Current Events in the Americas

A little sad as endings go: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/23/forrestal-navy-first-supercarrier-sold-for-1-penny/ I never served aboars her, but, like all of us, I've seen "Trial by Fire" numerous times. Buddha

From Defense Aerospace USS Freedom Commissioned in Milwaukee (Source: US Navy; issued Nov. 8, 2008) MILWAUKEE, Wisc. --- The crew of USS Freedom (LCS 1) ushered in a new era in naval warfare on Nov. 8 as the ship was brought to life at Milwaukee's Veterans Park before a crowd of nearly 10,000. The ship was officially placed in commission by Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter, who remarked the Navy was commissioning not just Freedom but a new class of naval war ships. "In this platform we are making the right investments in our future security and in our prosperity," Winter said. "For those of you who will have the privilege of serving in Freedom you w…

USS Freedom Cuts Short Initial Singapore Underway (Aviation Week)

Find it here. Navy Christens Littoral Combat Ship Freedom The U.S. Navy will christen Freedom, the first littoral combat ship (LCS) at 10 a.m. CDT on Saturday, Sept. 23, during a ceremony at Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, Wis. 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 include California, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The 378-foot Freedom will be the first U.S. Navy ship to carry this class designation. Birgit…

USS Gary Returns From Final Deployment; Also Last for SH-60B Seahawks (USNI News)

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Commissioning Publication (Faircount Media)

From DefenseNews Posted 12/21/06 15:10 New Submarine To Be Delivered to U.S. Navy Early By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS General Dynamics Electric Boat is expected to deliver the new submarine Hawaii to the U.S. Navy on Dec. 22, several weeks ahead of schedule. The Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine earlier had been scheduled for a March 31, 2007 delivery, but shipbuilders Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Newport News worked to speed up delivery in order to hold down construction costs, shipyard officials have said. Capt. Dave Johnson, the Navy’s Virginia-class program manager, confirmed the expected new delivery date. The Hawaii ran a series of builder…

Lots of chatter around the Web about this latest issue with LCS, and more particularly, USS Independence ... From Defense Aerospace [excerpt] and [excerpt]

News from CNN, 18 February 2005 Experts: New submarine can tap fiber-optic cables The USS Jimmy Carter, set to join the nation's submarine fleet Saturday, will have some special capabilities, intelligence experts say: It will be able to tap undersea cables and eavesdrop on the communications passing through them. ... More here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/02/18/submarine...s.ap/index.html

From Defense Aerospace

From Navy Times Michigan returns to duty Conversion breathes new life into old sub By Melanthia Mitchell - The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Jun 13, 2007 7:20:26 EDT SEATTLE — The USS Michigan was welcomed back to duty Tuesday during a ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap that celebrated its conversion to a guided-missile submarine. The afternoon fanfare marked the end of a $1 billion, nearly three-year modification process at neighboring Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on the Kitsap Peninsula west of Seattle. The Bangor-based Michigan was transformed from a Trident missile sub, equipped to carry nuclear missiles, to one capable of using conventional Tomahawk …

From Navy Times USS New Orleans commissioned in namesake city By Stacey Plaisance - The Associated Press Posted : Sunday Mar 11, 2007 11:44:30 EDT NEW ORLEANS — With the blaring of cannons, the Navy commissioned the amphibious transport dock New Orleans before thousands of onlookers March 10, marking the first time since at least World War II a Navy ship has been built and christened in its namesake city. “May God bless and guide this warship and all who sail on her,” the secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, said before hundreds of sailors — in crisp, white uniforms — ran onto the ship to set the traditional first watch and to salute those in the celebra…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_uss_new_york Built with steel salvaged from the WTC wreckage. Buddha

This is a sad situation: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Endangered-w...90610ussolympia I certainly hope she can be saved.

USS Russell DDG-59

From Defense Aerospace Textron's Bell Helicopter Granted Approval for Full Rate Production of V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor (Source: Bell Helicopter; issued Sept. 28, 2005) PROVIDENCE, RI & FORT WORTH, TX --- Marking a major milestone in aviation, Textron Inc. today announced that its Bell Helicopter unit has been granted approval by the United States Defense Department for Full Rate Production (FRP) of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Current plans include the delivery of 360 aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), 50 for the U.S. Air Force and 48 for the U.S. Navy. The total program is worth in excess of $19 billion to Bell and Textron thr…

From http://www.defence-aerospace.com V-22 Cleared to Begin Operational Evaluation Source: Bell Helicopter; issued March 2, 2005 FORT WORTH, Texas --- The Operational Evaluation (OPEVAL) testing program for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey has now been approved. On February 24, Tom Laux, the Program Executive Officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault, and Special Mission Programs, certified that the V-22 Osprey aircraft is ready for operational testing and evaluation. "This is great news signifying a crucial step forward in reaching our goal of getting this tremendous aircraft to our customers," declared Robert Kenney, Bell Helicopter vice president and di…

From Time V-22 Osprey: A Flying Shame Wednesday, Sep. 26, 2007 By MARK THOMPSON It's hard to imagine an American weapons program so fraught with problems that Dick Cheney would try repeatedly to cancel it — hard, that is, until you get to know the Osprey. As Defense Secretary under George H.W. Bush, Cheney tried four times to kill the Marine Corps's ungainly tilt-rotor aircraft. Four times he failed. Cheney found the arguments for the combat troop carrier unpersuasive and its problems irredeemable. "Given the risk we face from a military standpoint, given the areas where we think the priorities ought to be, the V‑22 is not at the top of the list," he told a Sena…

From Reuters, printed in today's San Diego Union Tribune: LA ORCHILA, Venezuela - Venezuela test-fired missiles in the Caribbean Sea yesterday in a display of military strength at a time of tense realations between Washington and leftist President Hugo Chavez. Five Russian Sukhoi fighter jets swooped over the military base on the island of La Orchila, dropping a half-ton bomb and firing a KH-59 missile at a seaborne target. A patrol boat fired an Otomat surface-to-surface missile at the same target. Buddha

From RIA Novosti Venezuela mulls purchase of Russian submarines - source 13:14 | 14/ 06/ 2007 MOSCOW, June 14 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuela is close to striking a deal with Russia on the procurement of several diesel submarines for its Navy, a source in the Russian shipbuilding industry said Thursday. The South American country has been vigorously pursuing modernization of its naval fleet to counter a possible U.S. blockade of its oil fields and prepare for direct military confrontation with Washington. "At present, military experts from Venezuela are conducting active consultations with Russian colleagues on the purchase of a large number of submarines," t…