Current Events in the Americas

15 May 2013

Future US Air Force Missile: Speeds Up To Mach 6.5 The X-51A program could mean that long-range strikes take a fraction of the time needed now. By Gordon Lubold, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor In the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other individuals the military considers high-value targets, the US Air Force is pursuing a new program that could put a missile on a target in minutes instead of hours. The Air Force is developing a "hypersonic" engine designed to fly bombs at Mach 6.5 speed, or more than 4,000 miles per hour, allowing commanders a chance to conduct long-range strikes on targets in a fraction of the time it takes now. The program, k…

From Flight International DATE:14/06/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com Team of C-27J Spartan wins JCA contest By Craig Hoyle Alenia Aeronautica's C-27J Spartan tactical transport programme received a massive boost yesterday, with the type's selection to meet a combined US Air Force and US Army requirement for a new fleet of Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA). Led by L-3 Integrated Systems and also comprising Alenia North America and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, the C-27J team was announced as the winner of a deal to supply an initial 78 aircraft worth $2 billion under the JCA programme. The JCA programme currently envisages the production of 70 aircraft for …

From Jane's Navy International Northrop Grumman wins US 'Tango Bravo' contract By Richard Scott Northrop Grumman Newport News has been awarded a USD12.7 million contract by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the US Navy, to develop and test a new weapon handling and launch system, as part of the 'Tango Bravo' submarine technology exploration initiative. The new weapon handling and launch concept is predicated on eliminating the submarine's torpedo room from inside the ship's pressure hull and moving the launchers outside the hull. This change would eliminate complex machinery and free up valuable space inside the hull. The Northrop Grumm…

The Antiship Mine Gets New Wings (The Diplomat)

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 …

From Navy Times Chavez could take loan to buy Russian subs By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Monday Apr 7, 2008 6:24:20 EDT Russia and Venezuela are in talks over a deal in which a Russian bank would help finance the purchase of four new Russian diesel-electric attack submarines, an official Russian news agency reported Friday. Citing an article in the Russian business newspaper Kommersant, the RIA Novosti news service reported that Russia’s state Vneshekonombank could loan Venezuela about $800 million to help move forward the proposed $1 billion sale of four new Kilo-class subs. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a socialist strongman and an outspoken …

From Flight Global's DEW Line blog [excerpt]

From Flight International DATE:30/04/07 SOURCE:Flightglobal.com Northrop Grumman rolls out E2-D Advanced Hawkeye By Graham Warwick Northrop Grumman has rolled out the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, the latest version of the US Navy’s carrier-based airborne early warning aircraft. The first of two test aircraft was revealed at Northrop’s St Augustine, Florida plant. While externally similar to today’s E-2C, the E-2D has a new Lockheed Martin APY-9 radar with an L-3 Randtron rotodome antenna that combines mechanical rotation with electronic scanning. This provides 360º coverage while allowing operators to focus the radar on areas of interest. The E-2D also …

From Navy Times Carrier America sunk By Matt Hilburn Times staff writer The carrier America now lies beneath the surface of the Atlantic, scuttled by the Navy. Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC, confirmed the “controlled” sinking took place at approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 14. The decommissioned ship, out of service since 1996, was the target of a series of tests designed to try out new defense and damage control systems for the CVN-21 carrier program. It was the largest ship deliberately sunk by the Navy. In fact, the America was the largest warship ever sunk by any means, in war or peace. Tom Tramantano,…

Navy’s First Operational MQ-4C Triton Squadron Stands Up This Week (USNI News)

From Defense Aerospace Northrop Grumman-Built Mesa Verde (LPD 19) Successfully Completes Builder's Trials (Source: Northrop Grumman Corp.; issued Aug. 20, 2007) PASCAGOULA, Miss. --- The Northrop Grumman-built amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde (LPD 19) successfully completed builder's trials last week, in a collaborative effort involving the U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman. “We had a very successful trial,'' said Philip Teel, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems sector. “The ship is in great shape, and this team performed incredibly well. This ship is ready to serve the Navy.'' Shipbuilders worked on sea trial…

From Defense Aerospace Seabasing to Transform Marine Deployments, Commandant Says (Source: US Department of Defense; issued June 9, 2005) WASHINGTON --- The "seabasing" capability being developed for the Marine Corps will enable the service to deploy 15,000 troops anywhere in the world in as little as 10 to 12 days, according to the commandant of the Marine Corps. "And when you are able to respond that fast, it is going to change the calculus of the battlefield," Gen. Michael W. Hagee explained during an interview with the Pentagon Channel. The concept, expected to be in full swing within the next 10 to 15 years, involves pre-positioning ships with cr…

From Defence Talk Southern Partnership Station Begins Aboard Swift US Navy | Dec 1, 2008 MORGAN CITY: Military Sealift Command-chartered high speed vessel HSV-2 Swift (HSV 2) along with various embarked Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force units departed Louisiana Nov. 25 for a five-month deployment in support of Southern Partnership Station (SPS). Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission's primary goal is information sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region. "Southern Partnership Station pr…

From Air Force Times F-22 near perfect in combat exercises By Seamus O’Connor - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 30, 2007 11:47:18 EDT The F-22 Raptor is the world’s most advanced fighter, but is it invincible? Internet rumors have swirled for months over whether any F-22s had been taken down in simulated combat exercises. Discussion forums are rife with Navy pilots touting a controversial photo appearing to show an F/A-18F Super Hornet gunning down a Raptor. The F-22’s debut combat exercise was at Northern Edge in June 2006. According to Air Force data, the dozen F-22s in attendance racked up an unprecedented kill record of 144-0 the first week alone an…

From DefenseNews Pentagon OKs Continued Design Work on U.S Navy Warship By REUTERS, WASHINGTON The Defense Department has authorized Northrop Grumman Corp. and General Dynamics Corp. to continue design work on the new U.S. Navy DD(X) destroyer while Congress and Defense Department officials decide the fate of the program, a spokeswoman said Aug. 8. Pentagon acquisitions chief Kenneth Krieg signed a memorandum late on Aug. 5 authorizing the Navy to continue giving the two companies contracts for preliminary design work on the ships, said spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin. She noted that detailed design work would begin after a so-called “Milestone B” decision that …

War Over the Warthogs (Time, Swampland)

From Defence Aerospace DOD Approves Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor Aircraft for Full-Rate Production (Source: Lockheed Martin; issued Apr. 19, 2005) MARIETTA, Ga.--- The Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor fighter aircraft has been given the green light by Department of Defense acquisition officials to enter into full-rate production. An acquisition decision information paper released by the Department of Defense on April 18 states "The Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) [Michael W. Wynne] approved the full rate production capability of the F/A-22." This decision officially transitions the Air Force's premier fighter program to a n…

First pics: X-47B Unmanned Aircraft Aboard Carrier Truman (DefenseNews' Intercepts blog) Lots of high res pics.

THAAD, Aegis cooperate in anti-missile test By Kris Osborn - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Aug 13, 2008 7:26:27 EDT Traveling thousands of meters per second, a 20-foot Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor missile destroyed an advanced, separating warhead dummy target just beneath the 60-mile envelope of the Earth’s atmosphere off the cost of Hawaii during a June test at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Kauai. The test intercept marked the first time the THAAD and Aegis radar systems worked together in a tactical scenario against a separating warhead, Missile Defense Agency officials said. “A separating warhead is not like a Scud wh…