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Wall Street Journal said:

GROTON, Conn., Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- General Dynamics Electric Boat will christen North Dakota (SSN-784), the U.S. Navy's newest and most advanced nuclear-attack submarine, at its shipyard here on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).

Katie Fowler, wife of retired Vice Adm. Jeff Fowler, is the ship's sponsor. The event's principal speaker is Vice Adm. Michael J. Connor, commander -- Submarine Forces.

The submarine North Dakota is the 11th ship of the Virginia class, the first U.S. Navy combatants designed for the post-Cold War era. Unobtrusive, non-provocative and connected with land, air, sea and space-based assets, North Dakota and the other Virginia-class submarines are equipped to wage multi-dimensional warfare around the globe, providing the Navy with continued dominance in coastal waters or the open ocean.

Electric Boat and its construction partner, Newport News Shipbuilding, have delivered 10 Virginia-class submarines to the Navy, and have contracts for eight additional ships.

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Northrop Grumman Corporation and the U.S. Navy successfully completed the first flight of the next-generation MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif. At 12:05 p.m. the MQ-8C Fire Scout took off and flew for seven minutes in restricted airspace to validate the autonomous control systems. A second flight that took off at 2:39 p.m. for nine minutes was also flown in a pattern around the airfield, reaching 500 feet altitude.
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The MQ-8C Fire Scout is designed to fly twice as long and has three times the payload capacity of the current MQ-8B variant. Based on a larger commercial airframe with additional fuel tanks and an upgraded engine, the MQ-8C will be able to fly up to 12 hours or carry up to 2,600 pounds.

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The U.S. Air Force already conducted several tests with the LRASM onboard B-1 bombers. Ultimately a B-1B could carry up to 24 LRASM as it is currently capable of carrying 24 JASSM-ER. This would make the B-1B the most potent ASUW platform in the U.S. Air Force. As far as the U.S. Navy is concerned, the Super Hornet will be the main airborne platform to deploy the next generation anti-ship missile. We were told during AUSA that F-35 Lightning II could certainly deploy the missile, but would not be able to carry it internally because of the size of the LRASM.

Tests have begun to launch the LRASM from Mk41 Vertical Launch System cells. This type of VLS is widely used across the U.S. Navy fleet of destroyers and cruisers.

LRASM comes with a revolutionary sensor made by BAE Systems. The sensor is designed for situations where access to the airspace is made difficult for Allied Forces by the enemy. The sensor uses advanced electronic technologies to detect targets within a complex signal environment, and then calculates precise target locations for the missile control unit.

LRASM live launch testing from VLS is scheduled for mid-year 2014. LRASM air-launched testing will continue next year with flights from the B-1B. F/A-18 Super Hornet integration and testing will be part of a future contract.

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Sea Waves said:

Fire Scout Program Manager
October 31, 2013

The Fire Scout system has proven itself in numerous and diverse operational deployments, supporting troops on the ground in Afghanistan, completing weapons Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC) testing with the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), continuing deployments on Guided Missile Frigates (FFG) class ships, and now preparing to welcome a new air vehicle to its ranks. This week the newest Fire Scout variant, MQ-8C Fire Scout, will take to the skies for the first time.

Our MQ-8C is an RDC effort in response to an urgent request to provide maritime based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) at extended ranges from host ships in less than 24 months. First flight is set to occur this month, 18 months after the contract award to prime integrator, Northrop- Grumman.

Leveraging off the existing MQ-8 Fire Scout infrastructure, the C variant provides the Navy with double the endurance and triple the payload capability of its predecessor, allowing for 15+ hours of flight time and over 2,600 lbs. of payload. This increase in capability will allow us the opportunity to put additional weight, perhaps sensors, on the aircraft.

With the MQ-8C, we took a commercial Bell 407 helicopter and modified it to include additional fuel capability, upgraded engines and improved reliability to provide increased range and endurance and then integrated the majority of the MQ-8B avionics and payloads onto that air frame. This method allows us to maintain the entire infrastructure we have already invested in.

With its first flight, the aircraft will enter a rigorous test schedule before being deployed at sea. Our goal is to be ready for deployment by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014. The MQ-8C will complete ground testing at Naval Air Station Pt. Mugu and also be integrated into the Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG) for maritime assessment.
When the commanders issued a request for the rapid deployment of 28 MQ-8C Fire Scout aircraft, I saw an opportunity for the team to shine. They have met my expectations and I am excited to see how we will continue to perform in the future.

MQ-8C will allow us to better support maritime ISR operations, reduce impacts to shipboard manning and provide increased capability with less aircraft. We’ve had our challenges, as any other research, test and development program has, but I am very proud of the team for how far we’ve come and how we’ve reached this day.

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Aviation week said:

November 01, 2013
Ever since Lockheed’s unsurpassed SR-71 Blackbird was retired from U.S. Air Force service almost two decades ago, the perennial question has been: Will it ever be succeeded by a new-generation, higher-speed aircraft and, if so, when?

That is, until now. After years of silence on the subject, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has revealed exclusively to AW&ST details of long-running plans for what it describes as an affordable hypersonic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike platform that could enter development in demonstrator form as soon as 2018. Dubbed the SR-72, the twin-engine aircraft is designed for a Mach 6 cruise, around twice the speed of its forebear, and will have the optional capability to strike targets.

Guided by the U.S. Air Force’s long-term hypersonic road map, the SR-72 is designed to fill what are perceived by defense planners as growing gaps in coverage of fast-reaction intelligence by the plethora of satellites, subsonic manned and unmanned platforms meant to replace the SR-71. Potentially dangerous and increasingly mobile threats are emerging in areas of denied or contested airspace, in countries with sophisticated air defenses and detailed knowledge of satellite movements.

A vehicle penetrating at high altitude and Mach 6, a speed viewed by Lockheed Martin as the “sweet spot” for practical air-breathing hypersonics, is expected to survive where even stealthy, advanced subsonic or supersonic aircraft and unmanned vehicles might not. Moreover, an armed ISR platform would also have the ability to strike targets before they could hide.

Although there has been evidence to suggest that work on various classified successors to the SR-71, or some of its roles, has been attempted, none of the tantalizing signs have materialized into anything substantial. Outside of the black world, this has always been relatively easy to explain. Though few question the compelling military imperative for high speed ISR capability, the astronomical development costs have made the notion a virtual nonstarter.

But now Lockheed Martin believes it has the answer. “The Skunk Works has been working with Aerojet Rocketdyne for the past seven years to develop a method to integrate an off-the-shelf turbine with a scramjet to power the aircraft from standstill to Mach 6 plus,” says Brad Leland, portfolio manager for air-breathing hypersonic technologies. “Our approach builds on HTV-3X, but this extends a lot beyond that and addresses the one key technical issue that remained on that program: the high-speed turbine engine,” he adds.

The concept of a reusable hypersonic vehicle was an outgrowth of Darpa’s Falcon program, which included development of small launch vehicles, common aero vehicles (CAV) and a hypersonic cruise vehicle (HCV). As structural and aerodynamic technologies for both the CAV and HCV needed testing, Lockheed Martin was funded to develop a series of unpowered hypersonic test vehicles (HTV).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s parallel HiSTED (High-Speed Turbine Engine Demonstration) program essentially failed to produce a small turbojet capable of speeds up to Mach 4 in a TBCC. “The high-speed turbine engine was the one technical issue remaining. Frankly, they just weren’t ready,” recalls Leland. This left the Skunk Work designers with a familiar problem: how to bridge the gap between the Mach 2.5 maximum speed of current-production turbine engines and the Mach 3-3.5 takeover speed of the ramjet/scramjet. “We call it the thrust chasm around Mach 3,” he adds.

Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne “sat down as two companies and asked ourselves, ‘Can we make it work? What are we still missing?’” says Leland. “A Mach 4 turbine is what gets you there, and we’ve been working with Rocketdyne on this problem for the last seven years.”

Finally, he says, the two achieved a design breakthrough that will enable the development of a viable hypersonic SR-71 replacement. “We have developed a way to work with an off-the-shelf fighter-class engine like the F100/F110,” notes Leland. The work, which includes modifying the ramjet to adapt to a lower takeover speed, is “the key enabler to make this airplane practical, and to making it both near-term and affordable,” he explains.

Lockheed will not disclose its chosen method of bridging the thrust chasm. The company funded research and development, and “our approach is proprietary,” says Leland, adding that he cannot go into details. Some concepts that could make this possible include a “hyperburner,” an augmentor that starts as an afterburner and transitions to a ramjet as Mach number increases. Aerojet, which acquired Rocketdyne earlier this year, has also floated the option of a rocket-augmented ejector ramjet as another means of providing seamless propulsion to Mach 6.

Although details of the proposed thrust-augmentation concept remain under wraps, Leland says a large part of a successfully integrated mode-transition design is the inlet. “That’s because you have to keep two compressor systems [ramjet and turbine] working stably. Both will run in parallel,” he adds.

Lockheed has run scaled tests on components. “The next step would be to put it through a series of tests or critical demonstrations,” Leland says. “We are ready for those critical demonstrations, and we could be ready to do such a demonstration aircraft in 2018. That would be the beginning of building and running complete critical demonstrations. As of now, there are no technologies to be invented. We are ready to proceed—the only thing holding us back is the perception that [hypersonics] is always expensive, large and exotic.”

The 2018 time line is determined by the potential schedule for the high-speed strike weapon (HSSW), a U.S. hypersonic missile program taking shape under the Air Force and Darpa (see page 36). “We can do critical demonstrations between now and then, but we don’t believe it will be until HSSW flies and puts to bed any questions about this technology, and whether we can we truly make these, that the confidence will be there.”

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Gear: Procurement cuts put programs under scrutiny
Oct. 31, 2013 - 06:33PM By Lance M. Bacon
Staff writer
FILED UNDER
News
Congress & DOD
Vendors large and small have used the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention for the past decade to showcase emerging technology to an Army that looked to equip its troops with the best that money could buy. But purchases are dwindling as the coffers run dry.

The 2014 National Defense Authorization Act will provide $16 billion for Army procurement. That is a $1 billion cut from 2013, which saw a $1.7 billion procurement drop from the previous year. The bill awaits Senate approval and the president’s signature.

Service leaders must also contend with a number of “ifs.” For example, if sequestration continues, the Army will also be forced to end, restructure or delay more than 100 acquisition programs. Specific programs at risk include the Ground Combat Vehicle, Armed Aerial Scout, unmanned aerial vehicle system upgrades and air defense command-and-control system modernization.

The service in fiscal 2013 had a $5.5 billion shortfall due to sequestration. Belt tightening prevented the planned purchase of double-V hulled Strykers and Apaches, and also cut unit training, flying hours and family programs.

Overseas contingency operations funding is another big “if.” Modernization will suffer more unless this funding continues well into fiscal 2017. The 2014 NDAA, approved by the House in June, includes $2.1 billion for OCO procurement. That represents an $800 million drop from last year’s OCO procurement budget but a $600 million boost over what the Army had requested.

Weapons at risk
Army leadership is adamant that the GCV program would get an entire squad into a vehicle better suited for future fights and, as such, is a top priority. But the program’s $29 billion price tag can’t be ignored.

Helicopter cuts will hurt, as well. The aviation fleet has been in a holding status for years following the cancellation of Comanche and the Armed Reconnaissance Program.

The 2014 NDAA includes $5.2 billion for aircraft. Nearly $760 million will go toward Apache procurement while $96 million will buy the final 10 UH-72 Light Utility Helicopters. This will bring the total purchase to 315 aircraft instead of the 346 originally planned.

Aircraft will consume $772 million, or one-third of the planned 2014 OCO procurement. The AH-64 Apache Block IIIb (new build) doubled from 2013 to $142 million, while OH-58F Kiowa Warrior wartime replacement aircraft funds will drop from $183 million to $163.8 million. CH-47 Chinooks saw an increase from $231 million in 2013 to $386 million.

The Warfighter Information Network-Tactical is also under the microscope. It hit milestones in the past month, but the Government Accountability Office this summer said the program was “not effective” and that its technology had continued poor performance and reliability issues. The GAO report called the Army’s decision to field the technologies risky, but it acknowledged that soldiers would prefer to deploy with the system “as it provides a capability that the Army cannot currently provide to soldiers in theater.”

The Army last year cut the much-anticipated M806 lightweight .50-caliber machine gun. This summer, it was the carbine competition. Army officials couched it as a cancellation, saying none of the eight contenders could beat the improved M4A1. But the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform had questioned spending $50 million to find a weapon that could meet that lofty goal.

Procurement isn’t the only problem. The Army does not yet know how much money it will have to reset gear coming out of theater. The service planned $4 billion worth of reset in fiscal 2013, but funding was cut by about $1.7 billion. The cut meant repairs that would bring 800 vehicles, 2,000 weapons, 10,000 pieces of communication gear and 32 helicopters to near zero hours/zero miles were pushed into fiscal 2014.

If budget cuts and sequestration continue, which defense leaders and analysts say is likely, the service will be required to rebalance the force by decreasing end strength to as low as 420,000 in the active Army, 315,000 in the Army National Guard and 185,000 in the Reserve by fiscal 2023. This will result in a 45 percent reduction in active Army brigade combat teams and organic equipment such as tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, trucks, machine guns, mortars and artillery systems.

Programs in high gear
There are some programs that look to be moving forward or gaining steam.

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program looks safe. Sixty-six prototypes produced by three companies started 14 months of rigorous testing and evaluations in September. The price tag is the program’s best defense. Each vehicle will cost as much as a refurbished Humvee.

An initial order for nearly 55,000 vehicles will go to the winner. Long-term plans include the first Army units receiving JLTVs by fiscal 2018 and all 49,000 JLTVs delivered to the Army by the 2030s.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in August won a $562 million contract to build 1,297 Ground Mobility Vehicles. While this is a special operations program, it could have a future among other high-speed, low-drag units. Army leaders have increased their demand to return high mobility and firepower to a vehicle fleet bogged down by armor protection. And many industry and military analysts believe the GMV will provide the performance and profiles needed for long-range reconnaissance, airfield seizure — all of the high-speed missions common to force-entry organizations such as the 18th Airborne Corps.

Weighing in at less than 7,400 pounds, the GMV can be airdropped, sling-loaded or internally loaded on the CH-47. Some competitors fit in the V-22 Osprey.

Some individual and crew-served weapons programs are moving forward, as well. The XM25 Punisher is back on track. Testing and evaluation of a variety of pistols should begin in early 2014 as the service looks to replace the M9. The Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar, whose funds were cut by half last year, is budgeted for $83 million in the 2014 NDAA. That is a more than a 200 percent increase. And the M240L light-medium machine gun is moving ahead.

The Bradley will get $158 million for modifications, while the M88A2 improved recovery vehicle program will get $186 million, a 68 percent increase over the Army request. Modifications to mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles are funded at $563 million.

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SAN DIEGO (AP) — It started with an invitation to the Broadway production of "The Lion King" in Tokyo for the Navy commander, his wife and their children.

In the end, the Malaysian defense contractor known in military circles as "Fat Leonard" would use prostitutes, plane tickets and other bribes to hook the U.S. Naval officer into a scheme that overbilled the Pentagon by millions, investigators say in court papers.

The accusations unfolding in a federal court case in San Diego signal serious national security breaches and corruption, setting off high-level meetings at the Pentagon with the threat that more people, including those of higher ranks, could be swept up as the investigation continues. A hearing Nov. 8 could set a trial date.

According to the court documents, Navy commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz passed confidential information on ship routes to Leonard Francis' Singapore-based company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., or GDMA.

Misiewicz and Francis moved Navy vessels like chess pieces, diverting aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships to Asian ports with lax oversight where Francis could inflate costs, the criminal complaint alleges. The firm overcharged the Navy millions for fuel, food and other services it provided, and invented tariffs by using phony port authorities, prosecutors say.

"It's pretty big when you have one person who can dictate where ships are going to go and being influenced by a contractor," said retired Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, who has no direct knowledge of the investigation. "A lot of people are saying, 'How could this happen?'"

So far, authorities have arrested Misiewicz; Francis; the general manager of global government contracts for Francis' company, Alex Wisidagama; and a senior Navy investigator, John Beliveau II.

Beliveau is accused of keeping Francis abreast of the probe and advising him on how to respond in exchange for such things as luxury trips and prostitution services. All have pleaded not guilty. Defense attorneys declined to comment.

Senior Navy officials said they believe more people likely will be implicated in the scheme, but it's too early to tell how many or how high this will go in the naval ranks. Other unnamed Navy personnel are mentioned in court documents as getting gifts from Francis.

Francis is legendary in military circles in that part of the world, said McKnight, who does not know him personally. He is known for extravagance. His 70,000-square-foot bungalow in an upscale Singapore neighborhood has drawn spectators yearly since 2007 to its lavish, outdoor Christmas decorations, which The Straits Times described as rivaling the island city-state's main shopping street with replicas of snowmen, lighted towering trees, and Chinese and Japanese ornaments.

"He's a larger-than-life figure," McKnight said. "You talk to any captain on any ship that has sailed in the Pacific and they will know exactly who he is."

Navy spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Navy Criminal Investigative Service agents initiated their probe in 2010. He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

The same year, Misiewicz caught the world's attention when he made an emotional return as a U.S. Naval commander to his native Cambodia, where he had been rescued as a child from the violence of the Khmer Rouge and adopted by an American woman. His homecoming was widely covered by international media.

Meanwhile, Francis was recruiting him for his scheme, according to court documents.

Misiewicz's family went to a "Lion King production" in Tokyo with a company employee, and Misiewicz later was offered prostitution services, according to the criminal complaint. Within months, the Navy commander was providing Francis ship movement schedules for the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group and other ships, the prosecution alleges.

Court documents say the manager wrote to Francis shortly afterward, saying: "We got him!! "

Misiewicz would refer to Francis as "Big Brother" or "Big Bro" in emails from a personal account, while Francis would call him "Little Brother" or "Little Bro," according to the complaint.

The company bilked the Navy out of $10 million in just one year in Thailand alone, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said.

In December 2011, the two exchanged emails about the schedule of the USS Blue Ridge, investigators say. According to court documents, Francis wrote Misiewicz: "Bro, Slide a Bali visit in after Jakarta, and Dili Timor after Bali."

The complaint alleges Misiewicz followed through on the demands: In October 2012, the USS George Washington was scheduled to visit Singapore and instead was redirected by the Navy to Port Klang, Malaysia, one of Francis' preferred ports where his company submitted fake contractor bids.

After Francis offered Misiewicz five tickets to a Lady Gaga concert in Thailand in 2012, Francis wrote: "Don't chicken out bro we need u with us on the front lines," according to court documents.

The federal government has suspended its contracts with Francis.

The defendants face up to five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery.

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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor in Washington and Satish Cheney in Singapore contributed to this report.

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article said:

The defendants face up to five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery.

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