Current Events in the Americas

From Defense Aerospace F-22A Crash Claims Life of Edwards Pilot (Source: US Air Force; issued March 25, 2009) EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --- An Air Force F-22A crash March 25 near here claimed the life of an Air Force veteran and Lockheed Martin test pilot. David Cooley, 49, of Palmdale, Calif., died when the F-22A he was piloting crashed northeast of the base here. Mr. Cooley worked as a test pilot with Lockheed Martin, and was employed at the 411th Flight Test Squadron, 412th Test Wing, on Edwards. Mr. Cooley joined Lockheed Martin in 2003 and was a 21-year veteran of the Air Force. He worked at the F-22 Combined Test Force, where a team of Lockheed…

Ouchie! From Defense Aerospace Program Official Offers Cash Rebate on JSF (Source: defense-aerospace.com; published March 24, 2009) By Giovanni de Briganti PARIS --- Pricing of the Joint Strike Fighter has always seemed to be firmly rooted in fantasy, and the outgoing head of the JSF Program Office has again demonstrated just how divorced this program is from reality. The “official” unit price quoted by Lockheed Martin for the JSF remains pegged at about $65 million, although even Lockheed recently admitted that it won’t know the exact price until 2012. JSF Program Office (JPO) director Major General Charles Davis now tells Jane’s Defence Review t…

From Defense Aerospace Iranian Influence, Terrorist Links, Threaten Latin American Security (Source: US Department of Defense; issued March 17, 2009) WASHINGTON --- Iran is increasing its presence in Latin America, and Hezbollah, a terrorist organization it sponsors, is making inroads in drug trafficking in Colombia, the commander of U.S. Southern Command told Congress today. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis told the House Armed Services Committee he shares concerns expressed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates about Iranian activity in Central and South America. Iran has opened six embassies in the region during the past five years and is promoting Islamic acti…

From Aviation Week Boeing Unveils New Stealthy F-15 Mar 17, 2009 Amy Butler/St. Louis, Mo. Boeing unveiled the prototype of a new variant of the F-15 Strike Eagle aimed at the Asian and Middle East markets that will incorporate stealthy coatings and structure here on Mar. 17. Company officials hope the new aircraft will garner up to 190 orders, extending the F-15 line beyond the current backlog of 38 aircraft for South Korea and Singapore. Since the company lost the Joint Strike Fighter contest to Lockheed Martin, the future of its St. Louis manufacturing facility has been uncertain. Continued F-15 sales, as well as additional orders for F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18…

From DefenseNews Venezuela's Chavez Offers Russia Use of Airbase By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Published: 15 Mar 16:25 EDT (20:25 GMT) CARACAS - Venezuela has offered Russia unlimited use of an air base off its Caribbean coast for Moscow's strategic bombers, President Hugo Chavez said in a television address March 15. "I told [Russian] President [Dmitry] Medvedev that any time Russia's strategic aircraft need to land in Venezuela to meet their strategic aims, Venezuela will be at their service," Chavez said. Chavez's comments - made during his weekly television program "Hello Mr. President" - follow Russian media reports one day prior that Moscow had been offe…

From Defense Aerospace Navy Names Littoral Combat Ship USS Fort Worth (Source: US Navy; issued March 6, 2009) WASHINGTON --- Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced March 6 that the newest littoral combat ship (LCS) will be named USS Fort Worth. The announcement continues the practice of naming the agile LCS vessels after American midsized cities, small towns and communities. For more than 150 years, the patriotic citizens of Fort Worth have supported the Navy and all of our men and women in uniform. Home to ranger outposts, training facilities, aviation depots, and defense manufacturing, Fort Worth has answered the call whenever our nation needed it. …

From Aviation Week Global Opposition Movement Challenges JSF Mar 4, 2009 By Bill Sweetman The first major military aircraft project of the Internet-era, the Joint Strike Fighter, faces a new opposition: a global, networked movement comprising independent and think-tank analysts, retired air force leaders and industry professionals and politicians concerned with the JSF’s financial and operational risks. All of them have immediate access to worldwide news, official reports and program briefings to an extent that was inconceivable when the F-22 was at the same stage of development a decade ago. There are a few main themes that run through many JSF critiques—so…

From Flight Global DATE: 03/03/09 SOURCE: Flight International US Air Force cancels SAM-jamming EB-52 for second time By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force's decision to terminate the EB-52 stand-off jammer concept for a second time deals a new blow to the US electronic warfare community. Maj Scott Fisher, an electronic warfare modernisation requirements officer for Air Combat Command, confirms that funding for the revived EB-52 core component jammer (CCJ) effort has been removed this year from long-term spending plans. The idea of equipping a subset of the Boeing B-52 bomber fleet with high-power, wing-tip jamming pods has been pursued for almost a de…

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…

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 ARES Deficit Reduction Plans: the President and the Raptor Posted by Michael Bruno at 2/23/2009 9:59 AM CST Bloomberg is reporting that President Barack Obama's budget cuts rely heavily on reductions in military spending, and several other news organization said the same over the weekend. Maybe you've heard already, but if not then it's worth noting that Obama this week will be talking about cutting the "exploding" U.S. deficit in half by the end of his in 2013 (his word). According to administration officials, who previewed info to many reporters on back-ground conditions last week, the plan will rely in part on the drawdown in combat forces in Iraq and…

From Navy Times Navy celebrates 1,000th Trident sub patrol The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Feb 19, 2009 7:55:47 EST KINGS BAY NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, Ga. — A coastal Georgia military base is celebrating a milestone for the Navy’s fleet of nuclear-armed submarines — the 1,000th patrol since the first Trident missile sub launched in 1981. Navy Secretary Donald Winter is scheduled to mark the occasion Thursday with other dignitaries at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base near St. Marys. Kings Bay is the East Coast port for the Navy’s Trident submarines. The fleet of 14 Ohio-class submarines was launched during the Cold War as a deterrent to nuclear war. The…

From Defense Aerospace Link to the full report here (PDF document) Highlights here ... The US Navy: Charting a Course for Tomorrow’s Fleet (Executive summary) (Source: The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; issued Feb. 17, 2009) This paper assesses the adequacy and affordability of current US Navy plans in light of current trends in naval warfare, expected future budget environments, and, most importantly, the likely operational demands associated with three enduring, long-term strategic challenges. These challenges are: defeating both the Sunni Salifi-Takfiri and Shia Khomeinist brands of violent Islamist radicalism; hedging against pote…

Somebody doesn't like the DDG-1000.

From ARES JSF Secrets to Stay Secret Posted by David A. Fulghum at 2/10/2009 4:09 PM CST Nobody is going to be allowed to play around with the software that controls the F-35’s electronic warfare package. After a long period of obtuse answers about whether foreign customers would be able to put their own systems in F-35 or customize the software themselves, the issue has been clarified. “No,” says Maj. Gen. Charles Davis, program executive officers of the Joint Strike Fighter program. The super-classified software allows electronic surveillance, detection, identification, self-defense and attack. A software-run techniques generator also will be able to se…

From Jane's Weight loss regime beckons for LCS 1 By Casandra Newell 10 February 2009 The US Navy is mulling over the removal of several redundant and non-critical parts from Littoral Combat Ship 1 (LCS 1) USS Freedom in order to decrease the vessel's displacement. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) told Jane's that officials are considering taking out components "that have become unused on the finished ship". The proposed list includes engine removal rails for the twin Rolls-Royce MT-30 gas turbines. Senior crew members assigned to the Lockheed Martin/Marinette Marine-built frigate said in December 2008 that the prototype vessel was three to five tons ov…

Apparantly the Port Royal is stuck on a reef. Story here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489590,00.html

From Flight Global DATE: 02/02/09 SOURCE: Flight International US Navy starts next-gen jammer bidding war By Stephen Trimble The US Navy has selected four companies to participate in a four-year, $430 million competition to design the next generation jammer (NGJ) pod for the Boeing EA-18G Growler and Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). BAE Systems, ITT Corp, Northrop Grumman Systems Corp and Raytheon have each received a $6 million deal to begin developing their concepts for replacing the 38-year-old ALQ-99 pod. The USN favours a solution based on an active electronic array, but is not constraining any approach the bidders might take to …

From Aviation Week Split-Buy USAF Tanker Concept Gaining Favor Jan 29, 2009 By Amy Butler As the Pentagon attempts to craft a way forward to replace the KC-135 aerial refueling fleet, the option of a split buy of two models is back and gaining attention on Capitol Hill, according to officials close to the tanker program. The idea is sure to be a topic of discussion as the chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa. ), travels this week to Alabama, where Northrop Grumman and EADS were proposing to assemble their tanker design. Murtha is expected to visit Boeing’s Washington state facility in the coming weeks as well. …

From Navy Times Newest amphib set for commissioning Saturday By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Jan 22, 2009 15:47:35 EST LONG BEACH, Calif. — Escorted by tugboats and heavy security, the Navy’s newest amphibious transport dock, the Green Bay, glided into a berth here Tuesday afternoon, a few days ahead of its official commissioning into the Navy’s fleet. The 684-foot, 25,000-ton ship, with its distinctive silhouette framed by a pair of covered masts, will be formally commissioned Saturday morning. The fourth ship in the LPD 17 San Antonio class, Green Bay will be the first one commissioned on the West Coast. The Navy is holding the cerem…