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U.S. Army’s Aviation conducts first flight of upgraded UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter

The prototype of upgraded UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter had a successful first flight on January 19.

The test flight lasted a little more than an hour and included a variety of exercises including take off, hover, track and balance and a brief local area flight before returning to the airfield.

The completion of the flight on this date set more than two years ago was a collaborative effort among several organizations within the military and industry including the U.S. Army’s Aviation and Missile Research and Development Center (AMRDEC), Research, Develop and Engineering Command (RDECOM), Northrop Grumman, and Redstone Defense Systems.

The successful flight of the UH-60V working prototype represents a significant milestone in the UH-60V program and moves one step closer to getting an enhanced, modern air capability to the operational force.

Over the next few weeks, the aircraft will go through final maintenance actions and acceptance test procedures before being handed over to the Aviation Flight Test Directorate in mid- February. Once handed over to AFTD, it will undergo further system level developmental testing to ensure that the aircraft and software performs in accordance with user requirements.

AMRDEC’s Prototype Integration Facility is being used to design and develop three Engineering Development Models and a corresponding technical data package. The kits will be furnished to the Corpus Christi Army Depot to produce two additional EDM aircraft in preparation for Low Rate Initial Production. These additional EDMs will supplement EDMs 1-3 for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation in 2019. The Army Acquisition Objective for the program is 760 aircraft, which are planned to be manufactured at CCAD.

The UH-60V program will upgrade the UH-60L aircraft with a digital cockpit. The open architecture-based cockpit design replaces analog gauges with digital multifunctional displays and enhances situational awareness for aviation warfighters. The UH-60V, which features one of the Army’s most advanced avionics solutions, has a pilot-vehicle interface that is nearly identical to the UH 60M.

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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
Officials: Navy cruiser ran aground near Japan
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January 31, 2017 (Photo Credit: MC2 Marcus Stanley)
The forward-deployed cruiser Antietam ran aground Tuesday off the coast of Japan near its home port of Yokosuka, according to two Navy officials familiar with the incident.

The ship grounded after anchoring out in high winds, officials said. When the crew noticed the ship was dragging its anchor, Antietam got back underway. Shortly after, the crew felt the ship shudder and lose all pitch control in both propellers. The grounding caused the ship to dump about 1,100 gallons of oil into the water. Nobody was injured in the incident.

The Navy notified Japanese government of the oil spill and is taking steps to clean up, officials said.

The ship was towed back into port after the grounding, officials said. The ship is commanded by Capt. Joseph Carrigan, according to the ship's website.

This is a breaking news story.
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EXCLUSIVE: Pentagon believes attack on Saudi frigate meant for US warship
By Lucas Tomlinson, Jennifer Griffin Published January 31, 2017 FoxNews.com



Suicide bomb attack may have been meant for American warship

The Iranian-backed suicide attack targeting a Saudi frigate off the coast of Yemen on Monday may have been meant for an American warship, two defense officials told Fox News.

The incident in question occurred in the southern Red Sea and was carried out by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Two Saudi sailors were killed and three were wounded. At first the ship was thought to have been struck by a missile.



But based on new analysis of a video showing the attack, American intelligence officials now believe this was, in fact, a suicide bomber whose small boat rammed the side of the Saudi vessel.

In the audio heard on the video, a voice narrating the attack shouts in Arabic, "Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to the Jews."



U.S. defense analysts believe those behind the attack either thought the bomber was striking an American warship or that this was a “dress rehearsal” similar to the attack on the USS Cole, according to one official.


The attack, near the Bab al Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, occurred in the same area where U.S. Navy warships came under missile attack in October.

An American destroyer shot down those incoming missiles -- the first successful engagement in combat using an American SM-2 missile.

USS Nitze, an American destroyer, retaliated soon after, launching Tomahawk missiles on October 13 at multiple Houthi radar sites in Yemen.

This latest incident came a day after President Trump spoke by phone with the Saudi King to discuss setting up safe zones for refugees in Syria and Yemen. Senior U.S. defense officials who spoke with Fox News say they're concerned by this latest incident, but are confident American warships can defend themselves.

The United States has supported a Saudi-led air campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015.


Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews

Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent. You can follow her on Twitter at @JenGriffinFNC.
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FORBIN

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U-2S have a max altitude of 27000 m points interesting :

To decrease the chance of developing
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, pilots breathe 100% oxygen an hour prior to take off to remove nitrogen from the body. A portable oxygen supply is used prior to entering the Aircraft

Because of the high operating altitude and the cockpit's partial pressurization, equivalent to 28,000 feet pressure altitude, the pilot wears a partially pressurized
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, which delivers the pilot's oxygen supply and provides emergency protection in case cabin pressure is lost

In 2012, modifications were initiated under the Cockpit Altitude Reduction Effort (CARE), increasing the
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from 3.88 psi to 7.65 psi, a 15,000 foot altitude equivalent.

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according to DefenseNews New Northrop Facility Deal Likely Meant for B-21 Stealth Coating
Northrop Grumman’s secretive B-21 bomber appears set to receive its stealth coating at the same spot its B-2 parent was born.

On Jan. 31, the company was awarded a $35.8 million contract modification from the US Air Force to “construct a new 45,900 square foot coatings facility at Air Force Plant 42.” While the B-21 was not specifically named in the contract announcement, Plant 42 is located at the Palmdale, California, facility that has been tied to the bomber program for years.

Palmdale is home to the final assembly and checkout facilities that were used by Northrop to produce the B-2 bomber. Stealth coating on the B-2 fleets are repaired at the location as well, but given the lack of new production for the B-2, the B-21 is the most likely design for the new facility.

Notably, the expected completion date for construction of the facility is listed as Dec. 25, 2019. The Air Force has a tentative operational date of 2025. If the facility is up and running at the start of 2020, it could lead to a first run of low-rate initial production planes rolling off the line in early 2021, which would track nicely to that 2025 date.

In January 2015, when Northrop was fighting to win the bomber contract, Defense News visited the facility as part of a Northrop-organized tour. Reporters visiting the then-empty facility were shown videos and photos of the B-2 line, and while Northrop would not specify that they planned to produce the B-21 at that location, officials were all but winking and nodding at the subject.

In response to an inquiry from Defense News, Northrop spokesman Tim Paynter said: “The contract award for the additional facility at our Palmdale Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence is part of the company’s planned growth as we continue to meet our business objectives.”
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Saturday at 10:29 AM
very interesting: "Northrop’s operating margins held at 11%, according to the company’s 26 January fourth quarter earnings report. If the USAF trainer competition turns into a price-shootout, as many analysts have speculated, Northrop could damage its tenuous margins."
Analyst floats theory for Northrop CEO's caution on T-X
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and now Northrop Grumman Drops Out of T-X Trainer Competition
Northrop Grumman has pulled out of the T-X program, becoming the second company to drop from the competition in a matter of weeks.

The company announced in 2015 that it had partnered with BAE Systems, L3 and Northrop subsidiary Scaled Composites for the Air Force program. But despite designing a clean-sheet trainer and building a prototype, the companies felt its offering was not competitive enough.

“Northrop Grumman and its principal teammate BAE Systems have carefully examined the U.S. Air Force’s T-X Trainer requirements and acquisition strategy as stated in the final request for proposals issued on Dec. 30, 2016,” a Northrop statement said. “The companies have decided not to submit a proposal for the T-X Trainer program, as it would not be in the best interest of the companies and their shareholders.”

The competition now comes down to Boeing's clean-sheet design, the Lockheed Martin-Korean Aerospace Industries T-50, and a mystery offering from Sierra Nevada and Turkish Aerospace Industries.

During an earnings call last week, Northrop CEO Wes Bush hinted that the company was considering an exit from the competition.

“Let me be clear: We have not reached a conclusion on that,” he said, adding that the company was “really looking at each of these opportunities through the cold, hard lens of what does the RFP really tell you, and what would the business case look like?”

One analyst asked if the competition had become a "low-cost shootout" between Lockheed Martin — which is offering an existing, off-the-shelf aircraft — and Boeing, whose offering was purpose built to be as low cost as possible. While Bush answered the question in general terms, he stated that the company was not often interested in proposing "lowest-cost, technically acceptable" solutions unless it believed its engineering or manufacturing process gave it significant advantages in that arena.

There is a growing sense around industry that T-X may end up following an unofficial lowest cost technically acceptable model. Certainly cost was a factor in the decision of Raytheon to abandon its partnership with Leonardo on the T-X just days ago, following the inability of the companies to reach an agreement on the cost of the plane.

If that is true, Northrop may have become a victim of doubled-back requirements. When T-X was first spinning up in earnest, the assumption among industry watchers was that the Air Force wanted an off-the-shelf, cheap and proven option. Leonardo’s T-100 offering (then with General Dynamics) and the Northrop-BAE offering of the Hawk system seemed likely winners, while Boeing’s decision to go with a clean-sheet design was seen as a long shot.

Then two years ago, Northrop shook up the competition when it announced it was dropping the Hawk design and going with a brand-new design through its Scaled Composites prototyping shop. At the time, it seemed to signal massive change in the competition — that the service wanted capability and was willing to pay more for it.

What happens next for Northrop's design is unclear. Little has been unveiled around it, with the company keeping details under wraps regarding the design and whether it has taken flight, although aviation enthusiasts have grabbed a few photos.
source is DefenseNews
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very interesting article
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I'm going to read it again ... now it's time to kid ourselves (OK not me :)
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has laid out a measured and cautious spending plan that puts near-term readiness needs first in his first budget guidance memo. The memo, out this morning, largely defers major equipment modernization until
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and limits
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to “the maximum responsible rate” (emphasis ours). So, while Trump may yet launch a
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of the military, the memo makes clear that it won’t start right away. It’s also explicit that, alongside straight additions to the budget, there will be “efficiencies” and cuts.

Overall, much like Mattis’s public statements on everything from
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to the
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, the budget memo is less revolutionary and more consistent with Obama Administration policies than is
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. “I can envision (former Defense Secretary Ash)
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signing the same memo, if he was given a higher top line,” said one Hill staffer. In particular, priorities such as “enhancing the lethality of the joint force against high-end competitors” — Pentagon jargon for
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and
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— align perfectly with
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. What’s more, while Carter is gone, his deputy
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remains, and the memo charges Work with the lead role in preparing both the Pentagon’s proposed amendments to the 2017 budget and its budget request for 2018.

Admittedly, Mattis’s memo includes no numbers. “The dollar figures are something OMB would establish/approve,” a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to me this morning — and the Office of Management & Budget will presumably be headed by a hardcore fiscal hawk, Rep
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. But the memo does set broad priorities and specific dates:
  • By March 1st, the Pentagon will give OMB its requested amendments to the 2017 budget. The focus will be “urgent warfighting readiness shortfalls” and “the acceleration of the
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    ,” the memo says, with any
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    limited to ones with “an immediate readiness impact” (e.g. maintenance crews). There’s no mention of modernization in this phase. There is mention of cuts from unidentified “lower priority programs” to help pay for readiness increases. That said, the amendment overall will be a “net increase” over the Obama request, though it’s unclear how this net increase will be paid for: Putting it the base budget would require overriding the
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    , while putting it in
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    (OCO) would infuriate budget hawks who see that as a dodge.
  • By May 1st, the Pentagon will give OMB its proposed 2018 budget, which suggests the budget won’t be finished and made public until May or even June. The focus here will be “balancing the program, addressing pressing programmatic shortfalls (e.g. modernization), while continuing to build readiness.” The examples given range from funding demonstrations of advanced technologies — but not necessarily buying them in bulk — to improving the upkeep of DoD facilities (long a bill-payer for other priorities) and “growing force structure at the maximum responsible rate.” “Responsible” in this case probably means ensuring that any troop increase is accompanied by funding to train, maintain, and equip them; top brass have repeatedly warned increasing endstrength but not readiness will just create a 1970s’ style “hollow force.”
  • In 2018, the Pentagon will produce a National Defense Strategy and a spending plan (FYDP) for 2019-2023. This is where the focus turns from readiness to the build-up. The National Defense Strategy will set force “a new force sizing construct” — perhaps a return to the old standard of being able to
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    . To make that a reality, the plan will “grow the force quickly but responsibly” — again, implying readiness funds will rise in proportion to endstrength. It’s this phase of the plan that emphasizes modernization, calling for “critical investments in advanced capabilities” and “enhancing the lethality of the joint force against high-end competitors,” all very much in line with Carter’s long-term plans. It also calls for continued efficiencies, promising “an ambitious reform agenda, which will include horizontal integration across DoD components” — perhaps consolidating such support functions as medical care currently provided separately by the services.
goes on in the subsequent post due to size limit; source:
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continuation of the above post:
Less Than Reaganesque

The one surprise in the Mattis memo is “the explicitly stated objective of building a long-term defense plan to counter high-end threats,” said
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of the American Enterprise Institute. While Carter & co. focused intently on
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, she said, “the prioritization of these competitions was always a question mark for Team Trump, so it is a positive indication that
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and others are wisely influencing the incoming group to take seriously other challenges in addition to terrorism.”

That said, “it’s clear this is a
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first-and-always endeavor,” Eaglen said. “Next up
is in priorities is a
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, personnel-wise. Lastly, if there is time and money left over, will be some select modernization of equipment. Even when additional capability is pursued, it is likely to be more a series of ‘small ball’ efforts like growing munitions stockpiles than sizeable increases in inventory of new aircraft and next-generation vehicles a la Reagan buildup.”

There’s not going to be an immediate “procurement shopping spree,”
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of the Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments. Instead, the Mattis plan takes time to develop more advanced capabilities, particularly in the repeatedly-mentioned area of “lethality.”

What does that mean? Future adversaries may be
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, Blakeley says, which force the US to make its forces more lethal to match. Greater lethality also argues against over-investing in a small number of expensive, “exquisite” superweapons that can be taken down with a few good hits. (Think of the Death Star in Star Wars for the extreme example). The crucial “leading indicators” to watch, she said, will be whether the forthcoming budget emphasizes upgrading the lethality of existing systems —
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, for instance — and whether funding is forthcoming for the high-tech experiments of Carter’s
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and
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— Bob Work being the principal architect of offset
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.

The Mattis memo definitely has a lot in common with Carter than Trump’s rhetoric would lead one to expect, said defense industry analyst
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. Candidate Trump focused on “let’s just buy more big platforms,” especially ships, Callan told me. The Mattis plan is much more focused on targeted investments in lethality, which implies investing in superior smart weapons, and the
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and
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that guide them, rather than new planes, ships, and tanks to carry them.

Of course, the ultimate problem is how to pay for it all. “This is not going to be open-ended growth for the Department of Defense,” warned Callan. Even the legendary Reagan buildup slowed after the first four years, in part because of concerns over rising debt. The Trump buildup could go the same way.

If you’re not careful, “these macroeconomic factors kind of cut you off at the knees,” said Callan. “If you juice this thing (defense spending) and you don’t get the GDP growth that you’re hoping for, or interest rates conspire against you… that’s going to cut off this growth and these great plans for
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and
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.”
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