Current Events in the Americas

New mission for Corps relies on amphibs New deployment strategy stresses Navy-Marine link By Andrew Scutro - Staff writer Posted : Friday Feb 8, 2008 18:24:45 EST The Marines want to get back to their expeditionary roots — and they’ll be taking amphib sailors with them. According to a recently approved operational concept, the Marine Corps plans to keep nine infantry battalions forward-deployed at all times, with the remaining 18 battalions in training. For the Marines, it means new advisory missions on top of existing requirements. And for sailors, it will mean a steady reliance on the amphibious fleet. In recent years, with Marines committed to lon…

Good choice, I'd say.

The Antiship Mine Gets New Wings (The Diplomat)

From Navy Times July 07, 2006 Carrier Reagan returns from maiden deployment By Gidget Fuentes Times staff writer CORONADO, Calif. — With a swarm of colorful posters and festive balloons all around him, Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class (AW/SW) Ruel Concepcion took in a deep breath and glanced at his ship. “It looks like it’s been through a lot,” said Concepcion, 43, of San Francisco. “I can’t believe it, a six-month deployment. Her first one. This is memorable.” The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, all 1,092 feet of military might, had nudged to its berth at North Island Naval Air Station on Thursday to complete its maiden operational deployment.…

From Air Force Times July 07, 2006 JSF named ‘Lightning II’ By Laura M. Colarusso Times staff writer With a nod to Air Force history, the service’s chief of staff has dubbed the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “Lightning II.” Gen. T. Michael Moseley announced the decision Friday at the Lockheed Martin facility in Fort Worth, Texas, where the stealthy multi-role fighter is made. He based the decision on input received from airmen as well as the other services and coalition partners involved in the JSF program, said Maj. Glen Roberts, a spokesman for the general. The P-38 Lightning, the JSF’s namesake, was designed in the late 1930s and was used during World W…

From DefenseNews Posted 09/10/07 21:39 Third Time Could Be the Charm for LPD Program By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS PASCAGOULA, Miss. — With the U.S. Navy still smarting from the unsatisfactory delivery of two amphibious ships, Northrop Grumman has put a special emphasis on making sure the third ship avoids the pitfalls of its predecessors. If early returns are any indication, the shipbuilder and the Navy might be third time lucky. The USS Mesa Verde (LPD 19) carried out its initial builder’s trials in mid-August in the Gulf of Mexico. The ship returned Aug. 16 to Northrop’s Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula flying two brooms — a traditional “clean sweep” symbol represe…

From AOL Defense [excerpt]

Here's to hoping that they get built, without too much controversy or budgetary nightmare. Too much to ask? Joint Support Ships To Be Named HMCS Queenston and HMCS Chateauguay (Ottawa Citizen, Defence Watch blog)

Canada Expands Frigate Upgrade Plans (DefenseNews)

Of interest for everyone of us (see photo): https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2018-07/be-predictably-unpredictable

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/26347/the-navy-is-ripping-out-underperforming-anti-torpedo-torpedoes-from-its-supercarriers

From Defense Aerospace Seabasing to Transform Marine Deployments, Commandant Says (Source: US Department of Defense; issued June 9, 2005) WASHINGTON --- The "seabasing" capability being developed for the Marine Corps will enable the service to deploy 15,000 troops anywhere in the world in as little as 10 to 12 days, according to the commandant of the Marine Corps. "And when you are able to respond that fast, it is going to change the calculus of the battlefield," Gen. Michael W. Hagee explained during an interview with the Pentagon Channel. The concept, expected to be in full swing within the next 10 to 15 years, involves pre-positioning ships with cr…

Australian warships in NY to mark alliance at sea THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 5:54 PM EDT, July 19, 2009 Read AP Article here. NEW YORK - The United States and Australia are celebrating a friendship at sea that has lasted more than 100 years. On Sunday, two Australian warships arrived in New York to commemorate the relationship between the two nations -- naval allies in every major conflict since World War I. The HMAS Sydney and HMAS Ballarat docked at Pier 88 on Manhattan's West Side, where encounters of a very personal kind also were celebrated. "We met on a tour of Europe last month, and we hit it off big time!" said American college student Masha …

New big-deck amphib AMERICA (LHA 6) takes to the sea for the first time (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog)

Pentagon Caps LCS at 32 Hulls, Hagel Directs Navy to Evaluate Capable and Lethal Frigate Designs (USNI News)

USS Michale Monsoor DDG-1001 needs both damaged main gas turbines replacement https://news.usni.org/2018/07/11/second-zumwalt-destroyer-needs-new-engine-turbine-blades-damaged-sea-trials Quote: " Galinis said part of the reason it has taken so long to replace the engine is that, with the MT30 being so large, a special rail system is needed to remove the engine and put in a new one. That system hadn’t yet been designed when the Navy realized it needed one, so engineers had to finish the design and then install the system. “So that’s what’s taken us a little bit,” the rear admiral said." Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine is also employed by CVF Queen Elizabeth-class, LC…

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

From Jane's Missiles & Rockets Canada works on hypervelocity anti-armour missile programme Christopher F Foss Canada is working on a High-Energy Missile (HEMi) programme to meet the potential future requirements of the Canadian Armed Forces. The key aim of the programme is to demonstrate the concept of a small hypervelocity missile that would provide the firepower of a 70-ton main battle tank (MBT) in a light combat vehicle. Project Definition of the HEMi was carried out under Phase 0 between April 2000 and April 2001 at a cost of C$400,000 (US$321,000). Phase 1 started in April 2001 and is due to run through to March 2006. During this phase a number …

CNN WASHINGTON (AP) -- A mechanical monster grabs the F-14 fighter jet and chews through one wing and then another, ripping off the Tomcat's appendages before moving on to its guts. Finally, all that's left is a pile of shredded rubble -- like scraps from a Thanksgiving turkey. Rows of retired F-14 jets await demolition Monday at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. The Pentagon is paying a contractor at least $900,000 to destroy old F-14s, a jet affectionately nicknamed "the turkey," rather than sell the spares. The Pentagon fears that if the surplus jets aren't destroyed, they could fall into the wrong hands, including Iran's. Within a workda…

From DefenseNews 'We Thought We Had It Licked' LPD-17 Woes Vex U.S. Navy, Northrop By christopher p. cavas Published: 25 January 2010 A fresh set of problems with the long-troubled LPD 17 San Antonio-class amphibious ships has sidelined two of the vessels, led the U.S. Navy and its largest shipbuilder into a passionate game of finger-pointing, and raised questions about Northrop Grumman's ability to deliver quality work and the Navy's ability to carry out proper shipyard oversight. The larger issues are coming from two core problems discovered aboard the LPD 17s, five of which are in service with four still to come. Of more immediate importance is a pro…