Current Events in the Americas

From Aviation Week CV32: Unfortunate, because it indirectly puts greater pressure on the already strained F-22 and F-35 [excerpt]

[This one's for you Brad] Chavez’s Bid For Russian Arms Pains U.S. By C. J. Chivers MOSCOW, Aug. 15 — A proposed contract between Russia and Venezuela that could transfer thousands of sniper rifles to Venezuela has raised concerns in the United States about the potential use or regional distribution of the weapons by the socialist-inspired government of President Hugo Chávez. The rifles are the latest variant of the Dragunov, a long-barreled, semiautomatic design with a telescopic sight. It is derived in part from the much more widely circulated Kalashnikov assault rifle. First manufactured in 1963 for use by militaries and intelligence agencies in the…

From Defense Aerospace Government of Canada Frigate Modernization Contract Benefits Forces and Economy (Source: Public Works and Government Services Canada; issued Nov. 8, 2008) (N.B.: All monetary amounts are in Canadian dollars) GATINEAU --- The Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Honourable Christian Paradis, and the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, today announced that the Government of Canada awarded two long-term contracts to Lockheed Martin Canada for the Combat Systems Integration (CSI) Design and Build and In-Service Support elements of the modernization of Ca…

First Artwork of Hypersonic Missiles on Zumwalt-class Destroyers (Naval News)

JFK Overhaul Work Stopped By WILLIAM H. MCMICHAEL Defense News The Navy has canceled a scheduled $335 million overhaul of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, a move that likely cements plans to inactivate or decommission the flattop and reduce the Navy’s formidable carrier fleet from 12 to 11. The Navy emphasized it has not firmed up its ultimate plans for the Mayport, Fla.-based Kennedy, to the disappointment of Florida’s congressional delegation and proponents of a 12-carrier Navy. “The final decision on the ship’s decommissioning and inactivation status is still pending,” said Lt. Chris Servello, a Navy spokesman. The Navy, however, had long plann…

Seems JASSM is back from the brink and is proving itself ... maybe? From ARES Blog Sue Payton's "Kick Ass Missile" Posted by Amy Butler at 8/1/2008 10:49 AM CDT Take a look at the slick new video made by Lockheed Martin and showing its new cruise missile's recent successes. Company officials say the video has not been doctored in any way, and the images were captured from test video. After dipping to an all-time low reliability last year of 58% and experiencing a major cost overrun, the Air Force now reports the fixes to the stealthy cruise missile have boosted reliability to 88%. Good thing, since the weapon costs nearly $1 million per copy. Sue Paty…

From Defense Aerospace Another Significant Milestone For Joint Strike Fighter Program (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued April 23, 2007) The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program has achieved another significant milestone with the approval of funding for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP). As of 23 April 2007, the first JSF test aircraft has completed 14 test flights. Test pilots have been impressed by the aircraft’s maturity so early in the test program and its excellent handling qualities. The aircraft has already been flown to 30,000 feet, 0.8 Mach, and 16 degrees Angle of Attack with all systems working as designed, including: - the Pr…

As if the F-35B program wasn't in enough trouble already ... Major F-35B Component Cracks in Fatigue Test

Excerpt from: Stealth fighters Two years after a fire at sea crippled HMCS Chicoutimi, killing a sailor and triggering a parliamentary probe, the navy is embracing a new plan to prove the worth of its second-hand submarine fleet David Pugliese, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Saturday, November 18, 2006 ABOARD HMCS WINDSOR - It's early morning and a team of Canadian army commandos are swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, making their way towards a submarine periscope just barely visible in the water. Inside the sub, its captain, Lt.-Cmdr. Christopher Ellis is trying to manoeuvre the 70-metre long vessel as close as he can to the men. About a metre of HMCS Winds…

News from CNN, 18 February 2005 Experts: New submarine can tap fiber-optic cables The USS Jimmy Carter, set to join the nation's submarine fleet Saturday, will have some special capabilities, intelligence experts say: It will be able to tap undersea cables and eavesdrop on the communications passing through them. ... More here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/18/submarine...s.ap/index.html

From Air Force Times Deputy SecDef: No more Raptors needed By John T. Bennett - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jan 29, 2008 11:35:26 EST PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England defended his position that the Air Force needs no more than 187 F-22 Raptors, saying Saturday that several Pentagon studies have concluded that number is sufficient to tackle future threats. In recent months, senior Air Force officials have intensified their public campaign for 381 of the Lockheed Martin-made fighters. Senior Pentagon officials recently approved an Air Force plan to purchase four more Raptors, a move that will bring the planned buy to 191 warplanes.…

From Defense Aerospace Coast Guard to Award of the Contract for Design and Construction of Fast Response Cutter/Sentinel Class Patrol Boat (Source: US Coast Guard; issued Sept. 26, 2008) WASHINGTON --- Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Thad W. Allen, and other Coast Guard senior leaders will host a [sept. 29] media round table to announce the award of an $88 million contract to Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., for the design and construction of the Fast Response Cutter, Sentinel-Class patrol boat. The 153-foot cutter, which will be capable of speeds of more than 28 knots, will be built at Bollinger's shipyard in Lockport, La. This is a firm, fixed-price contract with an…

Navy CG(X) Cruiser Program: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress Source: Congressional Research Service (No public website) Ref: Order Code RL34179 Released Sept. 20, 2007 27 pages in PDF format The US Navy is currently developing technologies and studying design options for a planned new cruiser called the CG(X). Navy plans call for procuring the first CG(X) in FY2011, at an estimated cost of about $3.2 billion, and 18 more CG(X)s in subsequent years. If the CG(X) is equipped with a nuclear power plant, which is an option currently being considered by the Navy, then advance procurement funding for the first CG(X) could appear in the FY2009 …

From here, EMALS and other Ford-class problems, "Naval Air: 2USS Truman Gets Dent": https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htnavai/articles/2025041502847.aspx#gsc.tab=0 Quote: "...EMALS less reliable than the older steam catapult. EMALS was also more labor intensive to operate and put more stress on launched aircraft than expected. Worse, due to a basic design flaw, if one EMALS catapult becomes inoperable, the other three catapults could not be used in the meantime as was the case with steam catapults. This meant that the older practice of taking one or more steam catapults offline for maintenance or repairs while at sea was not practical. The navy admitted that in …

From Aviation Week Boeing Plans Sixth Generation Fighter With Block 3 Super Hornet Jan 30, 2008 David A. Fulghum/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Boeing is touting an even newer version of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet that, paired with an advanced sixth-generation fighter in the works at the company, would give customers what Boeing deems a better package of capabilities than Lockheed Martin's combination of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The idea is that customers could buy 4.5 generation Super Hornets (perhaps 4.75 generation with the planned extra forward stealth and extra range of Block 3 aircraft) and then switch to a new, sixth genera…

From Aviation Week Pentagon Revives Standoff Missile May 2, 2008 Bettina H. Chavanne The Pentagon certified a critical need for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) program May 2, following the program's breach of Nunn-McCurdy acquisition law. John Young, Pentagon acquisition chief, certified a restructured JASSM program in four categories, affirming that the program is essential to national security; there are no alternatives to the program that would provide "equal or greater military capability" for less money; new estimates for procurement are "reasonable" and the management structure for JASSM acquisition is "adequate" to manage and control…

Arizona Daily Star (Tucson) June 12, 2007 Raytheon Tomahawk Might Replace Errant Lockheed Missile By Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News Raytheon Co.'s Tomahawk cruise missile is being eyed as a possible replacement for a Lockheed Martin Corp. missile program that was given 30 days to demonstrate it has a plan to improve reliability, said Diane Wright, the Pentagon's deputy director for air warfare. The Lockheed missile costs about $649,000 and is launched from planes. The latest Tomahawk, made at Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems, costs $972,000 on average and can be launched only from ships and submarines. Wright said the Pentagon might explore wheth…

From Aviation Week Bill Redirects ARH Funds Toward UH-60s Mar 23, 2007 The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) approved legislation March 22 that would transfer supplemental fiscal 2007 funds requested for two Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) to replace two UH-60 Black Hawks lost in combat. The roughly $122 billion bill also would fully fund seven other requested UH-60s, according to a summary of the legislation provided by SAC staff. The Senate is expected to take up the bill March 26, SAC Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said after a markup hearing. Bell Helicopter Textron's prototype ARH-70A crashed on a golf course in Mansfield, Texas, on Feb. 2…

From Aviation Week U.S. Navy Plans EPX Intel-Gathering Aircraft Feb 22, 2008 By David A. Fulghum The U.S. Navy is asking three companies each to design an aircraft that can conduct simultaneous intelligence-gathering missions that were considered impractical, perhaps impossible, even a couple of years ago. In particular, the Navy wants a single, EPX aircraft that can use a powerful radar and at the same time operate an array of sensitive receivers that can collect faint electronic emissions or communications from hundreds of miles away. The multisource information would be fused to locate and identify objects of interest as fleeting and elusive as the low-po…

From Navy Times Navy accepts first LCS, anti-sub module Staff report Posted : Thursday Sep 18, 2008 16:06:57 EDT The Navy took delivery Thursday of its first littoral combat ship, the Freedom, one of two late-week milestones in the Littoral Combat Ship program, along with the scheduled rollout Friday of the anti-submarine mission module in San Diego. “This is a truly exciting day for the Navy. Today marks a critical milestone in fulfilling the need and realizing the vision we began just a few years ago,” said LCS program manager Capt. James Murdoch in an announcement Thursday. “Despite our challenges, the Navy and industry have continued to press on to build…