Current Events in the Americas

I believe it was Brains who mentioned the next gen bomber on IRC the other nite. From Air Force Times Wynne discusses next-gen bomber publicly By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Friday Mar 7, 2008 12:21:40 EST The Air Force is developing both manned and unmanned versions of its next-generation bomber, the service’s top civilian official said Wednesday. Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee was one of the first public comments by a top official acknowledging that the new bomber, scheduled to debut in 2018, is well along in development. The program is currently classified, he said, but Air Force lea…

First pics: X-47B Unmanned Aircraft Aboard Carrier Truman (DefenseNews' Intercepts blog) Lots of high res pics.

From ARES Out In The Open Posted by Guy Norris at 12/17/2008 4:29 AM CST The X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator - the US Navy's first tail-less, stealthy unmanned aircraft, was unveiled at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., site on Dec.16. The first air vehicle, AV-1, is scheduled to make its first flight on Nov.11 next year, while a second demonstrator AV-2 is being assembled, and will be completed around December 2009. Both will be used to demonstrate the viability of carrier operations with an unmanned combat aircraft, with the first X-47B carrier landing expected in November 2011. The X-47B wing span is an impressive 62.1 ft, c…

X-47B UCAS-D conducts first land-based catapult shot (Flight Global)

ZUMWALT (DDG 1000): The Future Is Getting Closer (Pictorial) (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog)

From Bangor Daily News [excerpt]

From Aviation Week [excerpt]

The Navy’s stealth destroyers to get new weapons and a new mission: killing ships (DefenseNews)