Current Events in the Americas

New amphib to be named America By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jun 30, 2008 11:57:54 EDT Navy Secretary Donald Winter announced Friday that the new amphibious assault ship known as LHA 6 would be named America, granting the wish of veterans of the aircraft carrier America, who have lobbied for another ship to take the name after theirs was sunk as a target in 2005. Winter made the announcement in Jacksonville, Fla., at a reunion of the America Carrier Veterans Association. The new America is planned as a 45,000-ton, gas-turbine big-deck gator that has been dubbed “a Marine Corps aircraft carrier.” It has an axial flight deck like a Wasp-cla…

APG-83 SABR AESA radar very probably for USMC F/A-18C/D: https://www.naval-technology.com/news/northrop-installs-production-apg-83-radar-usmcs-f-18c-hornet/

From Aviation Week New Bomber To Focus Heavily On ISR Dec 17, 2009 By David A. Fulghum The U.S. Air Force’s ISR chief says a new bomber design will be more about intelligence gathering and non-kinetic weapons than about bombing. The arsenal of this “long-range, ISR/Strike” aircraft may eventually include directed energy and network attack, says Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Directed energy weapons under development by the Pentagon include a range of lasers and devices that produce pulses of high-power microwaves. Other non-kinetic capabilities include the attack of enemy sensors with…

New Budget Preserves Navy High End Combat Power (USNI News)

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/03/defense_dunham_destroyer_032007/ From Marine Corps Times Destroyer to be named for Medal of Honor Marine By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Mar 21, 2007 8:33:43 EDT The name of a Marine who gave his life to save his comrades in Iraq will grace a new destroyer, the Navy announced Tuesday. Cpl. Jason Dunham received the Medal of Honor on Jan. 11 for his actions April 14, 2004, when he grappled with an insurgent after his unit was ambushed in Karabilah, Iraq. Dunham threw himself on a live grenade to shield fellow Marines and, although he survived the initial explosion, died of his injur…

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…

Just learned the ARC is planning three additional hulls of their 80m 20 de Julio class offshore patrol vessel (OPV). The ships are based on the Fassmer 80-meter design. This will bring the class up to a total number of five when completed. FWFS, Greg Emerson, DM1(SW), USN-Retired Renton, WA, USA

Following up from the recent report regarding the Zumwalt (DDG-1000) program's curtailment at two hulls ... From Navy Times New DDG-51s could get tweaks, upgrades By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Monday Aug 4, 2008 6:39:19 EDT Even though the Navy will resume building Arleigh Burke-class destroyers because the ships are cheaper and the costs are predictable, the eight new Burkes could get new refinements that set them apart from earlier siblings, according to a congressional report. According to written testimony submitted Thursday to the House Seapower Subcommittee by Navy shipbuilding expert Ron O’Rourke, the Navy has several options to improve …

From Aviation Week ARES Blog F-22 intercepting Tu-95 Bear near the Aleutians in November 2007 F-22 dropping external fuel tanks (pylons and all)

New generation join US/Spanish phased array radar for frigates in development: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/173894/lockheed,-indra-demo-next_gen-radar-for-future-spanish-frigates.html

Disclosed new Gray Wolf swarm missile: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5216007/Lockheed-Martin-reveals-Gray-Wolf-networked-cruise-missile.html

From Air Force Times New gunship plan: 8 modified MC-130Ws By Sam LaGrone - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jun 2, 2009 16:28:08 EDT Special Operations Command plans to convert eight existing C-130 variants into multi-role gunships to support the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan. As part of the fiscal 2010 budget, the Defense Department has set aside $31.6 million to begin equipping eight MC-130Ws with limited gunship capability, according to budget documents. The additional firepower will buttress the two dozen aging AC-130H/U Spectre and Spooky gunships, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told members of Congress during a M…

From Defense Aerospace New Maritime Strategy Released (Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 17, 2007) The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have released “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower,” a unified maritime strategy that explains the comprehensive role of the sea services in an era marked by increased globalization and change. This is the first time a unified maritime strategy has been signed by all three of the sea services. The strategy integrates seapower with other elements of national power in addition to that of friends, partners and allies. It states that protecting the homeland and winning the nation’s wars is matched by…

New mission for Corps relies on amphibs New deployment strategy stresses Navy-Marine link By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Friday Feb 8, 2008 18:24:45 EST The Marines want to get back to their expeditionary roots — and they’ll be taking amphib sailors with them. According to a recently approved operational concept, the Marine Corps plans to keep nine infantry battalions forward-deployed at all times, with the remaining 18 battalions in training. For the Marines, it means new advisory missions on top of existing requirements. And for sailors, it will mean a steady reliance on the amphibious fleet. In recent years, with Marines committed to lon…

You might have heard about this on AvWeek or elsewhere: Mystery aircraft photographed over Texas (Deep Blue Horizon blog)

From AOL Defense [excerpt]

From Aviation Week Secret Surveillance Satellites To Launch In June Craig Covault/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report A secret National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) dual-satellite ocean surveillance mission to track potential terrorist movements at sea and monitor Chinese and Iranian ship tactics is being readied for liftoff June 14 from Cape Canaveral on an Atlas V, intelligence sources tell Aviation Week. The National Ocean Surveillance System (NOSS) flight is designated NRO L-30. The importance of NRO's space ocean surveillance role in connection with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard has been elevated since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The nee…

CV32: cough ... South Atlantic battleset ... cough From BBC [excerpt]

From Air Force Times New tanker named but still not selected By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Monday Dec 17, 2007 7:14:43 EST The Air Force doesn’t know who is going to build the KC-X tanker, but the service has decided what to call the jet. Drum roll, please. The KC-X is designated KC-45A. While the service didn’t make a formal announcement about the KC-45A naming, the designation has started to appear in briefings given by Air Force officials and a service spokesman confirmed the name. Technically, KC-45A is the tanker’s mission design series name. The “KC” designates the jet as a tanker. Why “45A” was chosen isn’t clear, other than it does…