ARMY MODULARIZATION: The U.S. Army expects to complete the transition to modular designs by the end of fiscal 2013, which ends Sept. 30, and has received “substantial” funds to restructure and rebuild its forces, according to a new report from congressional auditors.
The skipper of Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom is thankful for an additional 10 sailors to help man the ship for its deployment to Singapore next year, while the commanding officer of the LCS-2 USS Independence is weighing the potential benefits of more bodies — should they be added to his vessel — while his ship gets a makeover at a San Diego dry dock. The LCS ships have a core crew of 40, but the U.S. Navy has embarked on a pilot plan to add 10 sailors in the wake of lessons learned following initial operations, especially by the Freedom.
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The emerging focus and theme of this year’s Surface Navy Association National Symposium is going a long way to dispel any lingering doubt about the support of the U.S. Navy brass for its embattled Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) effort – even as the program took another hit from the Pentagon Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). Not only does the symposium feature a special LCS roundtable discussion, but program references dominate the exhibits and other briefings as well.
Jesco von Puttkamer, a protégé of Wernher von Braun whose NASA career ranged from the Apollo manned lunar landing project to the International Space Station, died Dec. 27 of a flu-like illness. He was 79. At his death he was still active at the U.S. space agency, producing a daily online rundown of activities on the ISS.
Operation Pillar of Defense opened in November 2012 with a tremendous “surgical” strike, eliminating a prominent leader of Hamas. Ahmed al Jabri was a longtime terror mastermind in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, and his death was a severe blow to the organization. The strike, which pinpointed midstream traffic in downtown Gaza City, was carried out through real-time intelligence and ultra-rapid closing of the sensor-shooter cycle. It used only “reduced” advanced precision guided munitions, which caused no collateral damage in the surrounding area.
The U.S. Navy needs to wrest away control of the integration of combat systems and hulls in shipbuilding programs, says Rear Adm. Thomas Rowden, director of Surface Warfare. The service also needs to make shipbuilding cost and schedule an even-more basic part of the program development equation earlier, Rowden said Jan. 15 during a briefing at the Surface Navy Association National Symposium. “Right now we ask the shipbuilders to be the integrators of the combat system and the ship,” Rowden says. “I think the Navy should be [the] integrator.”
Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) may have picked up Democratic supporters in his quest to be confirmed as the next defense secretary, but he has lost a leading Republican. Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.), now the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee that will first review Hagel’s nomination to replace Leon Panetta, says he will vote no.
The most powerful military officers in the U.S. are appealing to Congress to “de-trigger” across-the-board budget cuts and pass a full-year spending bill. “We are on the brink of creating a hollow force due to an unprecedented convergence of budget conditions and legislation that could require the department to retain more forces than requested while underfunding that force’s readiness,” say the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a Jan. 14 letter to Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
While lawmakers were already looking ahead toward three spending hurdles, including the potential for nearly $1 trillion in across-the-board government spending cuts, they were facing the prospect of another 1.6% blind reduction on Jan. 15. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) sought to hand down the cut as an amendment to pay for Hurricane Sandy relief. It failed on a 162-258 vote.
A ballistic missile defense (BMD) module is a possibility for future Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), according to Lockheed Martin officials. Lockheed, which leads the team building LCS-1 USS Freedom, could leverage its Aegis Combat System experience to develop a module or a set of modules that could turn LCS ships into viable sea-based BMD platforms, officials for both programs say.
HAC-D TO INDUSTRY: After losing re-election to Congress, Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.), a former member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, will take his expertise to a New York law and lobbying firm, Sills Cummis and Gross. Rothman, a fierce advocate for Iron Dome and other Israeli missile defense programs, will build a new defense industry group. But rather than join the flow of lawmakers to Washington’s downtown lobbying scene, Rothman will return home, dividing his time between New York and Newark, N.J.
LONDON — U.S. heavy-lift helicopter operator Columbia Helicopters has confirmed it is buying 10 surplus Boeing-Vertol Model 107 helicopters from the Swedish government. The sale, arranged through the Swedish Defense and Security Export Agency (FXM), will see the helicopters, previously used for troop transport and anti-submarine warfare, transferred to the Oregon-based operator in the coming weeks. The deal also includes spare parts.
FORT WORTH — Initial concepts for a next generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) architecture geared for contested air defense environments have been briefed to U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley.
The U.S. Navy needs to reinvigorate testing plans at its Wallops Island site in Virginia for its proposed radar system for the next-generation aircraft carrier CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford, according to the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). The Navy has proposed a dual-band radar (DBR), a phased-array radar system for the Ford that replaces five legacy radars used on current carriers.
While the active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar offers improvements for F-18 aircraft, the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) questions the degree of improved radar operations over the legacy system. The Super Hornet is the Navy’s premier strike-fighter aircraft, replacing earlier F/A-18 variants in carrier air wings, DOT&E notes in its recently released 2012 annual report on major weapon systems. The F/A-18E is a single-seat fighter, while the F model has two seats.
LOS ANGELES — NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is poised to begin drilling on the planet’s surface for the first time following the selection of an area of flat rock containing a target-rich environment of fractures, veins and mineral concentrations. Drilling will provide samples that will be used to obtain detailed data about the mineral and chemical composition of the rocks as part of Curiosity’s main mission to investigate whether Mars ever offered an environment suitable for life.
ABOARD THE USS FREEDOM — The Mantis helicopter mover glides the MH-60R Seahawk helicopter across the flight deck of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS-1) USS Freedom seemingly with all the ease of a couch being moved across a living room floor.
The latest report on the F-35 program by Michael Gilmore, the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E), spotlights growing problems with late software deliveries for the stealthy fighter.
