Current Events in the Americas

From ARES Blog JSF News You Might Have Missed Posted by Bill Sweetman at 9/8/2008 8:15 AM CDT The Joint Strike Fighter program is so vast that a week can hardly go by without some JSF-related news. Air Force Magazine secured an interview with ousted Air Force secretary Michael Wynne, including this comment about the JSF: He argues that it is too early to halt F-22 production and rely on the F-35 as the sole fifth-generation fighter in production, mainly because "I’m afraid the F-35 will fail a test." [CV32: Emphasis mine.] If that line doesn't appear in every third Gripen PowerPoint for the next several months - if the USAF doesn't want to bet its fu…

Army Expected to Sell Off Thousands of Surplus 1911 Pistols (Kit Up!) A great opportunity for some of you to grab a piece of history.

From Defence Aerospace Legendary Fighter Pilot and Designer Says the F-22 Raptor is the Wrong Weapon at the Wrong Time Source: Project On Government Oversight (POGO); issued March 11, 2005 In concert with the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Col. Everest Riccioni (USAF ret.), a pioneer in combat fighter design, has published his critical analysis of the Air Force's F/A-22 Raptor fighter jet program. Riccioni, who pioneered supersonic cruise technology and the F-16 Lightweight Fighter Program, says the decades-old F/A-22 Raptor program is broken and too expensive to fix. From his unique vantage point, Riccioni traces the history of the escalating cost…

McCaffrey: Military ‘in peril’ By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Mar 28, 2007 9:21:33 EDT The Iraq war has left the U.S. military “in a position of strategic peril,” retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey has warned in the wake of a recent trip to Iraq. “The majority of the Iraqi population [sunni and Shia] support armed attacks on American forces” while “U.S. domestic support for the war in Iraq has evaporated and will not return,” McCaffrey writes in a memo to colleagues at the U.S. Military Academy, where he is an adjunct professor of international affairs. He says the United States and its allies must focus on a strategy aimed at a politi…

From Flight International DATE: 08/09/08 SOURCE: Flight International Boeing nears first light test for Airborne Laser By Stephen Trimble Boeing is nearing the first light of the 1MW-class energy beam on board a parked YAL-1 Airborne Laser (ABL). The key milestone for the missile defence programme was originally scheduled for late August. Powering-on the laser on board the aircraft is one of the last major critical steps before the first airborne shootdown test of a ballistic missile target, scheduled during August 2009. As of 29 August, Boeing was in the process of activating each of the subsystems for the six-module laser, says the company's ABL pr…

Concept and practical testing before build the ships: https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2023/02/marines-begin-testing-leased-vessel-pier-less-operations/383234/

Officials Discuss Executive Agency for UAVs (Source: US Air Force; issued April 14, 2007) WASHINGTON --- Air Force officials invited Defense representatives to the Pentagon April 13 to discuss the Air Force's proposal to assume executive agent responsibilities for medium- and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles. The proposal was put forward March 5 in a memorandum to senior Defense officials from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley. The memorandum stated the Air Force's desire for executive agency of the UAVs, and also indicated its desire to discuss the proposal with other service and combatant command representatives, said Col. …

I believe it was Brains who mentioned the next gen bomber on IRC the other nite. From Air Force Times Wynne discusses next-gen bomber publicly By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Friday Mar 7, 2008 12:21:40 EST The Air Force is developing both manned and unmanned versions of its next-generation bomber, the service’s top civilian official said Wednesday. Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee was one of the first public comments by a top official acknowledging that the new bomber, scheduled to debut in 2018, is well along in development. The program is currently classified, he said, but Air Force lea…

Navy shows little interest in armed drones By Sebastian Abbot - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Jun 3, 2008 6:01:44 EDT ABOARD THE USS HARRY S. TRUMAN — The Navy lags well behind the Air Force in the development of armed drones — the unmanned aircraft now used increasingly in Iraq and Afghanistan — insisting that its “Top Gun” fighter pilots are still smarter, better and more flexible in combat. But the contrasting visions for the next generation of America’s air arsenal point to wider debates within the military about the pace of incorporating remote-control technology into future battle strategies. It also touches on differences in military cultur…

This is interesting: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_warship_record Buddha

From Defense Aerospace Submarine Force Announces Operational Stand Down (Source: US Navy; issued Jan. 11, 2007) NORFOLK, Va. --- The U.S. Submarine Force announced Jan. 11, that it will conduct an Operational Stand Down in the wake of recent submarine incidents. In a message to the submarine force, Vice Adm. Chuck Munns, U.S. Submarine Force commander, directed the immediate “stand down” to focus energy and intellect on the basics of submarine operations. Submarines provide continued excellence in the accomplishment of national and theater tasking, but recent problems in routine operations need attention. “It is clear that a common thread through rece…

From DefenseNews Posted 03/28/07 18:15 Lawmakers Offer Ships That U.S. Navy Is Reluctant To Accept By WILLIAM MATTHEWS Some in the U.S. House of Representatives want to buy the Navy 12 new ships next year, not just the seven the service requested in the 2008 budget proposal. But when asked by appropriators in the Senate “what number is prudent,” the Navy’s top officer suggested maybe eight. After complaining for years that its fleet is shrinking and that its shipbuilding budget isn’t big enough, the Navy finds itself in the awkward position of having to turn down an opportunity to dramatically increase shipbuilding. One problem is that U.S. shipyards would be…

A great set of photos from Red Flag 08-04: http://prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/C1...5317/index.html

Heron, Reaper and Hermes 900 Compete for Canadas Arctic mission (Defense Update)

From DefenseNews Posted 01/11/07 21:45 LCS hits ‘considerable cost overruns’ By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), advertised by the U.S. Navy as a $220 million bargain, is going to come in at considerably more than that, according to a senior Navy official. “It appears that we’re having considerable cost overruns on it,” Delores Etter, the Navy’s top acquisition official, told reporters Jan. 11. “We’ve been doing our cost-performance review on the Lockheed Martin ship,” Etter said, noting that as the first of a class, “you’ve got some surprises you didn’t expect. But we’re trying to understand the exact cost increases and we’re working with …

Showdown Ends in Cancellation U.S. Navy Scraps LCS 3 After Dispute With Lockheed By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS DefenseNews The U.S. Navy’s abrupt decision to cancel construction of a Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) leaves many wondering what it means to Lockheed, the LCS program, shipbuilders, service acquisition and the fleet itself. Navy Secretary Donald Winter, who has pledged to use any method at his disposal to hold down shipbuilding costs, has repeatedly urged industry to modernize and find new ways to build ships. But shipbuilders are digging in, tired of the badgering from Navy officials and lawmakers alike. They say too little attention is giv…

From Navy Times New CNO pick could come any time, sources say By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jul 17, 2007 7:30:21 EDT The Navy’s search for a new chief of naval operations is underway, with an announcement of a nominee expected to come as early as this week, sources tell Navy Times. In June, President Bush nominated the current CNO, Adm. Mike Mullen, to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If approved by the Senate, Mullen will take over for Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who is slated to retire at the end of his term Oct. 1. A date has yet to be set for Mullen’s Senate confirmation hearing. The leading candidate for CNO remains…

CV32: For anyone not already aware, this was the tragic crash that claimed the life of mil blogger Carroll LeFon (aka Neptunus Lex): From Flight Global [excerpt]

Could New SSBN Program Sink U.S. Navy? (The Diplomat, Flashpoints blog)

The Next Act for Aegis (USNI News)