Current Events in the Americas

From Marine Corps Times Ospreys start to fly, but most still grounded By Trista Talton - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday Feb 14, 2007 6:24:46 EST Roughly two to three weeks will pass before all of the Defense Department’s V-22 Ospreys will be back in the air after the fleet was grounded last week, a program spokesman said Tuesday. The tilt-rotors were grounded Feb. 6 after a fault caused by a computer chip in the aircraft’s flight control computers was discovered during pre-flight testing at the Bell Boeing facility in Amarillo, Texas. The Osprey has three flight control computers, which back each other up in case one malfunctions. The chip in question i…

From DefenseNews U.S. Navy To Stand Up New 4th Fleet By mark d. faram Published: 24 Apr 13:33 EDT (09:33 GMT) The U.S. Navy will create a 4th Fleet headquartered at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., and will tap a two-star SEAL officer to lead it, according to a Pentagon announcement April 24. Rear Adm. Joseph Kernan, head of Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, Calif., has been chosen to command the new fleet. Kernan will take control of both 4th Fleet and the current Naval Forces Southern Command, the Navy component of U.S. Southern Command. The command will oversee maritime operations in Central and South American waters, and is similar to the comman…

From Defence Aerospace LPD 17 Successfully Completes Builder's Sea Trials (Source: US Naval Sea Systems Command; issued May 11, 2005) PASCAGOULA, Miss. --- San Antonio, first ship of the LPD 17 Class, returned to Northrop Grumman Ship Systems (NGSS) Pascagoula facility after successfully demonstrating performance during Builder's Sea Trials. Having accomplished significant pier-side systems testing and dock trials, this underway testing was a critical milestone on the path to ship delivery. NGSS conducted a complete range of tests including ship maneuvering and steering, propulsion and propulsion controls, mission systems, auxiliary systems, and combat syst…

A United State Navy Captain and former Astronaut - How PATHETIC. Please delete if you feel it has no place here at HG. Former astronaut aims for insanity defense By Travis Reed - The Associated Press Posted : Tuesday Aug 28, 2007 16:06:14 EDT ORLANDO, Fla. — Former astronaut Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak is pursuing a temporary insanity defense on charges that she assaulted and tried to kidnap a romantic rival, according to a court document released Tuesday. Nowak suffered from major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia and “brief psychotic disorder with marked stressors,” defense attorney Donald Lykkebak wrote. He said the already-petite woman…

Analysts: Air power crucial upon new threat By William H. McMichael - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Jan 15, 2008 6:19:03 EST If the U.S. were to face a new conventional threat, its military could not respond effectively without turning to air power, officials and analysts say. That is the ultimate upshot of the war in Iraq: a response elsewhere would consist largely of U.S. fighters and bombers — even, perhaps, some degree of nuclear strike — because so many ground troops are tied up in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And that leaves at least some senior U.S. leaders and analysts crossing their fingers. “I believe that we, as a nation, are at risk of mission…

From Marine Corps Times Corps weighs gunship firepower options By Trista Talton - Staff writer Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 21:21:53 EDT JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — More brains. More brawn. Now, maybe, firepower. With their digitally upgraded cockpits and larger load capacity, the Marine Corps’ growing fleet of KC-130J Super Hercules refuelers has been hailed as a major step up from its predecessors. But the question of whether these aerial gas stations should be outfitted with weapons systems is a concept still on the drawing board. A brief obtained by Marine Corps Times highlights various ways the KC-130J can be outfitted with firepower. Written by a major …

US Navy Employment Options for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) (RAND, pdf)

US Navys Triton UAV: 3,300 Miles Cross-Country Unmanned (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog)

From Navy Times Building a better BMD Admiral seeks an expanded upgrade for anti-missile ships By Ben Iannotta - Special to the Times Posted : Sunday Nov 4, 2007 8:46:19 EST North Korea was hot on everyone’s minds when the Navy decided to rush missile-defense software and interceptors onto 18 of its 84 ships equipped with the Aegis computerized weapon systems. But now, with Iran increasingly on the minds of U.S. strategists, the admiral who runs the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program for the Missile Defense Agency is asking to expand the upgrade effort — even before the large-scale Aegis upgrade planned to start in 2012. “The question right now is: Wit…

French pitch new warships for next Canadian navy vessels (CBC News)

AIM-424 “Malice” Very Long-Range Air-To-Air Missile Emerges From The Shadows (Updated) (The War Zone)

From Defense Aerospace Op-Ed: Crusading Navy Secretary Cancels 300-Ship Fleet (Source: The Lexington Institute; issued Nov. 6, 2007) By Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. With all the breaking news last week -- martial law in Pakistan, Hillary besieged by pygmies -- you may have missed the big announcement coming out of the U.S. Navy. Hard-charging Navy Secretary Donald Winter has brought his crusade for fundamental reform in the shipbuilding industry to its first major milestone, effectively canceling plans for a 300-ship fleet. That's the likely long-term consequence of his decision to terminate a contract with General Dynamics for a new warship called the Litto…

From Air Force Times Where might next-gen aircraft be headed? Staff report Posted : Wednesday Jan 16, 2008 10:46:47 EST The Air Force chief of staff has released the “roadmap” for the Air Force’s future, detailing which bases are in the running to house the service’s next-generation aircraft. Gen. T. Michael Moseley’s outline of future forces is the result of meetings with top leaders from the regular Air Force, the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve in December, according to an Air Force press release. The preliminary lists generally follow present assignments: Bases hosting F-16s are in the running for the F-35, and the potential bed-down sit…

DefenseNews.com December 12, 2005 USAF To Drop 'A' From F/A-22 Raptor By Gopal Ratnam and Michael Fabey Three years after the U.S. Air Force added an “A” to highlight the F/A-22 Raptor’s ability to drop bombs, the service is dropping the extra letter from the stealthy jet’s designator. The plane, which is expected to officially enter service in the coming weeks, will henceforth be called the F-22A — with the trailing letter indicating a first variant, not an extra role. Gen. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, who is said to have been unhappy with the F/A-22 moniker, announced the renaming in a Dec. 12 speech to a U.S. Air National Guard senio…

From DefenseNews Posted 08/29/07 16:17 Lockheed Martin Delivers 100th F-22 to U.S. Air Force STAFF REPORT Lockheed Martin delivered the 100th F-22 Raptor to the U.S. Air Force on August 29 in a ceremony at the company’s factory in Marietta, Ga. The aircraft — Air Force serial number 05-0100 — will be assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, according to a Lockheed media release. During the ceremony, Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne signed the DD-250 form accepting the aircraft on behalf of the U.S. government. The 90th Fighter Squadron is expected to receive its full complement of 20 F-22s by fall 2008, according to the r…

From Navy Times Sonar gets green light for ASW training By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Jan 16, 2008 12:06:18 EST WASHINGTON — President Bush exempted the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the California coast — a practice critics say is harmful to whales and other marine mammals. The White House announced Wednesday that Bush had signed the exemption Tuesday while traveling in the Middle East. The Navy training exercises, including the use of sonar, “are in the paramount interest of the United States” and its national security, Bush said in a memorandum. …

Soldiers want OK to carry concealed weapons on base (Army Times)

Lockheed Pitching Revamped Viking to Fill Carrier Cargo and Tanking Roles (USNI News)

From DefenseNews 33 Major Bases on the Block in Biggest BRAC Round Yet By GORDON TROWBRIDGE The Pentagon asked on Friday to shut down 180 installations across the country in the first round of base closings since 1995, and the fifth since 1988. This round is the biggest yet, with recommendations that fall heaviest on National Guard and Reserve facilities, commercial office space and a handful of large, politically sensitive bases. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the moves, if approved, would unfold over six years starting next year and would save almost $50 billion over 20 years. “Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must give w…

US to boost BMD (DefenseNews) U.S. To Bolster Missile Defenses To Counter N.Korea Threat: Source (Aviation Week)