Current Events in the Americas

Venezuelan President warns against US Navy in Caribbean 2006-05-08 21:23:08 CRIENGLISH.com President Hugo Chavez is accusing the US military of trying to threaten Venezuela with naval exercises it is holding in the Caribbean this month. He said that the presence of a US aircraft carrier in the Caribbean Sea, the USS George Washington, wouldn't scare Venezuelans, who are preparing to repel a possible US invasion by training guerrilla-style resistance fighters. "They can sail the Caribbean with their fleet as much as they like. They are not going to threaten us, they are not going to frighten us, we are not frightened of this paper empire. We are free!…

From Flight Global DATE:25/06/09 SOURCE:Flight International Obama threatens vetoes on F-22, F136 decisions By Stephen Trimble The Obama administration has threatened to veto legislation that would extend production of the Lockheed Martin F-22 and continue funding the General Electric/Rolls-Royce F136 alternate engine at the expense of the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The White House threat, delivered to Congress on 24 June, strikes back at a vote last week by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) that re-inserted funding for both programmes in the fiscal year 2010 defence authorisation bill, and draws a clear line in the sand against "earmarks" …

From Code One, Third Quarter 2008 Vikings Ashore The very last at-sea deployment for the S-3 Viking ended on 29 May as crews from Sea Control Squadron 22 (VS-22), known as the Checkmates, returned home to NAS Jacksonville, Florida. VS-22 crews completed more than 300 flight hours during their two-month deployment on board the USS George Washington (CVN-73) as the ship sailed around South America en route to its new home port of Yokosuka, Japan. The VS-22 flyoff as the Washington neared San Diego marked the last planned S-3 catapult shot. The Checkmates and Sea Control Wing Atlantic Fleet are both scheduled to disestablish in January 2009, closing out the Viking's …

From Aviation Week House May OK Doubled Virginia Production May 16, 2008 Michael Bruno/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report The U.S. House is on track to consider – and likely approve – legislation that could double annual production of the Virginia-class attack submarine to two boats starting in fiscal 2010, a year ahead of the U.S. Navy’s latest plans. The move stems from a $422 million plus-up in authorized funding for Virginias that Republicans on the Democratic-controlled House Armed Services Committee (HASC) secured May 14. It also comes after the HASC seapower subcommittee last week added $744 million to accelerate dual annual production from the Navy…

An image of the enlarged Virginia-class Block V SSN on page 32 of the report, with a characteristic "hump" in the elongated section abaft the sail, probably with the new 4xVPM (Virginia Payload Module, each capable of 7 cruise missile-size weapons, for a grand total of forty (12 previously fore the sail+28 in the 4xVPM) weapons in VLS): https://news.usni.org/2016/11/03/document-report-congress-virginia-class-submarine-program-5-2

Wanted: A Bigger, Badder Air Wing to Fight China (The National Interest) Link to the report: Sharpening the Spear: The Carrier, the Joint Force, and High-End Conflict (Hudson Institute, pdf)

War Over the Warthogs (Time, Swampland)

From Jane's Weight loss regime beckons for LCS 1 By Casandra Newell 10 February 2009 The US Navy is mulling over the removal of several redundant and non-critical parts from Littoral Combat Ship 1 (LCS 1) USS Freedom in order to decrease the vessel's displacement. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) told Jane's that officials are considering taking out components "that have become unused on the finished ship". The proposed list includes engine removal rails for the twin Rolls-Royce MT-30 gas turbines. Senior crew members assigned to the Lockheed Martin/Marinette Marine-built frigate said in December 2008 that the prototype vessel was three to five tons ov…

From Aviation Week's Ares Blog What Did The Air Force Really Want? Posted by Bill Sweetman at 4/10/2009 10:41 AM CDT Dr Rebecca Grant probably isn't going to get offered a job in the Gates team. In a strongly worded brief [CV32: Also appended below], the respected air power analyst argues that the USAF did have a cogent, established need for another 60 F-22s - but never had a chance to present it before Gates slammed a gag order on all senior officers involved in the budget process. "Gates kept Bush-Rumsfeld holdovers in crucial program analysis posts and formed a small team to cut the budget in secret, a technique he mastered as CIA director. Next, in F…

Here's the link on Facebook Here's an interesting hand grenade to toss into the room ... What do you think the Patron Saint of the US Navy would REALLY think of these over-priced white elephants? I personally think he would order the design team keel-hauled.

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…

Why America Still Needs Aircraft Carriers (Foreign Policy) I agree!

Why Is the PLAN Near Alaska? (The Diplomat) Scenario fodder (complete with OOB) for the under utilized Bering Strait battleset!

From Defense Aerospace Op-Ed: A History Lesson On Why the F-22 Fighter Is Essential (Source: The Lexington Institute; issued May 20, 2008) By Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D. Imagine that in 1902, Secretary of War Elihu Root had told President Teddy Roosevelt the difficulty of suppressing the Philippine Insurrection proved future weapons would need to be useful in conducting irregular warfare. I know, you aren't so clear on what the Philippine Insurrection was. But it was a big deal at the time: 130,000 U.S. troops were deployed in a multiyear counter-insurgency campaign, and over 4,000 of them died. U.S. forces tortured prisoners. Insurgents committed atrocities. Very …

Why the Navy Wants More Growlers (USNI News)

From The Diplomat [excerpt]

Why We Still Need a Nuclear-Armed Cruise Missile (War on the Rocks)

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

Winning The Salvo Competition: Rebalancing America's Air And Missile Defenses (CBSA)

This story oughta be good for some more rants and opinions. From Navy Times Bath begins work on final Burke destroyer The Associated Press Posted : Wednesday Oct 3, 2007 11:31:39 EDT BATH, Maine — Bath Iron Works has quietly begun construction on what’ll be the last of the Arleigh Burke destroyers that went into service in the early 1990s. Shipbuilders began cutting steel last month at BIW’s Brunswick facility for DDG-112, the 62nd and final ship of the Arleigh Burke class. The Navy has yet to name the ship, which will take 4½ years to build. Vice Adm. John Morgan, the first commanding officer of the original USS Arleigh Burke, came to BIW for the …