Current Events in the Americas

USS Michale Monsoor DDG-1001 needs both damaged main gas turbines replacement https://news.usni.org/2018/07/11/second-zumwalt-destroyer-needs-new-engine-turbine-blades-damaged-sea-trials Quote: " Galinis said part of the reason it has taken so long to replace the engine is that, with the MT30 being so large, a special rail system is needed to remove the engine and put in a new one. That system hadn’t yet been designed when the Navy realized it needed one, so engineers had to finish the design and then install the system. “So that’s what’s taken us a little bit,” the rear admiral said." Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine is also employed by CVF Queen Elizabeth-class, LC…

From Navy Times Analyst: DDGs without CIWS vulnerable By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Sep 16, 2008 5:55:34 EDT For all the modifications and improvements that have come with each new Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the 20 most recent ships have arrived from the shipyard missing something — the distinctive white domes of the Phalanx Close In Weapons System. The first 34 Burkes carry two of the 20mm, six-barrel Gatling guns, known as CIWS, which can find and shoot down air targets that slip through the outer defenses of a ship or task group. But since 2002, destroyers have come from the builders without the guns, as plans called for a new mi…

CV32: Dark days ahead for the USAF? From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Decapitation Strike Posted by Bill Sweetman at 6/9/2008 7:03 AM CDT The firing of Air Force secretary Michael Wynne and service chief of staff Gen Mike Moseley will have repercussions that last years, possibly decades, and far outweigh the legitimate question as to whether USAF leaders have played their hand well. First of all, for almost a year from now, the USAF secretary's office will be filled by a caretaker. The chances that anyone with serious qualifications or goals would go through confirmation hearings in order to sit out the last few months of a lame-duck administration are zero.…

Defendant testifies in Aegis secrets trial By Gillian Flaccus - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday May 2, 2007 7:26:11 EDT SANTA ANA, Calif. — A Chinese-American engineer accused of conspiring to export defense technology materials to China took the witness stand in his federal trial Tuesday and denied he was trying to give information to the Chinese government. Defense attorney Ronald Kaye immediately asked defendant Chi Mak about three computer disks containing material presented at technical conferences, including a paper on a propulsion system called quiet electric drive that is intended to reduce the ability to detect submarines. “Did you give t…

From Ares Blog Out Comes The Gates Chopper Posted by Bill Sweetman at 4/6/2009 7:50 AM CDT Defense Secretary Robert Gates takes the podium at 1330 DC time today, to announce what's expected to be the most important set of defense program cuts in decades. Webcast will be here. Without trying to pretend we know who will be rejoicing and who will be crying into their martinis when Happy Hour draws a veil over the the ravaged streets of Crystal City, here are some of the key points everyone will be listening for. F-22: Gates could cut the program off; approve 20 more aircraft, but no more than that; or clear the next 20 and let the Quadrennial Defense Revie…

From 4GWAR blog [excerpt]

From Air Force Times Design flaw puts F-22s in shop for repairs The Associated Press Posted : Monday Oct 22, 2007 8:15:34 EDT SALT LAKE CITY — The Air Force is speeding up its timeline for bringing the F-22 Raptor to Hill Air Force Base for repairs after a design flaw that military officials have known about for years has reappeared. The problem with the Air Force’s newest fighter jet is that the composition of some mechanical access panels makes the Raptor susceptible to corrosion. Military officials changed the design to fix the problem, but it is back and about two-thirds of the military’s fleet of the planes is suffering from corrosion. “So the world…

From DefenseNews Pentagon OKs Continued Design Work on U.S Navy Warship By REUTERS, WASHINGTON The Defense Department has authorized Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. to continue design work on the new U.S. Navy DD(X) destroyer while Congress and Defense Department officials decide the fate of the program, a spokeswoman said Aug. 8. Pentagon acquisitions chief Kenneth Krieg signed a memorandum late on Aug. 5 authorizing the Navy to continue giving the two companies contracts for preliminary design work on the ships, said spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin. She noted that detailed design work would begin after a so-called “Milestone B” decision that …

Defense Today February 1, 2006 Pg. 1 Designing Small Destroyer Would Cost Years, Billions Of Loss By Dave Ahearn Designing a new, much smaller destroyer would cost the Navy at least part of its $7.5 billion investment in developing the cutting-edge DD(X) destroyer that now is poised for construction, and also would mean five years or so in designing and developing what would be a far lesser warship, a key admiral said in an interview. Rear Adm. Mark Buzby, deputy director for surface warfare, said the resultant ship wouldn't provide the Navy with many capabilities it requires to counter the current and clearly foreseeable threat environment. Further…

BBC News Story That's a Type 45, which is a lot more powerful than the T23 currently there...

Destroyer hits target in missile defense test By Kris Osborn - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 15:20:18 EDT For the first time, an Aegis radar-equipped Navy destroyer test-fired an interceptor missile, hitting a target 250 miles off the coast of Hawaii on June 22, Missile Defense Agency officials said. The Standard Missile (SM-3) fired from the destroyer Decatur rammed its target during the midcourse phase of its flight, roughly 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean, according to MDA and Lockheed Martin officials. Previous Aegis BMD tests have been aboard cruisers. During the test, the Aegis combat system used data radioed from a Terminal Hig…

Admiral: Diesel Subs OK for Others, Not U.S. Military.com Christopher J. Castelli | April 25, 2006 Diesel submarines have near-shore and stealth capabilities that may make them suitable for other countries but they do not meet U.S. requirements to project and sustain forces far beyond coastal waters, according to the Navy's submarine director, Rear Adm. William Hilarides. The Navy has long opposed acquiring diesel subs, arguing nuclear-powered subs are superior. The subject came up again when Hilarides briefed reporters about submarines at the Washington Navy Yard April 17. “If we were defending our coast from high-end ships, then a diesel submarine might m…

From Jane's Dispute increases over Falklands oil drilling 17 February 2010 The executive order signed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner stated that prior permission from the Argentine government would be required for all ships transiting Argentine ports or crossing Argentine jurisdictional waters en route to the Falklands, which remain the subject of a 177 year-old sovereignty dispute between Buenos Aires and the UK. An interdepartmental commission including representatives from several ministries would be created to enforce the decree, according to Aníbal Fernandez, Argentina's cabinet chief. Argentina has also warned oil companies operating in the Fal…

DND Defers HMCS Chicoutimi Repair article (Source: Canadian Department of National Defence; issued April 27, 2006) OTTAWA --- The Department of National Defence today announced that repairs to Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Chicoutimi, damaged by fire in 2004, will be deferred until 2010 when a two-year refit on the submarine is conducted. This decision means that repairs caused by the 2004 fire incident will be conducted at the same time as the two-year refit process known as the Extended Dock Work Period, which is scheduled for 2010. If the repair process had begun immediately, HMCS Chicoutimi would have been back in service for less than two …

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

Does Canada Need Submarines? (Canadian Military Journal (CMJ))

From Aviation Week Dogfight Over F-22 Reveals DOD Schisms Nov 18, 2008 By David A. Fulghum The battle over how many F-22 Raptors the U.S. Air Force requires is revealing some nasty infighting as the White House administration change nears. The Defense Secretary staff has told Air Force planners not to talk to congressional staffers and to work only through the offices of Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England and acquisition chief John Young. Insiders on Capitol Hill contend that the Defense Department has been and is continuing to withhold F-22 funds — in defiance of the law and the intent of Congress — in an attempt to punish the Air Force. England…

From NOSINT The San Juan Islands are such a lovely place ... great scenery, good food, whale-watching and last but not least - liberals. They don't like the sound the US Navy's jets at neighboring Whidbey Island Naval Air Station makes (want some cheese with that whine?) It's obvious, they don't realize that throaty roar is the sound of freedom. Every day they take for granted the freedoms they enjoy, all because of the distinctive sound of those Prowler and Hornet engines and the men an women who drive those aircraft, along with others like them on the ground and sea, who serve in the other branches of our armed forces.

From Aviation Week Drug Gangs, Iran Impact Latin America Jan 14, 2010 By Paul McLeary Washington Security issues in Latin America have largely been on the back burner in American political and military circles for years, with continued U.S. funding for the Colombian military and the belligerence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez only briefly engaging American consciousness. This has changed dramatically over the last few years with the explosion of drug cartels that threaten the stability of some countries, the growing influence of Iran and the hard-core anti-Americanism of the Venezuelan president. A report by Latin American analyst Sylvia Longmire l…

From Aviation Week Dual Sourcing Tanker Unfeasible, Wynne Says Sep 20, 2007 By Michael Bruno/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said Sept. 19 that the service cannot afford to split the acquisition of its next fleet of aerial refueling tankers between Boeing and Northrop Grumman bids because of expected annual orders. "We still think we can't afford it," Wynne told a briefing organized by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments on Capitol Hill. "If we have to buy seven-and-a-half [annually] from each company, we're in trouble." The Air Force plans to spend about $3 billion per year on recapitalizing the agin…