Current Events in the Americas

Some 30 will be carried by a single F-16, with propeller and electric batteries: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/03/08/inside-the-secretive-pentagon-office-planning-skyborg-fighters-and-drone-swarms/ http://warisboring.com/articles/imagine-f-16s-deploying-swarms-of-tiny-drones/

CV32: cough ... South Atlantic battleset ... cough From BBC [excerpt]

From Defense Aerospace Navy Terminates Littoral Combat Ship 3 (Source: US Department of Defense; issued April 12, 2007) Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today that the Department of the Navy is terminating construction of the third Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 3) for convenience under the Termination clause of the contract because the Navy and Lockheed Martin could not reach agreement on the terms of a modified contract. The Navy issued a stop-work order on construction on LCS 3 in January following a series of cost overruns on LCS 1 and projection of cost increases on LCS 3, which are being built by Lockheed Martin under a cost-plus contract. …

From Jane's [excerpt]

From Navy News, obtained at Military.com August 27, 2008 Navy News|by Mass Comm. Spc. 3rd Class Coleman Thompson VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Command of patrol coastal ships USS Tempest (PC 2) and USS Monsoon (PC 4) was returned to the U.S. Navy from the U.S. Coast Guard during a ceremony held at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek Aug. 22. Tempest has been on loan to the Coast Guard since December 2005, and Monsoon was on loan since October 2004. Both ships were transferred back to naval control during a ceremony that exemplified the interoperability of the two services. "The Navy and the Coast Guard have a great working relationship," said Cmdr. Stephen Coughl…

Liberals to buy 18 Boeing Super Hornet fighter jets to fill 'capability gap' (CBC)

U.S. House Panel: Cap DD(X) Buy at 2 DefenseNews At about $4 billion per ship, the U.S. Navy’s DD(X)/DG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer is just too expensive, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett said. So on April 2, the House subcommittee that Bartlett heads passed legislation to limit the program to just two ships. That means $2.6 billion for the 2007 defense budget to buy one ship and begin detailed designs for a second. But after that, no more. “That is my wish,” Bartlett explained after the unanimous vote by the House Armed Services projection forces subcommittee. [ MORE ]

From NOSINT The San Juan Islands are such a lovely place ... great scenery, good food, whale-watching and last but not least - liberals. They don't like the sound the US Navy's jets at neighboring Whidbey Island Naval Air Station makes (want some cheese with that whine?) It's obvious, they don't realize that throaty roar is the sound of freedom. Every day they take for granted the freedoms they enjoy, all because of the distinctive sound of those Prowler and Hornet engines and the men an women who drive those aircraft, along with others like them on the ground and sea, who serve in the other branches of our armed forces.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com AMARILLO, Texas --- Bell Boeing delivered the first Block B version of the V-22 Osprey today to the U.S. Marine Corps in ceremonies at Bell's manufacturing facility here. The Block B aircraft has software upgrades, reliability and maintainability improvements over existing V-22 aircraft. It was accepted by Col. Bill Taylor, PMA 275 Program Manager, Naval Air Systems Command, who has responsibility for the management of the V-22 Program for the Government, and LtGen Jim Amos, Commanding General, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. The aircraft will enter service with Marine Corps squadron VMM 263 at Marine Corps Air Station new River,…

Ousted USAF chief continues controversial fight for F-22 production (Jane's)

From Aviation Week LCS-1 On Course, Lockheed And Navy Say Jan 15, 2009 By Michael Fabey The U.S. Navy’s first Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1), USS Freedom, has been performing up to specifications in sea trails, according to prime contractor Lockheed Martin, and the Navy says the program is back on course following its restructuring. “We were out on Lake Michigan for 10 days in all kinds of water,” said Joe North, Lockheed vice president and LCS program manager. “The more she rises [off the surface at speed], the more stable she is. But there was nothing that surprised us. We had been doing this on paper for so many years.” Commissioned in November, the shi…

Navy Has Finalized Specifications for New Ohio-Replacement Boomer (USNI News)

Army Expected to Sell Off Thousands of Surplus 1911 Pistols (Kit Up!) A great opportunity for some of you to grab a piece of history.

Pentagon Caps LCS at 32 Hulls, Hagel Directs Navy to Evaluate Capable and Lethal Frigate Designs (USNI News)

From DefenseNews [excerpt] CV32: The 'black sheep' of the USAF family being sacrificed?

From Defense Aerospace Joint Common Missile: Why Argue With Success? (Source: The Lexington Institute; issued Feb. 21, 2007) By Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Here's a fantasy. Imagine three military services agreed on the need for a versatile air-to-ground missile that could precisely destroy a wide range of elusive targets -- everything from camouflaged armored vehicles to terrorist speedboats. Imagine they found a low-cost design that could do those things day or night, good weather or bad, even when enemies were trying to jam the missile. Imagine the services selected a company that developed the missile on time and on cost, meeting all of its performance object…

US Navy Sizes Up Future Does the Navy have the right strategy and resources to meet future threats? by Ted McKenna Aug. 19, 2005 eDefense The US Navy still wants to fight the Battle of Midway, some critics say. Does it have the money to field a fleet that can, though, as well as fight the "global war on terror"? A growing percentage of the world's population lives in littoral areas, near the water, often in poverty and amid ethnic strife. The Navy must prepare to fight conflicts in such areas and wants to be fast and flexible in deploying forces, vehicles, and other assets on shore. As senior officers in the service point out, the Navy must prepare i…

Subsonic, employed to extend range of one or two guided bomb and ASM/ARM/AAM in each, or simply as extended aircraft pylon if not launched, and to be produced some 500 each month from 2018 (My estimates: speed=516 knots, range=172 nm): http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/news/a28100/darpa-factory-in-a-can-drones/ http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/14161/darpas-flying-missile-rail-seems-to-be-more-about-manufacturing-than-combat

Roughead Outlines Future For Pacific By William Cole, Advertiser Military Writer PEARL HARBOR — The new submarine USS Hawaii will be commissioned Saturday on the East Coast, and "the bias will continue to be toward the Pacific and Pearl Harbor" as decisions are made on where to base other subs, the outgoing commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet said. Adm. Gary Roughead said as the new Virginia-class attack submarines continue to come on line, "you are going to see the numbers in substantial amounts out here in Pearl Harbor." The USS Hawaii, the first of those, will arrive in 2009. After nearly two years in the same bunker office that was once occupied by Adm. Ch…

With interesting comparative graphics of ASM ranges: http://breakingdefense.com/2017/07/navy-warships-get-new-heavy-missile-2500-lb-lrasm/?_ga=2.104116160.1362042610.1501179798-486591487.1497889324&utm_content=buffera0230&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer