Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Pentagon's New ICBM Program Facing Problems And Cost Overruns

US Air Force artist’s rendering of the Sentinel in flight. (Credit: US Air Force)  

Breaking Defense: Sentinel ICBM program ‘struggling’ with ‘unknown unknowns’: Kendall  

Kendall also expressed concern about the effects of a likely continuing resolution on key programs, including the Advanced Battle Management System and the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile.  

WASHINGTON — Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said today he is “nervous” about unforeseen challenges in the $96 billion LGM-35A Sentinel program to develop a next-generation nuclear missile that will push up costs — with the service now assessing what changes may be required. 

“Sentinel, I think, is quite honestly struggling a little bit. There are unknown unknowns that are surfacing … in the program and that the department is gonna have to work its way through,” he told the Center for a New American Security.  

Read more ....  

Update #1: US Air Force's Sentinel missile 'struggling,' faces rising costs (Defense News)  

Update #2: New Sentinel ICBM 'Struggling' Due to Complexity, Kendall Says (Air & Space Forces Magazine)  

WNU Editor: There is no back-up plan .... Sentinel System: 'There is No Backup Plan' (National Defense).

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chuck Pfarrer | Indications & Warnings |

"THE EXPENDABLES: A Russian defense official has requested that Yakutia, a region with a non-ethnic Russian majority in northeastern Siberia, send 500 men to the Ukrainian front weekly to improve their 'ranking’. RU minorities are shipped as cannon-fodder to Ukraine."


Going to need those missiles soon. Putin will runout of little, brown people or the Yakuts, Buryats and others will revolt.


If Hitler had had a nuke he would have used it. Putin does have nukes and he will use them. He or his people have threatened a score or more times. Quite Russian of him.

Anonymous said...

USEFUL IDIOT:
reports that German ‘journalist' and pro-Russian shill Hubert Seipel concealed that he recieved €600,000 Euros ($652,608 USD) from the Kremlin. Seipel’s money was funneled through a 'mailbox company' in Cyprus.

Anonymous said...

Escalation Scare my Dick Off

Anonymous said...

Princess DI put out a BOLO for Joe Biden and what happens to him. She believes Hillary Clinton put out a POLITICAL HIT on Biden.

APEC 2022 was held in Beijing. People came to Xi.

Newsom visited China recently. That is the excuse for APEC to be in San Francisco instead of Washington?

Joe going to San Francisco for 3 days of busy meetings will wear him out and that is the point. Hillary and her people want gaffe after gaffe. They want Biden to look to old.

One reason to hold APEC is to have a new treaty. Two Democrat senators, who happen to be Hillary acolytes, torpedoed the treaty.

Anonymous said...

The Dems leaked Biden's text messages. They are treating him like a Republican. Biden will not be the Democrat candidate for president.

Anonymous said...

Russian servicemen torturing and beating other Russian servicemen who allegedly took drugs and gave them to others, which resulted in deaths.

Russians digging mass graves for themselves as punishment.

Anonymous said...

Valentine Xavier's account at Warzone has been deleted, he moved on to greener fields, or he has been demoted to mobik for abject failure to convince anyone or to make them give up. Personally, I think he would have a better time in Lubyanka than as a mobik. The Russian execution style of head shots when a prisoner is not looking while pacing there cell is quicker.

Anonymous said...

"...their cell..."

Anonymous said...

‘Ol Val finally got mobilized eh?


Reply

Soon enough you'll be able to ask him in person.

(He received instructions from his sponsors to boost his game or be drafted, took his commentary too far over the weekend, and got banned.)

If you do bump into him down there say hi from all of us.

Anonymous said...

Skods

You are being ugly again. Who is this guy from the war zone , a buddy of yours?
No problem. Ukies are losing again skods and you ranting about mimics is having no effect what d ever.

But the real question is, what are you going to say when the ukies are defeated.??

You are not going to do the progressive liberal thing and say that it was a victory or a successful endeavor are you?

Still waiting for that plan of victory that you have not elaborated on. And why skods? Simple because a Ukrainian victory is just about impossible., or are you admitting you are too stupid to come up with such a plan?

You yourself make that abundantly clear by reporting snippets of un-important events, such as a tank running out of gas or some poor russian officer disappearing. You publish nonsense skods , and it will not change the outcome of the war.

Ukraine will be Defeated.

RussInSoCal said...

Lol - Biden's handlers send Gavin Newsom to meet Xi Jinping at San Fran airport.

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/china-xi-jinping-joe-biden-san-francisco-apec/3371305/

Anonymous said...

👍

Anonymous said...

@ WNU editor

Can we get a thumbs up/down option?

Anonymous said...

To those who have missed the previous 30 years, here is a short list of the results of negotiations with Russia that it never respected:

1. The Budapest Memorandum of 1994. Russia agreed to “respect independence, sovereignty, and the existing borders of Ukraine” as well as “refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine”. Breached by Russia invading Crimea in 2014.

2. The Russian-Ukrainian Friendship Treaty of 1997. Russia agreed to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and “reaffirmed the inviolability of the borders” between the two countries. Russia breached it in 2014.

3. The OSCE Istanbul Summit in 1999. Russia committed to withdrawing its troops from Moldova’s Transdniestrian region and Georgia until the end of 2002. That never happened.

4. The 2008 Georgia ceasefire agreement following Russian aggression against the country. Russia agreed that “Russian military forces must withdraw to the lines prior to the start of hostilities”. That never happened.

5. The Ilovaysk “Green Corridor” in August 2014 and other “humanitarian” death corridors. Russia pledged to let Ukrainian forces leave the encircled town of Ilovaysk in the east of Ukraine, but instead opened fire and killed 366 Ukrainian troops. In the following years, Russia attacked numerous humanitarian corridors in Syria.

6. The “Minsk” agreements of 2014 and 2015. Russia agreed to cease the fire in the east of Ukraine. There had been 200 rounds of talks and 20 attempts to enforce a ceasefire, all of which the Russian side promptly violated. On February 24th, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

7. The 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative. Russia pledged to “provide maximum assurances regarding a safe and secure environment for all vessels engaged in this initiative." It then hindered the initiative's operation for months before withdrawing unilaterally a year later.

NB: I am only focused on deals made with Russia to address specific issues and conflicts. I am not mentioning almost 400 international treaties that Russia has breached since 2014.

There are no conclusions to be drawn here, except that no one can seriously use the words "Russia" and "negotiations" in the same phrase.

Putin is a habitual liar who promised international leaders that he would not attack Ukraine days before his invasion in February 2022.

Russia's tactic has remained consistent in its many wars over the last three decades: kill, grab, lie, and deny.

Why would anyone genuinely believe that Russia in 2023 is any different from Russia in 1994, 1997, 1999, 2008, 2014, 2015, and 2022?

Anonymous said...

NOV 14 Tacos are good on Tuesdays...so are hits on Russian LoCs and force concentrations.

Anonymous said...

Another ukie propaganda lie busted

In its report on Saturday, Bloomberg claimed that the European External Action Service - the EU's foreign policy wing - had informed member states on the lagging progress with respect to the ammunition pledge.

The media outlet alleged that, with less than three months left before the deadline, the bloc had provided just 30% of the intended figure.

How can Ukraine have artillery superiority as chris and skoda claim when we have stats like this? Also throw into the mix that the US pulled the supply of 155 shells and sent them to Israel.

It is now admitted by the West that Ukie Manpower has dried up. So where is that 10 million man Ukrainian reserve the Ukie rah rah fan club told us about on this blog ?

You see, all you got to do is wait. The lies become exposed and the propaganda withers in the blinding light of the truth.

Anonymous said...

ruzZian Federation Council member, Margarita Pavlova, shares her view on ruzZian women. They are baby makers, no need for university education. It's a classic of totalitarian regimes. Adolf had the same idea for German women: Kinder (kids), Küche (kitchen), Kirche (church).

Kinder
Küche
Kirche

Putin = Hitler

Anonymous said...

Germany has been doing a good job of keeping the stream of supplies low in volume but constant.
Something like four heavy trucks or two dozen machine guns doesn't seem like a lot, but if you do that every week it adds up.
• Sean Wagner
And they've not been shy about sending very modern equipment, from counter-battery and air defense radars to arty.
O J
Jon
Ukraine seems to be pretty thrilled with the equipment Germany's been sending. And they're providing a higher value of aid than any other European country, plus taking in nearly a million Ukrainian refugees. Quite a change from the start of the war, when Germany could only rustle up a few thousand combat helmets and a couple of field hospitals.
 orwecouldnot
IMO it makes a ton of sense why Germany was hesitant to be a leader in supplying lethal aid, German tanks and machine guns don't exactly have a happy or uncontroversial history in Ukraine.
 J
Jon
Replying to orwecouldnot
Absolutely. And Germany has very complicated internal political dynamics about that history and those capabilities. I've known a number of Germans who are rather proud about how small their military is, how they do not have an assertive nationalism, and how their industrial economy is not dependent on military production. Germany was extremely uncomfortable about sending troops to Afghanistan, to fulfill their NATO obligations. Germans are also quite clear eyed about what Russia is trying to do in Ukraine, and can see how Russian success would spell immense problems for Europe and themselves.11bee
I thought I read above that the latest batch of German aid included Leopard 1 tanks? Not exactly cutting-edge equipment.

Anonymous said...

 Sean Wagner
Indeed. They're out of modern tanks, and from what I gather, the Bundeswehr has a way to go until it becomes a useful fighting force again.
• J
Jon
Germany just promised Ukraine 80 billion euros of, 'not very much every week', for next year. Germany also doesn't have a parade and a major media event, every time they send along another tranche of weapons.
O N
Narkie
That's about 1.5 billion per week, every week. From one country.
Then there are the French contributions, and the British contributions, and the Polish, and the Dutch, and the Italian, and the Romanian, and the South Korean, and the Japanese. Oh, and then there are the EU-level contributions. I'd say that when you pull all that together Ukraine is getting quite a lot of support.
Have I forgotten any other major donors - naaaaah (sarc!)
Now consider what russia is getting in terms of support: one drone assembly factory from Iran, a bunch of old shells from North Korea, and some used helicopter engines from Egypt.
If Ukraine can keep their fighting population alive (significant if!) they can and will keep fighting for as long as it takes for someone of finally off putin and his replacement to end the war.
 J
Jon
I agree. Norway's also kicked in a lot, but they can afford it. The other Nordics and Balts, and some other countries have made impressive contributions, on a GDP basis. And some have sent all of their inventory of various armor and artillery systems, which, being such close neighbors of Russia, looks like quite a vote of confidence for Ukraine. Ukraine knows what faces them, if they lose, so they'll keep fighting. As for Russia's primary allies, you forgot Belarus, and maybe Syria! China's also trying to help Russia, but they like selling stuff to the US and EU much more. Long term, there's never been much friendship between Russia and China, though they have been allies of necessity and convenience. Russia will always have a larger land mass and population than Ukraine, and probably a larger economy, but structural constraints really don't favor Russia. If anything, Russia looks to be trying to become a very large DPRK, just as fast as it can, which is not wonderful for the rest of the world, however the Ukraine invasion works out.

Anonymous said...

 Zed
Replying to Jon
I actually think that after a Russian loss in this war, Russia will start to disintegrate. They will no longer have the military capability to hold this multi-cultural behemoth of a state together anymore.
 J
Jon
Replying to Zed
It's possible. Russia's war is increasing internal stresses on social, economic and regional scales. But, Russia is immense, with a great number of resources, and the war hasn't touched too many people personally. Russia also doesn't need full military capability to put down internal dissension; their police forces and courts have been more than up to the job.

Anonymous said...

Heartbreaking from 🇺🇦Kherson: police rushed a 2-month-old girl to the hospital after Russian shelling. Traveling with her mother and grandfather, they were in their car when 🇷🇺 artillery shell hit it. The grandfather died on the spot; the mother is critical with amputated legs. The baby has preliminary explosive head injuries.
Video: https://t.me/Klymenko_MVS

Anonymous said...

Russian instructor of Storm Z penal units explains the impact that Ukrainian cluster munitions are having on the Russian infantry, not only killing and wounding them, but also disrupting logistics of evacuation, and overfilling the hospitals. He says that wounded Russian servicemen are returned to battle with shrapnel still stuck in their bodies.

Anonymous said...

Возвращаясь к вопросу о кассетных снарядах. Не слишком ли смело я использую термин "game changer"?

Кому-то такая характеристика представляется натянутой. Вполне возможно, кто-то и сейчас решит, что я излишне вольно обращаюсь с термином. Ну что ж, будем считать, что я художник, я так вижу.

А вижу я следующее.

Вот имеется некое условное Wunderwaffe, которое при всей своей эффективности погоды на фронте не делает в силу неширокого или вообще точечного применения.

Скажем, у нас есть замечательная система "Смерч", которая по факту на общее положение дел на фронте влияния не оказывает.

Точечные удары эти РСЗО наносят, а вот на обеспечение полноценного огневого вала для наступающей пехоты их элементарно не хватает. Надо масштабировать, тогда будет реально ощутимый эффект на земле, а не просто отдельные кейсы для сюжетов передачи "В гостях у военной сказки".

А есть военно-технологические средства, которые не только используются с высокой степенью эффективности, но и представлены в товарных количествах, в результате чего контуры непосредственно боевых действий, тыловой инфраструктуры и военной логистики буквально ломаются.

Здесь в части конкретно средств поражения, имеющихся у противника, я бы выделил три элемента, радикально усложнивших ситуацию: химеры, дроны-камикадзе и вот эти самые кассетные снаряды.

Именно кассетные снаряды сейчас выбивают огромную массу нашей пехоты с наслоением целого ряда негативных факторов.

Пехота несёт тяжёлые избыточные потери непосредственно на поле боя, в результате чего срывается выполнение боевых задач, а плюс к этому идёт перенапряжение эвакуационной логистики и перегрузка военно-медицинской инфраструктуры.

Быстрое же стачивание пехотных подразделений вкупе с перегрузкой госпиталей приводит к тому, что людей массово возвращают в строй в принципе недолеченными и зачастую с неизвлечёнными мелкими поражающими элементами в мягких тканях.

Кроме того, как я уже говорил выше, кассетные снаряды отличаются очень выгодным соотношением используемого количества с качеством наносимого пехоте огневого поражения.

Общая ситуация на фронте, разумеется, складывается из целого комплекса самых разнообразных факторов, но существенное влияние на неё оказывают в том числе и вот такие средства поражения.

Логично, казалось бы, может звучать вопрос: ну а где же всё-таки "game change"? Ведь никаких радикальных подвижек линии фронта и тем более прорывов со стороны противника нет! Так их внезапно и с нашей стороны пока нет! А цена есть. Очень высокая и печальная.

Измотать и обескровить противника в обороне, а затем мощными контрударами обвалить фронт было бы отличным планом в случае его реализации. Вот только по факту мы и сами по ходу изрядно поизмотались и обескровились. Вот вам и "game change", в котором кассетные снаряды уже сыграли и продолжают играть свою роль.

Anonymous said...

Its quite expensive building weapons that can destroy mankind forever.

Anonymous said...

Gorbachev himself is on record stating that NATO never promised not to expand. It was never asked of NATO, nor was it even thought of during the discussions following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

If it was so important to Russians, why didn't they have it in writing? And why do trolls, morons, vatniks, and tankies think that nations voluntarily seeking out NATO to prevent Russia from invading them justifies Russia invading countries? Has it ever occurred to any of these twits that if Russia would stop invading countries, no one would want or need to join NATO?

Who is a twit?

Anonymous said...

spanning set 1046

Anonymous said...

'It is the autumn of 2004, but a political winter has already set in that makes your blood run cold.'

'The state authorities hold on to their power at the price of our lives. It’s as simple as that.'

Anna Politkovskaya ('Russian Diary') murdered in Moscow back in 2006

Anonymous said...

Navalny

Anna Politkovskaya
Natalya Estemirovna
Boris Nemtsov.

Anonymous said...

PUTIN’S REVENGE: With the Russian navy denied access to the western Black Sea, and unable to interfere with UKR’s maritime traffic, RU has concentrated on the long range destruction of Odesa’s grain handling facilities.

Anonymous said...

TARGETED MURDER: On 15 NOV, two rescue workers from UKR's Emergency Services responded to a strike in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. They were killed when Russian missiles 'double tapped' the building-- deliberately targeting rescue workers with a second strike.

Anonymous said...

nice, all the comments about horrible Russian atrocities. I guess the Ukrainians are angels and have not done a thing except kill civilians in the donbass, shoot people in Bucca. Put weapons depots in shopping malls and kill journalists too.

But the real question is, why are you not saying all these thing about the Israelis ? That is real low hanging fruit.

Your diatribes really do remind of us of the Orange man bad syndrome. Your not a woke NPC are you?

Anonymous said...

'The state authorities hold on to their power at the price of our lives. It’s as simple as that.'

Anna Politkovskaya

That sounds really familiar

We’re sending another 60 billion dollars to save Ukraine’s “democracy”.

Zelenskyy has banned every opposition party, accuses every critic of working for Putin, imprisoned Christian clerics, closed churches, cancelled the upcoming election, completely unaccountable for the billions in aid and weaponry we’ve sent, actively supports the Nazis, filed a UN resolution against Israel for not ceding arms to Ukraine.

Anonymous said...

The 60 billion would not be necessary if Russia would not be bombing infrastructure and factories. Stealing half of Kherson reduces the tax base

Remember what happened to Valentine X. He had to up his game or get mobilized. He's gone. have a shot for Valentine, Komrade.

Anonymous said...

Once again you do not address the issue that you brought up. How are human rights , freedom and democracy doing in Ukraine.?