Current Events in the Americas

Navy debates STOVL JSF future Marines, U.K. worry about F-35 variant By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Apr 30, 2007 10:49:54 EDT Despite public support by Pentagon and Navy leaders for the short-take-off/vertical-landing version of the Joint Strike Fighter, debates about the planned acquisition and operation of the F-35B continue behind the scenes — worrying Marine Corps officials and potential foreign customers who are counting on the versatile aircraft. Navy officials have set no public deadline to settle JSF procurement plans, but a current Navy briefing document provides a rare window on the debate. It argues that the STOVL version s…

U.S. Close To Testing Massive “Bunker-Busting” Missile By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, PARIS DefenseNews The United States is close to testing a new missile aimed at destroying deep bunkers where suspected weapons of mass destruction are stored, the British weekly New Scientist says. Four prototypes of the new “bunker-buster” will be tested later this year by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control of Dallas, Texas, which are working with U.S. Navy scientists on behalf of the Pentagon’s Threat Reduction Agency, it says. Traditional bunker bombs are streamlined bombs whose sheer weight enables them to force through soil, rock or concrete before they detonate. …

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…

From Defence Aerospace MH-60R Weapons System Successfully Completes Technical Evaluation (Source: Lockheed Martin; issued March 22, 2005) OWEGO, N.Y. --- Subsurface and surface warfare systems developed for the U.S. Navy's MH-60R helicopter by prime systems integrator Lockheed Martin have successfully completed Technical Evaluation, clearing the way for Operational Evaluation and fleet introduction later this year. The next-generation helicopter weapons system will help protect U.S. Navy fleets from submarines and surface vessels well into the 21st century. The aircraft entered Technical Evaluation (TECHEVAL) two months ahead of schedule in August 2004, wit…

MH-60S underpowered for MCM towing operations (Jane's)

CV32: "You must think in Russian ..." From Flight Global DATE: 20/09/10 SOURCE: Flight International Mind control on the UAV brain By John Croft Along with its biologically inspired unmanned systems research, engineers at the University of Maryland are delving into novel operator control concepts for unmanned air vehicles. On display at a 10 September open house of the new Maryland Robotics Center was a brain wave control technology developed by a contractor and former student, Paul Samuel, president of Daedalus Flight Systems. Using a headset controller made popular last year in Mindflex's mind control game, Samuel showed how a quadrotor helicopter …

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…

From http://defense.aol.com/2012/09/26/eye-on-speed-navy-minesweepers-take-cues-from-nascar/ [excerpt]

From AOL Defense [excerpt]

Anchorage Daily News April 4, 2007 Pg. B3 International Force To Fight Mock Battles Over Alaska In Exercise ANCHORAGE -- More than 1,300 military personnel are arriving in Alaska this week to take part in multinational combat training. Members of U.S., French and Australian air forces will take part in Red Flag-Alaska, a series of training exercises that include war games with allies and mock enemies. The event kicks off Thursday and continues through April 21 at Eielson and Elmendorf Air Force bases. The effort will involve at least 10 simulated combat missions involving actual flying times over Alaska terrain, Senior Master Sgt. Charles Ramey w…

From Air Force Times Test of massive bunker-busting bomb a success Staff report Posted : Thursday Mar 15, 2007 17:26:47 EDT The Defense Threat Reduction Agency successfully conducted the first explosive test of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator conventional weapon Wednesday at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., according to a press release from the agency. The 30,000-pound penetrating bomb — which would be the largest in the Air Force’s inventory — is designed to defeat hard and deeply-buried targets such as bunker and tunnel facilities. The test consisted of a conventional weapon placed within a test tunnel, not dropped from the air. “This demonstration…

More Royal Navy frigates for Chile MercoPress The strong international price of copper for the second year running has bolstered Chile’s coffers and a percentage of that additional income is earmarked for military equipment purchases including several Royal Navy frigates, German Leopard tanks and refurbished F-16 fighters. Excess income from copper sales abroad represented last year an additional two billion US dollars for the Chilean government and for the military who are legally entitled to a percentage, almost 700 million US dollars in these last two years, although part of it has already been spent in cancelling debts. President Ricardo Lagos and the comm…

From Air Force Times More Russian bombers flying off Alaska coast 16 intercepts by U.S., Canadian jets since July By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Monday Apr 7, 2008 7:29:40 EDT More and more American and Canadian fighter jets are scrambling and intercepting Russian bombers flying off the Alaskan coast, exacerbating tensions between the former Cold War foes. There have been 16 such intercepts since July, Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Howie Chandler told the Anchorage Daily News on March 27. That compares with just one in 2005, and none in the previous 10 years, Chandler said. The Air Force and North American Aerospace Defense Command would …

More than Submarine versus Submarine (USNI Proceedings, February 2013)

From Marine Corps Times Ospreys start to fly, but most still grounded By Trista Talton - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Feb 14, 2007 6:24:46 EST Roughly two to three weeks will pass before all of the Defense Department’s V-22 Ospreys will be back in the air after the fleet was grounded last week, a program spokesman said Tuesday. The tilt-rotors were grounded Feb. 6 after a fault caused by a computer chip in the aircraft’s flight control computers was discovered during pre-flight testing at the Bell Boeing facility in Amarillo, Texas. The Osprey has three flight control computers, which back each other up in case one malfunctions. The chip in question i…

From Marine Link [excerpt]

The Pentagon unveiled names of 4 new LCS-class ships: LCS-5 USS Milwaukee, LCS-6 USS Jakcson, LCS-7 USS Detroit and LCS-8 USS Montgomery. LCS-5 and LCS-7 will be trimarans, LCS-6 and LCS-8 will be monohulls.

From Navy Times National security cutter fires up engines By Patricia Kime - Staff writer Posted : Friday Aug 10, 2007 5:31:15 EDT The Coast Guard fired up the engines of the national security cutter Bertholf for the first time Wednesday. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Walt Probst pressed the switch to start the ship’s gas turbine engines, the power source for high speed operations. The ship is under construction at Northrop Grumman Ship System’s Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The engine light-off marks another step in the vessel’s march toward sea trials, expected this fall. A Coast Guard spokesman said Wednesday the ship’s diesel engine…

From Aviation Now Hunter Suggests NATO Take Over JFK Flattop By Michael Bruno 05/15/2006 10:25:52 AM The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is suggesting NATO take over the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier, which the U.S. Navy and the Bush administration want to retire early for budget reasons. The move would keep the flattop active to some degree while providing an incentive for NATO allies to further fund and develop their own defense capabilities, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) told Capitol Hill reporters May 11. "We want the administration to talk to NATO about the John F. Kennedy being a NATO ship," Hunter said. "Typically the United …

De Gustibus Naval Gazing: A Top Gun Fantasy Comes True By Bret Stephens Aboard the USS Harry S Truman -- An hour before dusk, the air crew of the USS Truman -- several hundred men and women of every rank and job description -- gathers at the front end of the deck to walk its 1,100 foot length, looking for tiny pieces of debris. A stray piece of metal sucked into the intake of a fighter jet could cause catastrophic damage to the plane and the pilot and terrible damage to the ship. "We don't think of this as a dangerous business," says Rear Adm. Bill Gortney, an F-18 pilot who also commands the Truman's battle group of cruisers, destroyers and submarines. "It's …