Current Events in the Americas

What Russia's Stealth Fighter Developments Mean for America

For some time thinking on this issue, but no new advaced communications system breakthrough. At last is only a simple radio link with a submarine surface-piercing mast antenna, increasing the submarine exposure and vulnerability (very probably employed submerged in the VLF/LF receiving-only function): https://news.usni.org/2016/05/16/aerovironment-to-supply-blackwing-mini-uavs-for-navy-attack-guided-missile-submarines OE-538/BRC: http://www.sippican.com/stuff/contentmgr/files/474e4a92db6e2ad9c7446b939a122dc4/sheet/oe_538.pdf More generic concepts here: http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/docs/voices.htm

Jane's Defence Weekly April 12, 2006 USMC Looks To Revive OV-10s For Use In Iraq By Joshua Kucera, JDW Staff Reporter, Washington, DC The US Marine Corps is looking at the possibility of reviving the retired OV-10 Bronco observation aircraft for use in Iraq, according to a top service official. The aircraft, which was retired from US service in 1994, would be used to augment surveillance of roads in Iraq. Having additional aircraft there could increase the chances of US forces detecting the emplacement of roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), some service officials believe. "If this is a capability we think that will take out the…

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…

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

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…

From Defense Aerospace Multimission-Capable Sub Readies for Full Operation (Source: US Navy; issued April 12, 2006) NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE KINGS BAY, Ga. --- The guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN 728) arrived at its new home of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., April 11, completing the sub’s three-year refueling and conversion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. Florida is the second Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine the Navy has reconfigured, replacing its 24 Trident missiles with nearly 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, switching the boat from a nuclear deterrent to a source of more conventional firepower in the global war on terrorism…

New analysis of the F-35 JSF from Carlo Kopp and the APA gang ... Assessing JSF Defence Penetration Capabilities

From DefenseNews [excerpt] And so it begins, or continues. Expect more of the same if buy the F-35 and have to struggle to support that single component of the force at the expense of other programs and capabilities.

Navy Seeks Next Generation Tomahawk (DOD Buzz)

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…

Forces to get rid of navy's supply ships Esquimalt-based vessels unable to refuel at sea for 2 years; Patrol planes also ditched in cost-cutting David Pugliese, CanWest News Service Published: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 Victoria Times The Canadian Forces plans to get rid of its two refuelling and supply ships, one of which is based at CFB Esquimalt, a move that will leave the navy unable to refuel vessels at sea for at least two years until replacements are built. The recommendation is part of a military plan to pare down its ships, surveillance aircraft and helicopters to help pay for new equipment in the future. The cuts include six Aurora maritime patro…

Four JASSM Test Failures Cast Doubt On Program's Future The U.S. Air Force's Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) proved ineffective during four recent flight tests, which were conducted as the Pentagon weighs whether to terminate the new stealthy cruise missile program due to cost increases. During the tests, which took place Apr. 30 - May 1, three of the cruise missiles impacted "well outside the target area," at distances greater than 100-200 feet, according to a preliminary Air Force report on the mishaps. These missiles failed to cause damage to the intended targets. Developers attribute the misses to a GPS "dropout problem" that affected the missile…

From Aviation Week's ARES Blog Space Radar Chopped Posted by Bill Sweetman at 4/2/2008 8:32 AM CDT News that the Space Radar program had been cancelled was not surprising. It had already been reported that the project was being reconsidered, after many restructuring attempts, and the fact that the budget and schedule suddenly went black in the FY2009 budget didn't inspire confidence. SR was eight years away from first launch, and as the GAO noted in its latest review of major programs, the technologies were far from mature. To a great extent it was a victim of requirements overload, with the intelligence community wanting high resolution (equals large antenna…

From Defense Aerospace Bush Signs Fiscal 2009 Defense Budget Into Law (Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued October 14, 2008) WASHINGTON --- President Bush signed the fiscal 2009 defense budget into law today, authorizing a $512 billion base to support military readiness, as well as $66 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The law also authorizes a 3.9 percent pay raise for service-members, to take effect Jan. 1. This represents a one-half-percent increase over Bush’s initial request. Bush signed the bill into law this morning without issuing a public statement, before leaving the White House to meet with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates …

From Defense Aerospace Op-Ed: Gates Goals Undercut Air Force Capabilities and Leaders (Source: Lexington Institute; issued April 21, 2009) Air Force chief of staff Norton Schwartz faced biting criticism from his service's senior leaders in a video teleconference last week. They accused him of betraying the service's requirements process by siding with defense secretary Robert Gates in terminating key air power programs without rigorous analysis, and signaled that Schwartz's credibility is at risk among his Air Force peers. Doubts about Schwartz have been rife since Gates selected him to replace the less pliable T. Michael Moseley last summer, after Moseley cl…

AvWeek gave great coverage of the hearings today in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on the F-35 JSF program. Some links of interest arising from the hearing: Joint Statement of Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter, USAF acquisition chief David Van Buren and F-35 JPO head Vice Adm David Venlet (PDF) Statement of Pentagon Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) director Christine Fox (PDF) Statement of Pentagon Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) director Michael Gilmore (PDF) Statement of Lockheed Martin VP/GM Tom Burbage (PDF) (he apparently did not take any questions) Statement of Michael Sullivan of the GAO …

Hope that someone gets some photos of those Tu-22s. I can never get enough of those beautiful planes.

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…

From Navy Times Navy requests more Littoral Combat Ships By David Sharp - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Apr 2, 2008 18:33:47 EDT PORTLAND, Maine — The Navy is moving forward with construction of a new type of smaller, speedy warships, putting the project back on track after the cancellation of two ships last year, officials said Wednesday. The Navy’s formal request for proposals issued on Tuesday to General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works and Lockheed Martin calls for construction of three Littoral Combat Ships to be carried out over the next several years. The Navy envisions a competition in which the winning bidder is awarded contracts for two of t…