Current Events in the Americas

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

From Aviation Week India's Advanced Su-30MKIs Come to USA Aug 21, 2008 By David A. Fulghum American, French and South Korean aircrews are getting a close look at one of the world's fabled aircraft - the Indian air force's Su-30MKI strike fighter. An Indian air force group of 50 pilots and weapon systems officers - flying eight Su-30MKIs, two Il-78 tankers and an Il-76 transport - are just finishing a month-long deployment to the United States with a training cycle at the latest, annual Red Flag aerial combat excercises based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. They were part of a contingent of 246 IAF personnel selected from 20 (fighter) Squadron, Poona;…

From the July 2009 issue of Proceedings Put the Navy in the Lead! Lieutenant Commander Bart L. Denny, U.S. Navy (Retired) Ballistic-missile defense has been a hot-button issue since the first V-2s smashed into England. Today, the Navy is best positioned to provide that defense. The U.S. Navy has an emerging capability in evolved versions of the long-serving Standard Missile and Aegis weapon system to defend against short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the mid-course and terminal phases of flight. With further development, sea-based ballistic-missile defenses (BMD) will give the United States the ability to defeat even the largest, longest-range …

One of These Mean Little Ships Could Be the Navys New Frigate (War is Boring blog)

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

Bring Back the Nuclear Tomahawks (USNI Proceedings)

First Artwork of Hypersonic Missiles on Zumwalt-class Destroyers (Naval News)

Somebody doesn't like the DDG-1000.

Hagel: Navy to Lay Up 11 Cruisers, Carrier Cut Decision Delayed until 2016 Budget (USNI News)

Interview with Capt Mark Vandroff, DDG 51 Program Manager, PEO Ships, Naval Sea Systems Command (Defense Media Network)

Subs: Cold War tool or future need? By Shir Haberman shaberman@seacoastonline.com PORTSMOUTH - One of the primary justifications for placing Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on the base closure list this year is the reduction in the number of submarines the Navy expects to use in the future. "In the past, we had 100 attack submarines. Now, it’s in the 50s, and in the future there will be 41," Adm. Vern Clark, chief of Naval operations, told the Base Realignment and Closure Commission earlier this month as one of the reasons for recommending the closure of the local shipyard. "In order to have a Navy of the future, we need to redirect our resources in order to ru…

From Defense Aerospace Navy Ship $840 Million Over Budget and Still Unfinished (Source: The Virginian-Pilot; published June 30, 2007) By Louis Hansen NORFOLK, VA --- The highly touted nerve center of the new, $1.8 billion amphibious ship San Antonio is fraught with computer hardware crashes that could cripple operations. The ship lacks basic safety equipment, such as hand rails and reliable guns to battle close-in attacks. In all, Navy inspectors found 30 major flaws aboard the San Antonio, according to an internal report obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. Despite the deficiencies, the Navy has earmarked $13 billion to purchase nine amphibious ships …

LCS delays could send UAVs to other ships By John T. Bennett - Staff writer Posted : Tuesday Feb 12, 2008 21:29:41 EST If the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships are delayed, the service may debut the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned rotorcraft “on another air-capable ship,” said William Balderson, the service’s program executive officer for air programs. That “would allow us to not delay the Fire Scout even if LCS slips” and would also allow the service to begin integrating the vertical-takeoff UAV onto a working ship, driving down “integration risk” when it moves to the littoral ships, he said. That plan, however, is still “pre-decisional,” as PEO av…

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…

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From Flight Global [excerpt]

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

From DefenseNews Technology Problems Persist for USN Destroyer: Report By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Technological development for the U.S. Navy’s advanced DD(X) destroyer is still lagging despite progress in a number of areas, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report issued June 14. The report, sent to Senate and House of Representatives Armed Services Committee leaders, highlighted problems with the 10 critical engineering areas being developed for the 14,000-ton destroyer. Packed with new technologies, the DD(X) is intended by the Navy to support forces ashore and dominate coastal regions, and is planned to replace Arleigh Burke-class destroye…

DARPA seeks supercavitation submarine UPI WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is looking for a really fast, really small submarine. It's also seeking a major breakthrough in physics: making supercavitation actually work on a large scale. Supercavitation refers to a process of displacing water around a submerged vessel so that it travels in a gaseous or vaporous cavity. Theoretically, that can be done either by propelling a blunt-nosed vessel at a very high speed -- its nose forces the water out of the way -- or by injecting gas into a partially developed cavity, according to DARPA. The U.S. Navy has experimented with…

From Aviation Week U.S. Considering Shooting Down Satellite Feb 12, 2008 By David A. Fulghum U.S. officials are studying the possibility of shooting down the errant Lockheed Martin intelligence satellite that was launched into space for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The concern is that the spacecraft carries a full tank of hydrazine - a toxic propellant - that would have been used to reposition the satellite in orbit. Government analysts say the odds are that the tank will crack open during re-entry or than it will land in the ocean, which makes up 70% of the area where the breaking up satellite might land. There also is concern in some quarters …