The stakes are getting higher in Trump's 'House of Cards' current gambling concession in the back rooms inside the White House. There's a new hand-selected nominee named to fill the post for the Director of National Intelligence. The choice of a congressman from Texas is no doubt the most dangerous choice the president could make - it insults the intelligence of the American people.
WHAT'S IN A NAME: Ratcliffe
"On Sunday, just hours before Trump announced his nomination, Ratcliffe declared a political victory for the president, and defeat for the Democrats, who he said “overplayed their hand.”
FACTOID: "Ratcliffe has not denied that Russians interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. And before Trump came along, he, too, was allied with more classic Republican conservatives, serving as an aide to former presidential candidate and current Senator Mitt Romney (Utah) during his presidential campaign, helping scout potential Cabinet picks."
SHUFFLING THE DECK: ". . . Last year, Ratcliffe’s name was floated as a possible replacement for former attorney general Jeff Sessions, whom Trump replaced with William P. Barr.
Ratcliffe, who briefly served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas under President George W. Bush and worked as the office’s chief of anti-terrorism and national security, was at the time involved in the GOP-led congressional investigations of the FBI’s Trump and Clinton inquiries as a member of the Judiciary Committee.
He joined the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year, where he has been considered the GOP’s replacement for former congressman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), an accomplished prosecutor skilled in executing detailed, stinging examinations of witnesses in closed-door interviews and from the dais. . . "
"The president’s intent to nominateRobert Mueller’s chief Capitol Hill inquisitor to head the nation’s intelligence community might just be the Trump administration’s most alarming personnel decision yet—even in an administration whose list of departed, disgraced, and indicted former top officials reads like a casualty list from Game of Thrones.
The news Sunday that Trump planned to tap representative John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) as director of national intelligence, replacing former senator Dan Coats, left many even on Capitol Hill scratching their heads: Who?
. . . Indeed, very few Americans had ever heard of the congressman from Texas’s fourth district until last Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, when Ratcliffe lambasted former special counsel Robert Mueller about “not exonerating” Donald Trump. Watching the hearing on TV with a group of journalists, I turned to my colleagues and said, “He’s auditioning to be DNI.”
Days later, Axiosscoopedthe news of Ratcliffe’s impending nomination, saying Trump was “thrilled” by the congressman’s performance at the Mueller hearing.
That the administration is so predictable in its terrible choices should not make those terrible choices any less troubling. . . "
MORE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO GET ASKED:
Did John Ratcliffe Misrepresent Role in Anti-Terrorism Case?
19 hours ago - John Ratcliffe, the Texas Republican on the House Judiciary Committee ... It Looks Like GOP Rep Trump Rewarded with DNI Position Has a ...
"We are fast approaching the date of official termination of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty on Friday 02 August. The loss of INF, which for more than 30 years served as a core element of European security, throws the precarious state of nuclear arms control into sharp relief. There will be significant international attention paid to the demise of this landmark treaty, . . and the future of international arms control writ large. . . "
That's the warning just two hours ago from the European Leadership Network “We should all be aware that if the INF treaty collapses and the US and Russia allow the current political tension to undermine the possibility of extending new START—which must be agreed before February 2021— the US and Russia will return to an unregulated nuclear arms competition that has not been seen since the early days of the Cold War” ________________________________________________________________
Thanks to Trump the INF Treaty terminates in two days - 02 August. Billions have been approved for a new war planned by The Pentagon. It's time for everyone to "Re-Nuclearize". North Korea's Little Rocket Man has been testing and launching intermediate-range ballistic missiles in response to threats posed by Trump and the positioning of THAAD American-made missiles in South Korea. American armed forces are planning $58,000,000,000 in new contracts for an Ground-Based Deterrent System. Both China and Russia have developed new hypersonic weapons for defense. . . it's a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad world. Here's a flash-back to 1964 and The Cold War:
16 January 2018
Dr. Strangelove: Psychotic Thriller By Stanley Kubrick
Visions of future past flash back to haunt us from this comedy produced in 1964.
At that point-in-time your MesaZona blogger's past life part-time job while in high school was as an usher at a college movie theater, earning $1.25 per hour. One of the benefits in that position was the opportunity to watch every movie appearing in the big screen - at a tender young age this was an eye-opening introduction to the genius of Stanley Kubrick . . . and now some 50+ years on it serves as a visual reminder of some current "news" in the first year of fear and chaos here in the United States circa 2017-2018 Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again (Dr. Strangelove Ending Updated)
Published on Apr 14, 2017
Here's an updated version of the ending to Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove (1964) to the song "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn. It features declassified HD film footage of some of the 331 atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by the United States between 1945 and 1962. Vera Lynn is still alive and turned 100 last month
The media got a new tag last week "Moscow Mitch" to hit on the Republican-controlled Speaker of the U.S. Senate in Congress, Mitch McConnell. He could get un-seated Political divisions are getting deeper than ever with more name-calling per usual Washington power-ploys magnified more in the aftermath of Mueller's reluctant appearance in public. It's the latest rising firestorm to blow-up in the heat of the new 2020 election campaigns. Republican Party loyalties are getting called into question and challenged. Mitch McConnell is vulnerable in Kentucky
Some people want to get back in the media spotlight - one of the talking-heads appearing is a guy from Utah who says he's trying to save democracy. . . or is it a new opportunity? Perhaps like many others, Evan McMullin, a former CIA operative and failed Presidential candidate in 2018, might be on a newmission to unseat both the President and The Speaker of The Senate. The features editor of The New Yorker published an interview in 2017 when EvanMcMullin seemed to offer himself as a bipartisan symbol of opposition—and he was saying all the right things as "an unlikely civic superego for the Age of Trump". (BLOGGER NOTE: Please scroll down farther to read extracts from David Haglund's piece) _________________________________________________________________________
"Let’s call this what it is: unpatriotic. The Kentucky Republican is, arguably more than any other American, doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bidding.
______________________________
A version of Milbank's opinion piece appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune in this headline:
He said “the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in our election is among the most serious” challenges to American democracy he has ever seen. “They are doing it as we sit here, and they expect to do it during the next campaign,” he warned, adding that “much more needs to be done in order to protect against these intrusions, not just by the Russians but others as well.”
Not three hours after Mueller finished testifying, Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, went to the Senate floor to request unanimous consent to pass legislation requiring presidential campaigns to report to the FBI any offers of assistance from agents of foreign governments.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) attempted to move a bill that would require campaigns to report to the FBI contributions by foreign nationals.
>“I object,”said Hyde-Smith.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) tried to force action on bipartisan legislation, written with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and supported by Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), protecting lawmakers from foreign cyberattacks. “The majority leader, our colleague from Kentucky, must stop blocking this common-sense legislation and allow this body to better defend itself against foreign hackers,” he said.
>“I object,” repeated Hyde-Smith.
The next day, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the minority leader, asked for the Senate to pass the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, already passed by the House, that would direct $600 million in election assistance to states and require backup paper ballots.
McConnell himself responded this time, reading from a statement, his chin melting into his chest, his trademark thin smile on his lips. “It’s just a highly partisan bill from the same folks who spent two years hyping up a conspiracy theory about President Trump and Russia,” he said.
“Therefore, I object.” McConnell also objected to another attempt by Blumenthal to pass his bill . . .
But McConnell has blocked all such attempts, including:
A bipartisan bill requiring Facebook, Google and other Internet companies to disclose purchasers of political ads, to identify foreign influence.
A bipartisan bill to ease cooperation between state election officials and federal intelligence agencies.
A bipartisan bill with severe new sanctions on Russia for its cybercrimes.
> This year, National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats — Trump’s intelligence director — told the Senate Intelligence Committee that “foreign actors will view the 2020 U.S. elections as an opportunity to advance their interests. We expect them to refine their capabilities and add new tactics.” . .
"But one man blocks it all — while offering no alternative of his own.
Presumably he thinks whatever influence Russia exerts over U.S. elections will benefit him (he's up for reelection in 2020) and his party.
. . . McConnell has no shame.
He is aiding and abetting Putin’s dismantling of Americans’ self-governance. A leader who won’t protect our country from attack is no patriot."
Why Is Mitch McConnell Blocking Bills To Protect U.S. Elections? | MSNBC Published on Jul 26, 2019
Views: 362,204
Running time: 12:37
"Mitch McConnell ignores the warnings of Robert Mueller about the seriousness of Russian interference in our elections. Evan McMullin and Michael Weiss explain why election security legislation is vital to the integrity of a free and fair election in 2020."
In February 2017 Evan McMullin was "a person-of- interest" for David Haglund, the features editor of The New Yorker
Evan McMullin Is Trying to Save Democracy
"The former C.I.A. operative and failed Presidential candidate has become an unlikely civic superego for the age of Trump. McMullin seemed to offer himself as a bipartisan symbol of opposition—and he was saying all the right things.
SOME BACKGROUND:
"McMullin’s critique of Trump began quietly, when he was serving as the chief policy director for the House Republican Conference, in 2015. Trump announced his candidacy that June, and right away, McMullin saw in Trump “telltale signs of authoritarianism,” he said. “Attacks on the press. Probably even before that, attacks on Hispanics and African-Americans. Those two things really concerned me.”
After Trump won the nomination, McMullin announced that he was running for President of the United States.
The bid was so quixotic that a handful of observers, some suspicious of McMullin’s C.I.A. background, wondered if someone was pulling the strings.“Who put him up?” Sean Hannity asked on his radio show in late October. “The Bush people? The Romney people?”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLOGGER NOTE: Let's pause a moment and observe that here in Mesa, contemporaneous almost in time, two conservative Mesa Mormon Republicans were caught on open mic during a public meeting here when Mesa Mayor John Giles encouraged AZ Senator Jeff Flake to also run for President as 'a foil', not knowing the microphone was open and saying that Trump is a fool . . . _________________________________________________________________________ BLOGGER NOTE: This was the strategy and the outcome:
"At the time Hannity was asking these questions, the polls had tightened in Utah, where McMullin, who’s Mormon, had based his campaign, with an eye on the one, exceedingly unlikely path he had to the White House:
If the race were close, and he prevailed in a single state, he might prevent Trump and Hillary Clinton from attaining an Electoral College majority. In that case, the House of Representatives would decide the next President, and, who knows, maybe they would settle on him. . . .
He didn’t finish higher than third in any state. But by then Trump had publicly complained about“that guy in Utah,” and when Trump went on his “victory tour,” in December, he blasted “McMuffin” repeatedly, boosting McMullin’s stature. For those who aren’t conspiracy-minded, this is the more plausible doubt to harbor about McMullin: that taking a stand was also a way of kickstarting his career. “Frankly, I think that’s a good question,” he said, when I asked whether he was opportunistic."
“And it goes back to my belief that influential institutions should have constant scrutiny. Well, so should people who seek to lead us.”
McMullin tends to talk this way, with an almost unrelenting high-mindedness.
He explained that the attention is simply a necessary vehicle for the work he’s trying to do:
> to encourage civic engagement
> to point out the early signs of authoritarianism
> and to demonstrate, by example, that it is still O.K. to vociferously criticize, and even to mock, our leaders." __________________________________________________________
> Meanwhile, he was accepted into a C.I.A. program for college students; every other semester, he worked at Langley. “I had to pinch myself. It was amazing what they allowed me to do and the kind of access they gave me. I mean, I was reading intercepts of all kinds of crazy things happening around the world.” > What got him excited watching“Three Days of the Condor” was “seeing people committed to serving their country.” The Redford character in that movie isn’t James Bond; he’s a low-level analyst who just happens to get caught up in something much bigger than himself. > McMullin was at Langley on September 11, 2001. I asked what he was doing that morning. “It wasn’t anything flashy or C.I.A.-ish,” he said. “It was just—candidly, I was doing an Excel class.” > Eventually, McMullin, who had studied Arabic for a year after college and then worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in Jordan, served undercover in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. > “It’s not like I was going up to the local terror leader and saying, ‘Hey, I’d like to join your terror cell,’ ” he said. “It doesn’t work that way. Instead, you’re the spymaster, right? You’re recruiting and managing and directing a network of penetrations of terrorist groups and foreign governments, and you’re managing those people.” > In 2009, McMullin went to business school at Wharton—“because one of my biggest professional deficiencies is that I had not acquired many analytical skills,” he explained. > Later, while working at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco, he volunteered for the Romney-Ryan Presidential campaign. Like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, McMullin thinks
that the federal government is too large
if he were President, he “would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade,” he said.
He personally believes in “traditional marriage,” as he puts it, but he doesn’t think the government should make that decision for people.
> His parents divorced about a decade ago, and his mother, whom he called “one of the most amazing people I know on earth for a variety of reasons,” is now married to a woman.“Her partner, Michelle, is the kindest person you’ll ever meet,” he said. When I asked if their relationship had informed his position on the issue, he said it hadn’t. “I know there are a lot of politicians who—you know, they were opposed to gay marriage and then they find out their son’s gay and so then all of a sudden they’re changing their views.” He paused. “You know what, I’m not going to delegitimize or disrespect that. But I do think that there should be some principled view.”
Currency-rigging! Is this 12-Millionenth one or what? Covers the years 20017-2013 ..could go on unresolved for 5 years. They say 'it's not a lot of money'
Published on Jul 29, 2019
Views: 136 at time of upload to this blog
Jul.29 -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS Group AG, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc are the target of a class-action lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion over allegations of foreign-exchange rigging. Bloomberg's Sonali Basak and Sarah Ponczek report on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas."
Eric works for Peter . . . Billionaire Technologist and Investor Peter Thiel is the guest as he joins Eric Weinstein in the studio to Launch "The Portal": a new podcast and video channel dedicated to our search for a path to a more transcendent and transformative future together. Peter and Eric discuss the link between growth and violence and the need to rejoin the quest for a more energizing future for all levels of society.
This story starts in 1609 and with a map made 150 years later from a British cartographer. It is remarkable - note the title of the project Views: 809,652 400 years after Hudson found New York harbor, Eric Sanderson shares how he made a 3D map of Mannahatta's fascinating pre-city ecology of hills, rivers, wildlife -- accurate down to the block -- when Times Square was a wetland and you couldn't get delivery
Boot Camp @ The Border What kind of training do they get?
Published on Jul 29, 2019
Views: 2,020 at time of upload to this blog
In April, as the crisis at the US-Mexico border began to reach a fever pitch, Senior Video Correspondent Graham Flanagan spent four days inside the United States Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. Before they serve in the Border Patrol, trainees must graduate from the Academy’s six-month basic training program. While a majority of the training is focused on law enforcement operations, the Academy also emphasizes instruction in the Spanish language in order to enhance communication between agents and the people they encounter in the field. The agency has been the focus of intense scrutiny in recent months due to revelations about reportedly squalid conditions at Border Patrol-run detention centers where migrants, including children, wait to be processed and released. During our time at the Academy, we did not see any training — other than Spanish instruction — that was specifically designed to prepare the trainees to work in the detention centers or to care for migrant children. This begged the question: is the training that occurs at the Academy adequately preparing the trainees for what awaits them in the field? In a statement to Business Insider, a United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said that, “The Border Patrol Academy does not conduct training related to detention officer duties… Once a trainee graduates and arrives at their station, depending on their geographical location, it now becomes the duty and responsibility of their station to further train the new agent on local policies and procedures.” In regards to how trainees are instructed to work with children, the CBP spokesperson told Business Insider that “The Border Patrol Academy trains and teaches agents about policies and regulations related to the Flores vs. Reno/TVPRA. This is the current case precedent that governs children in short term custody.” The 1997 Flores Settlement requires that immigration officials detaining minors provide food and drinking water, medical assistance in emergencies, toilets and sinks, adequate temperature control and ventilation, adequate supervision to protect minors from others, and separation from unrelated adults whenever possible. According to CBP, trainees are also trained in first-aid and basic lifesaving measures. MORE BOOT CAMP CONTENT: What New Army Cadets Go Through On Their First Day At West Pointhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojJup... What It Takes To Survive Coast Guard Boot Camphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBtJe... ------------------------------------------------------#BorderPatrol#Immigration#BusinessInsider Business Insider tells you all you need to know about business, finance, tech, retail, and more. Visit us at: https://www.businessinsider.com Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/business... BI on Facebook: https://read.bi/2xOcEcj BI on Instagram: https://read.bi/2Q2D29T BI on Twitter: https://read.bi/2xCnzGF BI on Amazon Prime: http://read.bi/PrimeVideo
Like they say There's a lot of moving parts- in some news last week that might have flown under-the-radar with all the other big news-grabbing headlines on Wednesday in Washington. It's another day now to catch up on the GBDS. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program _________________________________________________
The Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, known as GBSD, makes up the ground-based leg of the United States’ nuclear strike capability. It is designed to replace the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have been in use since the 1960s.
While the United States’ stock of nuclear warheads has been drawn down in recent decades under the terms of nonproliferation agreements, GBSD is part of a massive Pentagon plan to replace the hardware that would theoretically launch them in the event of a nuclear war. The nuclear recapitalization plan also includes General Dynamics’ Columbia-class nuclear submarine and new cruise missiles to be supplied by either Lockheed Martin or Raytheon.
LINK > Washington Post 25 July 2019_________________________________________________________________________________
Undersecretary for Acquisition Ellen Lord told the Senate Armed Services Committee in May. "After 25 years of primarily drawing down and sustaining the nuclear forces we built during the Cold War, repeated decisions to defer recapitalization of our nuclear forces have caught up to us," she said.
"The U.S. must make a choice: Either we continue to invest in modernizing and replacing these systems or we accept the loss of our ability to deter the most severe threats to our nation and our allies and partners."
Boeing drops out of massive Pentagon nuclear missile program, citing unfair competition Boeing’s decision to drop out of the ballistic missile program significantly complicates the Pentagon’s earlier plan to renegotiate the contract. In 2017 the Air Force limited the competition to Boeing and Northrop Grumman, effectively rejecting a bid by Lockheed Martin. Boeing and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $349.2 million and $328 million, respectively, to develop competing offers.The dispute arose from Northrop Grumman’s2018 acquisitionof a company called Orbital ATK, a dominant producer of rocket motors. . .
Loren Thompson, a defense consultant who works with Boeing, said Northrop Grumman is now “headed for a monopoly” on the air-, land- and sea-based legs of the United States’ nuclear strike capability. Northrop makes the solid rocket motors on the Navy’s sub-launched missiles, and it also holds the contract to build the Air Force’s B-21 bomber.
“One company would have a monopoly on the nuclear deterrent,” Thompson said. “I just don’t see Congress being comfortable with that.”
Here are details reported in the Wall Street Journal:
ByDoug Cameron
"Boeing Co. BA -0.89% said it won’t bid for a huge Pentagon contract to replace the nation’s land-based nuclear missiles, just a day after Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg touted the aerospace giant’s suitability for the job. Mr. Muilenburg on Wednesday told analysts and reporters on an earnings call that the contract was a big opportunity for Boeing.
“We are focused on leveraging our work to date on GBSD to deliver this essential national security capability,” he said after Boeing reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss.
Boeing also said it could slow or stall production of the MAX if it doesn’t return to commercial service by late this year. > Boeing was the only big defense company to report a drop in its military order backlog during the June quarter.
>Boeing’s defense arm had been on a roll, last year winning three big Pentagon projects including an Air Force training jet and helicopter and a Navy drone. __________________________________________________________
> Some analysts said the mounting financial cost to Boeing of the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft was undermining its ability to pursue big military projects.
> The company has so far disclosed about $7 billion in additional costs and compensation to cover the crisis enveloping the MAX since global regulators grounded the plane in March following the second of two fatal crashes in less than six months.
> Shares in Boeing fell 3.7% to $348.09 on Thursday.
> Shares in Northrop Grumman gained 3.4% to $354.72.
In a letter to Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper dated July 23 and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Boeing said it believes Northrop Grumman had an unfair advantage to win the contract because of its control of the country’s main producer of rocket motors, secured through its acquisition of Orbital ATK Inc. in 2018.
According to information from the report below, Orbital ATK has 13,000 employees and a backlog of more than $15 billion in contracts. It was formed in 2015 after the merger of Orbital Sciences and ATK.
BACKGROUND:
U.S. Air Force Selects Northrop Grumman as Partner
on Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Program
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Aug. 21, 2017 – The U.S. Air Force has selected Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) as one of two companies to mature designs for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program, the nation’s next Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) system. The company was awarded a $328 million contract to execute the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase of the GBSD program. “We look forward to the opportunity to provide the nation with a modern strategic deterrent system that is secure, resilient and affordable,” said Wes Bush, chairman, chief executive officer and president, Northrop Grumman. “As a trusted partner and technical integrator for the Air Force’s ICBM systems for more than 60 years, we are proud to continue our work to protect and defend our nation through its strategic deterrent capabilities.” To learn more about Northrop Grumman’s GBSD program visit: www.northropgrumman.com/gbsd.
Northrop Grumman has had a robust regional presence in Northern Utah since 1968, allowing the company to partner directly with its ICBM customer to ensure 24/7 mission availability, reliability, readiness and affordability for one of the country’s most vital deterrent programs.
The company’s facilities in Clearfield, Ogden, Salt Lake City and Hill Air Force Base (AFB) each continue to contribute to the thriving Northern Utah community in a variety of ways, in support of fueling a robust economy and strong pipeline of future talent needed to support these, and other future mission-critical programs.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide
Warehousing and Production Improvements Will Double Capacity for Company s World-Renowned Bushmaster Family of Medium Caliber Cannons Capital Investment Grows Facility Capability While Also Creating New Jobs DULLES, Va.Mar. 29, 2018-- Orbital ATK ...
GILBERT, Ariz.Mar. 18, 2016-- Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Orbital ATK, one of the world s leading aerospace and defense technology firms, today announced the expansion of the company s engineering operations in Gilbert, Arizona. The expansion will ...
"The Pentagon increasingly views space as the next great battle front. North Korea is flexing its muscle by firing test missiles and developing its nuclear arsenal. And NASA has seeded the private sector with billions of dollars in contracts, as the industry focuses more on small satellite technology.
All which helps explain why Northrop Grumman, one of the nation's largest defense contractors, announced on Monday that it planned to acquire Dulles-based Orbital ATK, by paying $7.8 billion in cash while assuming $1.4 billion in debt. . .
The surprise move gives Falls Church-based Northrop some sought-after capabilities — from missile defense, to small satellites and even a rocket — allowing it to enter new markets at a time of increased tension globally.
There is “very little overlap” between the two companies, Northrop chief executive Wes Bush said Monday during a conference call with analysts.
. . . Northrop has long been a leader in the defense industry and is currently developing the B-21 Raider, the long-range stealth bomber, for the Air Force, after beating out a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team for the contract. It manages a large cyber division and works to develop the technology behind autonomous systems and radars, while also building large satellites.
The acquisition, should it be approved by regulators and Orbital ATK’s shareholders, would give Northrop access to Orbital ATK’s small satellite division at a time when the Pentagon, and others, are seeking to put up constellations of small satellites that could beam Internet to remote areas and provide Earth observation capabilities. Orbital also has been developing the technology to service satellites in space, allowing them to operate much longer.
In recent years, the Air Force has pledged to move more forcefully to defend its assets in space — the communication, GPS and spy satellites that act as its “eyes and ears” above ground. Some in Congress, however, feel that the Pentagon is not moving aggressively enough and has called for the creation of a dedicated Space Corps, a new military branch that would focus exclusively on space. . .
Whatever happens, Orbital’s expertise building small satellites would better position Northrop.
FACTOID: "Ratcliffe has not denied that Russians interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. And before Trump came along, he, too, was allied with more classic Republican conservatives, serving as an aide to former presidential candidate and current Senator Mitt Romney (Utah) during his presidential campaign, helping scout potential Cabinet picks."
