Current Events in the Americas

From Defense Aerospace Issue Brief: The Slow Death of American Air Power (Source: The Lexington Institute; issued Jan. 16, 2007) By Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Now that America has an Islamo-centric security posture, any danger that doesn't fit within the counter-fundamentalist framework tends to be ignored. That's sort of ironic, since the biggest military threats to democracy in the last century came from atheists. Five years into the "global war on terror," the evidence suggests that Islamic radicals are real good at blowing each other up, but not so good at projecting power abroad. As long as western nations maintain halfway decent domestic security arr…

From Air Force Times Raptor funding switch raises concern By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 30, 2007 19:06:20 EDT The Air Force is worried that the House Appropriations Committee’s decision last week to strip $364 million from the service’s F-22 modernization program and redirect it to the permanent change of station account will cause delays and cost overruns to the F-22 program. An Air Force official said Monday that the service will appeal Congress’ decision. “The F-22A program is currently assessing the impacts,” the official said, “and anticipates the proposed cut would drive significant program restructure, cost increases and schedu…

defense-aerospace Pursuant to the UAV discussion that was going on down page in the H4 section, this may be of some ancillary interest. Boeing Apache and Unmanned Little Bird Demonstrator Test Expands UAV Control ST. LOUIS --- Boeing has demonstrated for the first time the ability of an AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weapon payload. Boeing demonstrated the capability in February at its Mesa, Ariz., facility, home of both Apache helicopter production and the company's Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) UAV technology demonstrator used in the milestone test. "Evaluations of the Apache Longbow helicopter's ability to…

Lexington Institute on "The Dumbest Weapons Decision of the Decade" Posted 19-Sep-2006 09:36 Defense Industry Daily With all of the recent C-17 related purchases by NATO, Canada, et. al., a reader drew our attention to a recent piece by military analyst Loren Thompson at the Lexington Institute think-tank in Washington, DC. Pulling no punches, it's titled "The Dumbest Weapons Decision of the Decade." People from other countries often underestimate the role of think tanks in Washington, because there are no comparable players in their own countries. That's a big mistake. American academia's growing irrelevance means that the policy agendas and talking points of …

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…

From Defense Aerospace Raytheon, Aerojet Test New Propulsion System for Air-Launched Missile Defense System (Source: Raytheon; issued May 14, 2007) TUCSON, Ariz. --- Raytheon Company has demonstrated a key propulsion component of the Network Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCADE) program. NCADE is a missile defense system that will affordably leverage operational tactical missile technologies and infrastructure. As part of the NCADE risk-reduction program, Raytheon and partner Aerojet tested an advanced hydroxylammonium nitrate thruster that provided more than 150 pounds of thrust for longer than 25 seconds. This test, which took place at the Aeroje…

From Navy Times [excerpt]

From Northrop Grumman news release U.S. Navy Awards $1.16 Billion BAMS UAS Contract to Northrop Grumman LOS ANGELES - April 22, 2008 - The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) an 89-month, $1.16 billion contract for System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the service's new Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) program. The BAMS UAS will provide the U.S. Navy with a persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system to protect the fleet and provide a capability to detect, track, classify, and identify maritime and littoral targets. "We are honored that the Navy selected ou…

The New Strategic Realities of U.S. Carrier Operations (USNI News)

From Aviation Week Raptor Scores in Alaskan Exercise By David A. Fulghum and Michael J. Fabey 01/07/2007 09:51:16 PM As the F-22 begins its operational life, interest has turned to assessing just how well suited the stealthy Raptor is to its role as the premier air-to-air fighter, while taking a peek at some of the surprises for pilots and maintenance crews as they explore what the aircraft can do. As part of the research for this series of articles on the F-22, Michael Fabey flew in the back seat of an F-15D while the Eagle and Raptor pilots demonstrated their aircraft's capabilities in the air-to-air ranges at Tyndall AFB, Fla. (For additional details of the R…

From Navy Times May 17, 2006 Oriskany is sunk By Larry Wheeler Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal Oriskany has sunk. The last tip of the vessel’s hurricane bow disappeared into the Gulf at approximately 11 a.m. Local officials in Pensacola are hopeful the Oriskany settled on the sea floor in an upright position. But no one would know for sure until Navy divers check the vessel later Wednesday. Navy engineers predicted the Oriskany would sink evenly in a process that would take up to five hours. Instead, the old aircraft carrier went down in approximately 35 minutes, sinking sharply by the fantail. “I thought it went down as planned, but it is hard to …

From Defense Aerospace First Aurora with Modernized Sensor - Sharpest Eyes in the Sky (Source: Canadian Department of National Defence; issued July 12, 2005) GREENWOOD, NS --- The first CP-140 Aurora modernized with new electro-optics and infrared sensors has rejoined the fleet at 14 Wing Greenwood after successful integration of this leading edge surveillance technology. The Air Force formally accepted the modified aircraft from contractor Lockheed Martin Canada upon completion of a rigorous joint testing program with the company and Air Force members. “This state-of-the-art technology builds on the new defence policy's pledge for increased maritime …

Aviation Week Lockheed Flies First STOVL JSF Jun 12, 2008 Graham Warwick Lockheed Martin has flown the first short-take-off-and- vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, in conventional-take-off (CTOL) mode, clearing the way for funding to be released for production of the first six U.S. Marine Corps aircraft. The 44-minute flight of aircraft BF-1, the first production-representive F-35, from Lockheed’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant also marked the start of a five-year, 5,000-plus test program involving three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter: the CTOL F-35A, STOVL F-35B and aircraft carrier-capable F-35C. F-35B lead test pilot Graham Tomlinson, from JSF industrial…

Rising costs sock shipbuilding, as local yard fears layoffs By Steve Liewer UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER SignOnSanDiego.com February 1, 2007 Bedeviled with cost overruns, the Navy's shipbuilding program is in danger of sinking under its own weight. Navy leaders have struggled to upgrade an aging fleet of warships with next-generation aircraft carriers, destroyers, amphibious assault ships and submarines that cost billions more than the vessels they replace. San Diego's General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard may have to lay off workers if the Navy's pace of new projects doesn't quicken. This week, a crane at the shipyard positioned the bow on the supply ship Ric…

Come aboard USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78), the newest aircraft carrier (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog) Lots of pics.

China's Next Move: A Naval Base in the South Atlantic? (Real Clear Defense)

Navy Seeks Next Generation Tomahawk (DOD Buzz)

313-Ship U.S. Navy Fleet Plan Sent to Congress By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS DefenseNews The long-awaited 30-year shipbuilding plan of Adm. Mike Mullen, U.S. Navy chief of operations, is now official. The strategy to build a 313-ship fleet was sent to Congress Feb. 7 after having been endorsed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The official plan mirrors earlier draft versions that were reported on by Defense News. It commits the Navy to a force of 11 aircraft carriers — dropping to 10 in fiscal 2013 and rising to 12 ships beginning in 2019. The submarine force dances around a median of 48 boats, from a high of 55 subs in 2018 to a low of 40 in 2028, before r…

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…