US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

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US Navy said:

NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY BAHRAIN (NNS) -- Search and rescue (SAR) efforts for the remaining two crew members involved in a U.S. Navy MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter crash were suspended Sept. 23 at approximately 3 p.m. Bahrain time.

Navy officials have concluded that given the time elapsed since the incident, aircrew survivability was extremely unlikely. The location of the crash site is known, and an extensive area has been searched multiple times by various ships and aircraft.

The Knighthawk helicopter, attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, crashed in the central Red Sea Sept. 22, after conducting a landing on the deck of guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) at approximately 12:40 p.m. Bahrain time.

The following assisted in the search and rescue: USS Nimitz (CVN 68), USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), USS Princeton (CG 59), USS Shoup (DDG 86), USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7) as well as MH-60S Knighthawks from HSC-6, MH-60R Sea Hawks from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 and several P-3s from Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 and a U.S. Air Force HC-130.

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Jeff Head said:

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The two remaining, unaccounted for crew members have been consigned to the deep. May God rest their souls and comfort their family and friends. Three others were rescued.

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Industry Pushes Back Against Army Report
Sep. 23, 2013 - 05:13PM | By PAUL McLEARY
WASHINGTON — BAE Systems CEO Linda Hudson, the heads of 40 suppliers that help sustain the company’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle program and several labor unions penned a highly critical letter to Army Secretary John McHugh on Sept. 19.

The letter calls the Army to task for misreading the issues that the industrial base will face if the service goes through with stopping production of the Bradley in 2015 with no follow-on program to replace it until 2019.

The letter says that the company and the unions have “concerns with the Army’s recent report” and “we question the report’s initial observations and its implications on the Army’s short- and long-term plans for the Bradley industrial base.”

The industry partners did offer an olive branch of sorts, writing “we are hopeful that a dialog now will result in a more substantive and realistic plan which will allow us to retain the critical capabilities and jobs” in a supply chain that is responsible for 7,000 jobs across the country.

The July report, commissioned by the Army and carried out by consulting firm AT Kearney, was titled “M1 Abrams Tank Upgrade and Bradley Fighting Vehicle Industrial Base Study Preliminary Findings”

The report paints a rather grim picture of the manufacturing needs over the next several years, conceding that while “the demand profile for programs within the Army’s ground combat systems indicate a significant decrease in demand between 2015 and 2019” the government’s early findings indicate that the downturn should be sustainable since “the industrial base’s current manufacturing network has a significant amount of overcapacity.”

The industry group says that the initial 18-page report — a copy of which was obtained by Defense News —“lead us to question the potential final recommendations” which are due to be delivered to Congress on Dec. 15.

The most critical flaw in the report, BAE and its associates charge, is that it states since there is a shortage of skilled workers in the industrial base, shedding some workers over the next several years while keeping a small core of the most skilled is a “manageable risk” for the Army and for industry.

While AT Kearney and the Army said they did a deep dive into the supplier base for the report, the letter to McHugh charges that “few” of BAE’s Bradley suppliers were contacted for the study.

The government report also states that when it comes to heavy manufacturing capacity, the US defense sector actually “exceeds known demand for current programs and for planned future programs,” and that given the current defense downturn “most suppliers have mitigated the overall revenue impact with other work.”

BAE and its partners say that, in fact, just the opposite is true: Even those companies that found other work have done so outside of the defense industry and that “allowing these companies to exit the defense sector will impose resource, capability and cost implications on our nation’s armed forces now and in the future.”

Beginning in 2014, many ground vehicle programs will begin to transition from production to sustainment, and if some key new programs like the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV), Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) and the new Marine Corps amphibious vehicles manage to live past the coming budget ax, vehicle production is scheduled to ramp up sharply in 2019.

But until that happens, ground vehicle manufacturers like BAE, and General Dynamics, Navistar, and Oshkosh will struggle to hold on to as much of its critical supplier base as it can, with fewer orders to fill.

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Sikorsky S-97 Raider Begins Final Assembly
Sep. 23, 2013 - 09:36AM | By AARON MEHTA
WASHINGTON — Sikorsky will begin final assembly of its S-97 Raider helicopter prototype this week, according to company officials.

That puts the helicopter manufacturer — which is competing for the US Army’s Armed Aerial Scout program — on track for a first flight at the end of 2014.

“It’s just a really exciting foundational milestone for us, and it’s great to be leaving the design phase of Raider and getting into the build phase,” Chris Van Buiten, Sikorsky Innovations vice president, said.

The Raider is based on the X-2 technology developed by Sikorsky in the late 2000s, but grows the size and weight significantly. Where the X-2 demonstrator was a one-person, 5,000-pound platform, the Raider will be roughly 11,000 pounds with room for six troops in its combat assault mode. In reconnaissance mode, that space could be used for extra equipment or ammunition.

Despite that growth, Sikorsky executives are confident the design will bring a mix of speed and maneuverability that helicopters have not yet achieved.

“This thing has to fly faster than 220 knots” at cruising speed, Van Buiten said when asked about key performance targets. “It has got to do more than a 3G turn at speed. It has to demonstrate hover at 10,000 feet and 95 degrees. Those are the non-negotiables.”

The fuselage, assembled by Aurora Flight Sciences in a West Virginia facility, arrived at Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility Sept. 20. A composite airframe, the fuselage has been tested to tolerate bird strikes at 230 knots and has shown very low drag, according to the company.

The Armed Aerial Scout program aims to replace the Army’s fleet of OH-58 Kiowa Warriors, in use since the late 1960s. The winner of the program is expected to last well past 2050, meaning the competition would be a long-term windfall for the winner.

Army officials visited with competitors AgustaWestland, Boeing, EADS and Bell Helicopter during the summer of 2012, but the top acquisition adviser to the secretary of the Army told a congressional hearing in May that “we didn’t find a single aircraft that was out there that could meet the Army’s requirements.”

Sikorsky is confident is can fill that role — assuming the replacement program can get funding.

As with all programs in the Pentagon, the Armed Aerial Scout is facing budget challenges. Speaking Sept. 19 on the Hill, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno indicated the program is at risk if sequestration continues.

“In the event sequestration-level discretionary caps continue into FY14, we will assume significant risk in our combat vehicle development,” Odierno said. “In our aviation program, we cannot afford to procure a new Armed Aerial Scout program and we will be forced to reduce the production and modernization of 25 helicopters.”

Despite such warnings, Sikorsky remains confident the Army will find the money to fund the program, according to Steve Engebretson, the company’s Advanced Military Programs director.

“It’s a tough financial environment, but the fact Odierno highlighted this program reflects the level of importance the Army has in that mission,” he said. “To me, it’s at least a sign that if there is a way the Army can get that program going, they will find a way to do that.”

“We understand the climate we’re operating in,” added Van Buiten. “We’re committed to demonstrating this technology, but we understand the customer has a lot of priorities to balance. Our job is to open up the aperture of what’s possible with them.”

Both men can be sanguine, in part, because the development of the Raider has been entirely funded by Sikorsky and its industry partners. While the S-97 is being designed with Armed Aerial Scout in mind, it will also serve as a test bed for further X-2 technologies, which could then go onto future Sikorsky products. Additionally, the company sees the Raider as a demonstrator for a larger machine that would fit the Army’s Joint Multi-Role helicopter replacement program for the service’s Blackhawk fleet.

In other words, the company sees ways to recoup its investment in the prototype even if the program never comes through. That company investment is a point of pride for Van Buiten, whose team was responsible for the design and creation of the Raider.

“We’ve created this innovations group, and one of our charters is to demonstrate differentiating technology that creates competitive advantages for us or all new capability for our customers,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of using traditional timelines and budgets to do it.”

If the project continues on target, the Raider prototype’s first flight will take place roughly 48 months after its clean-sheet design, a much faster pace than the defense industry normally sees. While costs are not set, the company has estimated it could produce the platform in production quantities for as little as $15 million a copy, including mission system packages.

There is also a potential international market for the technology through the Foreign Military Sales program. The company has been in contact with “several very close allies of the US” about the technology, Engebretson said.

While declining to name which countries might be interested, he said the “international interest roughly equals the quantities the US government is thinking about, in the hundreds.”

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USAF Eyes T-X, New JStars Projects
By Amy Butler
Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology
September 23, 2013
Is there hope for a program's future if it is not in the sacred Top Three priorities of the U.S. Air Force—the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the KC-46 aerial refueler and the long-range bomber?

For months, the USAF's message has been tightly controlled. Keep those three programs moving forward; anything else is subject to cuts or, if it is a new start, indefinite deferral. But Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staff, revealed a peek into his priorities beyond the dramatic sequestration cuts that have derailed military spending plans in recent months.

Aside from his Top Three, Welsh says he would like to start projects to replace the aging E-8C ground-surveillance and T-38 fast-jet trainer fleets. Industry is already prepared for both—with primes and subs pairing off to pursue these projects. But first, Congress must provide a funding profile that will support them, Welsh notes.

Thus, the Air Force is developing two potential budgets—“high” and “low” proposals. The latter takes into account a worst-case scenario of sequestration impacts stretching through fiscal 2015. The former allows for at least some new-start work, though not as much as the service had hoped.

The E-8C Joint Stars fleet is housed on aging Boeing 707 airframes, all of which were purchased as used platforms before being modified with mission systems in the 1990s and 2000s. So, their service life is hampered and maintenance cost is high. That, coupled with a desire from combatant commanders for more and better ground surveillance—tracking ground vehicles to individuals on foot—is behind the need. An analysis of alternatives conducted by the service has pointed to a solid business case for housing the next system on a business jet to access both its speed and low operating cost. And significant advances have been made in active, electronically scanned array radars to allow for multimode detection and tracking of many targets simultaneously.

The E-8Cs are housed on the oldest of the USAF's 707s, but it is likely that the service could embark on a larger recapitalization project to eventually put the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System air surveillance and RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence missions on the same business jet platform.

Industry teams are ready for the T-X program to buy 350 T-38 replacements; the Air Force has slipped the competition, delaying fielding until at least 2023. BAE Systems/Northrop Grumman with the Hawk T2, General Dynamics/Alenia Aermacchi with the M346, and Lockheed Martin/Korea Aerospace Industries with the T-50 are all competing. Boeing, said to be in talks with Saab for a partnership, is eyeing a brand-new design. Gen. Edward Rice, head of the Air Education and Training Center, says he cannot recommend a quick start to T-X in this budget environment because the T-38 is still safe to fly.

Up for cuts are several mainstay Air Force programs. The service is pursuing as many “vertical” cuts, or wholesale fleet terminations, as possible, because the savings are more profound than simply slicing a portion of a fleet. With a vertical cut, the service divorces itself from the cost not only of the aircraft, but also of an entire training and supply chain.

Potential vertical cuts include the A-10 fleet and MC-12W Project Liberties. Both conduct niche missions. “If funding weren't an issue I would love to have that capability, [but] there are other things I need more desperately than the MC-12,” says Gen. Mike Hostage, who heads Air Combat Command. The L-3 Communications MC-12Ws were just fielded in 2009 to satisfy an urgent need for more intelligence collectors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A-10s, by contrast, have been lauded for decades by the Army for their precise close air support (CAS). The Air Force has tried before to kill the A-10 fleet during budget crunches, but Army officials often convince Congress to keep them. Hostage says that with targeting pods and precision-guided munitions, CAS can be had through a variety of platforms. “While they were not happy, [Army leaders] understand we are in a fiscal crisis,” he says. “I am not backing away from the mission. I am just adjusting the way I'm doing it.”

Several other fleets are facing partial cuts. These include the Lockheed Martin C-130 and General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft. “We are trying to convince [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] that the 65 [combat air patrol] challenge . . . is not the force structure the nation needs or can afford,” Hostage says. “Predators and Reapers are useless in a contested . . . environment [and] I need anti-access capability.” Hostage did not reveal what the right number of Reapers would be.

Likewise, the service may shed old, excess C-130s, even while proposing another multi-year deal of the new “J-model” of the tactical transports. Presently, the Air Force has approximately 340 C-130s, but USAF Gen. Paul Selva, head of Air Mobility Command, says the requirement is closer to 300.

Selva is also proposing an early retirement to the KC-10 refueler fleet. It could retire early as the Boeing KC-46 comes onboard. The KC-10 provides more refueling capacity than the KC-135 and was once uniquely capable of providing fuel to Navy and Marine Corps jets that use the probe and drogue receiver interface. Now, however, the service has outfitted the majority of its KC-135s into the R configuration, which allows for the workhorse tanker to conduct such missions.

The topline requirement for tankers is 479 aircraft, so it is possible the USAF could reduce the KC-10 fleet as early as the first 18 KC-46s are introduced into service in 2017.

Also up for a reduction is the C-5A fleet. C-5As have notoriously low reliability; by contrast, the C-5M—which includes new engines through a Lockheed Martin program—has proved to be highly reliable. Congressional members have held retirement plans for the fleet at bay in hopes of protecting missions at their home-state Air Force bases.

Selva says the C-5M, a modernization that includes new engines for the strategic airlifter, is highly reliable and, as such, is not being eyed for a cut. Likewise, the C-17 fleet appears safe.

Budget drills are likely to examine other possible cuts until the final proposal is delivered to Congress early next year.

See how U.S. Air Force programs are faring amid budget uncertainty and other factors at AviationWeek.com/afa2013

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SinoSoldier said:

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Earlier this year, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said that an IRIAF (Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force) F-4 Phantom combat plane attempted to intercept a U.S. MQ-1 drone flying in international airspace off Iran.


As we reported back then, one of the two F-4 Phantom jets came to about 16 miles from the UAV but broke off pursuit after they were broadcast a warning message by two American planes escorting the Predator.

The episode happened in March 2013, few months after a two Sukhoi Su-25 attack planes operated by the Pasdaran (informal name of the IRGC – the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution) attempted to shoot down an American MQ-1 flying a routine surveillance flight in international airspace some 16 miles off Iran, the interception of the unmanned aircraft failed.

After this attempted interception the Pentagon decided to escort the drones involved in ISR (intelligence surveillance reconnaissance) missions with fighter jets (either F-18 Hornets with the CVW 9 embarked on the USS John C. Stennis whose Carrier Strike Group is currently in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility or F-22 Raptors like those deployed to Al Dhafra in the UAE.

New details about the episode were recently disclosed by Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh who on Sept. 17 not only confirmed that the fighter jets providing HVAAE (High Value Air Asset Escort) were F-22 stealth fighters but also said that:

“He [the Raptor pilot] flew under their aircraft [the F-4s] to check out their weapons load without them knowing that he was there, and then pulled up on their left wing and then called them and said ‘you really ought to go home’”

If the episode went exactly as Welsh described it, it was something more similar to Maverick’s close encouter with Russian Mig-28s in Top Gun movie than a standard interception.

It would be interesting to know how the Raptor managed to remain stealth (did they use their radar? were they vectored by an AWACS? etc.) and why it was not the E-2 most probably providing Airborne Early Warning in the area to broadcast the message to persuade the F-4 to pursuit the drone before the Iranian Phantoms and the U.S. Raptors got too close in a potentially dangerous and tense situation?

Anyway the U.S. pilot achieved to scare the Iranian pilots off and save the drone. A happy ending worthy of an action movie.

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New camouflage on the way, SMA says
Sep. 23, 2013 - 05:31PM
By Lance M. Bacon
Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler told a gathering of troops in Afghanistan that the Army’s new camouflage pattern will soon be unveiled and likely phased in next year.

New appearance standards are also expected.

The top enlisted soldier said the next camouflage uniform will come in different colors for different environments and the pattern will be similar to the “MultiCam” now used in Afghanistan.

MultiCam is made by Crye Precision LLCB, of New York City, one of four industry competitors that were identified as finalists in the camouflage competition.

The Army in 2010 began shopping for three new combat uniforms — a woodland variant, a desert variant and a “transitional” variant that covers everything in between.

The goal is to replace the often-criticized Universal Camouflage Pattern. Twenty-two patterns were tested from June 2010 through September 2011. Part of that evaluation included a calibrated computer program that allowed 900 soldiers to rate how well all existing camouflage patterns blended in 45 terrains.

Fifty uniforms for each camouflage pattern were put through extensive field trials last summer. The trials placed each variant in practically every global environment and terrain, included two major field exercises, and relied heavily on feedback from soldiers who measured the time and distance required to identify patterns in a multitude of settings.

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Austal said:

Austal USA has successfully completed the launch process of the third Joint High Speed Vessel, the recently christened USNS Millinocket (JHSV 3). This 103-metre high-speed catamaran represents the U.S. Department of Defense’s next generation multi-use platform. It is part of a 10-ship program, the funds for all of which have been appropriated, potentially worth over US$1.6 billion.

Craig Perciavalle, Austal USA President, commented, “Once again we demonstrate forward progress in the JHSV program through the accomplishment of another milestone.” Continued Perciavalle, “With JHSV 1 doing well on the East Coast, JHSV 2 recently completing Acceptance Trials and handed over to the Navy this morning, the keel laying of JSHV 4 at the end of May, and now the launch of JHSV 3, the JHSV program is maturing well. The men and women who make up Austal’s JHSV team should be proud of their efforts and the role they are playing in constructing these incredible ships.”

The launch of USNS Millinocket was conducted in a multi-step process that involved using Berard Transportation’s self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) to lift the entire 1,600-metric-ton ship almost three feet in the air and moving the JHSV approximately 400 feet onto a moored deck barge adjacent to the assembly bay. The deck barge with USNS Millinocket onboard was then towed a half mile down river to BAE Systems’ Southeast Shipyard. The vessel was transferred to the Drydock Alabama, BAE’s floating dry dock. The floating dry dock was submerged and USNS Millinocket entered the water for the first time. USNS Millinocket was taken from the drydock and towed back up river to Austal USA’s facility, where it will undergo final outfitting and activation before sea trials and delivery to the Navy later this year.

The JHSV is a relatively new asset that will be an important Navy connector. In peacetime, JHSVs will be operating forward supporting Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and riverine forces, theater cooperating missions, Seabees, Marine Corps and Army transportation. Each JHSV also supports helicopter operations and has a slewing vehicle ramp on the starboard quarter which enables use of austere piers and quay walls, common in developing countries. A shallow draft (under 4 metres) will further enhance theater port access.

USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) was delivered in December 2012 and is currently stationed up in Norfolk, Va. USNS Choctaw County (JHSV 2) has officially completed acceptance trials and has been delivered to the Navy. Austal recently celebrated a keel laying ceremony for Fall River (JHSV 4) and construction has also begun on Trenton (JHSV 5).

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Jeff Head said:

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These will be Buke destroyers 63, 64, and 65. Flight IIA vessels 35, 36, and 37. Ten more Flight IIA vessels are planned for a total of 47, meaning 75 total Burke I, II, and IIA vessels, Then they start building the larger more powerful Burke III vessels to begin replacing the Ticonderoga AEGIS cruisers.

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U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan down nearly 20 percent
Sep. 26, 2013 - 06:00AM
By Andrew Tilghman
Staff writer Army times
The Pentagon has quietly removed nearly 12,000 troops from Afghanistan during the past several months, scaling back the military’s combat power before the end of the fighting season.

U.S. troop levels have fallen nearly 20 percent, from 66,000 in April down to about 54,500 in late September, Pentagon data show.

Meanwhile, U.S. military operations in Afghanistan are slowing. In August, the U.S. military conducted 158 close-air support missions that dropped weapons, less than half of the 368 sorties that released weapons in May, according to Air Force numbers.

Military officials say the drawdown is part of a gradual reduction to meet President Obama’s target for getting troop levels down to less than 34,000 by February.

It also signals a fundamental shift in the U.S. mission there from directly fighting the Taliban insurgency to supporting the Afghan troops who now plan and conduct combat missions independently.

“We are getting smaller because, one, the president told us to and because, two, the requirements of the mission have changed based on the Afghan National Security Forces being in the lead for security across the country,” said Army Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman in Afghanistan, in an email to Military Times.

This fall, the U.S. commanders in Afghanistan will remove all U.S. troops who are serving as trainers with Afghan units at the battalion level and below, leaving trainers with Afghan units only at the brigade level and above, official say.

The current mission is slated to end next year, and it remains unclear what, if any, U.S. troop presence will remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

For now, about 15 percent to 20 percent of Afghanistan’s land area and population remains under control of the Taliban insurgents and its affiliate groups, according to Army Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Milley estimated the Taliban’s fighting force ranges between 10,000 and 25,000 armed combatants.

As U.S. troops have pulled back, Afghan troops have taken the lead on many missions, and their casualty rates are soaring.

Up to 100 Afghans are killed each week in combat with the Taliban, a rate that reflects in part their commitment to the fight, Milley said.

“These guys are absolutely determined to fight for their country. And they’re doing a good job at it. And, yes, they are suffering,” Milley told reporters at the Pentagon in September.

“Is it sustainable or unsustainable? I think that’s an open question. … I got to tell you, these guys are hard guys. These are tough, physically tough people and mentally tough people.”

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Bill would let troops, civilians carry guns on stateside bases
Sep. 27, 2013 - 11:19AM
By Rick Maze
Staff writer Army times
Service members and federal civilians could carry personal firearms on military bases under a bill introduced Thursday by Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, that would reverse a 20-year-old policy on firearms.

“Why are civilians at a restaurant allowed to defend themselves but soldiers trained in firearms aren’t?” Stockman said. “Why can’t we extend common-sense gun laws like open carry to our soldiers?”

The Safe Military Bases Act, HR 3199, is Stockman’s response to the Sept. 16 shooting at the Washington Navy Yard and is similar to legislation introduced after the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.

Stockman said mass shootings could be stopped if people on base carried their own guns.

“Our disarmed military bases are vulnerable targets for terrorists, as we saw in Fort Hood and the Navy Yard,” he said in a statement. “Despite that, soldiers trained to use guns cannot carry on base. The result is two mass killings where defenseless soldiers had to watch as their friends were murdered.”

“Saving lives by allowing trained soldiers to carry firearms should be an easy fix,” Stockman said. “No reasonable person can oppose that.”

His bill has six original cosponsors. It was referred to the House armed services and judiciary committees for consideration.

Firearms policies had been largely left to base commanders until 1992, when the Defense Department revised its regulations to limit who could carry weapons. At stateside installations, firearms were restricted by a Defense Department directive to law enforcement and security personnel, those guarding prisoners and those taking firearms training.

“The authorization to carry firearms shall be issued only to qualified personnel when there is a reasonable expectation that life or DoD assets will be jeopardized if firearms are not carried,” the directive said. “Evaluation of the necessity to carry a firearm shall be made considering this expectation weighed against the possible consequences of accidental or indiscriminate use of firearms.”

Current policy, revised in 2011 after the Fort Hood shooting, adds another line to the policy: “Overriding factors in determining whether or not to arm are the mission and threat.”

Although this original directive was issued in February 1992, Stockman and other opponents of the military’s policy on carrying personal firearms refer to this as a “Clinton-era” policy because the Army issued a separate instruction reinforcing the DoD policy in 1993.

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Air Force achieves drone fighter jet first with F-16 Fighting Falcon
By Allison Barrie
Published September 26, 2013 | FoxNews.com
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Drone fighter jet squadrons may be hitting the skies in a not so distant future.

Boeing announced this week the successful first test flight of an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet modified with unmanned control technology -- essentially turning it into a drone.

The QF-16 program takes retired F-16 jets and turns them into drones to work as advanced aerial targets in fighter jet pilot training. Without a pilot in the cockpit, Boeing's fighter jet took off by itself, flew from a Florida base to the Gulf of Mexico at supersonic speeds, and then landed itself.

During the test mission it flew at an altitude of 40,000 feet and a speed of Mach 1.47, or 1,119 miles per hour. In spite of the empty cockpit, this Fighting Falcon demonstrated a series of combat maneuvers to evade attack by enemy aircraft and missile lock-ons.

From a ground control station at Tyndall Air Force base in Florida, two U.S. Air Force test pilots directed the fighter jet to complete its first unmanned flight. Two manned planes followed it and ensured the mission remained safe.

F-16s are approximate 50 feet long, have a nearly 33-foot wingspan and can travel at Mach 2 -- a whopping 1,500 mph. This sort of fighter has a range of 1,740 nautical miles.

Turning fighter jets into drones
To create the next generation of aerial combat training targets, Boeing took retired fighter jets and retrofitted them with drone tech, also know as unmanned aircraft control tech.

Boeing retrieved them from Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona where they’d be in storage for more than a decade, restored them for flight and turned them into full-scale, remote-controlled manned and unmanned aerial targets.

U.S. pilots can now use the sooped up jets to train against as realistic enemy aircraft. Without a human in the cockpit, pilots can practice firing on and neutralizing enemy aircraft.

Boeing says the QF-16s can easily shift between unmanned and manned mode. This sort of technology paves the way for fighters than can fly themselves autonomously – and for a sort of robot fighter jet squadron.

Thus far Boeing has adapted six F-16 to become QF-16s and the U.S. military will use some of them in live fire tests. The current plan is to deliver these into military service in 2015.

The QF-16 will replace the Vietnam fighter F-4 Phantom. The U.S. Air Force similarly adapted this aircraft to fly without a pilot into the QF-4 aircraft for target practice.

Earlier this year in July, also at Tyndall Air Force Base, a QF-4 full-scale aerial target drone crashed on the drone runway during take-off. The local area was closed off because the drone fighter jet carried a self-destruct charge powered by a battery with a twenty-four hour life.

Charges are built into drones to destroy the aircraft should they, say, diverge from the pre-approved flight plan.

The QF-4s are used a target drones by the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group at Holloman and at Tyndall Air Force Base.

During Combat Archer, an air-to-air weapons system evaluation program, Q-4s are flown for pilot air combat training and to practice targeting and firing missiles at the drone aircraft.

Once the QF-16s roll into service, they will give pilots targets that are similar to the jet performance they will fly against in operations. Pilots will be able to use them to test newly developed weapons as well.

What’s next?
After this first successful test, there will be more operational evaluations. A live fire test at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M is in the pipeline.

Eventually, the QF-16s will be flown for the Navy, Army and Air Force for weapons testing and challenging pilots in training.

Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has traveled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie.

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GD Inks 2nd SOCOM Ground Vehicle Contract in a Month
Sep. 25, 2013 - 12:45PM | By PAUL MCLEARY Defence News
QUANTICO, VA. — General Dynamics has scored a perfect two for two this year when gunning for US Special Operations Command ground vehicle contracts. It won the $562 million Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) 1.1 bid in August — though the award is stalled by protests from AM General and Navistar — and has now secured a $5.8 million evaluation contract for a lighter, CV-22 Osprey transportable vehicle on Sept 12.

On Wednesday, GD spokeswoman Laurie VanBrocklin confirmed that the company’s Advanced Light Strike Vehicle — a variant of the “Flyer” vehicle that won SOCOM’s GMV contract — was awarded the 12-month test and evaluation contract that includes training and parts.

A government website outlines a contract “for a minimum basic quantity of 2 vehicles each with the ability to purchase 8 additional vehicles.”

The idea behind the program is to give operators a fast, protected, but lightly armored off-road vehicle that can roll out of the back of an Osprey and begin firing mounted weapons within 60 seconds.

In May, Defense News reported on comments made by Marine Lt. Col. Ken Burger, program manager for the Family of Special Operations Vehicles, who told an industry gathering that SOCOM’s plan is to request funding for the program beginning in the fiscal 2015 budget, and that Air Force Special Operations Command will begin doing combat evaluations of prototypes in 2014.

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Keeping LCS Running a Matter of Ship and Shore Support
Sep. 26, 2013 - 02:45PM | By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
WASHINGTON — When a generator problem caused a power loss onboard the littoral combat ship Freedom in July, sailors scrambled to get their ship running again. Engines were restarted within a few minutes, but the crew needed to quickly analyze the situation and make a decision — to continue with the underway exercises or return to port where shore-based maintenance teams could fix the problem.

The decision was made to head back to Singapore for repairs, with the hope that the fix would be quick enough to return to the exercises. The problem was analyzed, shore teams in Singapore and San Diego sprang into action, parts were made ready, and the ship was in and out in less than three days.

The incident, one of the more publicized problems to hit Freedom on the first-ever extended overseas LCS deployment, was also a test of the support systems put in place to keep the ships running. Larger warships — destroyers or cruisers with more than 300 sailors — carry dozens of technicians able to deal with onboard problems. But the standard 40-person crew of an LCS — expanded to about 50 for Freedom’s cruise — is too small to deal with onboard problems in the same manner, relying instead on an extensive shore organization.

“It was deemed the right thing to do was return to Changi [naval base in Singapore] and have the technicians ready to meet the ship,” Capt. Mike Taylor, chief of staff for the western Pacific logistics group based in the island nation, and previously commander of Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 1 (LCSRON), said in a phone interview. “In the planning prior to deployment, we had the required spare parts staged at Changi already.

“I was pleased with the way it all worked out,” he continued. “The communications worked right in terms of the operational command being able to make decisions based on timely information coming in, and keeping the support team back in San Diego informed as well.

“That’s the unique aspect of LCS — reduced crew size, processes moved off the ship and accomplished by San Diego even when the ship’s out here. That we could turn the ship around and make it work goes to say the work we’ve done in developing and implementing these processes is working.”

A bit more than halfway through the planned 10-month deployment, the support team has dealt with a range of issues on Freedom, from the unwanted induction of seawater into the reduction gear cooling system to sporadic diesel generator problems. But the team isn’t reporting too many changes from the pre-deployment plans.

“I don’t think we’re making too many adjustments on the fly. What we’ve planned for has been working,” said Capt. Randy Garner, a former Freedom commanding offer who’s now commanding the LCSRON in San Diego. “In the long term, we’ll need to make adjustments to some of the ships’ systems, work on getting reliability better.”

Both officers seemed pleased with the support available in Singapore, where the US plans to base a force of four littoral combat ships within a few years.

“Singapore is an ideal location because of the very robust nature of the facilities here and the companies that operate out of here,” Taylor said. “A fair number of [the makers of] the hull, machinery and electrical systems on Freedom have offices here.”

The Singaporean Navy’s Formidable-class missile craft have the same type of generator, he pointed out, and naval support facilities in the country are comfortable with ships similar to Freedom’s small size.

One sensitivity has been the number of US people supporting the LCS effort — a footprint the Singaporeans would like to keep small.

The current team of about 10 Navy people supporting Freedom has been about right, Taylor said, although one or two positions might be added as the LCS force builds up.

“We’re not trying to build up a great big organization,” Taylor said. “We’re trying to maintain a small footprint here in Singapore, and still reach out to a very large area.”

The shore support also includes nine contractors from Lockheed Martin, seven for the ship and two for the mission package, said Capt. Dan Brintzinghoffer, the LCS fleet introduction program manager at Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington. At least one contractor, and at times as many as three more, is embarked on Freedom to handle maintenance issues.

“When the ship has a particular casualty or there is some other specific equipment challenge, that technical representative can do some assessment,” Brintzinghoffer said. “He is assisting in the communication back to Singapore. Then, they are able to provide a more defined list of exactly what is wrong and exactly what the course of action would be to make a repair or provide the required support, and work back on shore between the government people and the contractors that are here.”

Rear Adm. Jim Murdoch, head of the LCS program office at Naval Sea Systems Command before his retirement in mid-September, noted that while support personnel costs are running lower than expected, emergent maintenance issues are higher than forecast.

“The diesel generator, the air conditioning plants, the lube oil coolers — those are the areas that have caused us to over-run our budget,” he said in August.

“I want to stress that we are executing to our plan in terms of the support that we have there in Changi,” Murdoch said. “The diesel generator casualty [in July] showed that when the ship had an issue, and she wanted to go in and expedite the repairs, we were able to very quickly flow the parts and the people down to the pier without host nation problems. Got it taken care of, got her back out into the exercise. I was very happy with that.”

Although Freedom still has a couple months of operations in the western Pacific before heading home, the LCS organization already is evaluating the experience.

“While we have an opportunity to take the lessons learned against this baseline of support that is here — in terms of the number of parts, the number of people and how we are executing the plan — our focus is to start evolving,” Brintzinghoffer said. “If there are multiple ships here, what are the efficiencies?

“There is no intention right now, and there would be no reason, to just multiply the number of individual support people by the number of hulls” as the LCS force expands, he said. “Right now, it looks like it is going to be a relatively small increase.”

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U.S. Navy said:

MOBILE, Ala. - The Navy accepted delivery of the future USS Coronado (LCS 4) during a ceremony at the Austal USA shipyard here today.

Coronado is the fourth littoral combat ship (LCS) to deliver to the Navy, the second of the Independence variant — noted for its trimaran hull — to join the fleet.

Capt. Randy Garner, Commodore LCS Squadron One (LCSRON), was on hand to mark the occasion, “We are excited to receive USS Coronado into the LCS class and ultimately to San Diego alongside the other LCS class ships in service.” The LCSRON supports the operational commanders with warships ready for tasking by manning, training, equipping, and maintaining all LCSs in the fleet.

Delivery marks the official transfer of LCS 4 from the shipbuilder, a General Dynamics-led team that includes Bath Iron Works, Austal USA, and Advanced Information Systems, to the Navy. It is the final milestone prior to commissioning, which is planned for April 2014 in Coronado, Calif.

Following commissioning, Coronado will be homeported in San Diego with her sister ships USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Independence (LCS 2) and USS Fort Worth (LCS 3).

“This second ship of the Independence variant, which encompasses lessons learned from its predecessor, has proven her readiness for delivery through the most rigorous acceptance trial conducted to date,” said LCS Program Manager Capt. Tom Anderson. “I’m excited to place this impressive ship in the hands of the crew and I know they are equally as excited to make her their own.”

The Navy is committed to a 52-ship LCS class. Twelve more ships (LCS 5 through LCS 16) are currently under construction or in the pre-production phase. The first 24 ships of the class are evenly comprised of two variants, the steel monohull Freedom variant (odd numbered hulls) and the aluminum trimaran Independence variant (even numbered hulls).

The littoral combat ship class is designed to defeat threats in coastal waters where increasingly capable submarines, mines, and swarming small craft operate. To deliver capabilities against these threats, the Navy introduced LCS with innovative concepts, such as modular mission packages, to quickly respond to an evolving threat.

Program Executive Office (PEO) LCS is responsible for delivering and sustaining the fleet's littoral mission capabilities. Consistent delivery of high-quality warfighting assets, while balancing affordability and capability, is key to supporting the Navy's Maritime Strategy.

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