Mil News USA, Canada & Caribbean Nations Military News & Discussion Thread

[BCNTM]

Kratos Reveals Existence Of Secretive Demogorgon Unmanned Combat Aircraft Program (Updated)

The company has a rapidly growing portfolio of combat drones, over half of which remain classified, as the Air Force signals an appetite for more.

www.thedrive.com

First pic of another new one - also confirmation of 'cheap' split sensing across a swarm

 

[morris]

January 12, the destroyer DDG 1002 Lyndon B. Johnson, the third and last ship of the Zumwalt class, completed construction for the US Navy, went to sea from the General Dynamic Bath Iron Works shipyard in Bath (Maine).
The destroyer is making a transition to the Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to complete the installation and activation of a number of electronic systems (on the first two ships of this type, this work was carried out at the San Diego Naval Base, which is believed to have caused a delay in work and now considered a failure).
Lyndon B. Johnson is due to enter the US Navy in 2024.
Photo (c) General Dynamic Bath Iron Works

On January 17, 2022, the third and last destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) of the Zumwalt type arrived to the Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

 

[morris]

On January 17, 2022, the third and last destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) of the Zumwalt type arrived to the Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
View attachment 366439View attachment 366440View attachment 366441View attachment 366442View attachment 366443

video of the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002)

 

[Chefjavier]

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Not a bad innings.

Great memories!

 

[Chefjavier]

On January 17, 2022, the third and last destroyer USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG-1002) of the Zumwalt type arrived to the Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
View attachment 366439View attachment 366440View attachment 366441View attachment 366442View attachment 366443

I thought the program was scrap?

 

[morris]

I thought the program was scrap?

I thought that too but here you are.

 

[morris]

The US Navy plans to send the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford, which is still undergoing testing, on its first long-range cruise as early as the middle of the year. That will formally bring the number of aircraft carriers in the fleet to 11.

 

[BravoZulu]

The U.S. Marine Corps has awarded BAE Systems a contract modification for the second lot of full rate production of Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs). The contract award of $ 169 million is for 33 vehicles.
The ACV is proven and highly mobile, capable of conducting rapid ship-to-objective maneuvers and delivering enhanced combat power to the Fleet Marine Forces. Developed with teammate IVECO Defence Vehicles, the ACV represents the optimum balance of sea and land mobility and survivability, with future growth potential.

“BAE Systems is dedicated to helping the Marines meet their expeditionary and Force Design 2030 needs,” said John Swift, director of amphibious programs at BAE Systems, referring to the Marine Corps’ force structure goal for combat operations in a rapidly-evolving future environment. “This follow-on contract is a testament to our commitment of getting this critical capability to the warfighter and supporting the Marine Corps’ priorities.”

BAE Systems is already under contract to deliver two variants of the ACV Family of Vehicles to the Marine Corps: the ACV personnel variant (ACV-P) and the ACV command variant (ACV-C). The company has also received a design and development contract for a 30mm cannon variant (ACV-30), and a recovery vehicle (ACV-R) is also planned. In addition, BAE Systems has received task instructions from the U.S. Marine Corps to complete a study of incorporating Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle Command, Control, Communication and Computers/Unmanned Aerial Systems mission payload into an Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) variant.

BAE Systems was awarded the first full-rate ACV production Lot 1 contract option in December 2020 for the first 36 vehicles and the second option in February of 2021 for an additional 36 vehicles. Earlier this fall, the ACV team delivered the 100th Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) ACV to the Marine Corps and is on schedule to complete LRIP deliveries by January 2022, as ACV fielding to the Fleet Marine Forces continues on time and budget.

 

[Chefjavier]

The US Navy plans to send the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford, which is still undergoing testing, on its first long-range cruise as early as the middle of the year. That will formally bring the number of aircraft carriers in the fleet to 11.
View attachment 367073

I thought they still have issues with the catapult system

 

[Chazman]

I thought they still have issues with the catapult system

Apparently the cats and arresting gear have been fixed. It was the ordinance elevators which were keeping it from being deployed. They just tried to jam too many new technologies into one ship all at once.

France wants to buy the EM cats/arresting gear for it's next carriers. China is trying to copy them.

 

[BravoZulu]

Apparently the cats and arresting gear have been fixed. It was the ordinance elevators which were keeping it from being deployed. They just tried to jam too many new technologies into one ship all at once.

France wants to buy the EM cats/arresting gear for it's next carriers. China is trying to copy them.

Agreed @Chazman, the ordinance elevators have been a bugbear from the start, to the point of I believe only 1 elevator being capable of transferring ordinance. Hopefully the issue has been ironed out. Like most of these issues, throw enough money at the problem and it can eventually be resolved.

 

[BravoZulu]

March 4, 2022. The F-35C Joint Strike Fighter that encountered a “landing mishap” aboard the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was salvaged Wednesday from the South China Sea.

The U.S. 7th Fleet’s Task Force 75 and Naval Sea Systems Command’s Supervisor of Salvage and Diving pulled the jet up from a depth of approximately 12,400 feet, according to the 7th Fleet. The teams used a CURV-21 — a 6,400-pound, remotely operated deep ocean salvage vehicle — to heave the aircraft onto the diving support construction vessel Picasso.

 

[BravoZulu]

While the Air Force and Boeing have yet to finalize a new schedule for the presidential aircraft replacement program, it now appears that the first new Air Force One plane will be delivered to the service even later than previously expected.

Boeing now expects that it will deliver the first VC-25B a total of 17 months later than originally scheduled, two sources with knowledge of the program told Breaking Defense.

That timeline has not been accepted by the Air Force and could change as the service negotiates with Boeing on a new schedule baseline. But Boeing’s new projection, which has been conveyed to stakeholders outside of the company, represents a growth from the 12-month delay presented by the company last year.

Any cost increases associated with the delay would be borne by Boeing, due to the fixed-price nature of its $3.9 billion contract with the Air Force. That contract covers the engineering, manufacturing and development work associated with turning baseline Boeing 747s into a presidential aircraft furnished with exquisite (and highly-classified) defensive systems, hardened electronics and secure communications gear.
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/03...ditional-delays-up-to-17-months-late-sources/

 

[BCNTM]

The Air Force Is Testing the First B-21 Raider at Its Secret Manufacturing Plant

The testing will pave the way for a first flight later this year.

www.popularmechanics.com

B21 gets a drone buddy as well

 

[BravoZulu]

America’s largest shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) on Friday 11th March, 2022, delivered the newest Virginia-class fast-attack submarine to the U.S. Navy.

Montana (SSN 794), which successfully completed sea trials last month, is the 10th Virginia-class submarine to be delivered by HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division and the 21st built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics’ Electric Boat.

https://www.marinelink.com/news/virginiaclass-submarine-montana-ssn-495011

 

[Mark Sman]

I now declare the FY23 games open. Somebody light the money torch.

Lawmakers draw battle lines for FY23 defense spending ahead of White House budget release

The president's budget plan for fiscal 2023 is set to be unveiled on March 28.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[Mark Sman]

Blast from the past. Rolling around Grafenwoehr. Talking about maybe permanently stationed armor brigade in West Germany Europe.

Armor brigade workload may dramatically increase if Ukraine crisis holds

If the Army's current requirements in Europe stick around, the service may have to tweak force structure.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[BravoZulu]

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate is seeking partners to design and inform the capabilities of the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHPS) satellite, to provide space domain awareness beyond Geosynchronous orbit, in the region of the moon that is experiencing increasing activity.

A draft Request for Proposals was posted last week, on the NSTXL.org website, and companies who are part of the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) are encouraged to submit ideas by the deadline of 11 a.m. MST on April 1, 2022.

“The CHPS program will deliver space domain awareness, in a region that is one thousand times greater than our current area of responsibility,” said Michael Lopez, the newly announced CHPS program manager. “AFRL is interested in hearing from companies that may have ideas that differ from ours, and could contribute to the satellite’s capabilities.”

The Cislunar Highway Patrol System is a spacecraft conceived at the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, and is being designed to improve the United States Space Force’s (USSF) ability to detect, track and identify artificial objects operating at lunar distances and beyond a range of 385,000 km.

Most Space Force sensors are designed to detect and track satellites that are in Geo synchronous orbit (~36,000 km) distances or closer.

CHPS will search for unknown objects like mission related debris, rocket bodies, and other previously untracked cislunar objects, as well as provide position updates on spacecraft currently operating near the Moon or other cislunar regions that are challenging to observe from Earth.

In addition to extending the Space Force’s sensing capabilities, CHPS will provide the DOD with experience operating in the complicated gravitational environment that exists in specific areas between the Earth and the Moon, and help mature technology required to communicate and navigate near the Moon.
https://www.afrl.af.mil/News/Articl...y-patrol-system-seeks-industry-collaboration/

 

[Mark Sman]

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate is seeking partners to design and inform the capabilities of the Cislunar Highway Patrol System (CHPS) satellite, to provide space domain awareness beyond Geosynchronous orbit, in the region of the moon that is experiencing increasing activity.

A draft Request for Proposals was posted last week, on the NSTXL.org website, and companies who are part of the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) are encouraged to submit ideas by the deadline of 11 a.m. MST on April 1, 2022.

“The CHPS program will deliver space domain awareness, in a region that is one thousand times greater than our current area of responsibility,” said Michael Lopez, the newly announced CHPS program manager. “AFRL is interested in hearing from companies that may have ideas that differ from ours, and could contribute to the satellite’s capabilities.”

The Cislunar Highway Patrol System is a spacecraft conceived at the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, and is being designed to improve the United States Space Force’s (USSF) ability to detect, track and identify artificial objects operating at lunar distances and beyond a range of 385,000 km.

Most Space Force sensors are designed to detect and track satellites that are in Geo synchronous orbit (~36,000 km) distances or closer.

CHPS will search for unknown objects like mission related debris, rocket bodies, and other previously untracked cislunar objects, as well as provide position updates on spacecraft currently operating near the Moon or other cislunar regions that are challenging to observe from Earth.

In addition to extending the Space Force’s sensing capabilities, CHPS will provide the DOD with experience operating in the complicated gravitational environment that exists in specific areas between the Earth and the Moon, and help mature technology required to communicate and navigate near the Moon.
https://www.afrl.af.mil/News/Articl...y-patrol-system-seeks-industry-collaboration/

I have to admit "CHPS", "deadline of 11 a.m. MST on April 1, 2022."

That made me stop and check if this was real.

Looks legit, just a funny coincidence.

 

[BravoZulu]

Canada:
The Canadian government has chosen the F-35 as its preferred replacement for the air force's four-decade-old CF-18 fighters and will open negotiations with the stealth jet's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin.

Public Services and Procurement Minister Filomena Tassi and Defence Minister Anita Anand made the announcement Monday.

The decision to open negotiations is the latest step in a process that has been underway for more than a dozen years. It also represents a major reversal for the Liberal government — which pledged in 2015 to never buy the F-35.

"It is the most significant investment in the RCAF in more than 30 years," Tassi said.

"Our government promised Canadians a competitive procurement process to ensure we are getting the right aircraft at the right price while maximizing economic benefits to Canadians. We committed to running an open, fair and competitive process and we are delivering on that promise."

Tassi listed the steps the government took — such as hiring an independent fairness monitor — and insisted that politics played no role in the decision. The minister said that she and Anand were not informed who the winning bidder was until just before the announcement.

That didn't stop the Opposition Conservatives from wondering aloud whether entering contract negotiations is another way for the government to delay making a final decision.

"After losing so many years for purely political reasons, we want to have a real response," said Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus in question period. "Will the F-35 be Canada's final choice or is this yet another time-stretching announcement?"

The decision Monday all but guarantees Lockheed Martin the $19 billion contract for 88 of the ultra-modern fighters.

Under the federal government's procurement system, Ottawa chooses an aircraft and then tries to negotiate a contract with the manufacturer. If that negotiation fails, the government turns to the second-place bidder — in this case the Swedish aircraft-maker Saab, which offered the latest version of its Gripen fighter jet to the competition.

The project to replace Canada's fighter jet fleet has been a political football for more than a decade.

The government of former prime minister Stephen Harper signalled its intention to sole-source a contract to buy 65 F-35s in the summer of 2010. The bid collapsed following criticism from both the auditor general and the parliamentary budget officer — both of whom questioned the cost and whether the Conservative government had done enough homework to ensure that the stealth fighter was indeed the right choice.

As a result of that criticism, the Liberals vowed in 2015 to never buy the F-35. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went even further; shortly after being elected, he questioned whether the stealth fighter — which has had a number of development glitches — actually worked.

Tassi tried to square that earlier opposition by arguing the Liberal government did its homework and held an open competition to the benefit of all involved, including the defence industry.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/f-35-negotiations-1.6399978