Military Spending, DOD Contracts, National Defense $$$$

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How America Spent Over $100 Billion Defending Ukraine | Business Insider Marathon​

Aug 4, 2024 #military #businessinsider #ukraine

America has pledged over $175 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded, which includes over $100 billion in military spending. That includes shells, tanks, rockets, cannons, anti-tank weapons, drones, and missile defense systems worth $1 billion each. So which weapons have proven most critical on the battlefield? And will the latest round of aid really help Ukraine in a war many are calling a stalemate?

30:07

00:00 - $175 Billion So Far
00:48 - Infantry Weapons
02:05 - Body Armor
02:42 - Artillery
08:38 - Tanks
14:11 - Drones
18:54 - Helicopters
19:32 - Jets
20:27 - Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles
21:07 - Multiple Rocket Launchers (ATACMS)
27:54 - Patriot Missile Defense
28:33 - Credits
 

Report to Congress on Hypersonic Weapons​

August 8, 2024 9:12 AM

The following is the Aug. 7, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Hypersonic Weapons: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report​

The United States has actively pursued the development of hypersonic weapons—maneuvering weapons that fly at speeds of at least Mach 5—as a part of its conventional prompt global strike program since the early 2000s. In recent years, the United States has focused such efforts on developing hypersonic glide vehicles, which are launched from a rocket before gliding to a target, and hypersonic cruise missiles, which are powered by high-speed, air-breathing engines during flight. As former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command General John Hyten has stated, these weapons could enable “responsive, long-range, strike options against distant, defended, and/or time-critical threats [such as road-mobile missiles] when other forces are unavailable, denied access, or not preferred.” Critics, on the other hand, contend that hypersonic weapons lack defined mission requirements, contribute little to U.S. military capability, and are unnecessary for deterrence.

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U.S. Funding $32M Upgrade to Air Base in the Philippines​

Updated: August 10, 2024 5:57 AM

The Pentagon awarded a $32 million contract to upgrade an airfield in the Philippines as part of a broader U.S. program to upgrade and improve Manila’s military bases.

Funded under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a plan to counter China throughout the Indo-Pacific through the construction of infrastructure and investment into regional partners, Basa Air Base is set to receive a 625,000-square-foot parking apron capable of hosting up to 20 aircraft. The contract stated that the project aimed to strengthen the infrastructure at the base, which was deemed to be insufficient for training activities between the U.S. and Philippine forces.

According to the award, Acciona CMS Philippines LLC prevailed over four other proposals for the construction of a parking apron, shoulders, and taxiway at Basa. Funding for the project comes from the Air Force’s fiscal year 2021 and 2024 military construction budgets, coming in at $3.5 million and $29.4 million respectively. The award further added that the airfield upgrade is set to be completed by July 2026.

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Austal to Pay $24M Fine in Deal with DoJ, SEC Over Accounting Fraud Case​

Austal USA will pay out a $24 million fine in a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice to settle an accounting fraud case, Australian parent company Austal announced Tuesday.

The deal stems from last year’s indictment of three former Austal USA executives for conduct between 2013 and 2016 that resulted in the Mobile, Ala.-based shipyard writing down work in 2016.

On top of the $24 million fine, – which the SEC will allot to shareholders who faced losses during the period – Austal USA has reached a plea deal with the Justice Department over the criminal charges, according to the company statement.

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Report to Congress on FY2025 Budget for Military Health System​

September 2, 2024 10:27 AM

The following is the Aug. 22, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, FY2025 Budget Request for the Military Health System.

From the report​

On March 11, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request to Congress. Discretionary funding in the Department of Defense (DOD) budget request totals $849.8 billion, including $61.4 billion (7.2%) to fund the Military Health System (MHS), which delivers certain health entitlements under Title 10, Chapter 55, of the U.S. Code, to servicemembers, military retirees, and their families. The MHS provides health care to 9.6 million beneficiaries in DOD hospitals and clinics—known as military treatment facilities (MTFs)—and through civilian health care providers participating in TRICARE, DOD’s health-insurance-like program.

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White House Wants an Extra $2B for FY24 Virginia-class Subs, Attack Boat Pair Could Cost $11.3B​

The White House is asking Congress for $1.95 billion to make up for a price gap for two submarines already funded as part of the congressional Fiscal Year 2024 budget, USNI News has learned.

The request was included in a list of anomalies the White House asked Congress to support in the event the government is funded by a continuing resolution past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

“Language is needed to appropriate $1.95 billion to the Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy account of the Department of Defense (DOD) for expenses necessary for procurement of two Virginia-class submarines. Without the anomaly, DOD would have insufficient funding to sign contracts for the submarines during the period of the CR,” reads the notification, first reported by Politico.

The Fiscal Year 2024 defense funding bill set aside $7.13 billion for the two Block V Virginia-class boats. Including FY 2023 advanced procurement funds, the total appropriated by Congress for the two attack submarines – SSN-812 and SSN 813 – is $9.4 billion, according to the program summary. The additional add from the White House, if approved by Congress, would bring the total for the two boats to $11.35 billion. One of the two boats is a specialized special operations forces and seabed warfare and was projected to cost much more than a standard Block V Virginia boat, USNI News previously reported.

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Report to Congress on Great Power Competition​

September 5, 2024 6:54 AM

The following is the Aug. 28, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress.

From the report​

The emergence over the past decade of intensified U.S. competition with the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) and the Russian Federation (Russia)—often referred to as great power competition (GPC) or strategic competition—has profoundly changed the conversation about U.S. defense issues from what it was during the post–Cold War era: Counterterrorist operations and U.S. military operations in the Middle East—which had been more at the center of discussions of U.S. defense issues following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—are now a less prominent (but still present) element in the conversation, and the conversation now focuses more on the following elements, all of which relate largely to China and/or Russia:

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Navy Awards BlueForge Alliance $951M Contract for ‘Uplifting’ U.S. Submarine Industrial Base​

September 10, 2024 10:38 PM - Updated: September 11, 2024 10:56 AM

A non-profit best known for marketing submarine construction jobs through television ads and NASCAR races won a $951 million Navy contract, according to a Tuesday Pentagon announcement.

Texas-based BlueForge Alliance won the sole source Navy award to “support planning, resourcing, coordinating and uplifting the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base and Foreign Military Sales requirements,” reads the announcement. The contract obligated $503 million of Fiscal Year 2024 money on Tuesday and included options that could raise the award total to $980 million.

Most of the $503 million obligated in the Tuesday award will go to the U.S. submarine industrial base, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokesperson told USNI News.

“This contract will execute ongoing critical efforts to strengthen and expand the [submarine industrial base] and provides a direct contractual arrangement with a strong partner with demonstrated experience driving enhanced capability and capacity,” reads a statement from NAVSEA.

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New Navy Sub Funding Proposal to Combat Growth in Labor Costs Raises Questions in Congress, White House​

September 13, 2024 6:53 PM - Updated: September 14, 2024 12:48 PM

This post was updated to include additional information on the 17 submarines that have been the subject of contract negotiations between the Navy and shipbuilders.

Facing ballooning costs for shipbuilders, the Navy is proposing restructuring how it pays for submarine and aircraft carrier workers to allow more flexibility for shipyards to raise wages and build infrastructure, USNI News has learned.

Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the cost to produce submarines has risen more than 20 percent with the bulk of the cost increases tied up in workforce. The rising cost of labor prompted major wage increases across the shipyards, as shipbuilding companies competed against service industry jobs rivaling the pay for an entry-level shipyard worker.

The Navy wants to take some of the labor money obligated for submarines not yet under construction and pull it forward to use on the current worker wage shortfall in an acquisition change called Shipyard Accountability and Workforce Support (SAWS).

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Navy Taps Private Equity Fund to Build New Alabama Sub Module Facility, Austal Awarded $152M to Support Effort​

September 22, 2024 6:35 PM - Updated: September 22, 2024 7:01 PM

The Navy tapped a Connecticut private equity group with a background in tax break investments to fund construction of a major submarine supplier yard in Mobile, Ala., in a public-private partnership, the sea service announced late Friday.

The new facility, dubbed Mobile Naval Yard, could grow to host up to 3,000 workers who will build modules for the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs as part of a new public-private partnership, executive director of the program executive officer for submarines Matt Sermon told reporters on Friday.

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Report to Congress on U.S. Amphibious Warship Programs​

September 26, 2024 9:38 AM

The following is the Sept. 25, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs: Background and Issues for Congress.

From the report​

The Navy is procuring two types of larger amphibious ships: LHA-type “big-deck” amphibious assault ships and LPD-17 Flight II class amphibious ships. Both types are built by Huntington Ingalls Industries/Ingalls Shipbuilding (HII/Ingalls) of Pascagoula, MS.

Section 1023 of the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 7776/P.L. 117-263 of December 23, 2022) amended 10 U.S.C. 8062 to require the Navy to include not less than 31 operational larger amphibious ships, including not less than 10 LHA/LHD-type “big-deck” amphibious assault ships and the remaining ships to be LPD-type or older LSD-type amphibious ships. Section 129 of the FY2023 NDAA permitted the Navy to enter into a block buy contract for procuring a combination of up to five LHA-type and LPD-17 amphibious ships. On September 24, 2024, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced that the Navy had awarded a block buy contract for the construction of three LPD-17 Flight II ships (LPDs 33, 34, and 35), and a modification to a separate contract for the construction of an LHA-type ship (LHA-10).

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GAO Report on Columbia-class Submarine Delays​

October 1, 2024 9:25 AM

The following is the Sept. 30, 2024, Government Accountability Office report, Columbia-class Overcoming Persistent Challenges Requires Yet Undemonstrated Performance and Better-Informed Supplier Investments.

From the report​

What GAO Found

Based on current construction performance, the Navy reported in April 2024 that the first (lead) Columbia class submarine is estimated to be delivered 12 to 16 months after its originally planned date. This would result in delivery between October 2028 and February 2029. A late delivery could ultimately jeopardize the lead submarine’s planned availability for operations in 2030.

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HASC Wants Navy Info on Suspected Faulty Welds, Says Letter to SECNAV​

October 3, 2024 6:20 PM

Senior members of the House Armed Services Committee are calling on the Navy to detail the problems discovered with welding on submarines and aircraft carriers assembled at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding, according to a Thursday letter to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro obtained by USNI News.

HASC leaders want Del Toro to detail the extent of suspected faulty welds made by shipbuilders at the Virginia shipyard, what the Navy and HII’s plans are for inspecting and correcting the suspected work and a “detailed timeline of when the Navy knew about knowingly faulty welds made by HII-NNS,” reads the letter.

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Navy Awards GD Electric Boat $1.28B in Contracts While Service Continues Sub Negotiations​

October 10, 2024 5:35 PM

The Navy this week issued General Dynamics Electric Boat two contract modifications worth $1.28 billion to keep submarine suppliers operating while the service and the shipyard continue contract negotiations for 17 planned submarines.

The service issued two separate contract modifications on Oct. 8 – one for $878 million for future USS Baltimore (SSN-812) and SSN-813, both Block V Virginia-class attack submarines, and another $350 million for long lead materials for Block VI Virginia-class boats.

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Defense contractor RTX to pay $950 million to resolve bribery and fraud allegations​

NEW YORK — RTX Corp., the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon, agreed Wednesday to pay $950 million to resolve allegations that it defrauded the government and paid bribes to secure business with Qatar.

The company entered into deferred prosecution agreements in separate cases in federal court in Brooklyn and Massachusetts, agreed to hire independent monitors to oversee compliance with anti-corruption and anti-fraud laws and must show good conduct for three years.

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Report to Congress on LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM​

October 23, 2024 9:12 AM

The following is the Oct. 17, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Defense Primer: LGM-35A Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.

From the report​

The LGM-35A Sentinel is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system that is expected to replace the Minuteman III (MMIII) ICBM in the U.S. nuclear force structure. MMIII has served as the ground-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad—land-based ICBMs, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and nuclear-capable bombers—since 1970. (See CRS In Focus IF10519, Defense Primer: Strategic Nuclear Forces.) The Biden Administration included $3.7 billion for the Sentinel in its FY2025 Department of Defense (DOD) budget request, and $1.1 billion in the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) budget request for the W87-1 nuclear warhead that is being developed for the missile. In 2024, DOD conducted a congressionally mandated review of the Sentinel program following an increase in cost projections.

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Senators Question SECNAV, OMB on Submarine Funding Ahead of 17 Attack Boat Buy​


October 28, 2024 4:49 PM

A bipartisan group of senators wants more details from the Navy and the White House Office of Management and Budget on a funding scheme that shipbuilders want to employ to help pay for 17 new submarines under negotiations, according to two letters the group submitted on Friday.

The group, led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), quizzed OMB and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on the Shipyard Accountability and Workforce Support funding plan, also known as SAWS, which the Navy developed to pull money from submarine contracts for boats that have yet to start construction to increase shipbuilders’ wages and build more infrastructure.

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Department of Defense Completes Seventh Consecutive Department-Wide Financial Statement Au

The Defense Department released the results of its seventh annual departmentwide financial statement audit, which again resulted in a disclaimer of opinion.
www.defense.gov

Michael J. McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Holds a Press Briefing on the

Michael J. McCord, undersecretary of defense (Comptroller), held a press briefing on the results of DOD FY 2024 departmentwide financial statement audit.
www.defense.gov
 

OMB Proposes Alternate Funding Plan for Virginia-class Attack Submarines​

November 19, 2024 5:49 PM

The White House Office of Management and Budget is proposing a $5 to $6 billion injection of money into submarine funding to get at least two Virginia-class attack boats under contract and alleviate workforce shortfalls, several sources familiar with the proposal have told USNI News.

The proposal, expected to be part of the upcoming continuing resolution bill to keep the government funded past December, will pay for the future Virginia-class submarines Baltimore (SSN-812) and Atlanta (SSN-813) and help alleviate the unexpected increase in worker pay for shipbuilders.

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