Marines Aim For Jammers On ‘Every Airplane’
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WASHINGTON: With the rise of high-tech threats from Russia and China, the Marine Corps plans a major increase in its forces devoted to jamming, hacking, and deceiving enemies. That includes: putting new sensors and jammers in everything from ground units to drones to V-22 Osprey tiltrotors and KC-130 transports, despite a tight budget; adding 1,000 to… Keep reading →
Sen. McCain: Keep the B-21 On Track
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The Air Force’s new B-21 long range strike bomber acquisition program has encountered turbulence in recent weeks as Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, declared: “I will not authorize a program that has a cost-plus contract.” Justifying his position, the senator referenced his smart phone, explaining that: “Silicon Valley built the latest… Keep reading →
You-Ain’t-Gonna-Believe-This Design Wins DARPA X-Plane Deal
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DARPA, whose mission is to develop cutting edge and even crazy edge technologies to make sure the U.S. military stays ahead of its competitors, did just that in choosing the winner of its Vertical Takeoff and Landing Experiment Aircraft project, aka VTOL X-Plane. Aurora Flight Sciences was awarded an $89.4 million contract Thursday to build its exotic LightningStrike entry… Keep reading →
Marines’ $2.7B Wishlist: 4 F-35s, 2 V-22s; 2 KC-130Js
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WASHINGTON: Of the Marine Corps’ $2.7 billion in unfunded requirements for 2017 — items that didn’t quite make the president’s budget request — over sixty percent, $1.7 billion, goes to aircraft purchases and upgrades. The next largest category is $371 million for operations and maintenance, the largest single piece of which is $121 million… Keep reading →
Gen. Carlisle Says A-10 Retirement May Slide 2 To 3 Years
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WASHINGTON: Sen. Kelly Ayotte, take note. The head of Air Combat Command told reporters this morning that the A-10 Warthog’s retirement will probably slide two to three years thanks to the increased threats faced by the Air Force. Gen. Hawk Carlisle, speaking at a Defense Writers Group breakfast, made it clear the decision hasn’t been… Keep reading →
Navy’s Distributed Lethality Will Reshape Fleet
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The Navy’s Surface Warfare leaders announced a new warfighting concept, Distributed Lethality (DL) nine months ago at the January 2015 Surface Navy Association symposium in Arlington, Va., and outlined it in the U.S. Naval Institute magazine Proceedings. DL is an innovative concept for how surface, amphibious and combat logistics ships can enhance the Surface Navy’s offensive “punch” in support… Keep reading →
RAND Finds Little Hope Fixed Price Deals Control Costs
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The Program Executive Officer for the KC-46, Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, made a rare public appearance today at the Air Force Association to discuss his program, which has been hammered by schedule programs and cost growth. Fortunately, none of this costs the taxpayer a dime because it’s a fixed price contract. But the problems have cost Boeing at… Keep reading →
LTG Davis Talks To Boeing On Upgrading Half Of Marine V-22 Fleet
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PENTAGON: The head of Marine aviation is talking with Boeing about costs and ways to upgrade more than half of the service’s 239 V-22 Ospreys to improve readiness. The basic plan would be to improve all 131 of the A and B models of the V-22 to the C level, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, told me in an interview… Keep reading →
The Next Phase for the V-22 Osprey: Build Global Support Like C-17
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The V-22 Osprey will reach the eight-year mark in its operational deployment history this September. The Osprey-enabled assault force is redefining ways to think about the insertion and withdrawal of force and new ways to engage, prevail and disengage. The program has reached a critical turning point – can the Osprey be purchased by allies, and be… Keep reading →
Fatal Crash Prompts Marines To Change Osprey Flight Rules
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CORRECTION: THE ARTICLE WAS WRONG IN SAYING THE OSPREY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HOVER ON ONE ENGINE WASHINGTON: Marine Corps leaders have issued a fleetwide order to MV-22 pilots to wave off any landing in a dust cloud they can’t complete within 30 seconds, Breaking Defense has learned, a reaction to a fatal accident in Hawaii on… Keep reading →