Current Events in the Americas

Lots of chatter around the Web about this latest issue with LCS, and more particularly, USS Independence ... From Defense Aerospace [excerpt] and [excerpt]

From On Space [excerpt] CV32: I still remember the first Shuttle launch. Sitting in the library of my school with the rest of my Grade 4 class as we all watched on a tiny (by today's standards) color TV.

Not been seen since operation two weeks ago Very interesting... as in the old Chinese curse...

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

Britain a "crude colonial power in decline" says Argentine President Tension brewing in the South Atlantic?

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 Defense Aerospace [excerpt] CV32: Rumors and reports that Global Hawk, well, sucked, have been floating for around some time now. Unfortunate, really.

Good choice, I'd say.

All future military contracts should be set at a fixed price on negotiation. Any budget overruns fall squarely on the head of the contracted company. It'll never happen, but it seems sensible.

From Jane's [excerpt]

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

Will succeed ADM Mullen on 30 September

Navy to name aircraft carrier after Ford From: The Associated Press http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070103/ap_on_...pe/ford_carrier WASHINGTON - The Navy will name its next aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in honor of the president who was buried Wednesday in his home town of Grand Rapids, Mich., officials said. The Navy had not planned to make the announcement yet, but Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former defense secretary who served in the Ford administration, divulged the news during his eulogy at the funeral. "How fitting it would be that the name Gerald R. Ford will patrol the high seas for decades to come in defense of the nation he loved so much," he sai…

From ARES Sikorsky's Cyclone Touches Down in Canada Posted by Graham Warwick at 3/8/2010 4:23 PM CST Sikrosky's prototype CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter, under development for the Canadian Forces, has arrived at CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia, for several weeks of "ship helicopter operational limits" trials with the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Montreal. Shearwater is the home of 12 Wing, which will operate the Cyclones. It's an outward sign of progress in a program Sikorsky has said little about publicly since development delays forced it to renegotiate its contract with the Canadian government. This delayed first delivery two years, to November this yea…

Aircraft Procurement Plan, FY 2012-2041 (PDF, 25 pp)

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

AvWeek gave great coverage of the hearings today in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on the F-35 JSF program. Some links of interest arising from the hearing: Joint Statement of Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter, USAF acquisition chief David Van Buren and F-35 JPO head Vice Adm David Venlet (PDF) Statement of Pentagon Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) director Christine Fox (PDF) Statement of Pentagon Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) director Michael Gilmore (PDF) Statement of Lockheed Martin VP/GM Tom Burbage (PDF) (he apparently did not take any questions) Statement of Michael Sullivan of the GAO …

From 4GWAR blog [excerpt]

From DefenseNews [excerpt] CV32: For the folks who decry the Hornet as a 'dog' in the turning and burning department, this is not going to come as happy news.

F-35 Selected Acquisition Report (SAR), 31 December 2010