Keno Knieriem

The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker "Polar Star" undertakes the cutting of a shipping lane to McMurdo Station (US) and Scott Base (New Zealand). A Sentinel-2 animation from September 2022 to March 2023 shows the arrival of the "Polar Star", and the subsequent breakup of sea ice around the western side of Ross Island. The breakup not only allows the delivery of fuel and supplies, but also allows Killer and Minke whales to venture further south to feed. The job took 2 minutes to setup and run using buff.ly/4bqTTwt; traditional methods could take 2-3 days. The results can then be exported to PDF, or the data can be imported into your GIS tooling for further analysis. Want to know more https://buff.ly/4bqTTwt Want to try for free https://buff.ly/4cUNBH7

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South Korea’s HHI inks deal to build four ships for Peru’s Navy Read more on the link below. #defense #sbir #military #jointwerx @jointwerx @blackhaysgroup #governmentcontracts #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #consulting #strategy #leanstartups #startup #growthhacking

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Fishing vessels dominate Arctic shipping traffic in 2022 - According to a recent Arctic Council report, fishing vessels were the most common ships in Arctic waters in 2022. https://lnkd.in/eaF9DiRu

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Did you know the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific Marine Mammal Program (MMP) turns 65 this year? 🐬 🎉 You can learn more about MMP and the history of the program in the article — that includes videos of the US Navy dolphins and California sea lions! — on The Navy Times website. #NAVWAR #OneNAVWAR #NIWCPacific #MarineMammalProgram #MMP #MarineResearch

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June 6 Red Sea Update TAMPA, Fla. – In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed eight Houthi uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen over the Red Sea. Additionally, USCENTCOM forces successfully destroyed two Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea. Separately, a coalition ship successfully engaged one UAS launched from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen over the Red Sea. Also, Iranian-backed Houthis launched one anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) from a Houthi controlled area of Yemen over the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships. It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. This action was taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels. https://ow.ly/J2FV50SbmQw

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#ICYMI: The United States recently endorsed a Statement of Principles for Indo-Pacific Defense Industrial Base Collaboration:  https://lnkd.in/ew2nACYD "Together with our friends in the region, we're breaking down national barriers and better integrating our defense industries," Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced at the 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. "We're also working together to fortify the shared capacity of the defense industrial bases of our allies and partners. That's why so many countries—including the United States—are endorsing a Statement of Principles today to strengthen the resilience of the region's defense industrial bases," which will benefit security and stability in this region and beyond. This announcement aligns with the Department of Defense's National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS), released in January 2024, which emphasizes engagement with allies and partners to expand global defense production and strengthening resilience in our supply chains. Read more below! #SucceedThroughTeamwork #ExpandTheBase #NDIS

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Blue Security has released a pivotal new report titled "Coordinating for Maritime Security: Southeast Asia’s Evolving Institutions," in collaboration with YCAPS. Led by YCAPS Free & Open Indo-Pacific Fellow Scott Edwards, the study features insights from I Gusti Bagus Dharma Agastia, Kasira Cheeppensook, and Amparo Pamela Fabe, all showcased during the recent YCAPS Indo-Pacific Maritime Hour. The report delves into the governance of regional maritime security, focusing specifically on Indonesia’s BAKAMLA, Thailand’s MECC, and the Philippines’ NCWC. It reveals significant differences in regulatory frameworks, operational independence, and institutional maturity among these agencies, while underscoring shared challenges to their authority and effectiveness. Blue Security Program is a collaboration between La Trobe Asia, Griffith Asia Institute (GAI), UNSW Canberra (ADFA), The University of Western Australia’s UWA Defence and Security Institute (DSI), United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue (AP4D). It produces working papers, commentaries, and scholarly publications related to maritime security for audiences across the Indo-Pacific. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g2VrnxAf #YCAPS #Australia #Indonesia #Thailand #Philippines #security #maritimesecurity #report

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https://lnkd.in/eSpa46Ni "Rapidly changing maritime threats compel the Navy to deliver ships faster. But the Navy falls short on design practices that reduce leading companies' shipbuilding time. For example, companies: Use existing ship designs—limiting changes to a section of the ship—to create new designs, allowing companies to stabilize designs sooner and better estimate schedules Empower a small group of decision makers to use their expertise to get through the design process quickly In contrast, the Navy often creates new ship designs and has many stakeholders in a lengthy decision-making process. GAO is raising to the attention of Congress three matters for its consideration regarding reporting and certification requirements. The matters would enable Congress to gain additional information on design maturity for Navy shipbuilding programs. GAO is also making eight recommendations to the Secretary of the Navy, which are intended to support improvements to the Navy’s design approach, decision-making practices, and design capabilities that facilitate more timely, predictable outcomes for its shipbuilding programs. The Navy agreed with seven recommendations and partially agreed with one recommendation. GAO continues to believe that all eight recommendations should be fully implemented."

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Fortifying America’s Pacific Presence: Revitalizing Tinian Island’s Airfield https://lnkd.in/giNm3Sa3 The allocation of $409 million to revitalize an airfield on Tinian signifies a definitive long-term investment and commitment to American deterrence throughout the Indo-Pacific

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Challenges facing security cooperation efforts include differing national interests, resource constraints, political instability, and technological disparities. Effective collaboration and mutual understanding are essential for overcoming these obstacles.

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Hezbollah is enhancing its ability to deploy UAVs and carry out strikes using suicide UAVs. Also, although this week there has been an increase in the number of Hezbollah attacks on Israel, most of them are framed as responding to IDF attacks in Lebanon. These are not consistent with a possible Iranian activation of Hezbollah to respond to an attack in Isfahan, Iran on April 19, 2024. https://lnkd.in/dCg9Zen4

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FROM THE INTERSECTION: 🔥THIS IS A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY‼️ “Finally, civilian defense contractors need more skin in the game. Shipyards repeatedly bemoan an inadequate skilled workforce. But they need to invest more into building that workforce. One way to do that is to limit or divert a company’s stock buybacks. Instead of investing in the workforce or capital improvements, many companies defer those investments and instead buy back their own stock. Such buybacks typically reward senior managers, whose compensation packages are tied to esoteric stock-related metrics. A creative way to align the national needs and personal goals is to put 80 percent of all stock repurchases into a “public shipbuilding trust.” As the stock goes up, the value of the trust goes up, and proceeds from it can be reinvested in building more ships.” 🔥ALL 5 RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GOOD; HOPEFULLY OUR NAVY IMPLEMENTS THEM NOW

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https://lnkd.in/ekNNjtsT "The Navy's top civilian leader came under fire Thursday from Republicans who argued the service isn't doing enough to fix shipbuilding programs plagued by delays, with one senator even suggesting he should be fired over it. Republicans at a Senate Armed Services Committee accused Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro of prioritizing climate change over Navy shipbuilding. Del Toro flatly rejected the criticism, arguing that he's made progress to rein in over-budget and past-schedule ship programs. The fireworks began with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who criticized Navy plans that keep the fleet under 300 warships through the end of the decade while China far outpaces the U.S. in shipbuilding. Sullivan argued Del Toro is more focused on climate change and asked the Navy leader if he should resign or be fired over ship delays. I feel compelled to ask, if a Marine platoon commander gets relieved because one of his Marines loses a rifle and a Navy captain gets relieved because his crew hits another ship while the captain is asleep, should the secretary of the Navy be relieved or resign for failing on his number one mission — shipbuilding — particularly when he is spending so much time on issues that are not even part of his [legal] responsibilities?" Sullivan asked. Del Toro told Sullivan that he spends "75 percent of my time on shipbuilding," yet called fighting the effects of climate change a major issue for Navy readiness. "Actually, a good leader, what they do is to actually take assessment of the conditions that exist when one comes in. And you know well, senator, that the acquisition issues we're dealing with go back decades," Del Toro said. "What I'm trying to do, and have been doing from the day that I became secretary, was to be honest, transparent and deeply committed to turning things around. And that's exactly what I've done." The session was unusually acrimonious for the traditionally bipartisan committee. After several rounds of tense questioning that saw Republicans interrupt Del Toro, Armed Services Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) made a plea for civility from committee rank-and-file."

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May 31 U.S. Central Command Update TAMPA, Fla. – At approximately 1:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on May 31, Iranian-backed Houthis launched one uncrewed aerial system (UAS) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea. The UAS crashed into the Red Sea with no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships. Separately, between 2:53 a.m. and 10:59 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one UAS over the Gulf of Aden and three UAS over the Red Sea that were launched from Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. At approximately 9:31 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Gulf of Aden. There were no injuries or damage reported by U.S., coalition, or commercial ships. It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. This action was taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels. https://ow.ly/55fm50S4Xfi

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Between August 2023 and April 2024, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division was deployed across Iraq and Syria in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. During that time, state-sponsored militia groups launched over 170 attacks against a small network of coalition bases that 2/10 was responsible for defending. The brigade’s deployment represents the most recent and direct experience of any US Army unit defending against drone attacks and, consequently, an important set of lessons on countering and defending against rockets, missiles, and drones of all sizes. The soldiers of 2/10 experienced a wide range of enemy attacks against conventional munitions, from rockets and mortars to cluster munitions and short-range ballistic missiles. But the enemy’s weapon of choice was the one-way attack unmanned aircraft system (OWAUAS). These drones were mostly little, propeller-driven, fixed-wing craft made of carbon fiber, metal, and plastic. They flew low, sometimes less than a hundred feet off the ground, and depending on the type, their wingspan was a few feet to a few meters. Their US military equivalents are between a Scan Eagle and a Shadow. These systems have no landing gear because they’re designed to land on their noses with a bang.

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SBIR Phase I and II technology and contracts still have value, no matter how old. Contact SBIR Connect to learn how to get additional revenue out of those old, terminal and Valley of Death SBIRs. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) #sbir #STTR #smallbusiness AFWERX

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