Biden Leaves Market And Military Unclear About Strategic Oil Reserve

The Biden administration’s inconsistent approach to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has raised concerns and intensified skepticism among oil producers and tanker owners. Initially, the White House proposed refilling the…

The Biden administration’s inconsistent approach to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has raised concerns and intensified skepticism among oil producers and tanker owners. Initially, the White House proposed refilling the...

Russia Says It Held Naval Drills With China And Iran

March 18 (Reuters) – Russia, China and Iran have completed three-way naval exercises in the Arabian Sea that included artillery fire at targets on the sea and in the air, the Russian…

March 18 (Reuters) – Russia, China and Iran have completed three-way naval exercises in the Arabian Sea that included artillery fire at targets on the sea and in the air, the Russian...

US Navy Shipbuilding Fails Because Admirals Avoid Wall Street

Editorial by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) In an era distinguished by the realization of monumental projects, from the sprawling LNG terminals of Louisiana to the transformative reshaping of Manhattan’s skyline,…

Editorial by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) In an era distinguished by the realization of monumental projects, from the sprawling LNG terminals of Louisiana to the transformative reshaping of Manhattan’s skyline,...

UK Prime Minister Visits US To Unveil Australian Nuclear-Sub Plan With Biden

By Kitty Donaldson (Bloomberg) –Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to the US on Sunday to meet President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the three nations unveil…

By Kitty Donaldson (Bloomberg) –Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to the US on Sunday to meet President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the three nations unveil...

How A SVB Bailout Could Solve Global Security Problems

What is the common denominator in the recent port congestion crisis and current Taiwan security crisis, global food crisis, global energy crisis, US military PACOM logistics crisis, the Silicon Valley…

What is the common denominator in the recent port congestion crisis and current Taiwan security crisis, global food crisis, global energy crisis, US military PACOM logistics crisis, the Silicon Valley...

British Navy Says It Seized Smuggled Iranian Weapons In Gulf Of Oman

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Royal Navy said on Thursday it had seized Iranian weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles, last month from a smugglers vessel in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.  Britain said…

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Royal Navy said on Thursday it had seized Iranian weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles, last month from a smugglers vessel in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.  Britain said...

gCaptain OpEd: US Navy Shipbuilding Has A BIG Badger Problem

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) Shipbuilding and repair in America is in crisis. Every large ship built here costs multiples of what it would cost to build them in Asia and most government ships are well behind schedule and over budget. US Shipyards …

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) Shipbuilding and repair in America is in crisis. Every large ship built here costs multiples of what it would cost to build them in Asia and most government ships are well behind schedule and over budget. US Shipyards shoulder much of the blame and in recent testimony, the US Chief Of Naval Operations promised Congress the navy would take measures to prevent profiteering. Last week in a lengthy exposé the New York Times pulled on the thread accusing shipbuilding lobbyists of working against the needs of the Navy to generate larger profits. But how big...

Report to Congress on Hypersonic Weapons

The following is the Feb. 13, 2023, 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. […]

The following is the Feb. 13, 2023, 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.

Funding for hypersonic weapons has been relatively restrained in the past; however, both the Pentagon and Congress have shown a growing interest in pursuing the development and near-term deployment of hypersonic systems. This is due, in part, to the advances in these technologies in Russia and China, both of which have a number of hypersonic weapons programs and have likely fielded operational hypersonic glide vehicles—potentially armed with nuclear warheads. Most U.S. hypersonic weapons, in contrast to those in Russia and China, are not being designed for use with a nuclear warhead. As a result, U.S. hypersonic weapons will likely require greater accuracy and will be more technically challenging to develop than nuclear-armed Chinese and Russian systems.

The Pentagon’s FY2023 budget request for hypersonic research is $4.7 billion—up from $3.8 billion in the FY2022 request. The Missile Defense Agency additionally requested $225.5 million for hypersonic defense. At present, the Department of Defense (DOD) has not established any programs of record for hypersonic weapons, suggesting that it may not have approved either mission requirements for the systems or long-term funding plans. Indeed, as Principal Director for Hypersonics (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering) Mike White has stated, DOD has not yet made a decision to acquire hypersonic weapons and is instead developing prototypes to assist in the evaluation of potential weapon system concepts and mission sets.

As Congress reviews the Pentagon’s plans for U.S. hypersonic weapons programs, it might consider questions about the rationale for hypersonic weapons, their expected costs, and their implications for strategic stability and arms control. Potential questions include the following:

  • What mission(s) will hypersonic weapons be used for? Are hypersonic weapons the most cost-effective means of executing these potential missions? How will they be incorporated into joint operational doctrine and concepts?
  • Given the lack of defined mission requirements for hypersonic weapons, how should Congress evaluate funding requests for hypersonic weapons programs or the balance of funding requests for hypersonic weapons programs, enabling technologies, and supporting test infrastructure? Is an acceleration of research on hypersonic weapons, enabling technologies, or hypersonic missile defense options both necessary and technologically feasible?
  • How, if at all, will the fielding of hypersonic weapons affect strategic stability?
  • Is there a need for risk-mitigation measures, such as expanding New START, negotiating new multilateral arms control agreements, or undertaking transparency and confidence-building activities?

Download the document here.

CIMSEC Report: US Navy At-Sea Training Needs An Urgent Overhaul

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) This week, in a scathing and well-researched CIMSEC article titled “A Fleet Adrift“, Dmitry Filipoff asks if the US Navy is deviating from its most…

by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) This week, in a scathing and well-researched CIMSEC article titled “A Fleet Adrift“, Dmitry Filipoff asks if the US Navy is deviating from its most...