Current Events in the Americas

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 Defense Aerospace Growler Zaps Through Initial Testing (Source: US Naval Air Systems Command; issued April 20, 2007) The Navy’s next-generation electronic warfare aircraft has completed the first phase of test and evaluation, and is set to receive hardware and a final build of software that will make it the world’s most capable aircraft of its kind. The EA-18G Growler has finished an ambitious regimen of flight tests since the arrival of Growler test prototype aircraft EA-2 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. in late November. The team has implemented a new concept of Integrated Test and Evaluation, concurrently completing both system developmenta…

Ouchie! From Defense Aerospace Program Official Offers Cash Rebate on JSF (Source: defense-aerospace.com; published March 24, 2009) By Giovanni de Briganti PARIS --- Pricing of the Joint Strike Fighter has always seemed to be firmly rooted in fantasy, and the outgoing head of the JSF Program Office has again demonstrated just how divorced this program is from reality. The “official” unit price quoted by Lockheed Martin for the JSF remains pegged at about $65 million, although even Lockheed recently admitted that it won’t know the exact price until 2012. JSF Program Office (JPO) director Major General Charles Davis now tells Jane’s Defence Review t…

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

U.S. Army To Lockheed: Stop Working On ACS By GOPAL RATNAM defensenews The U.S. Army asked Lockheed Martin to stop work on the $879 million Aerial Common Sensor program contract for a new spy plane after a review found that continuing the current effort would delay the program by two years and lead to additional costs. In a Sept. 14 statement, the Army’s Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), Fort Monmouth, N.J., said Lockheed had 60 days to resolve problems that company officials found in June. “Although we're issuing a stop work order, it is important to note that we’re not terminating the contract at this time,” said Edward Bair, the Army’s progra…

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…

Navy Ohio Replacement Sub Class to Be Named for D.C. (USNI News) The Columbia class.

From Air Force Times F-22 near perfect in combat exercises By Seamus O’Connor - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 30, 2007 11:47:18 EDT The F-22 Raptor is the world’s most advanced fighter, but is it invincible? Internet rumors have swirled for months over whether any F-22s had been taken down in simulated combat exercises. Discussion forums are rife with Navy pilots touting a controversial photo appearing to show an F/A-18F Super Hornet gunning down a Raptor. The F-22’s debut combat exercise was at Northern Edge in June 2006. According to Air Force data, the dozen F-22s in attendance racked up an unprecedented kill record of 144-0 the first week alone an…

In the news, but they're not novelty news: http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/NGC-In...5468/#more-5468 But in retrospective, the case is worst. I remember to read some time ago the same thing in Norman Polmar & K.J. Moore "Cold War Submarines" about the very bad welding in Los Angeles and Ohio classes, giving for the Ohio class SSBN a test depth of 300 meters and for Los Angeles/Providence/San Juan SSN a test depth of only 290 meters (in consecuence, both classes only capable of intermediate depth in the PC game scale), compared with the gived test depth in the same book for the previous Thresher/Permit and Sturgeon classes of 400 meters (both classes capable …

Navy DDG-51 and DDG-1000 Destroyer Programs: Background and Issues for Congress (pdf, Congressional Research Service)

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

Boeing Tests Redesigned Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile (Naval News) Like the sim, the missile just won't go away. ☺️

Revolutionizing Electronic Warfare JSF Will Combine Strike, Jamming, Intelligence ISRJournal By MICHAEL FABEY August 23, 2005 The U.S. Marine Corps wants its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to be more than an affordable replacement for the Harrier close-air-support plane; it wants the next-generation aircraft to jam the cell phones that trigger roadside bombs. “For about the past six months, the Marines have been coming to us and asking if there was anything the JSF could do to support the guys on the ground, to shut down a communications system,” said David Jeffreys, a program manager with F-35 maker Lockheed Martin. And in February, the Marines…

From Defense Aerospace Want Real Missile Defense Soon? Put KEI to Sea (Source: The Lexington Institute; issued April 23, 2007) By Daniel Goure, Ph.D. More than six years into the Bush Administration and what do we have to show for its investment of billions of dollars in missile defense? Precious little is the answer. To defend the nation we are relying on a waterlogged Ground-Based Missile Defense (GMD) site at Fort Greeley, Alaska with about a dozen interceptors. A few more missiles have been deployed at Vandenburg AFB in California. There are a small number of Navy cruisers equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system and a number of Army PAC-3 …

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…

Topping Off a Carrier: GERALD R FORD (CVN 78) Island Landing (DefenseNews' Intercepts blog) Lots of pics.

From Aviation Week GPS Issue Latest In History Of JASSM Problems Jul 31, 2007 Amy Butler/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report At least eight components of the Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) have caused problems during the stealthy cruise missile's troubled past, contributing to the missile's 42 percent failure rate in recent months. All of the issues are being addressed and some of the involved systems are being fixed or replaced (see chart p. 2). The steady stream of issues, though, demonstrates a pattern of failures that traces back to the first lot of deliveries. As part of a get-well plan for the $5.8 billion prog…

From Defense Aerospace Boeing Delivers First Production EA-18G Growler to U.S. Navy (Source: Boeing Co.; issued Sept. 25, 2007) ST. LOUIS --- The Boeing Company yesterday delivered the first production EA-18G Growler to the U.S. Navy ahead of schedule and within budget. "The Growler team put together a program plan that...has remained on cost and schedule, while meeting or exceeding all performance parameters. I don't get to say that very often about our programs," said The Hon. Delores Etter, assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, during the delivery ceremony at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems facilities in St. Louis. …

From Defense Aerospace

From Navy Times Fleet scrambles to meet BMD ship demand By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jan 4, 2010 8:17:17 EST No sooner did the Aegis ballistic missile defense system become operational in 2008 than combatant commanders started asking for BMD-equipped ships to begin patrolling their areas. U.S. Central Command needed a “shooter” in the northern Persian Gulf. European Command wanted one in the eastern Mediterranean. Pacific Command already had Aegis ships with limited BMD capabilities on guard around Japan for a potential launch from North Korea. The demand for BMD ships is expected to increase, driven in part by rising concerns a…