Tag: military industrial complex

Northrop Grumman XRQ-73 SHEPARD Demonstrator Breaks Cover

The SHEPARD vehicle, recently designated the XRQ-73, represents a significant step forward in the evolution of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), leveraging hybrid electric propulsion technologies to enhance performance and operational capabilities.

On Jul. 10, 2024, Northrop Grumman unveiled the design and construction of the Series Hybrid Electric Propulsion Aircraft Demonstration (SHEPARD) vehicle. This uncrewed air system, developed for DARPA, has been officially designated as the XRQ-73 X-plane.

The aircraft in the image released by Northrop Grumman features a sleek, stealthy flying wing design. It has a low-profile fuselage with sharp, angular edges to enhance aerodynamic efficiency and stealth capabilities. The wings are broad and tapered with clipped wingtips, and there are two prominent air inlets located on the upper surface of the fuselage. Between these inlets is a fairing, likely housing critical systems or payloads.

The overall design suggests a focus on minimizing radar and visual signatures, emphasizing its role as an advanced, unmanned aircraft for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

In fact, the XRQ-73 SHEPARD, built in collaboration with Scaled Composites (a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman), is part of DARPA’s “X-prime” program. It utilizes hybrid electric architecture and advanced component technologies to rapidly develop a new mission-specific aircraft design with unique propulsion architecture and power capabilities for the Department of Defense.

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Problem Plagued Sentinel ICBM Program Will Press Ahead Despite Nearly Doubling In Cost

The U.S. Air Force is pushing ahead with its struggling Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program despite a new projected price tag of nearly $141 billion, close to twice the original estimate, and now years of expected delays. The Pentagon says it has assessed that there are no lower-cost, but similarly capable alternatives to Sentinel, which is expected to replace the existing Minuteman III ICBM as one of the three legs of America’s nuclear deterrent triad.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense announced the results of an official review of the Sentinel program today. By law, per what is commonly referred to as the Nunn-McCurdy Amendment, defense programs that see certain levels of extreme cost growth must be canceled unless various criteria are met. Sentinel’s rising price point triggered a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy statute in January. The Air Force also sacked the top officer in charge of the program last month, but said this was “not directly related to the Nunn-McCurdy review,” according to Defense One.

The Air Force currently has some 400 LGM-30G Minuteman IIIs deployed in silos spread across five states.

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Biodefence: When A Military Coup Took Over Public Health

Lockdown-until-vaccine is not a public health response, it is a response to a bioterror attack, benefiting the biodefense-industrial-complex.

In previous articles, I analyzed government documents showing that the Covid pandemic response in the U.S. was not designed or led by the public health agencies. Rather, it was a biodefense response, led by the National Security Council and FEMA/Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to military/intelligence agencies, the biodefense cartel that ran the Covid response encompassed global pharmaceutical companies enmeshed in public-private partnerships with governments to create and disseminate “countermeasures,” and global NGOs – most notably, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust – who invest in and benefit from all the activities related to pandemic preparedness, first and foremost: vaccines.

The same thing happened in many countries:

  • Between January and mid-March 2020, the public health agencies were handling the coronavirus outbreak as they would any other. They monitored for local outbreaks where people were getting sick with symptoms, told people not to panic, and gave scientifically and epidemiologically sound advice: no masks necessary; wash your hands and stay home if you’re sick.
  • In mid-March there was a complete reversal on everything: suddenly both the political and the public health officials were saying millions would die if we did not shut everything down and wait for vaccines.

In this article I will discuss how this pattern was repeated in the British Covid pandemic response: the national public health agency was replaced at the helm of the response by military/intelligence entities, and the response switched from public health to lockdown-until vaccine – specifically, as a top UK minister testified – the mRNA vaccine.

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That’s militainment! Big Hollywood succumbs to the Pentagon Borg

“The easiest way to inject a propaganda idea into most people’s minds is to let it go through the medium of an entertainment picture when they do not realize that they are being propagandized,” explained Elmer Davis, a renowned CBS broadcaster, who had just been named director of the Office of War Information (OWI), a Pentagon program created on June 13, 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor.

Later in 1953, as the Cold War was in full swing, President Dwight D. Eisenhower commented on the burgeoning partnership between Hollywood and the Pentagon by stating that, “the hand of government must be carefully concealed and […] wholly eliminated,” adding that the engagement should “be done through arrangements with all sorts of privately operated enterprises in the field of entertainment, dramatics, music and so on.”

Thus, the president who coined the term “military industrial complex,” was, in fact, one of the first major proponents of what would later be called the military entertainment complex or the militainment industry.

Today, this militainment industry is thriving. From Top Gun to the Marvel franchise and even shows like Extreme Makeover, the Pentagon has been able to shape the narratives of more than 2,500 movies and TV shows. No one knows this better than Roger Stahl, the University of Georgia’s Communications Studies Department Head, and author of Militainment Inc. With University of Bath lecturer and Workers Party Candidate Matthew Alford, investigative journalist Tom Secker, and others, Stahl created “Theaters of War,” a concise 87-minute documentary in which he methodically dissects our modern militainment industry, showing the behemoth it has become.

Responsible Statecraft talked to Stahl, Alford, and Secker about the ways our TV screens are weaponized through the Military Entertainment Complex’s oversight over and control of Hollywood scripts and production agreements.

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Pentagon chief recommends avoiding Israel-Hezbollah war but sends fighter jets to Israel anyway

For U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin an immediate diplomatic solution is needed to prevent a “costly war” between Israel and Lebanon despite “Hezbollah’s provocations.”

“Diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation. We’re urgently seeking a diplomatic agreement that restores lasting calm to Israel’s northern border and enables civilians to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border,” Austin claimed to reporters during a meeting at the Pentagon with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on June 25.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire on a near-daily basis since the beginning of the war in Gaza, but escalating attacks over the last several weeks have caused growing unease. And the U.S. official blamed the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah’s threats. “Hezbollah’s provocations threaten to drag the Israeli and Lebanese people into a war that they do not want and such a war would be a catastrophe for Lebanon and it would be devastating for innocent Israeli and Lebanese civilians,” Austin told Gallant. “Another war between Israel and Hezbollah could easily become a regional war with terrible consequences for the Middle East, and so diplomacy is by far the best way to prevent more escalation.”

Previously, Gallant suggested Israel pursue a large-scale war against Hezbollah but during the meeting, he said he was “working closely” with Austin to find a diplomatic resolution. However, they also discussed military “readiness in every possible scenario.” Gallant insisted on the threat of nuclear war with Iran, telling Austin that “time is running out.”

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US provides $2 billion loan to strengthen Polish military

Poland and the United States have inked a direct loan agreement for $2 billion as part of the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, announced the Polish Ministry of National Defense (MoD) on Monday.

This marks the second such loan granted by the U.S. government to Poland recently. The FMF funds, which are allocated only to select allies with whom the U.S. maintains close defense collaborations, aim to further enhance Poland’s defense capabilities.

According to the Polish MoD, the acquired funds will be used to purchase American defense systems, specifically air and missile defense capabilities, which are considered a priority for the Polish Armed Forces given the current threats.

The statement highlighted the favorable financial terms of the agreement, reflecting the ongoing development of strategic relations between Poland and the U.S.

The U.S. remains Poland’s principal international partner in the modernization of its armed forces, including the acquisition of Patriot and HIMARS missile systems, Abrams tanks, and F-35 aircraft.

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US, Israel in talks to supply Ukraine with Patriot air defense system: Report

Washington is in talks with Tel Aviv and Kiev to supply the Ukrainian army with Israel’s US-made patriot air defense system, as reported by Financial Times (FT) on 28 June. 

The developing agreement would see the air defense system transferred first from Israel to the US before being sent to Ukraine. 

The deal is being discussed by ministers and senior officials from the US, Israel, and Ukraine, five people familiar with the matter told FT. 

Israel had said in April that it was planning to retire the eight Patriot batteries in its possession and replace them with more sophisticated systems. But the batteries have still not been uninstalled over fears of an escalation with Lebanon’s Hezbollah. 

The transfer would significantly uptick Ukrainian defensive capabilities, marking a shift in Israeli policy toward Ukraine and its relationship with Russia. Tel Aviv has been cautious not to supply Ukraine with lethal aid, over concerns that it could compromise its use of Syrian airspace, where Russian and Israeli air forces have coordinated for years.

In the past, Israel has rejected providing Ukraine with air defenses. 

Despite this, Israeli military vehicles and radars have been spotted on the Ukrainian battlefield, and Tel Aviv has provided intelligence and training assistance. 

Moscow has previously threatened retaliation if Israel sends weaponry to Ukraine.

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Astronauts stranded in space due to multiple issues with Boeing’s Starliner — and the window for a return flight is closing

Two NASA astronauts who rode to orbit on Boeing’s Starliner are currently stranded in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after engineers discovered numerous issues with the Boeing spacecraft. Teams on the ground are now racing to assess Starliner’s status.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended for a third time due to the ongoing issues.  The astronauts will now return home no sooner than June 26th, according to NASA. 

After years of delays, Boeing’s Starliner capsule successfully blasted off on its inaugural crewed flight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:52 a.m. EDT on June 5. But during the 25-hour flight, engineers discovered five separate helium leaks to the spacecraft’s thruster system.

Now, to give engineers time to troubleshoot the faults, NASA has announced it will push back the perilous return flight, extending the crew’s stay on the space station to at least three weeks. 

“We’ve learned that our helium system is not performing as designed,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Starliner program manager, said at a news conference on June 18. “Albeit manageable, it’s still not working like we designed it. So we’ve got to go figure that out.”

The return module of the Starliner spacecraft is currently docked to the ISS’s Harmony module as NASA and Boeing engineers assess the  vital hardware issues aboard the vessel, including five helium leaks to the system that pressurizes the spacecraft’s propulsion system, and five thruster failures to its reaction-control system. 

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Appetite for Destruction: US Gambles on New Texas Factory to Churn Out Ammo for Ukraine

The Ukraine proxy conflict continues to feed the insatiable US cycle of arms spending and production, with yet another newly-unveiled manufacturing facility joining its ranks.

A Texas factory that reportedly cost US$500 million to build is geared towards boosting the gravy train of US warmongers.

NATO’s proxy conflict in Ukraine has an avid appetite for ammunition and has eaten its way into both US and EU stocks with lackluster results to show for it. The Pentagon is hoping the General Dynamics facility in Mesquite, Texas, will help satiate this ammo craving.

American factories in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, together produce about 36,000 155mm shells per month. Managed by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD.N), the new Universal Artillery Projectile Lines facility jam-packed with cutting-edge machinery can churn out 30,000 units per month for the Kiev regime.

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CHEAP AND LETHAL: THE PENTAGON’S PLAN FOR THE NEXT DRONE WAR

WORRIED ABOUT a potential war with China, the Pentagon is turning to a new class of weapons to fight the numerically superior People’s Liberation Army: drones, lots and lots of drones.

In August 2023, the Defense Department unveiled Replicator, its initiative to field thousands of “all-domain, attritable autonomous (ADA2) systems”: Pentagon-speak for low-cost (and potentially AI-driven) machines — in the form of self-piloting ships, large robot aircraft, and swarms of smaller kamikaze drones — that they can use and lose en masse to overwhelm Chinese forces.

Earlier this month, two Pentagon offices leading this charge announced that four nontraditional weapons makers had been chosen for another drone program, with test flights planned for later this year. The companies building this “Enterprise Test Vehicle,” or ETV, will have to prove that their drone can fly over 500 miles and deliver a “kinetic payload,” with a focus on weapons that are low-cost, quick to build, and modular, according to a 2023 solicitation for proposals and a recent announcement from the Air Force Armament Directorate and the Defense Innovation Unit, the Pentagon’s off-the-shelf acceleration arm. Many analysts believe that the ETV initiative may be connected to the Replicator program. DIU did not return a request for clarification prior to publication.

The new robot planes will mark a shift from the Defense Department’s “legacy” drones which DIU says are “over-engineered” and “labor-intensive” to produce. The four contractors chosen for the program are Anduril Industries, Integrated Solutions for Systems, Leidos Dynetics, and Zone 5 Technologies, which were selected from a field of more than 100 applicants.

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