Current Events in the Americas

Navy Declares Initial Operational Capability for New Rolling Airframe Missile (Seapower) It would be nice to add this throughout the HCDB, but unfortunately we don't have the room.

From DefenseNews [That little ship some people love to hate is attracting attention again ... ] Posted 10/26/06 13:57 Lockheed’s LCS Draws International Interest By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS, LE BOURGET, France A steady stream of uniformed and civilian visitors from many countries stopped by the Lockheed Martin desk during Euronaval, the biannual European naval show here that showcases the latest in naval concepts and hardware. And while the American company touted its Aegis combat system and approaches to open architecture, the majority of visitors wanted to know about the flashiest thing on the Lockheed stand — the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). “There have bee…

Research begins on new anti-ship missile By Philip Ewing - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 13, 2009 6:34:55 EDT Find NavyTimes article here. Even as some Navy commanders quietly worry about the potential threat from foreign anti-ship missiles, fewer American warships have gone to sea in the past decade with anti-ship weapons of their own. But that might change. Surface ships could get a powerful weapon to use against surface targets as part of an experimental program announced in late June — the first new U.S. anti-ship missile in a quarter-century. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research issued a $10 million co…

New generation join US/Spanish phased array radar for frigates in development: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/173894/lockheed,-indra-demo-next_gen-radar-for-future-spanish-frigates.html

Marine Corps TV - JSF Update Bah, link apparently crapped out. If you want to view, go to usmc.mil, then "News", then "MarinesTV"

From Flight Global [excerpt]

From Navy Times April 29, 2005 Time is up for Grim Reapers By William H. McMichael Times staff writer OCEANA NAVAL AIR STATION, Va. — The F-14 Tomcat is fading into the sunset. And so are the Grim Reapers. The Navy’s only Tomcat training squadron will be gone for good by mid-September. The squadron has trained its last new Tomcat pilot. Training continues but only for a few veteran, senior fliers going through post-shore duty refresher training before returning to the fleet. From a late-1990s high of more than 60 jets and a personnel roster that topped 1,000, the squadron is down to nine jets, 70 enlisted sailors, 25 officers and about 100 civilian cont…

LCS-4 Trials Halted After Engine Fires (Aviation Week) Newest LCS Suffers Fire at Sea, Damage ‘Minor’ (DefenseNews)

From Air Force Link Langley officials fight to keep F-22s from being damaged by Tech. Sgt. Russell Wicke Air Combat Command Public Affairs 4/9/2008 - LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- The Air Force's newest and most technologically advanced fighter, the F-22 Raptor, is under attack here. Free-falling clams dropped by in-flight birds are regular air threats to the F-22 as gulls drop fist-sized mollusks on the Langley Air Force Base runway to break open the shell-fish appetizer. The birds' shelling device just happens to be a convenient launch pad for the F-22. Although the gulls remove half their mess -- slurping up tender meat from the runway -- they…

State of Defense (Defense One)

DND Defers HMCS Chicoutimi Repair article (Source: Canadian Department of National Defence; issued April 27, 2006) OTTAWA --- The Department of National Defence today announced that repairs to Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Chicoutimi, damaged by fire in 2004, will be deferred until 2010 when a two-year refit on the submarine is conducted. This decision means that repairs caused by the 2004 fire incident will be conducted at the same time as the two-year refit process known as the Extended Dock Work Period, which is scheduled for 2010. If the repair process had begun immediately, HMCS Chicoutimi would have been back in service for less than two …

From Air Force Times Tanker contract to be awarded in December By Donna Borak - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Aug 20, 2007 6:56:27 EDT WASHINGTON — The Air Force will award a much-anticipated multibillion-dollar tanker refueling contract at the end of the year, extending talks with bidders beyond the October deadline Wall Street anticipated. Either Boeing Co. or Northrop Grumman Corp. will emerge as the winner of the $40 billion Air Force deal to replace 179 aerial refueling tankers. One industry analyst said the extension of talks signals extra caution by the service because of a controversy that engulfed the tanker program several years ago. The…

Lockheed working on new air-to-air hit-to-kill missile (Flight Global)

From Defense Aerospace Canada Awards Contract for Strategic Airlift (Source: Government of Canada; issued Feb. 2, 2007) OTTAWA — The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence, together with the Honourable Michael M. Fortier, Minister of Public Works, and the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry today announced The Boeing Company has been awarded the contract to supply strategic airlift aircraft to the Canadian Forces. The agreement fulfills a commitment by Canada's New Government to pursue defence procurement initiatives that equip and strengthen our military and provide economic benefits across the country. “Canada's New Gov…

From Ares [excerpt]

Northrop unveils first MQ-4C Triton

Royal Navy's Flagship HMS Ocean Could Be Sold to Brazil (Defense Aerospace)

From DefenseNews U.S. Navy Drafting 'Naval Operational Concept' By christopher p. cavas Published: 21 Oct 19:34 EDT (23:34 GMT) Deploying U.S. naval forces must be more flexible, able to split up and re-form in different combinations as situations require. The fleet still needs 11 aircraft carriers to meet its missions but more amphibious ships are required to support new missions. The number of formal and informal maritime partnerships will continue to grow. Even when mine-hunting Littoral Combat Ships come into service, a gap will remain in the Navy's ability to combat the undersea threat. Ballistic missile defense is increasingly seen as a basic naval capabil…

From Flight Global DATE:25/06/09 SOURCE:Flight International Obama threatens vetoes on F-22, F136 decisions By Stephen Trimble The Obama administration has threatened to veto legislation that would extend production of the Lockheed Martin F-22 and continue funding the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 alternate engine at the expense of the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The White House threat, delivered to Congress on 24 June, strikes back at a vote last week by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that re-inserted funding for both programmes in the fiscal year 2010 defence authorisation bill, and draws a clear line in the sand against "earmarks" …

From Aviation Week New Bomber To Focus Heavily On ISR Dec 17, 2009 By David A. Fulghum The U.S. Air Force’s ISR chief says a new bomber design will be more about intelligence gathering and non-kinetic weapons than about bombing. The arsenal of this “long-range, ISR/Strike” aircraft may eventually include directed energy and network attack, says Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Directed energy weapons under development by the Pentagon include a range of lasers and devices that produce pulses of high-power microwaves. Other non-kinetic capabilities include the attack of enemy sensors with…