Current Events in the Americas

USS Russell DDG-59

From DefenseNews Boeing Pitches 777 Tanker; Labels New USAF Bid 7A7 By karen walker Published: 15 Jun 2009 19:05 PARIS - Boeing is preparing to offer either the 777 or the 767 airframes when it rebids the U.S. tanker contest, the company said June 15. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) president and CEO Jim Albaugh said he expected to see a request for proposals (RFP) this summer for the new U.S. Air Force tanker competition. "I expect it will not have nearly as many requirements as the last one," he said. Boeing lost out on the last hotly competed tanker contest to a joint bid by Northrop Grumman and EADS that wa…

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

For use with Google Earth: UCS Nuclear Weapons Complex map

Airborne Mine-Detection System Enters Production Source: Northrop Grumman Jun. 17, 2005 eDefense The US Navy has announced that the Northrop Grumman (Melbourne, FL) airborne laser mine-detection system has reached Milestone C – signifying the end of system development and demonstration – and is now poised to enter its production phase. The airborne laser mine-detection system uses light-detection and ranging technology to detect, classify, and localize floating and near-surface moored sea mines so that ships can maneuver through clear sea lanes. Contained in external equipment pods mounted on a Navy MH-60S helicopter, the mine-detection system also provide…

From Defence Talk AESA Radar Enters Full-Rate Production US Navy | Jul 4, 2007 The U.S. Navy’s next-generation aircraft radar system was approved for full-rate production June 25. Following extensive review by the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), PMA-265 was granted authorization to enter into Full Rate Production for 437 next-generation APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars. “Super Hornet Block II and EA-18G aircraft equipped with AESA’s revolutionary war fighting capability makes Naval Aviation more relevant than ever in our history to the joint combatant commander. Our Super Hor…

From Globe and Mail Navy's support ship replacement program scuttled The Canadian Press August 22, 2008 at 11:53 PM EDT OTTAWA — The Conservative government has quietly scuttled the navy's $2.9-billion project to replace its aging supply ships, saying bids from the shipbuilding industry were “significantly” higher than the money set aside for the program. It has also cancelled a tender call for the purchase of 12 mid-shore patrol ships for the Coast Guard. The decisions were announced in a statement issued at 8:30 Friday night by Public Works Minister Christian Paradis. “These vessels are a key priority of the Government of Canada,” Mr. Paradis said …

From Aviation Week F-35 To Become Electronic Attack Aircraft Nov 30, 2008 By David A. Fulghum After years of debate about the future of tactical, airborne electronic attack for the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps, it appears the F-35 will become the next-generation, digital warfare aircraft for both services. The platform most in demand in combat today is some kind of electronic attack (EA) aircraft, say military operational experts. So the pressure for more aircraft and advanced capabilities is already an operational reality. But the basic question of who does what for whom and to whom remains unanswered. "Who will provide electronic fires to ground tro…

From Defense Aerospace Link to the full report here (PDF document) Highlights here ... The US Navy: Charting a Course for Tomorrow’s Fleet (Executive summary) (Source: The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; issued Feb. 17, 2009) This paper assesses the adequacy and affordability of current US Navy plans in light of current trends in naval warfare, expected future budget environments, and, most importantly, the likely operational demands associated with three enduring, long-term strategic challenges. These challenges are: defeating both the Sunni Salifi-Takfiri and Shia Khomeinist brands of violent Islamist radicalism; hedging against pote…

CNO: Next-Generation Navy Fighter Might Not Need Stealth (DefenseTech) ACC Chief: Stealth ‘Incredibly Important’ For Next USAF Fighter (Aviation Week)

Navy Emphasizes Anti-Submarine Training By AUDREY McAVOY , 01.26.2006, 02:52 PM Associated Press Forbes Two Navy destroyers and a cruiser dangle sonar devices into the ocean to listen for enemy submarines lurking 50 miles from Honolulu. Naval aviators in P-3 surveillance planes and helicopters drop sonar buoys into the sea to give the sailors more ears below the surface. The submarines are not really enemy vessels at all, but U.S. subs participating in anti-submarine warfare training. The exercises, held Jan. 9-12, are something Navy sailors will be doing more of in coming years. The Pacific Fleet has made training to track and destroy submarines its to…

From DefenseNews U.S. Navy Orders New Destroyers By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Construction of the first two DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class advanced destroyers is set to begin after the U.S. Navy awarded its two primary shipbuilders $2.8 billion in contracts Feb. 14. General Dynamics will build the Zumwalt — DDG 1000 — at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, while Northrop Grumman will build the yet-to-be-named DDG 1001 at its Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. The Zumwalt is set to be delivered by Bath in June 2013, while Northrop’s DDG 1001 is to follow in July 2014. Northrop and General Dynamics are cooperating in completing the final, detailed design of the destroyers. Nor…

From Defence Talk Southern Partnership Station Begins Aboard Swift US Navy | Dec 1, 2008 MORGAN CITY: Military Sealift Command-chartered high speed vessel HSV-2 Swift (HSV 2) along with various embarked Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force units departed Louisiana Nov. 25 for a five-month deployment in support of Southern Partnership Station (SPS). Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission's primary goal is information sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region. "Southern Partnership Station pr…

From Flight Global's DEW Line blog [excerpt]

From Flight Global [excerpt]

From USNI Proceedings: http://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2012-09-0/leap-ahead-21st-century-navy

From Flight International DATE: 30/11/07 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com USAF: F-15s risk catastrophic design weakness By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force Boeing F15A-D Eagle fleet is grounded after preliminary findings of a crash investigation show signs of a design weakness. Air Combat Command (ACC) ordered the stand-down until the airframes can be inspected. An inspection checklist is being prepared by the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center, an ACC spokesman says. An ongoing investigation of a 2 November crash is focusing on potential failure of the F-15’s upper longerons near the canopy seal. Recent inspections found cracks in this same area on two o…

From Navy Times Navy celebrates 1,000th Trident sub patrol The Associated Press Posted : Thursday Feb 19, 2009 7:55:47 EST KINGS BAY NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, Ga. — A coastal Georgia military base is celebrating a milestone for the Navy’s fleet of nuclear-armed submarines — the 1,000th patrol since the first Trident missile sub launched in 1981. Navy Secretary Donald Winter is scheduled to mark the occasion Thursday with other dignitaries at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base near St. Marys. Kings Bay is the East Coast port for the Navy’s Trident submarines. The fleet of 14 Ohio-class submarines was launched during the Cold War as a deterrent to nuclear war. The…

From Aviation Week Lockheed Snags DARPA Anti-Ship Missile Award Jul 2, 2009 By Amy Butler and Graham Warwick Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has won one of two awards from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to study and design a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). DARPA received nine proposals, and one more award is expected in the next 60 days, according to an agency official. Boeing, Raytheon and ATK also submitted proposals. LRASM is an unconventional DARPA effort; the agency typically focuses on technology that is not readily in hand. However, the Navy requested DARPA’s help in fielding LRASM in response to a need …

Will succeed ADM Mullen on 30 September