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

[rtomedic]

DoD's Underfunded Maintenance Backlog Exceeds $116 Billion, Official Says
WASHINGTON -- The requested $10.5 billion in military construction and family housing programs in the president's fiscal year 2019 budget request makes significant progress to recapitalize facilities, but it will not reverse the impacts of six years of sequestration, the assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations and environment said today.

"We currently have an underfunded maintenance backlog exceeding $116 billion; 23 percent of the department's facilities are in poor condition, [and] another 9 percent are in failing condition," Lucian Niemeyer told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on readiness.

"My frank assessment [is that] it may be too costly to buy ourselves out of this backlog," he said. "We must work to remove unneeded capacity to fund higher priorities. As noted in the National Defense Strategy, we continue to reduce excess infrastructure and will work with Congress for options for base realignment and closures. These efforts will be enhanced by a careful evaluation we are undertaking of how and when we base new forces and new capabilities ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2018/04/mil-180418-afps04.htm?_m=3n.002a.2269.ph0ao0037n.237l

Navy Establishes Command to Ensure Readiness of Warships Forward Deployed in Japan
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Commander, Naval Surface Group Western Pacific (CNSG WP) was officially established in Japan to oversee the Forward Deployed Naval Force Japan (FDNF-J) surface ship maintenance, training, and certification on Apr. 11, 2018.

In October 2017, U.S. Pacific Fleet established a Detachment, Naval Surface Group Western Pacific as an interim organization to protect the balance between operations, maintenance, and training requirements. Now a permanent command, the name of this organization has changed to CNSG WP.

It will serve as Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet's (CNSP) Executive Agent responsible to oversee surface ship maintenance and training. This new command will manage ship activities in the maintenance and basic phase, enforce the readiness assessment and certification process within those phases and closely coordinate ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/mili...418-nns01.htm?_m=3n.002a.2269.ph0ao0037n.237q

 

[Chazman]

Report to Congress on the LCS.
https://news.usni.org/2018/04/19/report-congress-littoral-combat-ship-program-2#more-33036

I sure hope that the USN eventually finds a use for these ships so the taxpayers can get "some" value for their money. Maybe when the MCM module get's deployed some of these ships will have a mission. Other than that, I can only see 4th Fleet type missions of drug interdiction and anti-smuggling.

 

[rtomedic]

Van Plows Down Toronto Sidewalk, Killing 9 in ‘Pure Carnage’
Nine people were killed and 16 were injured on Monday when a man drove a white van onto the sidewalk along one of Toronto’s main thoroughfares, spreading carnage and fear through the country’s largest metropolis, the authorities and witnesses said.

The van struck a man crossing Yonge Street before it jumped the curb near Mel Lastman Square and sped down the sidewalk at 40 miles an hour, witnesses said, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
The driver was taken into custody after a dramatic confrontation with the police that was captured on video.

“Shoot me in the head,” he yelled before he was detained.
It was one of the worst mass killings in the modern history of Canada.

“There were a lot of pedestrians out, a lot of witnesses out, enjoying the sunny afternoon,” said Peter Yuen, the deputy chief of the Toronto police service.

“I ask the city of Toronto to pray for our victims and to help the Toronto police service bring this matter to a successful ...MORE WITH VIDEO

https://americansecuritytoday.com/van-plows-toronto-sidewalk-killing-9-pure-carnage-videos/

 

[DMsquadron]

U.S. Airborne Troops Set to Get New Ground Mobility Vehicle
The U.S. Army’s five airborne infantry brigade combat teams are set to begin receiving the new Ground Mobility Vehicle. Designed to move airborne troops out from the drop zone in a hurry, the new air-droppable vehicles were originally procured for special forces but have found a new home. Military Times reports non-airborne infantry forces will receive the vehicles next.

The Ground Mobility Vehicle is based on the General Dynamics Flyer Advanced Light Strike Vehicle. The Flyer is designed as a high performance, four-wheel drive vehicle for travelling across rough terrain. A sturdy four-wheel drive vehicle with a roll cage body, the Flyer has a top speed of 95 miles per hour, a range of 300 miles, and is powered by a 2.0 liter DOHC bi-turbocharged, intercollected diesel engine generating 195 horsepower

The GMV is meant to take soldiers where other vehicle can’t. It can scale a 60 degree grade and ford 30 inches of water. It has 19 inches of ground clearance, coil over shocks, and a independent adjustment suspension. It has a 55.5 degree approach angle and 53.1 degree departure angle. For increased cross-country mobility it has limited slip-front and limited-slip locking rear differentials.

The GMV can carry up to nine troops, including driver, meaning it can ferry an entire airborne infantry squad. It has a curb weight of 5,200 pounds and can carry a 5,700 pound payload. In turn, it is transportable inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter and can be airdropped out of a C-130 and larger air transports. The vehicle in Army images is shown with a M-2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun and a M240 medium machine gun.

According to Military Times, the first 300 vehicles will be divvied up to the U.S. Army’s five airborne brigade combat teams--the three brigades of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Division in Alaska and the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Italy. A second buy of 1,700 GMVs will be split by rest of the U.S. Army if the purchase is approved.

The airborne forces’ GMVs are apparently lacking some of the “bells and whistles” of the original vehicles provided to special forces. Exactly what those are is unknown but may include heavy weapons mounts, greater fuel capacity, and more electrical power.

 

[DMsquadron]

The U.S. Army Is Pushing for Battlefield Railguns
The U.S. Army is pushing ahead with plans to field railguns on the battlefield of tomorrow, awarding a leading railgun developer a contract to mature a ground-based railgun system. Rapid progress in miniaturizing railguns technology has transformed the hypersonic weapons from laboratory curiosities to potential weapons that promise tremendous increases in range and energy.
According to National Defense, the Pentagon’s Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium awarded a contract to General Atomics, developer of the U.S. Navy’s railgun system, to “evaluate and mature railgun weapon system capabilities in support of U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Command.” The contract specifies the construction of railgun prototypes that could be used by the Army in the ground combat role.

Railguns, once relegated the realm of science fiction, involve using powerful electrical currents to generate a row of magnetic fields between two rails. Objects placed between those rails and the fields between them are accelerated parallel to tremendous velocities. Railguns can send objects flying at speeds of up to Mach 6, much faster than traditional guns that rely on explosive force.

The Army envisions using railguns in two ways. The first way is as a means of lobbing projectiles very long distances, beyond conventional artillery such as the M777 towed and M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers. This would enable the Army to strike targets deep behind enemy lines, while also staying out of the range of enemy counter-fire.

The railgun’s second potential use is much more sci-fi. They could be used as a hypervelocity gun on a main battle tank. A tank-mounted railgun would likely dominate the land battlefield of the future, smashing through even the thickest of enemy armor at impressive ranges.

Making a railgun a practical land weapon still requires plenty of technological innovation. The railgun’s footprint, although reduced at least eightfold over the years, must be made even smaller to fit on a thirty foot long, sixty ton tank. Railgun weapons must be durable enough to withstand cross-country travel. The railgun “barrel” currently lasts for just a handful of shots. The armed services would like that number to be up around a thousand to be comfortable. And the artillery projectiles, particularly if they have guidance systems or a complex fuse, must be able to withstand powerful electromagnetic fields and the shock of going from sitting still to hitting Mach 6 virtually instantaneously.

Still, as the technology is increasingly refined, the more it seems inevitable that gunpowder-based weapons will eventually give way to electricity-based ones. We might not see railgun tanks in the next five, ten, or even twenty years, but all signs point to it happening eventually. The U.S. Army just wants to make sure it’s first.

 

[rtomedic]

US struggling to handle excess plutonium
The United States is struggling to handle the excessive amounts of plutonium generated at the cores of its many retired nuclear reactors, according to a new report, raising fears that it might end up in the wrong hands.

Today, there are some 54 metric tons of surplus plutonium stored in nuclear facilities the US Department of Energy operates around the country, according to Reuters.

In Pantex, a plant located near Amarillo, Texas, the surplus plutonium has long exceeded the 20,000 cores, also known as "pits," that regulations allow such facilities to store in their temporary storage facility.

That means a mishap in the process, which is mostly done manually by contract workers, can trigger massive nuclear explosions.

While in the past the US simply used the leftover plutonium to produce more nuclear munitions, it is now obliged under a 2010 treaty with Russia to keep its arsenal under 1,550 warheads.

Moscow and Washington have also agreed in a separate agreement to render unusable for weapons 34 metric tons of plutonium. ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/...presstv01.htm?_m=3n.002a.2274.ph0ao0037n.23dk

 

[rtomedic]

Toronto Police Say Van Driver's Name Did Not Trigger Terrorism Red Flags
At least 10 people were killed and about 15 others were injured on Monday, when a white Ryder van mounted a curb and plowed into pedestrians on a busy street in downtown Toronto.

Police arrested the alleged driver, Alek Minassian, 25, of the Richmond Hill area, according to the Toronto Star. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Minassian’s name did not trigger any red flags relating to terrorism. However, the motive for his alleged attack remains unclear.

The incident was horrendous, Goodale told reporters. “But it does not appear to be connected in any way to national security.”The suspect was due in court Tuesday morning.

Toronto Police Chief Says It’s Too Early to Dismiss Terrorism as Attack Motive

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders stated that it was too early in the investigation to dismiss terrorism as a motive, but so far, he said, there was no evidence pointing to that.

“This is very early in the investigation; there’s no avenue we won’t explore,” Saunders told reporters. “We open all lanes at the start and follow wherever the evidence takes us.” ...MORE

https://inhomelandsecurity.com/toro...police-van-terrorism&utm_campaign=20180425IHS

 

[rtomedic]

Mattis Asks House Committee to Build on Recent DoD Successes
WASHINGTON -- Operationally and financially, the Defense Department has had a good year and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis urged the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee to build on this.

The secretary and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified in a closed hearing before the subcommittee today. DoD released the secretary's opening statement.

Mattis highlighted the National Defense Strategy, noting the document provides "clear direction for America's military to restore its competitive edge in an era of re-emerging long-term great power competition."

Confronting Current, Future Threats

He also talked of the need for the nation to refurbish and modernize its nuclear deterrent to confront 21st century threats.
The secretary also spoke about operations in Iraq and Syria, where the "by, with and through" strategy has driven the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria from 98 percent of the territory it once held.

"In South Asia and Afghanistan, uncertainty in the region has been replaced by the certainty of the administration's South Asia Strategy," he said in his remarks ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/mili...25-afps02.htm?_m=3n.002a.2275.ph0ao0037n.23er

 

[BravoZulu]

USS Bremerton bids farewell to Pearl Harbor as it heads for inactivation site

US Navy’s Los Angeles-class submarine USS Bremerton (SSN 698) departed her homeport at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for the final time on April 20, as she headed for Bremerton, Washington to begin the inactivation and decommissioning process.

As Bremerton departed, sailors, submarine veterans, friends and families of the crew looked on from the pier, and celebrated her 37 years of honorable service to the US submarine force.

Home-ported out of Pearl Harbor since 2003, Bremerton departed Hawaii with a special guest, Bremerton’s first commanding officer, Capt. (Ret.) Thomas H. Anderson.

“It feels great to be here and the boat is in excellent condition,” said Anderson, who commanded Bremerton from 1981-1982. “It’s a tribute to the hard work the crew has put in and it’s really an honor to be a part of their last cruise.”

Master Chief Fire Control Technician (Submarine) Wade Jacobson, Bremerton’s chief of the boat, and a native of Alum Bank, Pennsylvania, thanked everyone for their support of Bremerton and her crew.

“It’s tough saying goodbye to not only friends and family, but all the other entities that have taken care of the Badfish for the past 30-plus years,” said Jacobson. “They’ve devoted countless hours to ensure that the crew was trained and fully ready for every task we’ve accomplished over the life of the ship.”

During Bremerton’s 37 years of successful service, she completed 17 deployments while performing missions vital to national security and developing maritime partnerships with foreign Western Pacific nations.

Jacobson acknowledged that the move from Pearl Harbor to Bremerton will be bitter sweet, but the crew is excited to be the last to represent the Washington warship.

“There’s always something special about being the last crew to do things,” said Jacobson. “We’re looking forward to the final dive, the final surface, the final reactor shutdown, and many other ‘final’ events.”

USS Bremerton was commissioned on March 28th, 1981 and is named after the city of Bremerton, Washington. It is the tenth ship of the Los Angeles-class of nuclear attack submarines.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/04/23/u...r-as-it-heads-for-inactivation-site/?uid=5430

 

[BravoZulu]

USN Retires F/A-18C Hornet from Combat as F-35C Enters Service

It's the end of an era for the Navy's F/A-18C Hornet; officials announced the jet's recently completed deployment aboard the USS Carl Vinson was its last.

The service recently told Stars and Stripes it will no longer use the jet in combat or regular deployments, but will find other uses for the attack aircraft first deployed decades ago.


Though the three-month mission that ended March 12 was the Hornet's final full deployment, Strike Fighter Squadron 34 will fly the jets in the 25-nation Rim of the Pacific exercise this summer, said Lt. j.g. Emily Judstra, a Naval Air Forces Pacific Fleet spokeswoman.

After that, the Hornets will mainly be used in demonstrations and training with the Blue Angels, at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center and in reserve squadrons, she said.

The San Diego-based VFA-34 will be the last squadron to transition to the F/A-18E Super Hornets when it does so next February, Judstra said.

The Hornet's similarly looking successor, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, will continue to be used in deployments and combat.

The Super Hornet, which was rolled out in 1999, is about 25 percent larger with "increased maneuverability, range, payload and more powerful engines" than its predecessor, according to Boeing.

The F/A-18C's departure creates room for newer fighter jets on flight decks. The Navy's F-35C Lightning II is coming closer to operational status, completing fleet carrier qualifications last month.

The service said last fall that its version of the F-35 -- which has drawn scrutiny over a predicted $1 trillion-plus cost of operations over its expected 60-year life span -- will reach initial operational capacity this year.

The Hornet's first C models entered active duty in 1987 and cost $29 million each. In its earlier years, the jet "[broke] all records for tactical aircraft in availability, reliability and maintainability," the Navy said.

"The F/A-18 demonstrated its capabilities and versatility during Operation Desert Storm, shooting down enemy fighters and subsequently bombing enemy targets with the same aircraft on the same mission," the Navy said.

Cmdr. Thomas Bodine, U.S. Navy Federal Executive Fellow to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, said the Hornet proved to be a "stalwart, front-line strike fighter for the Navy" over the years.

"The aircraft and her pilots have contributed to every major combat operation ranging from the 1998 Operation Desert Fox in Iraq, to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, to the ongoing Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Iraq," Bodine said. "The [F/A-18C's] departure from the Navy's operational roster marks an end of an era."

While the Navy's Hornets have seen their final combat action, Bodine said the aircraft's impact will remain.

"Her legacy continues both within the Marine Corps, whose F/A-18C/D Hornet squadrons are flying her with great precision and lethality, and through the Navy's FA-18E/F Super Hornet, which serves as the only operational strike fighter in the Navy's inventory," he said.

Cpl. Dylan Lippard observes a replenishment-at-sea last month from atop an F/A-18C Hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. (U.S. Navy photo/Alex Corona)

https://www.military.com/daily-news...f-35c-enters-service.html?ESRC=navy_180424.nl

 

[BravoZulu]

The U.S. Air Force is set to posthumously award the Medal of Honor to an airman for the first time since the Vietnam War, according to an exclusive report from Task & Purpose.

The White House will award Tech Sgt. John Chapman, who was killed in eastern Afghanistan in 2002 while serving as a radioman with Navy SEALs, the highest award for military valor in a ceremony later this year, T&P said on Friday.


The Air Force would not comment on the report, and referred all questions to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to a Military.com query and did not confirm any details to Task & Purpose.

In 2016, then-Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James reportedly pushed to elevate Chapman's award. Chapman was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross in 2003.

Chapman's final hours in Afghanistan were unveiled in new details first obtained by The New York Times. New evidence from drone footage showed that Chapman fought al-Qaida fighters alone on a mountainside after his unit departed, the Times said.

Chapman, a combat controller, was attached to SEAL Team 6 team during Operation Anaconda, a large-scale attempt to clear the Shah-i-Kot Valley of al-Qaida and Taliban forces. The team's task was to establish an outpost on Takur Ghar at the top of the mountain.

Due to timing delays, the helicopter carrying the team arrived to al-Qaida forces waiting for them and took heavy fire. During the assault, one SEAL, Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, fell out of the MH-47 Chinook. The helicopter crash-landed about four miles away.

Chapman soon after began calling in airstrikes from AC-130 gunships circling overhead.

According to his Air Force Cross citation, Chapman "then directed the gunship to begin the search for the missing team member. He requested, coordinated, and controlled the helicopter that extracted the stranded team and aircrew members."

Chapman eventually returned on another Chinook with five SEALs to rescue Roberts on the hillside, which would become known as "Roberts Ridge."

Advancing into the region, the tech sergeant engaged and kill two enemy personnel, and exchange fire with multiple fighters from all around.

"From close range he exchanged fire with the enemy from minimum personal cover until he succumbed to multiple wounds," the citation said. "His engagement and destruction of the first enemy position and advancement on the second position enabled his team to move to cover and break enemy contact."

While it was believed Chapman was killed in the firefight, Predator drone footage coupled with video feed from an AC-130 showed a grainy image of Chapman still living up to an hour after his teammates left the area.

He would go on to kill more enemy fighters, engaging one al-Qaida fighter in hand-to-hand combat.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...approved-medal-honor.html?ESRC=navy_180424.nl

 

[BravoZulu]

US:

The US Navy officially received its second Zumwalt-class destroyer, the future USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001), from General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) in a ceremony on April 24.

Delivery of DDG 1001 follows extensive tests, trials and demonstrations of the ship’s hull, mechanical and electrical systems, including the boat handling, anchor and mooring systems as well as major demonstrations of the damage control, ballasting, navigation and communications systems.

The 610-foot, wave-piercing tumblehome ship design provides a wide array of advancements. The shape of the superstructure and the arrangement of its antennas significantly reduce radar cross section, making the ship less visible to enemy radars.

Like the first ship of the class, USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), DDG 1001 employs an integrated power system (IPS) which distributes 1,000 volts of direct current across the ship. The IPS’s unique architectural capabilities include the ability to allocate all 78 megawatts of installed power to propulsion, ship’s service and combat system loads from the same gas turbine prime movers based on operational requirements.

They are the first US Navy combatant surface ships to utilize an integrated power system (IPS) to provide electric power for propulsion and ship services.

DDG 1000-class ships are delivered through a two-phase approach in which combat systems are installed and activated subsequent to HM&E delivery. Following HM&E delivery, Michael Monsoor will transit to its homeport in San Diego, California, for commissioning in January 2019 and to begin combat systems activation, testing and trials.

DDG 1001 is the second ship of the Zumwalt class. The third and final ship of the class, the future USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG 1002), is currently in construction at BIW’s shipyard along with Arleigh Burke-class destroyers Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), Carl M. Levin (DDG 120) and John Basilone (DDG 122)

https://navaltoday.com/2018/04/25/u...-destroyer-michael-monsoor-ddg-1001/?uid=5430

 

[Wallensi]

USA

This Army unit tested the newest Paladin howitzer by firing hundreds of rounds a day for weeks

Cannon-cockers with the 1st Infantry Division’s “Bonecrusher” Battery fired hundreds of artillery rounds a day for two weeks straight as they tested the Army’s newest upgrades to the Paladin howitzer.
And some of the soldiers in the battery who participated called it the most “intense and exhilarating” training they’ve experienced.
Capt. Joseph Brown, battery commander with B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team said the training was conducted much like what the soldiers would see at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California — even though they were at Fort Riley, Kansas, the unit’s home station.
The soldiers started the testing with a muster and move to the field, and then they started firing for almost 20 hours a day in “near continuous operations over the course of the next two weeks.”
The upgrades and training fall closely in line with priorities, outlined under Army modernization efforts, to increase long-range fires and make soldiers more lethal through increased training.
“In testing for the readiness of the vehicle, [it] made my section more efficient in artillery,” said Staff Sgt. James Glover, a section chief. “The amount of rounds we shot … I seriously doubt I’ll see that again.”
The soldiers couldn’t disclose the exact number of rounds fired from their new M109A7 Self-Propelled 155mm Paladin Howitzers, but they said that it was more than many had ever fired in training or combat.
“We’re not going to get anything like that unless we went to actual combat,” said Staff Sgt. Brett Boger, a section chief with Company B.
Changes to the Paladin helped take some stress off the soldiers during the demanding field testing, they said.
Upgrades include changes to the interior that automates some of the procedures, allowing more rounds to be fired faster and at a higher rate than with the manual systems on previous versions.

More here=
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your...by-firing-hundreds-of-rounds-a-day-for-weeks/

 

[AAR Galileo]

USN Expeditionary Fast Transport Ships design problems found.

An entire class of Navy ships designed to quickly move troops and equipment around the world has major problems that could prevent them from accomplishing that mission.
That's the conclusion of a new report from the Defense Department Inspector General.

The catamaran-style expeditionary fast transport ships, according to the report, were supposed to be able to carry 1.2 million pounds of cargo for 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots, or about 40 miles per hour. But initial testing showed the ships were only able to carry that amount for 769 nautical miles at an average speed of 31 knots.

more ....
https://www.military.com/daily-news...-fast-transport-has-problems-report-says.html

 

[rtomedic]

War Chest: US Dominates World Military Spending in 2017; Riyadh Surpasses Moscow
The United States spent more on its military in 2017 than the next seven highest-spending countries combined; the land of the free, in fact, accounted for 35 percent of the entire planet's defense expenditure, which totalled $1.74 trillion that year.

The new statistics come from data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in their May 2018 report: Trends in World Military Expenditure.

Chart shows the top 15 military spenders in 2017, their 2016 ranking, how much they spent, how much their spending has changed over 10 years, their share of global world military expenditures and their spending as a share of their GDP.

The five biggest military investors – US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India – accounted for 60 percent of military spending in 2017.

Siemon Wezeman, a senior researcher at SIPRI, told Sputnik News that when it comes to the Middle East, there's a "bit of a yo-yo movement there. Sometimes it goes up very strongly, and then it goes down again when the oil prices go down ...more

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2018/05/mil-180502-sputnik01.htm?_m=3n.002a.2281.ph0ao0037n.23ln


Air Force selects locations for B-21 aircraft
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Air Force announced that the B-21 Raider will replace B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit aircraft at three existing bomber bases beginning in the mid-2020s.

The Air Force selected Dyess Air Force Base, Texas; Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, as reasonable alternatives to host the new B-21 aircraft. Using the current bomber bases will minimize operational impact, reduce overhead, maximize re-use of facilities, and minimize cost, Air Force officials said.

"Our current bomber bases are best suited for the B-21," said Secretary of the Air Force Heather A. Wilson. "We expect the first B-21 Raider aircraft to be delivered in the mid-2020s."

Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, and Minot AFB, North Dakota, will continue to host the B-52, which is expected to continue conducting operations through 2050.

"We are designing the B-21 Raider to replace our aging bombers as a long-range, highly-survivable aircraft capable of carrying mixed conventional and nuclear payloads, to strike any target worldwide," said Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein. ...MORE

https://www.globalsecurity.org/mili...02-afns02.htm?_m=3n.002a.2281.ph0ao0037n.23lx

 

[Wallensi]

Heckler and Koch Defense Inc.,* Ashburn, Virginia, is awarded a maximum ceiling $29,427,750 five-year, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the purchase of up to a maximum 15,000 M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle systems and spare parts. Work will be performed at Oberndorf, Germany (70 percent); Columbus, Georgia (20 percent); and Ashburn, Virginia (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by April 30, 2023. Fiscal 2016 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $37,536; fiscal 2017 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,650,003; and fiscal 2018 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $4,771,071 totaling $7,458,610, will be obligated on the first delivery order immediately following contract award. The fiscal 2016 funds in the amount of $37,536 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was awarded on a sole source basis under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 6.302-1. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-18-D-1248).

More here =https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1505834/

 

[Chazman]

I think the USN was sold a pup on the LCS ships to be honest. After the OHP's were retired there had been no real attempt to replace them with a "like" design and the LCS was a product looking for a market. Some nifty pork barrelling and some pushing from Congress got them shoehorned into replacing the OHP which the design simply couldn't do. It's why it was called a "littoral" combat ship i.e. brown water ops at which IMHO it fails and it simply doesn't have the capacity to front up in fleet warfare.

For the 1st time in the USN history they have no frigate class to provide the backbone of the workaday fleet and the Arleigh Bourkes have shouldered the load which while being a powerful vessel are probably over kill for many of the roles it has been put into and the LCS are again IMHO, a lost cause.

Just my 2c

It's pretty clear at this point, that the LCS programs were corporate welfare in order to keep 2 shipyards open. I get the national security element to that. But it would have been better if they actually built ships the USN could use.

 

[Bombardier]

The soldiers couldn’t disclose the exact number of rounds fired from their new M109A7 Self-Propelled 155mm Paladin Howitzers, but they said that it was more than many had ever fired in training or combat.

My idea of heaven

 

[AAR Galileo]

May the 4th with you. Canadian Force way

 

[rtomedic]

PR Air Nat’l Guard Mourns Aircrew Killed in GA Crash
A Puerto Rico Air National Guard plane crashed shortly after taking off in Georgia on Wednesday, killing all nine airmen on board.

The plane, a C-130-type cargo plane from Puerto Rico’s 156th Airlift Wing, had been in Savannah for maintenance and took off about 11:30 a.m., bound for Arizona.

The Associated Press reported that the decades-old plane was due to be retired in Arizona, though a National Guard spokesman would not confirm that at a news conference Thursday morning.

The plane made it only about a mile from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport before it nose-dived toward a state highway intersection and exploded into a ball of fire and black smoke, which could be seen across the northern suburbs of the city RIP MORE WITH VIDEO

https://americansecuritytoday.com/pr-air-natl-guard-mourns-aircrew-killed-ga-crash-multi-video/