David Stoudt

Does the potential rigidity of the IRM&CM process (AJP 2.7) apply to rapidly changing battlespaces? Contemporary warfare demands immediate responsiveness and flexibility, posing challenges to traditional ISR workflows that may take days or weeks to develop. To address this, here are some key actions to enhance ISR capabilities: - **Real-Time Adjustments**: Incorporate mechanisms for real-time adjustments within the IRM&CM process to quickly revise collection plans and re-task ISR assets based on immediate operational needs and intelligence updates. - **Shorter Planning Cycles**: Implement shorter, iterative planning cycles for more frequent updates and revisions to the collection plan. - **Leveraging Advanced Technologies**: Utilize AI, machine learning algorithms, and automation to process data quickly, identify patterns, and provide actionable intelligence in near real-time. Other strategies include empowering field units, establishing forward-deployed ISR cells, investing in real-time communication networks, utilizing integrated command and control systems, and deploying flexible ISR platforms. Additionally, conducting frequent training exercises and scenario-based simulations are vital to prepare ISR personnel for dynamic environments. While the traditional IRM&CM process offers a structured approach to ISR operations, adapting it to the fast-paced nature of contemporary warfare is crucial. These measures can enhance NATO's ISR capabilities, ensuring better support for rapidly changing battlespaces.

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Important reporting by The Wall Street Journal about the economics of shipbuilding, and the people who perform this critical work for the Navy and the nation. We need to support shipbuilders in every way we can. At HII, we are proud to be at the forefront of building the next generation of nuclear submarines, a cornerstone of our national security strategy. Thanks to Greg Ip for your care with the subject, the people, and the facts.

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"The coming war is going to be a technology war. The country's top innovators feel that there is a huge disconnect between what the U.S. military ecosystem can produce and what's possible if we engaged civilians to develop weapon systems for critical technologies…" Sound like something that was said today about our military and its defense industrial base? That quote is actually from Vannevar Bush to President Roosevelt in 1940. According to an article by Steve Blank in War on the Rocks, DoD can learn from its history with this problem and "should establish an organization modeled after the World War II-era Office of Scientific Research and Development," called "Office of Rapid Development and Deployment." The recommended priorities & capabilities Blank describes all seem very sound, like "prioritize rapid prototyping and testing..." and "working closely with combatant commands to deeply understand operational problems..." and "iterate designs based on field performance and immediate requirements." However, this seems like more of the inefficient centralized planning & procurement that plagues DoD today in the form of joint program offices and endless government-wide acquisition programs. What we really need is an entire ecosystem of decentralized, distributed program managers at the combatant command level with these same capabilities of rapid, agile development (and funding!). Something more like a competitive market... https://lnkd.in/eQYwABfG #defensetechnology #defensetech #defenseinnovation

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Continued conflicts in the Middle East could be depleting U.S. missile and missile defense systems. "If the conflict between Israel and Iran continues and escalates, the United States may soon face a difficult choice about how much to deplete its inventories of THAAD and SM-3 interceptors, given how crucial they would be in other potential conflicts, particularly in Asia." Local inventory of SM-3 interceptors in the U.S. Sixth Fleet was nearly depleted after helping Israel defend against the Iranian missile strike on the country October 1st. The 2025 White House defense budget cut production of the SM-3 IB from 153 per year to zero, and did not reinvest the savings in newer SM-3 Block IIA production, of which production will be 12 missiles annually over the next five years. Twelve! #defenseindustry https://lnkd.in/ep76xG-6 

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Missile Technology Control Regime (#MTCR) news… Key phrase: “The NSM directs the interagency to provide increased flexibility for case-by-case review and facilitate support for certain MTCR Category I military missiles, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), and Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) systems to certain partners with strong export control systems.” If you’re a space company, this interests you: “In support of the U.S. Space Priorities Framework (USSPF) and the promotion of international cooperation in space, and in accordance with the MTCR Guidelines, transfers of MTCR Category I SLV related commodities, software, and technology will be considered on a case-by-case basis for select and vetted partner space programs and participation in international space programs, whether such programs are governmental or commercial in nature.” ****** Not sure I can assess much from the fact sheet, as the results are always seen in the implemention. #MTCR issues are tough, especially given the technologies involved. But what is true is that the strategic environment is very different now than when the #MTCR was originally introduced. That means we need to adjust our regulatory systems - including the #MTCR - at the speed of the threat. There’s much more work to do on #MTCR issues, especially for America’s closest allies. #MTCR #exportcontrols #AUKUS https://lnkd.in/eC9Qg52N

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The latest from Emergent Defense Magazine: Experimenting with Generative A.I. – AFRL approves initiative with proper safeguards 👉 https://lnkd.in/gAN3NZkP The Air Force Research Laboratory, in partnership with the Department of the Air Force Chief Data and AI Office is accelerating the ability of contractors, civilian employees, Guardians and Airmen to responsibly experiment with Generative AI, provided adequate safeguards are in place.

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This video is fundamentally incorrect. Gravity comes from the creation of the CTP forces. This video can be discarded. (https://lnkd.in/evUbtZJ3) #newscience #gravity #graviticpropulsion

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Eric Berger of Ars Technica opinion piece points out fundamental flaws in NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration's current strategy to return to the Moon (in the Artemis program). I agree with Eric that the current Artemis strategy is fundamentally flawed, and needs to be reformulated. If we ignore this problem, China will beat us back to the Moon. This will signal to the rest of the world that the future belongs to the Chinese Communist Party, and that totalitarian dictatorships are perhaps the best governing strategy. This would be awful, and a complete failure of America's founding principles. We would no longer be the Shining city of the Hill. The solution is simple. 1) We need to sharpen our focus on the goal -- to permanently settle the Moon and to do so, we need to make a lunar settlement affordable. 2) The key to affordability is leveraging America's entrepreneurial spirit. We need to double-down on commercial public-private partnerships, like we have done with COTS, ISS commercial cargo delivery, ISS commercial crew, commercial lunar landers, and commercial space stations. There is no other path to success. SUMMARY China is coming. Commercial space is the solution. https://lnkd.in/gekmiJmA

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As United States Space Force Guardians look to position themselves and their talking points with the new administration, they should be aware of the clear signal given at the end of the last administration in their vision document "A New Era for Deep Space Exploration and Development" which provides the broad strategic context, and the broad roles they foresaw for the space force within that context: "The strategy delineated in this paper supports an ambitious vision for human space exploration and development. This vision is one in which there is a sustainable human and robotic presence across the solar system — an expanding sphere of commercial, non-governmental activities in which increasing numbers of Americans live and work in space. This vision begins with a campaign to utilize Earth’s orbital environment, the surface and resources of the Moon, and cis-lunar space to develop the critical technologies, operational capabilities, and commercial space economy necessary for a sustainable human presence on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. U.S. space exploration efforts impact and aid multiple national interests, including the economy, national security, scientific advances, and diplomacy." (p 1) "To execute this vision requires a secure international environment that is conducive to U.S. commercial growth. The United States Space Force (USSF) does not have a direct role in the civil exploration and development of space per se – its responsibilities focus on organizing, training, and equipping the forces needed to support combatant commands and ensure unfettered access to and the use of space by the United States and its allies and partners. However, activities such as space transportation and logistics, power, communication, navigation, and space domain awareness, are of dual-use value to all space sectors – civil, national security, and commercial." (p 2) https://lnkd.in/etD3-S83 Scott Sadler Chance Saltzman Casey Beard Space Force Association Air & Space Forces Association National Security Space Association (NSSA) Space Systems Command Space Training and Readiness Command Space Operations Command U.S. Space Command i5 Space Space Force Cadet Corps

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Speed of relevance across multiple domains of the organisation activities, processes and procedures; “conditio si ne qua non” for effective fielding of EDTs…

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Great article coming out of coverage at Space Symposium last week discussing the recently released DoD Commercial Space Integration Strategy and the benefits and challenges of government and commercial space industry working together. #CyberSatSummit dives into this critical discussion in November and tackles the all important information sharing topic as well. Interested in learning more about CyberSat, find out here: https://lnkd.in/emfraRRn DM me if interested in speaking/sponsoring or if you'd like to learn more. #spaceindustry #cybersecurity #informationsharing https://lnkd.in/eNNvAbiP

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Anduril Industries' new air-breathing cruise missiles is "like a Hellfire on steroids", carrying a 40 pound warhead or roughly double the size of a Hellfire or AGM-179 JAGM. "The Barracuda M line is made up of three different weapons: the M-100, M-250, and M-500 cruise missiles.." "the M-500... is meant to serve as a low-cost alternative, or supplement to, America's very big and very pricey AGM-158 JASSM line of air-launched cruise missiles." #defensetech #defenseindustry #defenseinnovation https://lnkd.in/e7eZcZUi 

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Last month Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu asked the Defense Science Board "to undertake a study and provide recommendations on the DoD's current understanding of, and attention to, operations in a postnuclear weapon employment environment." https://lnkd.in/eDbN-kzF This promises to be a rigorous and informative study. Per the NDS, NPR, and CWMD Strategy, ensuring preparedness (across the DOTMLPF-P spectrum) of the joint force to survive, operate, and prevail on a nuclear battlefield must be a priority for the Department. Especially a limited use battlefield. If limited adversary nuclear use can stop our conventional fight in its tracks, that is a significant vulnerability - no matter how many low-yield nuclear options we have. Congress is also taking note. The FY25 NDAA includes a provision requiring “a program to develop requirements for procurement, pre-positioning, and maintenance of medical countermeasures approved, cleared, licensed, or authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to diagnose, prevent, and treat acute radiation syndrome and thermal burns.” This new DSB Permanent Subcommittee on Threat Reduction report comes on the heels of a report the subcommittee released over the summer on "Future Considerations for Chemical Weapons Demilitarization." The unclass executive summary is available here: https://lnkd.in/eEM5sGgz. The study concluded that "the Department should ensure the maintenance of a chemical weapon D3 [disable, destroy, or demilitarize] program that develops and sustains scalable technologies and expertise for fielding at relevant timescales; develops and demonstrates capabilities to address anticipated threats; and ensures periodic field testing and operational exercises to demonstrate readiness and message U.S. commitment to eliminating CW." The stunning and hopeful events in Syria reinforce the importance of such a program.

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In a move to streamline technology transitions, Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, has inaugurated the Transition Tracking Action Group (TTAG). This advisory body, established March 13, is set to harness advanced data analytics to track how the Department of Defense (DoD) delivers capabilities to the field. Chaired by the R&E's chief data officer, Cyrus Jabbari, and comprising senior representatives from the military services and offices under the Secretary of Defense, TTAG aims to improve the visibility and management of the DoD's technology transition processes. The goal of this initiative seeks to ensure the timely and cost-effective delivery of state-of-the-art systems and equipment to military personnel. To do this, the department will seek understand what the primary obstacles to transition are and if the measures it undertakes to improve outcomes are yielding desired effects. The TTAG will create a department-wide method to track technology transition and determine the reasons capability-enhancing technologies do or do not transition, to enable the Joint Force to deter and, if necessary, prevail in contested environments.

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Take a look at this article on how small, disruptive A&D companies are changing how the DoD does business with the Defense Base written by my friend and colleague, John H. Schmidt. https://lnkd.in/g2ZKKMp4

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