Current Events in the Americas

More Royal Navy frigates for Chile MercoPress The strong international price of copper for the second year running has bolstered Chile’s coffers and a percentage of that additional income is earmarked for military equipment purchases including several Royal Navy frigates, German Leopard tanks and refurbished F-16 fighters. Excess income from copper sales abroad represented last year an additional two billion US dollars for the Chilean government and for the military who are legally entitled to a percentage, almost 700 million US dollars in these last two years, although part of it has already been spent in cancelling debts. President Ricardo Lagos and the comm…

No More U.S. Battleships? "For the first time since the 1890s, the U.S. Navy soon could be without a battleship," Defense News says. The Senate, in its version of the fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill, authorizes the Navy to dispose of the battleship Wisconsin and transfer it to the state of Virginia. And a provision in the House version of the defense bill would transfer the battleship Iowa to the Port of Stockton, Calif. Only two battleships remain in Navy custody: the Wisconsin, berthed at Nauticus maritime center in downtown Norfolk, Va., and the Iowa, moored in a mothball fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif. Per an agreement dating from the 1990s between the…

I had the chance to try an HCDB scenario with these vessels. It was quite cool to see them simulated. Being nearly invisible was a huge advantage.

From Navy Times Carrier America sunk By Matt Hilburn Times staff writer The carrier America now lies beneath the surface of the Atlantic, scuttled by the Navy. Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC, confirmed the “controlled” sinking took place at approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 14. The decommissioned ship, out of service since 1996, was the target of a series of tests designed to try out new defense and damage control systems for the CVN-21 carrier program. It was the largest ship deliberately sunk by the Navy. In fact, the America was the largest warship ever sunk by any means, in war or peace. Tom Tramantano,…

BEST OF ANTI-MISSILES AXED DefenseTech.org Edited by Noah Shachtman The most successful part of the star-crossed missile defense system has been the one based at sea. So, naturally, the Pentagon has decided to cut the program's budget, Defense Daily reports. Launched from cruisers off the Hawaiian coast, the Standard Missile-3 interceptors have managed to hit their targets in five out of six recent tests. Land-based anti-missiles, on the other hand, couldn't even make it into the air during two recent exercises over the winter. But never mind all that. The sea-based interceptors have been slated for a $95 million cut. That could keep a key signal processor …

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…

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…

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 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 Defence Aerospace Quadrennial Defense Review Focuses on Future (Source: US Air Force; issued April 25, 2005) WASHINGTON -- The four capabilities the Air Force brings to the joint warfighting environment will be the focus of the service's contribution to the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review. Officials in the office of the secretary of defense produce the Quadrennial Defense Review every four years with input from the services. The report details to Congress the anticipated needs of the Defense Department out to about the year 2020. "The QDR is important to all of the services, … because it looks at what capabilities we have today verses what capabi…

From Navy Times April 29, 2005 Time is up for Grim Reapers By William H. McMichael Times staff writer OCEANA NAVAL AIR STATION, Va. — The F-14 Tomcat is fading into the sunset. And so are the Grim Reapers. The Navy’s only Tomcat training squadron will be gone for good by mid-September. The squadron has trained its last new Tomcat pilot. Training continues but only for a few veteran, senior fliers going through post-shore duty refresher training before returning to the fleet. From a late-1990s high of more than 60 jets and a personnel roster that topped 1,000, the squadron is down to nine jets, 70 enlisted sailors, 25 officers and about 100 civilian cont…

From Defence Aerospace DOD Approves Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor Aircraft for Full-Rate Production (Source: Lockheed Martin; issued Apr. 19, 2005) MARIETTA, Ga.--- The Lockheed Martin F/A-22 Raptor fighter aircraft has been given the green light by Department of Defense acquisition officials to enter into full-rate production. An acquisition decision information paper released by the Department of Defense on April 18 states "The Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) [Michael W. Wynne] approved the full rate production capability of the F/A-22." This decision officially transitions the Air Force's premier fighter program to a n…

JFK Overhaul Work Stopped By WILLIAM H. MCMICHAEL Defense News The Navy has canceled a scheduled $335 million overhaul of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, a move that likely cements plans to inactivate or decommission the flattop and reduce the Navy’s formidable carrier fleet from 12 to 11. The Navy emphasized it has not firmed up its ultimate plans for the Mayport, Fla.-based Kennedy, to the disappointment of Florida’s congressional delegation and proponents of a 12-carrier Navy. “The final decision on the ship’s decommissioning and inactivation status is still pending,” said Lt. Chris Servello, a Navy spokesman. The Navy, however, had long plann…

From Defence Aerospace South American Submarines Enhance U.S. Navy’s Fleet Readiness (Source: US Navy; issued April 14, 2005) NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- In a joint agreement with Colombia and Peru, one diesel-electric submarine from each of these two countries is deploying to the United States in April to enhance fleet readiness by participating in a number of naval exercises. BAP Antofagasta (SS 32) from Peru and ARC Pijao (SO 28) from Colombia have begun a deployment to participate in major Atlantic Fleet exercises, including Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) and Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) for the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) Carrier Strike…

Seagoing Radar Rig Placed atop XBR Platform By GLENN W. GOODMAN Jr. April 14, 2005 From DefenceNews. A 2,000-ton phased-array X-Band Radar (XBR) designed for ballistic missile defense was placed atop the Sea-Based XBR platform, a nine-story converted oil-drilling rig, at a shipyard in Corpus Christi, Texas, on April 3. The oceangoing, football-field-sized platform was set to relocate to the Gulf of Mexico for verification testing. This summer, it begins a five-to-seven-month voyage around Cape Horn to its primary base at Adak in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. The Sea-Based XBR will gather data in Missile Defense Agency Ballistic Missile Defense System tests across …

From DefenseNews U.S. Delays Missile Launch over Canadian Safety Concerns By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, OTTAWA The United States has agreed to delay a missile launch planned for next week after Canada voiced concerns that rocket debris could fall on offshore oil platforms, Defense Minister Bill Graham said April 7. The U.S. Defense Department’s decision was taken after Newfoundland Prime Minister Danny Williams ordered the evacuation of hundreds of oil workers in his Atlantic coast province ahead of the launch, planned for April 11. Canada “strongly urged” the United States to postpone the launch due to concerns that debris from the Titan IV rocket, which was …

From DefenseNews Admiral: Capability More Vital for U.S. Navy Than Numbers By ANDREW SCUTRO The U.S. Navy does not need to be larger, just more able, said Vice Adm. Joe Sestak, deputy chief of naval operations for warfare requirements, at the Navy League’s March 22-24 Sea Air Space expo in Washington. Sestak said the Navy plans to fight as a smaller, more concentrated joint network to meet the demands of carrying on the potentially endless global war on terror, fighting a large-scale conventional war and reacting to other contingencies. “Our Navy of the future is not measured in numbers of ships,” he told a seminar on force projection. “It’s measured in c…

From DefenseNews U.S. Navy Lays Out 30-Year Fleet Plan By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS The U.S. Navy plans to operate 11 aircraft carriers for the next quarter century, according to a new 30-year force structure plan sent to Congress on March 23. A copy of the report was obtained by DefenseNews.com. The plan also shows the service hopes to build up to a dozen of the new DD(X) destroyers — currently estimated to cost about $3 billion a copy — and up to 18 CG(X) cruisers, a derivative of the DD(X) devoted to ballistic missile defense. The plan, signed by Navy Secretary Gordon England, is described as an “interim report” on ship levels through fiscal 2035. Englan…

From Defence Aerospace MH-60R Weapons System Successfully Completes Technical Evaluation (Source: Lockheed Martin; issued March 22, 2005) OWEGO, N.Y. --- Subsurface and surface warfare systems developed for the U.S. Navy's MH-60R helicopter by prime systems integrator Lockheed Martin have successfully completed Technical Evaluation, clearing the way for Operational Evaluation and fleet introduction later this year. The next-generation helicopter weapons system will help protect U.S. Navy fleets from submarines and surface vessels well into the 21st century. The aircraft entered Technical Evaluation (TECHEVAL) two months ahead of schedule in August 2004, wit…

From Jane's Information Group USN considers army missile for Littoral Combat Ship By Scott R Gourley Last year's restructuring of the US Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) has brought one FCS element, the Non Line of Sight - Launch System (NLOS-LS), into contention for integration on the initial versions of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Originally developed under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's 'NetFires' concept, NLOS-LS emerged as a family of artillery missiles fired from a vertical launcher that could be deployed by ground or air assets throughout a theatre and networked to quickly engage an enemy. System components originally included a …