Current Events in the Americas

From Ares Blog Out Comes The Gates Chopper Posted by Bill Sweetman at 4/6/2009 7:50 AM CDT Defense Secretary Robert Gates takes the podium at 1330 DC time today, to announce what's expected to be the most important set of defense program cuts in decades. Webcast will be here. Without trying to pretend we know who will be rejoicing and who will be crying into their martinis when Happy Hour draws a veil over the the ravaged streets of Crystal City, here are some of the key points everyone will be listening for. F-22: Gates could cut the program off; approve 20 more aircraft, but no more than that; or clear the next 20 and let the Quadrennial Defense Revie…

From Navy Times LCS manager fired By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jan 29, 2007 22:30:00 EST The manager of the U.S. Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship program has been relieved of his duties in the aftermath of higher-than-expected cost increases on the ships. Capt. Donald Babcock, the Navy’s LCS program manager, was relieved of his duties Jan. 29 by his boss, Rear Adm. Charles Hamilton – who also is being reassigned. Hamilton relieved Babcock due to “loss of confidence in his ability to command,” according to a Navy source, who added that Babcock would be reassigned to “administrative duties.” Hamilton himself will be reassigned …

From Jane's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers 'buckling' under stress, admits USN By Tara Copp 11 October 2007 Serious structural defects have been identified throughout the United States Navy's fleet of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Jane's can reveal. The navy (USN) has admitted that many of the 51 ships currently in service are buckling under the stress of higher-than-anticipated loads at sea. The impact of rough-sea slamming on the bow has led to warping of main transverse bulkhead beams and some of the cribbing, a source said. Repairs and strengthening work is already being carried out on the latest Flight IIA ships as well as vessels from the ear…

From Navy Times Carrier numbers, budget issues await Obama By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jan 5, 2009 6:32:07 EST Affordability remains high on the list of requirement and acquisition challenges in the coming year, the Navy’s top weapon buyer said last month. And according to one congressional source, 2009 could also see a lively debate on whether the Navy truly needs 11 carriers. Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, offered several keys to his service’s goal of affordability during a Surface Navy Association luncheon Dec. 11 in Washington. Design and program stability is ke…

From Jane's DARPA looks to go deep with ASW sensor network By Richard Scott 20 January 2010 The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has disclosed plans for a deep ocean sensor network that could provide a long-range anti-submarine surveillance capability sufficient to protect 'blue water' Carrier Strike Group operations. This new initiative, which envisions a distributed system of sensors and sources on or near the ocean floor, harks back to the SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System) deep-water long-range detection capability deployed by the US Navy during the Cold War. It also signals a revival in interest in blue-water anti-submarine warfare (A…

To be deployed in October 2013 in USS Ponce, operational from 2014. Other candidate to employ it: LCS, now it's clear why ... Laser range: 1 or 2 nm , perhaps up to 10 nm in years to come .... After the range data, I think we don't need more comments ... http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/R41526.pdf

From Defence Aerospace South American Submarines Enhance U.S. Navy’s Fleet Readiness (Source: US Navy; issued April 14, 2005) NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- In a joint agreement with Colombia and Peru, one diesel-electric submarine from each of these two countries is deploying to the United States in April to enhance fleet readiness by participating in a number of naval exercises. BAP Antofagasta (SS 32) from Peru and ARC Pijao (SO 28) from Colombia have begun a deployment to participate in major Atlantic Fleet exercises, including Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) and Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) for the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Carrier Strike…

From Navy Times Sub skipper fired after collision Attack boat Newport News surfaced beneath Japanese tanker By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jan 30, 2007 11:35:42 EST The skipper of the attack submarine Newport News was relieved of command Monday in Bahrain following a Jan. 8 collision with a Japanese oil tanker in the chokepoint of the Persian Gulf known as the Strait of Hormuz. Cmdr. Matthew A. Weingart was relieved of command by Rear Adm. Douglas J. McAneny, commander of Combined Task Force 54, “due to lack of confidence in his ability to command,” according to a statement from Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain. Capt. Norman A. …

From Flight International DATE: 26/06/08 SOURCE: Flight International USAF formally revives B-52 jammer with five-year study By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force has revived a plan to transform a portion of the Boeing B-52 bomber fleet into long-range, radar-jamming platforms, formally launching a five-year study phase on 23 June. The revival comes nearly three years after the USAF was forced to cancel the B-52 stand-off jammer system (SOJS) programme after cost estimates ballooned sevenfold to $7 billion. The delay has shifted the operational debut of the new jammer fleet at least four years to 2018. The new programme seeks to hold overall costs to a…

From Navy Times Next-gen carrier launch system could be shelved By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Apr 6, 2009 15:46:34 EDT A decision point is looming for the Navy’s biggest shipbuilding project: whether to launch carrier aircraft using cutting-edge — but untried, over-budget and behind-schedule — electromagnetic technology, or return to heavy, bulky, maintenance-intensive steam catapult systems that offer proven reliability. Acting Navy Secretary B.J. Penn and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead are to be briefed in mid-April by service officials on the status of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system, which is to be instal…

From Navy Times Converted Ohio ready for sea trials By Christopher Munsey Times staff writer The guided-missile submarine Ohio, the first of four former Trident ballistic missile boats undergoing conversion to the new SSGN mission, is scheduled to start sea trials soon. Ohio recently finished a nuclear reactor refueling and conversion process at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington, said Kevin Sykes, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokesman. Four former Trident submarines, including Ohio, Georgia, Florida and Michigan, are being converted to SSGNs, at a total cost of approximately $4 billion. Instead of Trident nuclear-warhead tipped missiles, the n…

USA Today May 8, 2007 Pg. 1 General: Air Fleet Wearing Down Warplanes Have Cracked Wings By Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. — The Air Force's fleet of warplanes is older than ever and wearing out faster because of heavy use in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the service's top combat commander. Gen. Ronald Keys, who leads the Air Combat Command, points to cracked wings on A-10 attack planes and frayed electrical cables on U-2 spy planes. Compared to 1996, the Air Force now spends 87% more on maintenance for a warplane fleet that is less ready to fly, Air Force records show. They also show that as the wars in Iraq an…

AvWeek has provided a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation for the final request for proposals: Tanker final RFP

Latest Hueys, Cobras make huge strides Find Marine Corps Times article here. Helos offer more power, technology upgrades By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer Posted : Sunday Jan 4, 2009 8:37:58 EST CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — At a distance, the new UH-1Y helicopters look similar to those born during the Vietnam era, but the four-blade Huey, which Marines call the “Yankee” model, is a different bird entirely. It has greater range, speed and lift than the old UN-1N — with less vibration. It carries 2,700 pounds of fuel, nearly double the capacity of the “November” model, and its integrated avionics, navigation and communications system give the aircrew access to …

A little sad as endings go: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/23/forrestal-navy-first-supercarrier-sold-for-1-penny/ I never served aboars her, but, like all of us, I've seen "Trial by Fire" numerous times. Buddha

Bittersweet 50th anniversary for Canada's Sea King helicopters (CBC News)

Navy Decides to Buy V-22 Ospreys for Carrier Delivery (Breaking Defense)

AH-1Z/UH-1Y Complete Developmental Testing Here (Source: US Navy via Bell Helicopter; issued March 1, 2006) NAVAIR PATUXENT RIVER, MD --- The H-1 Upgrades Program, which is replacing aging Marine Corps UH-1N and AH-1W aircraft with upgraded and 84-percent identical UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft, completed developmental testing Feb. 17. Currently, the program is preparing to enter Operational Evaluation as well as to start a third Low-Rate Initial Production lot. Two of the five developmental test aircraft have already been transferred to the operational test squadron and are being used to train the Marines who will conduct the operational evaluation…

From Defense Aerospace Tanker Recapitalization Proposal Released (Source: US Air Force; issued Jan. 30, 2007) WASHINGTON --- Air Force leaders officially released a request for proposal for a replacement tanker aircraft Jan. 30. The RFP is the official invitation to manufacturers to begin making offers to build a replacement for the Air Force's aging "Eisenhower-era" fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, said Sue Payton, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. "This is a major milestone in fair, open and transparent dialogue that we have been involved in since the request for information was sent out in April of 2006," she said. "We are con…

From Navy Times Navy official confident about LCS By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday May 8, 2007 20:53:03 EDT The Navy’s top acquisition official was upbeat and positive May 7 about the troubled Littoral Combat Ship program, telling a Washington audience, “We’re back on track.” Earlier this year, severe cost overruns and manufacturer problems led the service to cancel plans to buy two more LCS ships in 2007 to pay for cost growth on the first ships. The construction contract for one of two LCSs being built by Lockheed Martin was cancelled, and in a touch of ignominy, a fire damaged the first ship late last month while it was under constr…