Current Events in the Americas

Jane's Defence Weekly April 12, 2006 USMC Looks To Revive OV-10s For Use In Iraq By Joshua Kucera, JDW Staff Reporter, Washington, DC The US Marine Corps is looking at the possibility of reviving the retired OV-10 Bronco observation aircraft for use in Iraq, according to a top service official. The aircraft, which was retired from US service in 1994, would be used to augment surveillance of roads in Iraq. Having additional aircraft there could increase the chances of US forces detecting the emplacement of roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), some service officials believe. "If this is a capability we think that will take out the…

AH-1Z/UH-1Y Complete Developmental Testing Here (Source: US Navy via Bell Helicopter; issued March 1, 2006) NAVAIR PATUXENT RIVER, MD --- The H-1 Upgrades Program, which is replacing aging Marine Corps UH-1N and AH-1W aircraft with upgraded and 84-percent identical UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft, completed developmental testing Feb. 17. Currently, the program is preparing to enter Operational Evaluation as well as to start a third Low-Rate Initial Production lot. Two of the five developmental test aircraft have already been transferred to the operational test squadron and are being used to train the Marines who will conduct the operational evaluation…

Miami Herald March 30, 2006 U.S. Defends Its Naval Exercise Amid talk by President Hugo Chávez of a planned attack, the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela said a naval exercise in the Caribbean was no cause for concern. By Associated Press CARACAS (AP) -- The U.S. ambassador to Venezuela downplayed the planned deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for naval exercises in the Caribbean amid claims by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that his nation must prepare for a possible U.S. invasion. The Doral-based U.S. Southern Command this week announced that the USS George Washington -- along with a destroyer, cruiser, frigate and a 60-plane air wing -- would cond…

From Aviation Week & Space Technology And so the real troubles of the JSF development begin. IMHO, the US has much to lose if this very important program goes belly up. What do you think ?

From Defense Aerospace US Military Squadron VMM-263 Ready to Write Next Chapter in Osprey Program (Source: US Marine Corps; issued March 7, 2006) MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. --- The future of Marine Corps aviation took a large step forward as hundreds of Marines, Sailors, Airmen, Soldiers and family members gathered to watch a ceremony in which the first operational MV-22 Osprey squadron was activated here March 3. “Commissioning (Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron-263) is a historic day for the ‘Thunder Chickens,’ for our Corps and for our nation,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Moore, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing commanding general. “We have introduced a …

Los Angeles Times February 28, 2006 Troubled Aircraft Nearly Battle-Ready By Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — The Marine Corps plans to send the troubled Osprey aircraft into combat within a year and is activating a squadron of the tilt-rotor planes this week. "Obviously, due to operational concerns we don't want to tell exactly when they will deploy," said spokesman Master Sgt. Phil Mehringer at Marine Corps Air Station New River in North Carolina, where the squadron will be based. "But it's certainly going to happen in the near future. Definitely, within a year." The Osprey, which takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies like an airplane, has had …

Norfolk Virginian-Pilot February 9, 2006 The Fight Over The New F-22 Raptor By Louis Hansen, The Virginian-Pilot HAMPTON — On a recent clear Sunday afternoon, Capt. John Echols took his fighter jet into the sky for another homeland security mission. The Air Force’s role in Operation Noble Eagle had grown routine since Sept. 11: Patrol the skies over East Coast cities and watch for planes drifting into restricted airspace. If a private pilot starts heading toward a potential target, the fighter pilots quickly introduce themselves and escort the intruder back on course. But Echols’ patrol this day was anything but routine. He and a wing mate flew o…

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report February 10, 2006 SEALs-Friendly Submarine Returns To Navy Fleet The first of four converted U.S. submarines, specifically designed to help special forces perform covert missions, returned to the Navy's fleet for service on Feb. 7. The USS Ohio, converted by General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat unit, is the first of four nuclear-powered ballistic missile subs (SSBNs) to be converted into cruise missile-laden, special forces-friendly SSGNs. The other three -- the USS Michigan, USS Florida and USS Georgia -- are slated to rejoin the fleet by 2007. Ohio was returned to service at a ceremony in Bangor, Wash. "Ohio's …

Defense Today February 9, 2006 Pg. 2 Henry: Raptor Is Needed, But Should Be Cut Rather Than JSF By Dave Ahearn The Air Force needs the F-22A Raptor supersonic stealth aircraft to provide air dominance, but cutting the number of Raptors to 183 from an Air Force request for 381 makes more sense than cutting the numbers of future F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft. So said Ryan Henry, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, speaking to journalists at a Defense Writers Group breakfast. During a periodic Pentagon assessment of long-range needs, ranging from personnel strength to weapons platform procurement, the study found that the…

Honolulu Star-Bulletin February 8, 2006 Navy's Top Admiral Endorses Strategic Shift To The Pacific By Gregg K. Kakesako The Navy's top admiral said yesterday that the majority of the Navy's 12 carriers will be based in the Pacific, reflecting the shifting security demands on the military and his plans to expand the fleet to 313 warships. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the chief of naval operations, said at a Pentagon news conference that he endorsed the Pentagon's recently unveiled strategic analysis, which calls for six carriers and 60 percent of its submarine fleet to be stationed in the Pacific. He did not comment on a nearly 3-year-old proposal to base …

313-Ship U.S. Navy Fleet Plan Sent to Congress By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS DefenseNews The long-awaited 30-year shipbuilding plan of Adm. Mike Mullen, U.S. Navy chief of operations, is now official. The strategy to build a 313-ship fleet was sent to Congress Feb. 7 after having been endorsed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The official plan mirrors earlier draft versions that were reported on by Defense News. It commits the Navy to a force of 11 aircraft carriers — dropping to 10 in fiscal 2013 and rising to 12 ships beginning in 2019. The submarine force dances around a median of 48 boats, from a high of 55 subs in 2018 to a low of 40 in 2028, before r…

Defense Today February 1, 2006 Pg. 1 Designing Small Destroyer Would Cost Years, Billions Of Loss By Dave Ahearn Designing a new, much smaller destroyer would cost the Navy at least part of its $7.5 billion investment in developing the cutting-edge DD(X) destroyer that now is poised for construction, and also would mean five years or so in designing and developing what would be a far lesser warship, a key admiral said in an interview. Rear Adm. Mark Buzby, deputy director for surface warfare, said the resultant ship wouldn't provide the Navy with many capabilities it requires to counter the current and clearly foreseeable threat environment. Further…

Navy Emphasizes Anti-Submarine Training By AUDREY McAVOY , 01.26.2006, 02:52 PM Associated Press Forbes Two Navy destroyers and a cruiser dangle sonar devices into the ocean to listen for enemy submarines lurking 50 miles from Honolulu. Naval aviators in P-3 surveillance planes and helicopters drop sonar buoys into the sea to give the sailors more ears below the surface. The submarines are not really enemy vessels at all, but U.S. subs participating in anti-submarine warfare training. The exercises, held Jan. 9-12, are something Navy sailors will be doing more of in coming years. The Pacific Fleet has made training to track and destroy submarines its to…

DARPA seeks supercavitation submarine UPI WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for a really fast, really small submarine. It's also seeking a major breakthrough in physics: making supercavitation actually work on a large scale. Supercavitation refers to a process of displacing water around a submerged vessel so that it travels in a gaseous or vaporous cavity. Theoretically, that can be done either by propelling a blunt-nosed vessel at a very high speed -- its nose forces the water out of the way -- or by injecting gas into a partially developed cavity, according to DARPA. The U.S. Navy has experimented with…

USAF KC-135s to Serve as Comms Relays Source: US Air Force Jan. 20, 2006 eDefense A KC-135 Stratotanker at Fairchild AFB, WA, was fitted with upgraded communications equipment recently that will revolutionize the battlespace and the way the US and its allies fight wars, according to US Air Force (USAF) officials. After 18 months on the drawing board, equipment developed under the Roll-On Beyond Line-of-Sight Enhancement (ROBE) Spiral 2 program has been fitted to the first KC-135 and will undergo testing at Eglin Air Force Base, FL. This system will allow allied forces in the battle zones near-real-time communications with any headquarters across the globe. T…

Bloomberg.com January 17, 2006 U.S. May Arm Subs With Conventional Warheads For Quicker Strike By Tony Capaccio The Pentagon wants to spend up to $500 million through 2011 to replace nuclear warheads with conventional warheads on some submarine-launched ballistic missiles, according to budget documents. The purpose is to allow quicker preemptive attacks on deeply buried enemy command centers or stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. U.S. submarines carry ballistic missiles that fly at supersonic speeds, faster than those launched from land- based silos or airplanes. ``This weapon would give the U.S. global, conventional preemption -- a first-stri…

From Defense Aerospace Langley Celebrates Raptor's Initial Operational Capability (Source: US Air Force; issued Jan. 13, 2006) LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --- The 1st Fighter Wing held a ceremony here today to celebrate the F-22A Raptor's initial operational capability. The event comes after the 27th Fighter Squadron was officially declared IOC on Dec. 15 by Gen. Ronald E. Keys, commander of Air Combat Command. The IOC declaration proves the F-22A is mission ready. The base now has 19 Raptors. The 27th FS -- the Air Force's oldest fighter squadron -- is now the first operational unit to fly the service's newest fighter aircraft. "This next…

From DefenseNews The Congressional Electronic Warfare (EW) Working Group says U.S. Air Force plans to use the B-52 as a stand-off jammer — the B-52 SOJ — may be dropped to save money, a move the organization calls a major mistake. “Given the clear need for a robust airborne electronic attack capability, it’s alarming to hear that the B-52 SOJ may be given the ax in the forthcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, especially without a clear alternative to substitute the capability that the B-52 SOJ would bring to the table,” the working group said in a late December briefing statement. The working group was established by Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., to study U.S. military…

Let's hope that they haven't forgotten those hard-won lessons. USAF Re-activating Aggressor Squadron Source: US Air Force Jan. 6, 2006 eDefense The US Air Force (USAF) will reactivate the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis AFB, NV, on Jan. 12. In a letter to airmen, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, USAF chief of staff, cited the history of the unit as “legendary” and said the aggressors will “directly contribute to the combat capability of our airmen.” “The 65th and other aggressor units will provide realistic adversary training in air, space, and information operations that make us even better,” General Moseley said. “Their training will keep us in…

From Navy Times January 04, 2006 Reagan begins first operational deployment By Gidget Fuentes Times staff writer CORONADO, Calif. — As scores of relatives and friends looked on, huddled in the morning chill, the nuclear carrier Ronald Reagan pulled from the pier Wednesday and began its first operational deployment. The carrier, named for the 39th president, actor and former California governor, carried 5,000 Navy officers and sailors as it left San Diego Bay to begin its first operational cruise and lead an 6,500-member strike group to the Western Pacific and certain combat duty in the Persian Gulf. The 1,092-foot-long carrier — whose innovations includ…