B-1B Lancer. US Air Force Photo
A South Dakota-based B-1B Lancer bomber has crashed in Montana on Monday, according to a release from the 28th Bomb Wing provided to USNI News. Read More
From the document issued on Aug. 16, 2013:
A Navigation Plan draws from Sailing Directions to describe in greater detail how a ship will use its resources to safely and effectively sail to a new destination. Similarly, CNO’s Navigation Plan describes how Navy’s budget submission for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-2018 pursues the vision of the CNO’s Sailing Directions. It highlights our investments that support the missions outlined in our defense strategic guidance (DSG), Sustaining U.S. Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense, viewed through the lens of my three tenets: Warfighting First, Operate Forward, and Be Ready. This Navigation Plan defines the course and speed we will follow to organize, train, and equip our Navy over the next several years. Read More
An X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator launches from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). US Navy Photo
The reduction in strike capability of the Navy’s next generation carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle was born of fiscal realities, said Dyke Weatherington, the Pentagon’s director of unmanned warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Unmanned Systems 2013 conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy DeYoung and Naval Aircrewman 1st Class David Berber, both reservists attached to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 60, demonstrate the MQ-8B Fire Scout flight simulator in 2012. US Navy Photo
As the Navy prepares to train operators for the bevy of planned unmanned aerial the service should consider creating an officer class specific to the unmanned aerial systems (UAS), said an analyst with Northrop Grumman at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Unmanned Systems 2013 conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
On Aug. 9, the Japanese Ministry of Defense held a naming ceremony for the Izumo, the latest ship to join the Maritime Self-Defense Forces. Officially a “helicopter carrier-type escort/destroyer,” Izumo was built at the Japan Marine United shipyards at Yokohama. Although publicly touted as an anti-submarine warfare platform, the ship is capable of filling a critical role in the defense of disputed Japanese territory. The launch has been reported with alarm in East Asia as resurgent territorial claims—exacerbated by nationalism and longstanding historical differences—have generated regional tension not seen for decades. Read More
The deckhouse for the Aegis Ashore system bound for Romania at the Lockheed Martin Aegis facility. Missile Defense Agency Photo
From the outside, the so-called deckhouse of the Aegis Ashore anti-missile system looks nothing like its seagoing counterpart installed on American warships. The multi-story modular building might seem more at home in an industrial park.
Just like the shipboard version, however, the shore-side deckhouse provides the power, space and cooling to accommodate the servers, consoles and pipes needed to operate an SPY-1D(V) Aegis radar system, along with the command-and-control equipment needed to launch interceptors or to dispatch ballistic missiles. Read More
A Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle is launched from USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) in 2012. US Navy Photo
The use of cyber-tactics combined with unmanned aerial vehicles to prosecute the campaign against terrorists has increased dramatically over recent years. Technological development along those lines has sparked discussions ranging from talk of revolutions in how wars will be fought to changes in domestic law enforcement. The New York Times recently published a column titled “At War: How Cyber Warfare and Drones Have Revolutionized Warfare,” by Tim Hsia and Jared Sperli. Both are West Point graduates and combat veterans, currently serving as ROTC military science instructors. Unfortunately, geography and the facts on the ground do not bear out their observations. Read More
A US Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk. US Coast Guard
An Air National Guard flier is in the hospital with minor injuries after two F-16Cs collided in mid-air late Thursday night, officials with the 113th Wing D.C. Air National Guard told USNI News on Friday.
An artist’s rendering of Sikorsky’s bid for the VXX presidential helicopter. Sikorsky Photo
A modified version of Sikorsky’s S-92 commercial helicopter will likely be the only bid to replace the long-serving VH-3D Sea King as the next presidential helicopter, according to a Wednesday report in Defense News. Read More
Three U.S. Marine Corps CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters, assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron One Six Six (HMM-163) provides support during the Air show’s Marine Air-ground Task Force (MAGTF) demonstration in 2005.
On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Hagel announced some of the possible effects of sequestration on the Department of Defense. Among the possibilities is the prospect of a Marine Corps with a strength of just 150,000 Marines, down from the current 202,000—a cut of more than 25 percent. Read More
