Current Events in the Americas

More bad news on JSF, as far as the GAO is concerned ... JSF: Additional Costs and Delays Risk Not Meeting Warfighter Requirements on Time

The drama called the US defense budget saga, can be likened to a poorly cast and predictably-plotted soap opera! Here's the source: http://defensenews.com/story.php?c=AME&amp...49668&s=SEA Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the US shipbuilding industry is getting a high priority in our national defense. What I'm saying is - its overrated. Two flavors of LCS (which are white elephants). The Danish experimented with "multi-purpose" warships and found they didn't work. The Virginia class SSN, while nice is not the best platform for the job. UW is shifting from the deep blue water of the oceans to the littoral. It's like taking a race horse and strapping it to a log…

A pretty good article on a subject that probably not a lot of people are aware of. The Bermuda Triangle of Space: The High-Energy South Atlantic Anomaly Threatens Satellites (DefenseNews)

Will The F-14 Fly Again? Maverick Act Passes U.S. Senate 😃🫣

From Navy Times May 09, 2005 Official report: Leadership, navigation errors led to San Francisco accident By William H. McMichael Times Staff Writer Failures of command leadership and the sub’s navigation team were the sole cause of the attack submarine San Francisco’s Jan. 8 collision with an undersea mountain, the Navy has concluded in its official investigative report. The sub struck the sea mount while traveling full speed near the Pacific Ocean’s Caroline Islands at a depth of 525 feet, killing one sailor, injuring dozens of others and crushing the sub’s bow, causing more than $88 million in damage and leaving the 24-year-old sub’s future in doubt. …

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 Defense Aerospace [excerpt]

From Defence Aerospace Navy's First Littoral Combat Ship Honors Freedom (Source: US Department of Defense; issued May 9, 2005) Secretary of the Navy Gordon England has selected the name Freedom for the Navy’s first new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The future USS Freedom acknowledges the enduring foundation of our nation and honors American communities from coast to coast which bear the name Freedom. States having towns named Freedom range from New York to California, and include Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming. “These new, fast and capable ships will increase the effectiveness of our naval forces and provide…

From Air Force Times Barksdale bombers expand B-52 capabilities Recreation of historic 1938 mission points to future By John Andrew Prime - The Shreveport Times Posted : Sunday Aug 26, 2007 13:57:20 EDT Three Barksdale Air Force Base B-52s used a modern twist to a historic mission almost 70 years old to add a dramatic new capability to the bomber’s long list of tricks. Flying almost 10 hours and putting about 3,500 miles under their wings Friday, the trio of veteran bombers pinpointed a specific ship several hundred miles east of Bermuda then spent two hours gathering images and information about it. In May 1938, three B-17 bombers from what was then th…

Congressional Chaos Costs U.S. Navy Millions, Leaves Ships in Limbo (DefenseNews) (Article includes reference to 10 Perry frigates intended for transfer)

Reports: Brazil Picks Sweden's Gripen Fighter Jet (DefenseNews)

US nuclear forces, 2014 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)

Yahoo News link Sadly, I don't think they'll find any survivors. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those on board.

RADM Horton Relieved Other punishments (Both links Information Dissemination).

From How the North-South divide plays out in three key swing states (Lexington Institute's Early Warning blog) [excerpt] Harpoon is no stranger to North vs South scenarios, however unpleasant such a prospect might be ...

From Air Force Times Service may buy more Raptors By Gayle S. Putrich - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Feb 13, 2007 6:31:11 EST MARIETTA, Ga. — As Lockheed Martin officials handed over the ceremonial keys to the Air Force Pacific Command’s first F-22 Raptor, the service’s No. 2 official said the Air Force is looking at funding plans for buying more than the planned 183 stealth fighters. The 2007 budget contains multi-year funding for the last 60 planned Raptors, including construction funds for 2007 and advance procurement money through 2009. The president’s 2008 budget proposal includes $281.9 million for the F-22 program. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff G…

From Flight International DATE:24/08/07 SOURCE:Flight International Lockheed tackles JSF power deficit By Stephen Trimble A shortage of electrical power on board the carrier variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has forced Lockheed Martin to launch a redesign of two key subsystems, even as flight tests are set to resume within the next few weeks. Lockheed engineers discovered in laboratory tests in late 2006 that the F-35C will need 33% more power than its on-board generator can provide. The aircraft's flight-control surfaces are powered by electro-hydrostatic actuators and the electrical system has to meet the condition when all the controls demand p…

From Northrop Grumman news release U.S. Navy Awards $1.16 Billion BAMS UAS Contract to Northrop Grumman LOS ANGELES - April 22, 2008 - The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) an 89-month, $1.16 billion contract for System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the service's new Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) program. The BAMS UAS will provide the U.S. Navy with a persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system to protect the fleet and provide a capability to detect, track, classify, and identify maritime and littoral targets. "We are honored that the Navy selected ou…

Time to change America's atomic arsenal (The Diplomat)

Navy Times DD1000