Current Events in the Americas

From Flight International DATE: 17/10/07 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com EXCLUSIVE: US considers Airbus A380 as Air Force One and potentially a C-5 replacement By Stephen Trimble The Airbus A380 has attracted interest from the US Air Force (USAF) as a cargo freighter and as a large VIP transport in the Air Force One class, says an industry source. EADS last summer responded to two separate inquiries by the USAF’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) about the A380, which is a double-decker jet delivered to Singapore Airlines on 15 October after a long delay. AMC’s first request asked EADS to submit data about the A380F Freighter for potential use as a military airlifter…

From Aviation Week ARES Blog Patrol Planes of the Caribbean Posted by Joris Janssen Lok at 2/18/2008 3:47 AM After more than three years of interim solutions, maritime air surveillance flights by the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Coast Guard (NAACG) have reached a situation of stability with the arrival of a second Dash-8 patrol plane operated by Provincial Airlines of Canada. The long-range maritime patrols for the NAACG from Hato Airport, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, were conducted by Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion aircraft of the Royal Netherlands Navy through 2005. But when the Netherlands Government decided to sell its P-3C fleet (to germany and Portu…

Bataan preps for Osprey shipboard deployment By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Feb 26, 2009 12:24:47 EST ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP BATAAN — At sea, amid icy winds several miles off the coast of North Carolina, David Kouskouris is among the first sailors to lay hands on the Corps’ MV-22 Osprey. “We, as deck handlers, have to understand how this aircraft moves around the deck,” said Kouskouris, a senior chief aviation boatswain’s mate (aircraft handling) (AW/SW) and the flight deck chief for the Bataan. “Before, we only had computer-generated models. Now, we’re taking into account things like human error and wind conditions,” he e…

I see LCS will employ probably Sonar 2087, as reflected here: - http://news.usni.org/2013/08/21/lcs-mission-packages-the-basics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Littoral_combat_ship#Anti-submarine_module Also worring comments in the Wikipedia entry about the use of LCS to escort carrier groups! Link: http://www.dodbuzz.com/2014/04/02/lcs-wargame-reveals-new-tactics-amid-controversy/

From Air Force Times The Pentagon’s top budget official told the Air Force this week to hold off spending $497 million in fiscal 2009 to begin shutting down the F-22 production line and spend it instead on repairing F-15s, two-thirds of which are grounded. USA Today reported that Pentagon Comptroller Tina Jonas informed Air Force leaders of the change in a memo this week. An Air Force official, speaking on background, confirmed Friday that the service has been directed by the Pentagon to reprogram the funds, but the official did not immediately have further details. More than 400 F-15s remain grounded after the Nov. 2 crash of an F-15C, but the Air Force h…

US Navy Missile Defense: The Vision Realized ... a series of articles about US Navy missile defense, yesterday, today, and tomorrow (from Defense Media Network) Part 1: The Transition From Guns to Missiles Part 2: Building and Deploying the US Navys Missile Fleet with Urgency Part 3: Getting Surface-to-Air Missile Development Started Part 4: The Three Ts Talos, Terrier, and Tartar Part 5: Building an Aegis Fleet Part 6: The Tipping Point Part 7: The Vision Realized - The evolution of Aegis BMD

From Air Force Times Raptor has first encounter with Russians By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Dec 27, 2007 20:46:10 EST The F-22 Raptor, the Air Force’s newest operational fighter jet, had its first encounter with Russian bombers off the coast of Alaska on Thanksgiving Day. Two Raptors from the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, scrambled to identify and escort two Russian Bear-H bombers as they approached Alaskan airspace Nov. 22, said Maj. Allen Herritage, a spokesman for the Alaska region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. It marked the first time a Raptor has intercepted unknown aircraft…

From DefenseNews U.S. Navy Orders New Destroyers By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Construction of the first two DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class advanced destroyers is set to begin after the U.S. Navy awarded its two primary shipbuilders $2.8 billion in contracts Feb. 14. General Dynamics will build the Zumwalt — DDG 1000 — at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, while Northrop Grumman will build the yet-to-be-named DDG 1001 at its Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The Zumwalt is set to be delivered by Bath in June 2013, while Northrop’s DDG 1001 is to follow in July 2014. Northrop and General Dynamics are cooperating in completing the final, detailed design of the destroyers. Nor…

Frigate pretends to be the enemy Fredericton tries to sneak up on other navy ships in exercise By Rachel Boomer The Daily News ABOARD HMCS FREDERICTON - Her motto is "Stalker of the Seas" - and this week, that's exactly what HMCS Fredericton is doing. Sometime between midnight and 7 a.m. today, the Fredericton will sneak up on comrades from the Canadian task group, including HMCS Halifax, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Preserver. By disguising her lights and speed to make her look like a container ship or a fishing vessel, Fredericton may just get close enough to - theoretically - do some damage. This, of course, is exactly what an enemy might do, given th…

Mayport, JFK were terror targets, paper says By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Jul 5, 2007 11:48:07 EDT A group of 45 Muslim doctors threatened terrorist attacks at Naval Base Mayport, Fla., the British newspaper the Telegraph reported Thursday. British authorities discovered details of the threats on a Web site run by a “cyber-terrorist” gang, the newspaper account said. The group of 45 doctors, which investigators believe have no link with the recently detained doctors and medics involved with car bomb attempts in London and Glasgow, planned to “undertake jihad and take the battle inside America,” according to the story. The fi…

Corps looks to add armor to AAVs By Kris Osborn - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday May 23, 2007 6:18:23 EDT The Marine Corps is considering adding armor upgrades across the entire fleet of Assault Amphibious Vehicles, service officials said Tuesday. Plans for greater armor protection and survivability on the AAV are being evaluated, in part, due to delays with the Corps’ next-generation Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. “We have been putting together possible upgrade packets,†said Brian Prosser, Program Manager, Assault Amphibious Vehicle Systems, Marine Corps Systems Command. Now in its system development and demonstration phase, the EFV fielding date w…

Course-changing missiles tested for LCS By Kris Osborn - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Dec 6, 2007 6:24:42 EST FORT BLISS, Texas — The Army has begun initial test firing of prototypes of a next-generation precision land missile that is able to be redirected toward new targets while in flight and can hit targets on-the-move up to about 24 miles (40 kilometers) away, Army officials said. The Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System (NLOS-LS), slated to field with other Army Future Combat Systems’ so-called spinout technologies by 2010, is designed with both GPS and infrared guidance systems. Tested at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the NLOS-LS launcher carries 15 Pre…

From http://www.defence-aerospace.com Predator Reaches Initial Operating Capacity Source: US Air Force; issued March 1, 2005 LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --- One of the most heavily used and valued weapons systems of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom has reached initial operating capability, Air Combat Command officials here announced March 1. The MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle was officially declared IOC March 1 by Lt. Gen. William Fraser III, ACC’s vice commander. The milestone was reached after the MQ-1 completed eleven requirements including supportability, maintainability and aircraft and parts availability. Initially fielded as…

From Aviation Week President Publicly Reconsiders Marine One Feb 24, 2009 By Bettina H. Chavanne and Michael Bruno The high-profile VH-71 presidential replacement helicopter program came under the highest profile possible Monday when President Barack Obama and his former Republican rival for the White House lamented the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps project while discussing economic crises. “The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me,” Obama noted. The comment sent both the Navy, which runs the program, and manufacturer Lockheed Martin scurrying. “We are committed to the program’s success and are confident we can deliver the required number of…

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…

Briefing slides for E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (PDF)

From Defense Aerospace Northrop Grumman-built Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) Completes Third-ever 'Super' Sea Trial (Source: Northrop Grumman; issued June 27, 2005) PASCAGOULA, Miss. --- Northrop Grumman Corporation's Aegis guided missile destroyer Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) successfully conducted the third-ever “super trial” last week in the Gulf of Mexico, a significant milestone that proves the ship is ready for delivery to the U.S. Navy as scheduled in August. The super trial concept, developed by industry and Navy leadership as a cost savings measure, combines three separate sea trial voyages into one extended exercise. The savings realized in conducting…

From DefenseNews, 15 February 2011 US-Argentine tensions simmer with verbal jabs

From DefenseNews Posted 08/29/07 16:17 Lockheed Martin Delivers 100th F-22 to U.S. Air Force STAFF REPORT Lockheed Martin delivered the 100th F-22 Raptor to the U.S. Air Force on August 29 in a ceremony at the company’s factory in Marietta, Ga. The aircraft — Air Force serial number 05-0100 — will be assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, according to a Lockheed media release. During the ceremony, Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne signed the DD-250 form accepting the aircraft on behalf of the U.S. government. The 90th Fighter Squadron is expected to receive its full complement of 20 F-22s by fall 2008, according to the r…

From Aviation Week Lockheed Snags DARPA Anti-Ship Missile Award Jul 2, 2009 By Amy Butler and Graham Warwick Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has won one of two awards from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to study and design a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). DARPA received nine proposals, and one more award is expected in the next 60 days, according to an agency official. Boeing, Raytheon and ATK also submitted proposals. LRASM is an unconventional DARPA effort; the agency typically focuses on technology that is not readily in hand. However, the Navy requested DARPA’s help in fielding LRASM in response to a need …