Current Events in the Americas

25,000-ton cruiser under consideration Analysis of alternatives sees nuclear BMD vessel By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 23, 2007 19:01:31 EDT Under pressure from the Navy to develop a new cruiser based on the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class hull form, and from Congress to incorporate nuclear power, a group of analysts working on the next big surface combatant may recommend two different ships to form the CG(X) program. One ship would be a 14,000-ton derivative of the DDG 1000, an “escort cruiser,” to protect aircraft carrier strike groups. The vessel would keep the tumblehome hull of the DDG 1000 and its gas turbine power plant. The oth…

From Navy Times New CNO pick could come any time, sources say By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jul 17, 2007 7:30:21 EDT The Navy’s search for a new chief of naval operations is underway, with an announcement of a nominee expected to come as early as this week, sources tell Navy Times. In June, President Bush nominated the current CNO, Adm. Mike Mullen, to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If approved by the Senate, Mullen will take over for Marine Gen. Peter Pace, who is slated to retire at the end of his term Oct. 1. A date has yet to be set for Mullen’s Senate confirmation hearing. The leading candidate for CNO remains…

De Gustibus Naval Gazing: A Top Gun Fantasy Comes True By Bret Stephens Aboard the USS Harry S Truman -- An hour before dusk, the air crew of the USS Truman -- several hundred men and women of every rank and job description -- gathers at the front end of the deck to walk its 1,100 foot length, looking for tiny pieces of debris. A stray piece of metal sucked into the intake of a fighter jet could cause catastrophic damage to the plane and the pilot and terrible damage to the ship. "We don't think of this as a dangerous business," says Rear Adm. Bill Gortney, an F-18 pilot who also commands the Truman's battle group of cruisers, destroyers and submarines. "It's …

From DefenseNews Posted 07/10/07 20:58 Brazil To Invest $500 Million in Nuclear-Powered Sub By REUTERS, BRASILIA Brazil will invest $500 million to revive a long-stalled navy project to build a nuclear-propelled submarine, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said July 10. “We are going to apply the necessary resources to conclude this project,” Lula said at a nuclear research facility in Sao Paulo state. The project requires 1 billion reais ($500 million) invested over eight years, he said. A nuclear-powered submarine could patrol the vast waters off Brazil’s coastline more effectively, Navy Commander Adm. Julio Soares de Moura has said. Brazil has five conve…

Navy furious over LPD 17 By Christopher P. Cavas - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 11:15:46 EDT Northrop Grumman has received a scathing rebuke from the secretary of the Navy for its performance on the LPD 17 amphibious ship program. The company was criticized for poor construction standards and an inability to meet cost and schedule targets — factors that are causing the Navy concerns about future ship construction at Northrop’s shipyards along the Gulf of Mexico. “I am deeply concerned about Northrop Grumman Ship Systems’ (NGSS) ability to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, particularly in regard to construction of LPD 17 Class vessel…

5 disciplined in Arleigh Burke grounding By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 9, 2007 5:53:51 EDT NORFOLK, Va. — Cmdr. E.J. McClure, former captain of the destroyer Arleigh Burke, was administratively disciplined July 3 along with her executive officer and two other officers in a nonjudicial hearing convened in response to the ship running aground May 15. “Appropriate administrative actions” were taken against the four Arleigh Burke officers, said Lt. Cmdr. Herb Josey, public affairs officer for Naval Surface Force Atlantic. He did not disclose the nature of the actions due to privacy considerations. The commodore of Destroyer Squadron 2, C…

Ships flagged for lack thereof Navy custom not observed by some By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Sunday Jul 8, 2007 10:23:48 EDT NORFOLK, Va. — Eight ships of the 2nd Fleet caused a few internal fireworks July 4. A message from 2nd Fleet command to units of 2nd Fleet reminded all that “on President’s Day and on Independence Day every ship of the Navy in commission, not underway, shall full-dress ship.” It then tersely noted that the cruisers Cape St. George and Vella Gulf, destroyers Arleigh Burke, The Sullivans, Porter, James E. Williams, Forrest Sherman, and the dock landing ship Shreveport — all of which were in port for the holiday — were not…

A floating junkyard’ Environmental risks keep mothball fleets at anchor By Marcus Wohlsen - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Jul 6, 2007 7:31:47 EDT BENICIA, Calif. — From afar, the ghostly warships recall a fierce phalanx ready for battle. A closer look, though, shows the rust and rot of ships unfit for duty or even dismantling, a quandary that is costing U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars and could cause environmental misery that will cost millions more. This is the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, a collection of once-valiant troop transports, tankers and other vessels dating back to World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Before they can be scrapped and sold, …

Mayport, JFK were terror targets, paper says By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Jul 5, 2007 11:48:07 EDT A group of 45 Muslim doctors threatened terrorist attacks at Naval Base Mayport, Fla., the British newspaper the Telegraph reported Thursday. British authorities discovered details of the threats on a Web site run by a “cyber-terrorist” gang, the newspaper account said. The group of 45 doctors, which investigators believe have no link with the recently detained doctors and medics involved with car bomb attempts in London and Glasgow, planned to “undertake jihad and take the battle inside America,” according to the story. The fi…

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 Defense Aerospace Navy Ship $840 Million Over Budget and Still Unfinished (Source: The Virginian-Pilot; published June 30, 2007) By Louis Hansen NORFOLK, VA --- The highly touted nerve center of the new, $1.8 billion amphibious ship San Antonio is fraught with computer hardware crashes that could cripple operations. The ship lacks basic safety equipment, such as hand rails and reliable guns to battle close-in attacks. In all, Navy inspectors found 30 major flaws aboard the San Antonio, according to an internal report obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. Despite the deficiencies, the Navy has earmarked $13 billion to purchase nine amphibious ships …

CNN WASHINGTON (AP) -- A mechanical monster grabs the F-14 fighter jet and chews through one wing and then another, ripping off the Tomcat's appendages before moving on to its guts. Finally, all that's left is a pile of shredded rubble -- like scraps from a Thanksgiving turkey. Rows of retired F-14 jets await demolition Monday at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The Pentagon is paying a contractor at least $900,000 to destroy old F-14s, a jet affectionately nicknamed "the turkey," rather than sell the spares. The Pentagon fears that if the surplus jets aren't destroyed, they could fall into the wrong hands, including Iran's. Within a workda…

Destroyer hits target in missile defense test By Kris Osborn - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 15:20:18 EDT For the first time, an Aegis radar-equipped Navy destroyer test-fired an interceptor missile, hitting a target 250 miles off the coast of Hawaii on June 22, Missile Defense Agency officials said. The Standard Missile (SM-3) fired from the destroyer Decatur rammed its target during the midcourse phase of its flight, roughly 100 miles above the Pacific Ocean, according to MDA and Lockheed Martin officials. Previous Aegis BMD tests have been aboard cruisers. During the test, the Aegis combat system used data radioed from a Terminal Hig…

F-35 Navy Version Undergoes Successful Design Review, Readies for Production FORT WORTH, Texas --- The U.S. Navy's F-35C Lightning II carrier variant has completed its Air System Critical Design Review (CDR), a significant development milestone that verifies the design maturity of the aircraft and its associated systems. The review was conducted June 18-22 at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, and involved officials from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office, the F-35 international-participant nations and the F-35 contractor team. Completion of the CDR is a prerequisite for the F-35C to move into Low Rate Initial Production. …

General Dynamics' Work On Marine Corps Vehicle Under Fire In Congress General Dynamics Corp. demonstrated poor performance the last 12 years in developing a new U.S. Marine Corps amphibious warfare vehicle that's now almost five years behind schedule, a top lawmaker said Tuesday. The transport has repeatedly failed tests designed to show it can perform without breakdowns. The cost per vehicle has risen to $13.3 million from $5.31 million, calculated in mid-1990s dollars. In 2007 dollars, the cost is estimated at $21 million apiece. Still, the Marine Corps has paid Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics its fixed fee of $43 million, almost 80 percent…

Corps to delete low-altitude air defense MOS By John Hoellwarth - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Jun 27, 2007 15:20:12 EDT After the Corps’ last stinger missile battalion closes shop at the end of this fiscal year, every Marine with a low-altitude air defense military occupational specialty must pick a new job, according to a June 22 Corps-wide message. When 1st Stinger Battery, headquartered at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, deactivates Sept. 30, what’s left of the MOS’s structure “will be deleted” and “every effort” will be made to train its Marines in another specialty if they stay on active duty, according to MarAdmin 381/07. First-term Mar…

The Power Of The Navy By H.D.S. Greenway NEWPORT, R.I. -- 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt made an extraordinary gesture to illustrate American global reach and power. He had 16 battleships painted white and sent them on a round-the-world voyage. "The Great White Fleet," as it came to be known, was painted white to show America's peaceful intentions, but the message was clear. America was a force to be reckoned with. The ships sailed for 14 months and visited 20 ports on six continents. Enthusiastic crowds greeted the ships everywhere. The battle fleet was mostly obsolete and no match for British and German "dreadnoughts " then coming off the wa…

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286521,00.html He sure does talk a big game.

Painting A Rosy Picture Of A Costly Fighter Jet By Leslie Wayne LE BOURGET, France, June 21 — With jets screaming overhead, macho often mixes with Mach 1 here at the Paris air show. But the Lockheed Martin Corporation chose a softer approach to show the might of its next-generation radar-evading, supersonic fighter jet. It commissioned nine international artists to portray the multibillion-dollar combat plane in a variety of imaginary scenes — sailing over the Canadian Northwest, hovering over a British naval carrier and gliding above Sydney Harbor in Australia. The unveiling of the paintings here was a case of making virtue out of necessity. Lockheed’s Joint Strik…

From Air Force Times Last F-16A retires from service Staff report Posted : Wednesday Jun 20, 2007 16:02:25 EDT The last operational U.S. F-16A Fighting Falcon completed its final mission June 15 when it flew from Tucson Air National Guard Base, Ariz., and touched down at the so-called bone yard — the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. The plane belonged to the 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson, which has converted to the C and D models. “We constantly transition to newer, more advanced aircraft because that’s what pilots will fly when they graduate from our program,” said wing commander Brig. Gen. Rick Moisio. …