B-1s, B-2s and B-52s after it comes online, a senior Air Force official said Thursday. “Eventually, it will replace—it will be ‘the’ long-range strike bomber for us at a point,” Maj. Gen. Richard Clark, commander of the 8th Air Force, said during […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/26/2015 Navy Strategic System Programs and the Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile community should determine exactly what aspects of commonality the services will integrate between the Trident 2 life extension and Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent development efforts “now,” Navy Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, Director of Navy Strategic Systems Programs, said during a […]

Boeing’s Board of Directors elected Dennis Muilenberg to be the company’s next CEO, a position he will assume on July 1, according to a Tuesday company press release. Muilenberg will succeed current CEO Jim McNerney, who has held the position for the past 10 years. The board will retain McNerney as its chairman and will […]

Integrating a smaller, shorter-range cruise missile into the both land-based and carrier-based dual-capable F-35s could help the U.S. offset a low global “nuclear threshold” caused by U.S. conventional weapons superiority, according to a nuclear strategy and posture report released yesterday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “Project Atom: A Competitive Strategies Approach […]

Navy Strategic System Programs and the Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile community should determine exactly what aspects of commonality the services will integrate between the Trident 2 life extension and Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent development efforts “now,” Navy Vice Adm. Terry Benedict, Director of Navy Strategic Systems Programs, said during a speech in Washington on Friday. […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) hopes to advance the installation of its replacement for the Milstar satellite constellation, as reliability problems of the nuclear-survivable legacy system have slowed the follow-on’s procurement timeline, and as a Government Accountability Office report released this week revealed “known capability gaps” and deficiencies in the nation’s […]