Current Events in the Americas

A pilot friend of mine has a new job, but it means he will have to move from this island to a much smaller one in the Caribbean. Poor fella ... From Defense Industry Daily Canadian Firm Wins $100M Maritime Reconnaissance Contract from Dutch Posted 24-Jul-2006 07:18 In the fall of 2003, the Dutch government announced the retirement and sale of its P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft fleet, including 2 aircraft stationed at Curacao that flew missions for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The Orions were sold to Germany (8) and Portugal (5), but their services needed to be replaced. Australia's contracted public-private Coastwatch approach offers a solid mod…

High-Flying, Secret Drone Unveiled DefenseTech Lockheed Martin has pulled the lid off of a secret, stealthy, high-flying drone. Built and flown by its famous "Skunk Works" division, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could serve as a model for a new generation of robotic aircraft that hits targets halfway around the world. With a 90-foot wingspan and a tailless design, the "Polecat" UAV looks like a smaller version of the B-2 stealth bomber. And like the B-2, the drone has been built to be stealthy and sneaky. But the twin-engine Polecat is "90 percent composite materials, rather than metal," the L.A. Daily News notes. "The vehicle is also made from less than 200 …

From Defense Aerospace First British Pilot to Finish Raptor Training (Source: US Air Force; issued July 18, 2006) TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --- The first British pilot to complete F-22 Raptor training graduated this week at Tyndall Air Force Base. Flight Lt. Dan Robinson, from the Royal Air Force, is assigned to Langley Air Force Base, Va. He has completed two months of training with the 43rd Fighter Squadron as part of an exchange program. In return, an American fighter pilot will be trained and fly side-by-side with the Royal Air Force on the new EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon. For the coalition, the benefit of the exchange program is the implementa…

From Air Force Times July 07, 2006 JSF named ‘Lightning II’ By Laura M. Colarusso Times staff writer With a nod to Air Force history, the service’s chief of staff has dubbed the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “Lightning II.” Gen. T. Michael Moseley announced the decision Friday at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where the stealthy multi-role fighter is made. He based the decision on input received from airmen as well as the other services and coalition partners involved in the JSF program, said Maj. Glen Roberts, a spokesman for the general. The P-38 Lightning, the JSF’s namesake, was designed in the late 1930s and was used during World W…

From Navy Times July 07, 2006 Carrier Reagan returns from maiden deployment By Gidget Fuentes Times staff writer CORONADO, Calif. — With a swarm of colorful posters and festive balloons all around him, Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class (AW/SW) Ruel Concepcion took in a deep breath and glanced at his ship. “It looks like it’s been through a lot,” said Concepcion, 43, of San Francisco. “I can’t believe it, a six-month deployment. Her first one. This is memorable.” The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, all 1,092 feet of military might, had nudged to its berth at North Island Naval Air Station on Thursday to complete its maiden operational deployment.…

From Defense-Aerospace Pentagon Contract Announcement (Source: US Department of Defense; issued June 27, 2006) Lockheed Martin Corp. Maritime Systems & Sensors, Moorestown, N.J., is being awarded a $197,644,515 cost-plus-incentive-fee/award-fee modification under a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for construction of one Flight 0 Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The LCS will be a networked, agile, and high-speed surface combatant with versatile war-fighting capabilities optimized for littoral missions. Work will be performed in Lockport, La. (63 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (36 percent); and Arlington, Va. (1 percent), and is expected to…

U.S. At Risk From Boats Packed with Explosives: Admiral By CAROLINE DREES and EDGAR ANG, REUTERS Find it here. The United States must close security gaps that could let small boats packed with explosives slip into ports and stage attacks like the one that killed 17 personnel on the U.S. warship Cole in Yemen, the new Coast Guard chief said on May 31. Adm. Thad Allen, who took over as commandant of the Coast Guard last week, said officials had to do more to help thwart such stealthy strikes, which could cause massive damage to ports, oil facilities, ports, cruise ships or tankers. "Our own threat analysis and vulnerability analysis tell us there is a …

here Can someone enlighten me as to why shooting down a ballistic missile in its "final seconds of flight" versus further away is a good thing? I can see as a last defense against missiles which have gotten through the longer range defenses, but any type of "weapons of mass effects - WME" warhead such as chemical or biological agents would still be dispersed over a wide area by the destruction of the missile.

From Navy Times May 17, 2006 Oriskany is sunk By Larry Wheeler Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal Oriskany has sunk. The last tip of the vessel’s hurricane bow disappeared into the Gulf at approximately 11 a.m. Local officials in Pensacola are hopeful the Oriskany settled on the sea floor in an upright position. But no one would know for sure until Navy divers check the vessel later Wednesday. Navy engineers predicted the Oriskany would sink evenly in a process that would take up to five hours. Instead, the old aircraft carrier went down in approximately 35 minutes, sinking sharply by the fantail. “I thought it went down as planned, but it is hard to …

From Aviation Now Hunter Suggests NATO Take Over JFK Flattop By Michael Bruno 05/15/2006 10:25:52 AM The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is suggesting NATO take over the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier, which the U.S. Navy and the Bush administration want to retire early for budget reasons. The move would keep the flattop active to some degree while providing an incentive for NATO allies to further fund and develop their own defense capabilities, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) told Capitol Hill reporters May 11. "We want the administration to talk to NATO about the John F. Kennedy being a NATO ship," Hunter said. "Typically the United …

Find document here Continued employment of EA-6b or further development and investment in EA-18G? EA-6B should be able to meet USN SEAD requirements through 2017 and USMC through 2025 provided sufficient ICAP III electronic suites.

Venezuelan President warns against US Navy in Caribbean 2006-05-08 21:23:08 CRIENGLISH.com President Hugo Chavez is accusing the US military of trying to threaten Venezuela with naval exercises it is holding in the Caribbean this month. He said that the presence of a US aircraft carrier in the Caribbean Sea, the USS George Washington, wouldn't scare Venezuelans, who are preparing to repel a possible US invasion by training guerrilla-style resistance fighters. "They can sail the Caribbean with their fleet as much as they like. They are not going to threaten us, they are not going to frighten us, we are not frightened of this paper empire. We are free!…

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 ]

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 …

article Navy to Base First Four Littoral Combat Ships in San Diego (Source: US Department of Defense; issued April 27, 2006) The Navy announced today that the first four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) will be homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif. Key in the success of implementing these new concepts is the ability to collocate these ships to achieve readiness alignment and economy of scale. This collocation is especially important for the first ships in the class as waterfront facilities, infrastructure, training and maintenance efficiencies are developed. San Diego was chosen as the initial homeport because of the Navy’s increased emphasis …

Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Demonstrates Network Capability in Multiple JDAM Drop here (Source: Boeing Co.; issued April 18, 2006) ST. LOUIS --- Boeing has successfully demonstrated the capability of an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to provide targeting coordinates to other aircraft using the Raytheon APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system. During the test at the Naval Air Weapons Center at China Lake, Calif., an AESA-equipped F/A-18F created a long-range, high resolution synthetic aperture radar map and designated four closely-spaced stationary targets. The aircraft then data-linked two target designations to non-AESA equipped Super…

Team Tests Pod at 'Litening' Speed Find It Here (Source: US Air Force; issued April 18, 2006) EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --- Three Air Force units have started accelerated testing of a Litening-AT targeting pod. The 416th Flight Test Squadron here is working with the 85th Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and the 422nd OTES at Nellis AFB, Nev., to update the existing Litening pod with several new capabilities for warfighters, including a video downlink transmitter currently used in the Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. "The transmitter, called the ROVER Module, was pulled out of the Predator and allows …

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…

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…

Successful Test of an AIM-9X Missile by a Raytheon-Led Team Demonstrates Potential for Low Cost Solution in Littoral Joint Battlespace Monday February 6, 10:10 am ET Yahoo TEWKSBURY, Mass., Feb. 6, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- A Raytheon-led team successfully launched an AIM-9X from a stationary, vertical platform last November. The missile successfully locked on after launch and hit its target in a test of its potential launch from a submarine. The test was conducted for the Naval Sea Systems Command at the U.S. Army's McGregor Test Range in New Mexico Nov. 19, 2005. A successful test firing matures the technology that will provide the Navy with a new capability when …