Critical Navy Center Damaged in Hurricane; LCS Modules, Mine Warfare Tests Imperiled

Critical Navy Center Damaged in Hurricane; LCS Modules, Mine Warfare Tests Imperiled
Critical Navy Center Damaged in Hurricane; LCS Modules, Mine Warfare Tests Imperiled

ANNAPOLIS, Md.  The massive hurricane that slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast killing at at least 27 has also taken a chunk out of the Air Force and Navy’s most advanced weapons. The Air Force is still evaluating about 17 F-22s left behind at Tyndall Air Base, but the nearby Naval Surface Warfare Center at Panama…

F-35 Flights Suspended While F135 Fuel Tubes Checked; UK F-35Bs Keep Flying on HMS QE

F-35 Flights Suspended While F135 Fuel Tubes Checked; UK F-35Bs Keep Flying on HMS QE
F-35 Flights Suspended While F135 Fuel Tubes Checked; UK F-35Bs Keep Flying on HMS QE

UPDATED: Adds Rep. Turner Pledge To Hold HASC Hearings WASHINGTON: It may not last long, but the entire F-35 fleet — all versions from all countries — was just grounded “while the enterprise conducts a fleet-wide inspection of a fuel tube within the engine on all F-35 aircraft.” The British — clearly hungry to keep…

Congress Traded Operations & Maintenance For Modernization In 19 Appropriations

Congress Traded Operations & Maintenance For Modernization In 19 Appropriations
Congress Traded Operations & Maintenance For Modernization In 19 Appropriations

Now that President Trump has signed the fiscal 2019 defense appropriations bill — marking the first time in nine years that defense is not bound by a Continuing Resolution — the broad trend was cuts to Operational and Maintenance (O&M) to fund Research, Development, Testing, & Engineering (RDT&E). The top line was consistent with the…

Army Unveils Multi-Domain Concept; Joined At Hip With Air Force

Army Unveils Multi-Domain Concept; Joined At Hip With Air Force
Army Unveils Multi-Domain Concept; Joined At Hip With Air Force

Just as AirLand Battle was aimed straight at the former Soviet Union, with its massed mechanized armies, Multi-Domain Operations is aimed straight at Vladimir Putin’s Russia, with its long-range missiles, electronic/cyber warfare expertise, and Little Green Men.

Lord OKs F-35 Operational Test And Evaluation

Lord OKs F-35 Operational Test And Evaluation
Lord OKs F-35 Operational Test And Evaluation

PENTAGON: It’s official — the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will begin operational test and evaluation next month, marking one of the most significant transitions for the closely watched program. Next summer, presuming no show stoppers appear during OTE, the program will move to full production. “On October 2, 2018, Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord convened…

Trump’s Industrial Base Report Blames China, Sequestration

Trump’s Industrial Base Report Blames China, Sequestration
Trump’s Industrial Base Report Blames China, Sequestration

Congress and China have emerged as the primary culprits for the weakening the US defense industrial base. Those are the most striking findings of a new White House report that takes a deep-dive into the state of defense manufacturing in the United States, sounding alarm bells over the decline in capability and the rise of China’s industrial might.

Pence, DoD Roll Out Harder Line on China, Russia

Pence, DoD Roll Out Harder Line on China, Russia
Pence, DoD Roll Out Harder Line on China, Russia

The Vice President joined Mattis, the Centcom chief, and Trump’s NATO Ambassador in slamming Russian and Chinese moves. The push comes just before a major White House report takes even more specific aim at China’s industrial policies.

Royal Navy Lands 1st F-35B on New Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

Royal Navy Lands 1st F-35B on New Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth
Royal Navy Lands 1st F-35B on New Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth

“We’re not going to pretend it’s easy,” Rear Adm. Keith Blount, assistant chief of the Naval Staff told reporters. “But this isn’t unfathomably difficult for us. We are enjoying going back into the big time, and this is one of those big steps on that ladder. It’s hugely exciting and should be reassuring to those back home and to those on this side of the Atlantic.”

F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow

F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow
F-35 LRIP 11 Signed: $89M For An F-35A, Including Engine — But SC Crash Casts Shadow

102 F-35As (Air Force) for $89.2 million apiece, down 5.4 percent from LRIP 10;
25 F-35Bs (Marines & Royal Navy) for $115.5 million each, down 5.7 percent; and 14 F-35Cs (US Navy) for $107.7 million each, down 11.1 percent.

F-35’s First Combat Strike Won’t End Debate

F-35’s First Combat Strike Won’t End Debate
F-35’s First Combat Strike Won’t End Debate

WASHINGTON: The first-ever real-world strike by an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a big symbolic moment, as the Pentagon is well aware. It’s also a milestone towards making the F-35 a close-support aircraft to bomb targets threatening US ground troops, replacing the beloved A-10 Warthog. That’s why the military not only had a press release…

First Look Aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth

First Look Aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth
First Look Aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK: The largest ship in British naval history, the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, can move four F-35Bs on her two huge elevators up to her decks in just a few minutes, allowing the ship to put its most potent strike assets into the air in minutes. The entire ship is laced with fiber-optic…

Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered

Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered
Aircraft Win Big In FY19 Appropriations: Munitions, Space, Marines Hammered

The big news about the $674.4 billion defense appropriation that conferees agreed to yesterday is that, for the first time in nine years, it’s on time. But in a budget this big, even the “small” items are billions of dollars, and there are plenty of devils in them thar details.

U.S. Sending Billions Worth of P-8s, E-2Ds To Asian Allies

U.S. Sending Billions Worth of P-8s, E-2Ds To Asian Allies
U.S. Sending Billions Worth of P-8s, E-2Ds To Asian Allies

Japan and South Korea are getting new generations of sub-hunting and intelligence-gathering aircraft as China, North Korea, and Russia continue to push more assets into the waters of the Pacific.

Navy Readies Ships To Help Hurricane Florence Victims

Navy Readies Ships To Help Hurricane Florence Victims
Navy Readies Ships To Help Hurricane Florence Victims

As the Navy sorties 30 ships from Norfolk and surrounding bases, a few ships will be heading back in short order to assist in the cleanup. The amphibious ships USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington, along with hospital ship USNS Comfort, have all loaded up on supplies and have put out to sea.