F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive aerial refuelings from a Travis KC-10 Extender July 13, 2016 on the flight from England to the United States. US Air Force photo.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The armed services are still unsure why Navy and Air Force pilots are struggling with their Onboard Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) while the Marine Corps – which uses the exact same systems – has had no problems, the Marines’ top aviator told reporters. Read More
A T-45C Goshawk training aircraft assigned to Carrier Training Wing (CTW) 1 approaches the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) on March 20, 2017. US NAvy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Navy and Marine Corps are still struggling with oxygen system problems that have plagued the Navy’s carrier training aircraft and have clogged both services’ pipeline of new pilots, the commander of Naval Air Systems Command said during a Wednesday congressional hearing. Read More
MQ-8C Fire Scout returns from a test mission on the Point Mugu Sea Range in Point Mugu, Calif. US Navy Photo
As the Navy pursues a new anti-ship weapon for its Littoral Combat Ships, Northrop Grumman is pitching its MQ-8C Fire Scout to help the crew find their targets hundreds of miles away. Read More
Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 323 “Death Rattlers” inspect an F/A-18C Hornet at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev., on Feb. 15 2017. Marine Corps Photo
Marine Corps leadership told the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee that it needs a Fiscal Year 2017 budget and the supplemental spending request to not only address aviation and ground equipment readiness challenges but also to keep global operational requirements on track. Read More
U.S. Marine Corps pilots maneuver a CH-53K King Stallion as it delivers a 12,000 pound external load after completing a 110 nautical mile mission during the two-week initial operational test (OT-B1) conducted at Sikorsky. Sikorsky photo.
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Pentagon today formally approved the Marine Corps’ CH-53K Super Stallion heavy lift helicopter program to move into production. Read More
An artist’s conception of an installed Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) on a U.S. carrier. General Atomics Image
This post has been updated to include a more complete explanation of the design flaw the Navy discovered in the AAG.
The Navy is electing to use the controversial Advanced Arresting Gear on its next Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), USNI News has learned. Read More
The Navy conducts its first live fire demonstration to successfully test the integration of F-35 with existing Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air architecture, Sept. 12, 2016. US Navy Photo
A Monday test pairing a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) with an Aegis Combat System armed with a Raytheon Standard Missile-6 is the latest step in expanding how the Navy and Marine Corps will share data on future battlefields. Read More
The following is a U.S. Navy video of MV-22 Osprey tests on USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) released by the service on Aug. 23, 2016. A variant of the Osprey will replace the Navy’s current Carrier On-Board Delivery (COD) aircraft — the C-2A Greyhound — starting in the 2020s. Read More
MV-22B on the deck of USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70). Gidget Fuentes Photo Used with Permission
ABOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CARL VINSON — Ten days into a two-week fleet battle experiment on this aircraft carrier off the California coast, the Navy is getting a good look at how the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor can fit into flight and deck operations of its carrier fleet. So far, the outlook is promising. Read More
An F/A-18F Super Hornet in Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 comes in for an arrested landing on the deck of USS George Washington (CVN-73) on June 27, 2016, while testing the MAGIC CARPET carrier landing assistance technology. USNI News photo.
ABOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, OFF THE COAST OF VIRGINIA – The Navy has completed testing of its MAGIC CARPET technology that simplifies the process of landing a fighter on an aircraft carrier – with data suggesting that pilots may make single-digit flight path corrections on final approach instead of hundreds and land “significantly” closer to their target on the flight deck, according to those involved in the testing. Read More
