A X-47B lands on Nov. 10, 2013 onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). US Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy has a begun a second set of sea-trials for its Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator (UCAS-D) aircraft onboard the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) about 60 nautical miles off the Virginia coast.
The 1977 cover art for the Atari 2600 game: Air Sea Battle
The recent mantra regarding Air Sea Battle is that “it is not a strategy, it’s an operational concept.” If so, what is the concept? It seems predicated on improving interoperability between the Navy and the Air Force, but that’s just joint operations — what the Pentagon says its been doing for years.
Why the fancy name and media blitz?
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The leaders of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps gave their bleak assessments of the future of Sea Service readiness under future budget cuts in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Read More
A composite photo illustration representing the Ford-class aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). US Navy Photo
The head of the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier program offered a mea culpa for cost overruns on the service’s new Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) nuclear carrier class in a Tuesday briefing with reporters. Read More
The following is from the Oct. 22, 2013 Congressional Research Service report: U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces: Background, Developments, and Issues.
Even though the United States plans to reduce the number of warheads deployed on its long- range missiles and bombers, consistent with the terms of the New START Treaty, it also plans to develop new delivery systems for deployment over the next 20-30 years. The 113th Congress will continue to review these programs during the annual authorization and appropriations process. Read More
An artist’s conception of the proposed Lockheed Martin SR-72. Lockheed Martin Photo
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and Aerojet Rocketdyne have made a breakthrough in hypersonic propulsion technology, but the Mach 6.0-capable SR-72 remains more of aspiration than a real airplane.
Artist’s conception of the SR-72 so-called Son of Blackbird concept from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. Lockheed Martin Photo
Could Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ SR-72 hypersonic concept design fill the Pentagon’s need for a penetrating intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft? The answer could be yes. Read More
An MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle takes off from Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu on Oct. 31, 2013. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s next generation rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had its first flight on Thursday at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, Calif., according to a statement from the service. Read More
An F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the Argonauts of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) on Oct. 26, 2013. US Navy Photo
The U.S. Navy removed pre-solicitation notices for 36 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and 84 General Electric F414 engines from the Federal Business Opportunities website today. Read More
An F-35C Lightning II aircraft on Aug. 14, 2013 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. US Navy Photo
The U.S Navy has released a pre-solicitation notice for 36 additional Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighters, which could potentially threaten the production ramp-up for the service’s Lockheed Martin F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) variant. Read More
