Current Events in the Americas

Find it here. I have heard grumblings of this the past few weeks. October 06, 2006 Mine commands merge By Christopher P. Cavas Times staff The Navy’s new Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (NMAWC) was created Oct. 1, merging the former Mine Warfare Command (MINEWARCOM) in Corpus Christi, Texas, with the San Diego-based Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Command. The move — controversial among many mine warfare professionals — merges the mine community’s staff and research elements with similar work being done in the ASW area. Along with the staff, the ships at the Corpus Christi base — slated for closure in 2009 — will move to San Dieg…

Ousted USAF chief continues controversial fight for F-22 production (Jane's)

New Acoustic Quieting to be Tested on Submarine South Dakota (Seapower) In other news, the cable ship USNS Zeus is in port here today.

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 Navy Times Carrier numbers, budget issues await Obama By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jan 5, 2009 6:32:07 EST Affordability remains high on the list of requirement and acquisition challenges in the coming year, the Navy’s top weapon buyer said last month. And according to one congressional source, 2009 could also see a lively debate on whether the Navy truly needs 11 carriers. Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, offered several keys to his service’s goal of affordability during a Surface Navy Association luncheon Dec. 11 in Washington. Design and program stability is ke…

A little sad as endings go: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/23/forrestal-navy-first-supercarrier-sold-for-1-penny/ I never served aboars her, but, like all of us, I've seen "Trial by Fire" numerous times. Buddha

From DefenseNews [excerpt] And so it begins, or continues. Expect more of the same if buy the F-35 and have to struggle to support that single component of the force at the expense of other programs and capabilities.

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Space Radar Chopped Posted by Bill Sweetman at 4/2/2008 8:32 AM CDT News that the Space Radar program had been cancelled was not surprising. It had already been reported that the project was being reconsidered, after many restructuring attempts, and the fact that the budget and schedule suddenly went black in the FY2009 budget didn't inspire confidence. SR was eight years away from first launch, and as the GAO noted in its latest review of major programs, the technologies were far from mature. To a great extent it was a victim of requirements overload, with the intelligence community wanting high resolution (equals large antenna…

From Defense Aerospace Bush Signs Fiscal 2009 Defense Budget Into Law (Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued October 14, 2008) WASHINGTON --- President Bush signed the fiscal 2009 defense budget into law today, authorizing a $512 billion base to support military readiness, as well as $66 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The law also authorizes a 3.9 percent pay raise for service-members, to take effect Jan. 1. This represents a one-half-percent increase over Bush’s initial request. Bush signed the bill into law this morning without issuing a public statement, before leaving the White House to meet with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates …

From Flight International DATE:11/05/07 SOURCE:Flight International Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter recovers from in-flight power failure By Craig Hoyle Lockheed Martin has launched a planned software modification to its lone F-35 test asset, after suffering an unexpected power failure during the aircraft’s 19th and most recent test flight on 3 May. “We had some very unusual electrical transient through the airplane,” says Joint Strike Fighter programme executive officer US Air Force Brig Gen Charles Davis. “All the electrics dropped offline and came back after a few milliseconds.” Lockheed confirms: “The test pilot observed a partial fai…

[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…

F-22 Raptors need helmet-mounted cueing system to take full advantage of AIM-9X (Flight Global)

by Staff Sgt. Matthew Bates, Air Force News Agency Source: Air Force Link - Air Force armada all about the ammo

From DefenseNews Posted 05/15/07 17:37 U.S. Army General Picked to be ‘War Czar’ By WILLIAM H. MCMICHAEL An active-duty three-star Army general will become coordinator of the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush said Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, the director of operations for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, will be “the full-time manager for the implementation and execution of our strategies for Iraq and Afghanistan,” Bush said in a statement released by the White House. As such, Lute will serve as a direct link between commanders in the field, ambassadors Ryan Crocker and William Wood and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and wil…

From Flight International DATE: 09/01/09 SOURCE: Flight International USAF starts public search for Air Force One replacement By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force yesterday took the first public step in the search for a replacement of the Boeing VC-25 Air Force One, the presidential aircraft fleet. The USAF posted a request for information for market sources that can provide three widebody aircraft to replace two, 19-year-old VC-25s, which are converted Boeing 747-200s. An analysis of alternatives performed in 2007, which identified the Airbus A380 as a candidate, found that it would be more cost-effective to buy new aircraft rather than modernize the…

http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=69657 (h/t Alert 5)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IuQDqM2M_k&feature=plcp

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/paris-raytheon-takes-aim-at-lockheeds-lrasm-387510/ (Flight Global) So, what should replace Harpoon? LRASM (aka JASSM-ER) or JSOW-ER? Or something else? Or is a replacement even necessary?

article Navy to Base First Four Littoral Combat Ships in San Diego (Source: US Department of Defense; issued April 27, 2006) The Navy announced today that the first four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) will be homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif. Key in the success of implementing these new concepts is the ability to collocate these ships to achieve readiness alignment and economy of scale. This collocation is especially important for the first ships in the class as waterfront facilities, infrastructure, training and maintenance efficiencies are developed. San Diego was chosen as the initial homeport because of the Navy’s increased emphasis …

From Defense Aerospace U.S. Government Report Shows Decreased Costs for F-35 Program (Source: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company; issued April 8, 2008) FORT WORTH, Texas --- A newly released report from the U.S. Department of Defense shows that estimated acquisition costs dropped by nearly $1 billion from 2006 to 2007 for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II program. The Selected Acquisition Reports estimate that F-35 program costs over the aircraft's three-decade production run decreased by $981 million (-0.3 percent), from $299.8 billion to $298.8 billion. The F-35 cost reduction was attributed in part to lower material costs related to agreements made …