Current Events in the Americas

LCS surface warfare mission package debuts By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 14, 2008 9:21:58 EDT NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER DAHLGREN, VA. — To the annoyance of waterfowl bobbing on the Potomac River, Navy gunners test-fired the 30mm modular gun Friday that will be carried as part of the surface warfare package aboard the Navy’s new multipurpose littoral combat ships. As dignitaries watched nearby — and contractors and reporters looked at video displayed in a distant building — the gun, set up on shore, loosed 30 rounds, at three rounds per second, toward the river. Navy officials are confident that if the technicians had been shooting …

From DefenseNews 33 Major Bases on the Block in Biggest BRAC Round Yet By GORDON TROWBRIDGE The Pentagon asked on Friday to shut down 180 installations across the country in the first round of base closings since 1995, and the fifth since 1988. This round is the biggest yet, with recommendations that fall heaviest on National Guard and Reserve facilities, commercial office space and a handful of large, politically sensitive bases. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the moves, if approved, would unfold over six years starting next year and would save almost $50 billion over 20 years. “Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must give w…

From Flight Global DATE: 05/03/10 SOURCE: Flight International USAF considers options to preserve F-22 production tooling By Stephen Trimble Five months after the US Congress approved the cancellation of the Lockheed Martin F-22, the air force is still deciding whether to preserve or scrap the production tooling. The options under discussion include preserving at least the core of Lockheed's ability to build F-22 components and systems, although restarting production is not the USAF leadership's intent, says acquisition chief Lt Gen Mark Shackelford. Rather, USAF officials are considering the cost of preserving tooling to sustain the F-22, which could i…

The December 2008 issue of Air Forces Monthly has a supplement called "US Fighters: A Briefing on the USA's Fighter Capabilities", which in turn contains a current inventory of US armed forces' fighter aircraft types. I thought I'd share those numbers here: OA/A-10A Thunderbolt II Delivered: 714 (from October 1975) Current: 236 Losses: 103 Converted: 120 Withdrawn: 79 Stored: 176 A-10C Thunderbolt II Delivered: 120 (reached IOC in September 2007) Current: 120 Losses: 0 Withdrawn: 0 Stored: 0 On order: 220 F-15A Eagle Delivered: 365 (from January 1976) Current: 46 Losses: 46 Withdrawn: 96 Sold: 24 Stored: 153 F-15B Eagle Delivered: 59 (fr…

From Flight International DATE: 18/08/08 SOURCE: Flight International USAF delays communications link for F-22, other fighters By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force has announced a new delay for a programme that would allow several combat aircraft, including the reclusive Lockheed Martin F-22, to communicate with each other in battle. A competition for the first phase of the Objective Gateway programme was scheduled to begin in mid-August, but now the first step in the acquisition process - releasing the request for proposals - is on indefinite hold, according to USAF acquisition documents issued on 11 August. "Additional information on the programme s…

New Warship’s Big Guns Have No Bullets (DefenseNews)

The Navy’s Much-Hyped Electromagnetic Railgun May End Up Dead In The Water (Task & Purpose)

Shock tactics to destroy torpedoes 06 October 2005 NewScientist.com news service Paul Marks THE US navy wants to protect its warships with a system that will destroy incoming torpedoes by firing massive underwater shock waves at them. The ships would be equipped with arrays of 360 transducers each 1 metre square - effectively big flat-panel loudspeakers - running along either side of the hull below the waterline. When the ship's sonar detects an incoming torpedo, the transducers simultaneously fire an acoustic shock wave of such intensity that the torpedo either detonates early or is disabled by the pulse's crushing force, according to the Defence Advanced R…

From DefenseNews DoD: U.S. Needs Stealthy Airlifter By JOHN T. BENNETT Published: 8 March 2010 By the 2020s, U.S. special-forces troops will need a stealthy new airlifter to sneak past ever-improving radar and missile systems into "denied areas," says the Pentagon's top civilian special operations official. "At some point, serious consideration will need to be given to the development and fielding of a more survivable, long-range SOF [special operations forces] air mobility platform that exploits advances in signature reduction and electronic attack," Michael Vickers, assistant U.S. defense secretary for special operations, low-intensity conflict and interde…

Norfolk Virginian-Pilot February 9, 2006 The Fight Over The New F-22 Raptor By Louis Hansen, The Virginian-Pilot HAMPTON — On a recent clear Sunday afternoon, Capt. John Echols took his fighter jet into the sky for another homeland security mission. The Air Force’s role in Operation Noble Eagle had grown routine since Sept. 11: Patrol the skies over East Coast cities and watch for planes drifting into restricted airspace. If a private pilot starts heading toward a potential target, the fighter pilots quickly introduce themselves and escort the intruder back on course. But Echols’ patrol this day was anything but routine. He and a wing mate flew o…

No More U.S. Battleships? "For the first time since the 1890s, the U.S. Navy soon could be without a battleship," Defense News says. The Senate, in its version of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill, authorizes the Navy to dispose of the battleship Wisconsin and transfer it to the state of Virginia. And a provision in the House version of the defense bill would transfer the battleship Iowa to the Port of Stockton, Calif. Only two battleships remain in Navy custody: the Wisconsin, berthed at Nauticus maritime center in downtown Norfolk, Va., and the Iowa, moored in a mothball fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif. Per an agreement dating from the 1990s between the…

From Defense Aerospace First British Pilot to Finish Raptor Training (Source: US Air Force; issued July 18, 2006) TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --- The first British pilot to complete F-22 Raptor training graduated this week at Tyndall Air Force Base. Flight Lt. Dan Robinson, from the Royal Air Force, is assigned to Langley Air Force Base, Va. He has completed two months of training with the 43rd Fighter Squadron as part of an exchange program. In return, an American fighter pilot will be trained and fly side-by-side with the Royal Air Force on the new EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon. For the coalition, the benefit of the exchange program is the implementa…

A pilot friend of mine has a new job, but it means he will have to move from this island to a much smaller one in the Caribbean. Poor fella ... From Defense Industry Daily Canadian Firm Wins $100M Maritime Reconnaissance Contract from Dutch Posted 24-Jul-2006 07:18 In the fall of 2003, the Dutch government announced the retirement and sale of its P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft fleet, including 2 aircraft stationed at Curacao that flew missions for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The Orions were sold to Germany (8) and Portugal (5), but their services needed to be replaced. Australia's contracted public-private Coastwatch approach offers a solid mod…

From DefenseNews Canadian Government Hears Airlift Procurement Plan By DAVID PUGLIESE, VICTORIA, British Columbia Canada’s Defence Staff chief is hoping to convince the government to approve an airlift procurement plan that would see the purchase of new helicopters, tactical transport aircraft and search-and-rescue planes in one overall package. Gen. Rick Hillier briefed senior government ministers on the plan Nov. 14. The proposal would see the purchase of at least 50 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Defence Minister Bill Graham has confirmed he supports the plan. Graham hopes that getting government approval for three different aircraft programs all…

From Defense Aerospace RSwN Submarine HMS Gotland on Lease to US Navy for Twelve Months (Source: Kockums AB; issued May 31, 2005) The Swedish Navy submarine HMS Gotland, designed and built by Kockums, is being leased to the US Navy for a year, complete with a Swedish crew, so that the Americans can conduct joint manoeuvres with her. She was recently loaded onto a container ship for freight to the USA. She will initially be based on the US west coast in San Diego. Prior to her transatlantic transit, Kockums’ personnel and others have carried out a thorough overhaul. Among other things, the vessel’s civil communications equipment for marine safety has b…

The Air Force Can Never Deliver Enough Close Air Support for the Army (War on the Rocks)

From Flight Global's DEW Line blog [excerpt]

From Defense Aerospace First AARGM Developmental Live Firing Successfully Demonstrates Precision Long Range Time Critical Strike Capability (Source: ATK Alliant Techsystems; issued June 7, 2007) MINNEAPOLIS --- Alliant Techsystems, the U.S. Navy team of PMA-242, the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division -- China Lake, and the Italian Air Force recently conducted the first Developmental Test (DT) firing of an Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) from an F/A-18 aircraft on the China Lake test ranges on 25 May 2007. The test firing confirmed the effective integration of AARGM with the F/A-18 aircraft and the continued progress of fielding a long-…

From Defence Talk AESA Radar Enters Full-Rate Production US Navy | Jul 4, 2007 The U.S. Navy’s next-generation aircraft radar system was approved for full-rate production June 25. Following extensive review by the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), PMA-265 was granted authorization to enter into Full Rate Production for 437 next-generation APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars. “Super Hornet Block II and EA-18G aircraft equipped with AESA’s revolutionary war fighting capability makes Naval Aviation more relevant than ever in our history to the joint combatant commander. Our Super Hor…

From Navy Times Swedish sub heads to sea, readies for mock battle against 3rd Fleet By Gidget Fuentes Times staff writer POINT LOMA, Calif. — With their fill of margaritas, burritos and some American-style barbecue hamburgers, a Swedish navy crew took their attack submarine Gotland into the Pacific Ocean and prepared to wage mock battle and combat operations with U.S. 3rd Fleet. On July 11, Gotland slipped from the submarine piers at the Point Loma Naval Base and glided from San Diego Bay into the Pacific’s tepid, deep waters for a three-week training cycle at sea. For a crew more accustomed to the frigid waters of the Baltic and sub-Arctic region, this …