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ANAers!!! ANA Rejuvenation - Great news of active squadrons, members coming back and a few inactive squadrons reforming – great news for our Association! …. News from San Diego - San Francisco – Portland – Australia - Meridian, Mississippi where CAPT Curt Goldacker is the CO of our newest, the “Queen City” squadron – Pensacola where Dean-o is putting together a bang-up symposium next month – I know I have left some out – but let me also mention that there are efforts going right now to try to rejuvenate Reno, Eastern Australia, Chicago, Charleston and Shreveport. To all those involved – to those giving so much of their efforts to make ANA back into the formidable organization we so need, Thank You!! - and a special Thank You to all those whom I have failed to mention. TAILHOOK ’07 – ANA had a booth and suite at HOOK 6-8SEP, thanks to the generosity of HOOK. We had quite a number of visitors and were able to explain ANA to many people, even gaining some memberships. It was also great to see so many ANA members there – Thank You for stopping by the booth, for sharing your ideas regarding ANA. Membership – Our membership continues to turn around. The number of renewals is up and we are growing with new members. But we need to drive that membership growth slope even steeper! If you are coming up on renewal, DON”T HESITATE! If you find others that recognize the critical issues for which ANA stands and for which ANA is working so hard to support, sign them up! Every member get a member! Snow Birds – Its coming that time of year. If you are one who moves for the winter season, we need to know what your address will be so we can continue to send WINGS OF GOLD and other mailings to you. Please let us know – by either email to Dutch at svwindmills@erols.com or a snail mail note to his address in the signature block below. Web Site – We are working hard to improve our web site – more information, better links, better photos and such. Please take a look at http://www.anahq.org/index.htm - browse around, look at the articles at http://www.anahq.org/articles/index.htm, the photo gallery at http://www.anahq.org/photo_gallery/index.htm and all the rest. We are eager to make this one of the best possible web sites – if you have material we can post, links we can highlight, please let Dutch know. Some news articles follow.
Our best to all ********** Executive Director and Editor, WINGS OF GOLD = Zip at goldwings@verizon.net **********
www.anahq.org
“…to educate and encourage an interest among the general public as to the importance of Naval Aviation in the defense of the United States and its allies….” ALCON – Great information from Chris Vatidis!!! ----- Wing Commanders: Attached is the outline of a new DOD project of which everyone should be cognizant and take full advantage. Briefly, it is a speakers bureau composed entirely of active duty personnel who have served one or more tours in the war zones of Afghanistan/Iraq. The program is called WHY WE SERVE.It's free and available throughout the country. For those who are in search of luncheon/dinner speakers or some other special occasion this would be an ideal vehicle to expose the public to the straight, ungarbled word by some of the heroes who have actually participated. ANA sponsorship of such an event could arouse interest in our own efforts if presented properly. Addees: This program is for your use also. Please see attachment for details of this great program. Chris Vatidis
U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) Pentagon, Washington, D.C. NEWS RELEASE Media Contact: Major Christian Devine, USMC (703) 614-2879 IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 27, 2007 “Why We Serve” Speakers Program The Defense Department launched a program in 2006 titled “Why We Serve” in an effort to help the American people understand why U.S. service members choose to serve their country and what that experience entails. Proudly, this program continues today as the DoD’s premier speakers outreach program with our service men and women traveling around the country to engage the American public and share their experiences. Service members representing the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, are traveling the country sharing their experiences and motivations for serving with groups ranging from Chambers of Commerce to Rotary Clubs, to grassroots organizations, conferences, schools and media outlets. Allison Barber, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs explained that the program has one simple goal: to help connect returning military members with the general public and give them an opportunity to tell their personal stories. The “Why We Serve” speakers hit the streets, without any DoD-generated “talking points” or packaged speeches – just their own thoughts to express in their own words, Barber said. The goal is that they will go
out on the road to different venues nationwide to tell their story,” she
said. “Why did they choose to serve the military? What did they do in
Iraq or Afghanistan? And why are they are serving our country?” Confirmed speakers are provided
at no cost to the host organization, regardless of location, throughout
the country. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PACIFIC ARMADAS By ARTHUR HERMAN September 9, 2007 -- SOMETHING new and menacing has entered the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, and it's not the great white shark. On Aug. 23, Japan launched its first aircraft carrier since World War Two. The Hyuga only displaces 13,500 tons, compared to the 100,000 tons of an American Nimitz-class behemoth, and it will only carry 11 or so SH-60 anti-submarine helicopters instead of the 90 aircraft and choppers on the USS Nimitz or Eisenhower - at least for now. But as Richard Dorn, naval analyst at the U.S.-based AMI International, notes, "it cannot be denied that the launch of Hyuga is targeted at carrying Harriers [vertical-take-off fighters] or F-35's in the future" - and Japan is planning to build another three just like it. In fact, the Hyuga marks a growing trend among Asia's navies - a trend that Americans need to monitor closely. [For more on the HYUGA and Japanese carriers, click on: http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003686.html http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2007/09/japanese-navy-air-returns.html http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htnavai/articles/20070825.aspx Dutch] * India plans to have no less than four operational aircraft carriers by 2017. * Thailand already has one, the Chakri Naruebet. * Singapore's navy has four amphibious transport docks that can be converted into homes for anti-sub helicopters or vertical-take-off aircraft like the Harrier. * Australia has no plans for a new carrier (its last one was decommissioned in 1982). But this month Royal Australian Air Force instructors will start learning to land their F/A-18s on American carrier decks - a major step toward making the RAAF a power at sea as well as on land. Many analysts see all this taking to the air as countermeasures to the alarming growth of China's navy over the last decade, especially its submarine fleet (which is now nearly equal in number, if not in quality, to our own). They note that the navies of four Asian powers - Japan, Singapore, India and Australia - have joined the Americans in anti-submarine exercises off India's Malabar coast this week to send a clear signal to Asia's fast-growing naval power. But this is by no means the full story. Two years ago, naval experts agreed that the Chinese were concentrating on building subs and had no interest in aircraft carriers. But now China has announced it will build two carriers by 2015 in cooperation with the Russians - who in turn announced in June that in 2010 they'll start building a new nuclear-powered carrier of 50,000 tons to join their existing carrier, the Admiral Kuznetzov. WHAT we are seeing are Asian navies taking to heart the lessons of seapower - and of the aircraft carrier, even a diminutive one, as the power projector par excellence. Fed by a resurgent nationalism that had been suppressed during the Cold War, the struggle for the mastery of the Pacific is underway. Like continental Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, Asia's economies are growing, many (like China and India) at 8 percent a year or more. And their middle classes are growing - producing and using an ever-larger share of the world's GDP. These nations not only have money to spend on projecting national power through their navies (seven of the world's 12 biggest navies face onto the Pacific), but they have vital interests to protect. As in 19th century Europe, these trends will summon up huge creative energies but also the potential for great destruction - and America will have to help to make sure the first doesn't set the stage for the other. CHINA now has the world's second- larg est navy - but it also has big interests to protect. By 2020, it will need more than 900 million tons of rice a year to feed its billion-plus population, yet even the most optimistic forecasts see its domestic production as rising to no more than 615 million tons. There is also China's growing thirst for natural gas and oil, which gives it a huge stake in protecting the vital sea lanes through which Asia gets its fossil fuels. The same is true of India and Japan. With Japan's economy now second only to the United States' in size, its navy has increasingly had to drop the fiction that it is merely a Maritime Self-Defense Force (the official name), in favor of creating a "blue water" capacity - that is, an ability to operate trans-oceanically in cooperation with the United States or even (as the Hyuga indicates) on its own. INDIA'S naval buildup - pushed by its ultra-na tional Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party - has been based on the lessons it learned about seapower from its original teacher, Britain's Royal Navy. The Indian Navy's motto even has distinct echoes of the age of Drake and Nelson: "He who controls the sea is all-powerful." Since 97 percent of India's foreign trade is seaborne, it is no surprise that by 2020 its navy will have grown to 185 ships, including at least four aircraft carriers. RUSSIA, too, faces the same push for national self-assertion combined with the need to protect its interests in the Pacific. Next year, nearly a quarter of of its $192 billion defense budget will go for new ships. Its naval commander-in-chief, Adm. Vladimir Masorin, confidently predicts Russia will have the world's second-largest fleet in 20 years' time - just as it did in the Cold War. Will the new national energies in Asia help to build a new world order, or will they trigger a ruthless competition for resources and empire, much as those of 19th century Europe triggered World War One? To a large extent, the answer is up to the U.S. Navy, which is still the largest but also the most flexible and versatile in the world. THIS is why Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and former Chief of Naval Operations, has been a steady champion of the concept of a "1,000-ship navy" - that is, a U.S. fleet effectively enlarged by close cooperation with allied navies like Japan and India and Australia, and even potential rivals like China. The goal is not only a force multiplier for our own navy in a time of shrinking naval budgets. The 1,000-ship navy will also have to become the glue that holds the global economic system together - both by protecting the world's sea lanes (over which 95 percent of the weight of international trade still travels) and by preventing the clash of interests (including our own) in places like the Pacific from triggering a world crisis involving nuclear-armed powers like Russia, China, and India. Americans may not like being globocops. As we see in Iraq, the costs can be severe. But the alternatives are even riskier. And as the struggle for mastery of the Pacific heats up, we will need a strong, flexible Navy more than ever. Arthur Herman's most recent book is "To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 10SEP07 from Navy News – NNS070910-10. Kitty Hawk, Allies Complete Malabar Exercise By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Olivia Giger, Kitty Hawk Public Affairs USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group and embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 completed exercise Malabar Sept. 9 with USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, Carrier Air Wing 11, and ships from the Indian Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Republic of Singapore Navy. The six-day exercise began Sept. 4 and took place in the Bay of Bengal. It involved more than 20,000 personnel on 28 ships and 150 aircraft. This year was different from previous exercises because India expanded by inviting Japan, Singapore and Australia to join the exercise, increasing its scale and complexity. The five nations worked together to improve their anti-submarine warfare, anti-piracy, humanitarian and combat skills, in an effort to be prepared should a real-life situation call them to work together in the future. "[Malabar] is an exercise for bringing maritime professionals together and learning from each other," said Vice Adm. Doug Crowder, U.S. 7th Fleet commander, in a press conference held on Kitty Hawk's flight deck, Sept. 7. Numerous foreign officers from the participating navies were also on board to learn about and observe carrier flight operations. "The ability to work together quickly and effectively doesn't happen by accident," said Rear Adm. Nigel Coates, Australian Fleet commander. "It happens because of exercises like Malabar, where our navies can get together, learn and practice our ability to work together on short notice." "I think you can never over-estimate the importance of being called together at short notice to work together and be able to understand each other," said Republic of Singapore Navy Col. Wellman Wan, commander of the First Flotilla and navy operations manager. A team of 14 Sailors from the Kitty Hawk Strike Group embarked all foreign ships to set up and maintain CENTRIX communications equipment, which enabled all participating units to communicate with each other. Malabar 07-2 is the strike group's final major exercise of its summer deployment. The strike group is the U.S. Navy's largest and includes the carrier, seven ships of Destroyer Squadron 15, two Aegis weapons system equipped guided-missile cruisers and Carrier Air Wing 5. The ships operate from Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, and the air wing operates from Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. Together, they serve as the 7th Fleet's combatant force.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Aircraft Carriers - CV, CVN
Description
Features
Background
Point
Of Contact General Characteristics, Nimitz Class Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, VA. Date Deployed: May 3, 1975 (USS Nimitz). Unit Cost: About $4.5 billion each. Propulsion: Two nuclear reactors, four shafts. Length: 1,092 feet (332.85 meters). Beam: 134 feet (40.84 meters); Flight Deck Width: 252 feet (76.8 meters). Displacement: Approximately 97,000 tons (87,996.9 metric tons) full load. Speed: 30+ knots (34.5+ miles per hour). Crew: Ship's Company: 3,200 - Air Wing: 2,480. Armament: Two or three (depending on modification) NATO Sea Sparrow launchers, 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts: (3 on Nimitz and Dwight D. Eisenhower and 4 on Vinson and later ships of the class.). Aircraft: 85. Ships: USS Nimitz (CVN 68), San Diego, CA USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), Norfolk, VA USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Newport News, VA USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Norfolk, VA USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), Everett, WA USS George Washington (CVN 73), Norfolk, VA USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), Bremerton, WA USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), Norfolk, VA USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), San Diego, CA George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) - (Christening 7 October 2006) General Characteristics, Enterprise Class Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, VA. Date Deployed: November 25, 1961 (USS Enterprise). Propulsion: Eight nuclear reactors, four shafts. Length: 1,101 feet 2 inches (335.64 meters). Beam: 133 feet (39.9 meters); 252 feet (75.6 meters). Displacement: 89,600 tons ( 81,283.8 metric tons) full load. Speed: 30+ knots (34.5 miles per hour). Crew: Ship's Company: 3,350 - Air Wing 2,480. Armament: Two Sea Sparrow missile launchers, three Phalanx 20 mm CIWS mounts. Aircraft: 85. Ships: USS Enterprise (CVN 65), Norfolk, VA General Characteristics, Kitty Hawk Class Builder: New York Ship Building Corp., Camden, NJ. Date Deployed: April 29, 1961 (USS Kitty Hawk). Propulsion: Eight boilers, four geared steam turbines, four shafts, 280,000 shaft horsepower. Length: 1062.5 feet (323.8 meters). Beam: 130 feet (39 meters); Flight Deck Width: 252 feet (76.8 meters). Displacement: Approx. 80,800 tons (73,300.5 metric tons) full load. Speed: 30+ knots (34.5+ miles per hour). Crew: Ship's Company: 3,150 - Air Wing: 2,480. Armament: Sea Sparrow launchers, 3 20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts. Aircraft: 85. Ships: USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63), Yokosuka, Japan Aircraft, Fixed Wing
Aircraft, Rotary Wing
++++++++++++++++++++ From “The Age’, Melborne, Australia – (I apologize - I am tardy in finding this – Dutch) Fed govt approves $4b sea patrol fleet July 20, 2007 - 1:39PM The federal government has given initial approval for the Defence Department to spend $4 billion on a fleet of new-generation maritime surveillance aircraft. The maritime patrol and response aircraft would replace the RAAF's fleet of 20 Orion planes, which will be retired in 2018. The cabinet decision allows the Defence Department to begin formal talks with the US Navy to take part in the development of the new aircraft with manufacturer Boeing. Final approval by the government would depend on the outcome of those negotiations. Known as the P-8A Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), the new plane is based on Boeing's 737 commercial jet. "The P-8A MMA offers a modern, highly reliable commercially-proven airframe with the latest maritime surveillance and attack capabilities," Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said in a statement. "The P-8A will be equipped with modern anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensors that have evolved from proven systems," Dr Nelson said. "The P8A will be capable of broad-area, maritime, littoral and limited overland operations." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Lockheed Martin wants to cut testing to save money on JSF
BY: , Aero-News.net In what could be viewed as a 'money vs. safety' compromise, Lockheed Martin is seeking Defense Department approval to reduce the number of personnel, test aircraft and flight tests for its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, because it is over budget. The project is now in a seven-year flight-test phase, and Lockheed says it need to replenish a contractually required reserve fund being depleted quickly due to reasons such as delays with engineer's drawings, supplier cost increases, as well as work to fix problems with the wing assembly and weight issues, according to the charts and documentation given to the DoD by Lockheed Martin. "If there is no reserve, every time there is a problem you have to go back to Congress and ask for more money. It looks really bad" and might increase congressional skepticism about the program, said Loren Thompson, an aerospace analyst and vice president of the Lexington Institute. A large amount of the funds have been spent on a redesign of a critical electronic part that failed during the 19th sortie in May, which resulted in the aircraft being grounded. Flights should be resumed soon, officials said. The original contract for the 12-year development and test phase was about $20 billion. Part of that is the stipulation that Lockheed Martin maintain a management reserve fund of about 10 percent of that amount, according to Bloomberg News. The current reserve fund holds about $392 million of the original $2 billion. Lockheed has said it would like to see it brought back up to at least $1 billion. The reserve fund is usually used to fix problems that arise during the test phase of development. As ANN has reported, the multibillion dollar JSF is an ambitious program, and not only in terms of money. The F-35 is the first military aircraft to be produced by an international coalition of eight nations to design, finance, build and sell the jet. This required sensitive information sharing, investing large amounts of capital and working together for the greater good. It is designed with ground troop support capability and be almost invisible to radar. At least 2,458 are scheduled for the production phase. Lockheed's proposal calls for removing at least two of the 14-plane program and about 700 testing sorties from the 5,000 planned for avionics, communications, radar and weapons integration testing. The company contends these tests can be conducted just as well, and less costly, in ground simulators and a flying software laboratory now flying on a Boeing 737. Lockheed spokesperson John Smith said "if the unexpected occurred," and the reserve were exhausted, "we would need to seek additional funding. There's no plan to reduce the number of flights intended to test the aircraft's basic flying qualities and structural strength." "We are, however, discussing whether our unprecedented integrated laboratory infrastructure and our 737-avionics test bed can logically allow us to reduce our `mission system' flight testing," he said. These ground and flying test facilities "are unprecedented in the history of fighter development," he said. Thomas Christie was head of Pentagon testing from 2001-2005 and was all for the original test program. He disagrees with Lockheed's assertion. "Unfortunately, too often the solution to staying on schedule and under cost -- to include maintaining or building up management reserve funds for the inevitable unforeseen problems -- is to reduce test and evaluation," he said. "History is replete with the consequences of this misguided thinking." Air Force Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Sue Payton said there has not been a decision as of yet on Lockheed's request, but agrees their reserve account does need to be fattened a bit. "When you run out of your management reserve, it's just like not having any insurance and you break your leg: You're in a world of hurt," she said. "I think we are doing a real bright thing to figure out how we can regain some."
When the program was
started in October 2001, cost estimates were $233 billion. It is now
projected to cost $299 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Sept. 6 airpower summary: C-17s deliver
the goods +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sept. 7 airpower summary: Predator is the eye in the sky
9/8/2007 - SOUTHWEST
ASIA (AFPN) -- Coalition
airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International
Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Sept. 7,
according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sept. 8 airpower summary: C-130s deliver
cargo, warfighters
9/9/2007 - SOUTHWEST
ASIA (AFPN) -- Coalition
airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International
Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Sept. 8,
according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
Sept. 20 airpower summary: C-130s
sustain airlift operations ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Press Release Number: E200709051 05-Sep-07
Fleet drops low collateral damage bombNaval aviators recently targeted
enemies for the first time using the Low Collateral Damage Bomb (LCDB),
a specialized weapon developed at Naval Air Systems Command. Naval
aviation aircraft dropped a GBU-51/B laser-guided bomb with the
low-collateral damage explosive on an enemy target in Iraq July 27 after
insurgents were identified setting up an improvised explosive device
along a convoy route. Forward Air Control (FAC) observing the insurgents
directed an F/A-18 assigned to VMFA-121 to the successful strike.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Washington Times Naval Air Station Sees Last Graduates PENSACOLA NAVAL AIR STATION — The college graduates who are soon to complete training at the nation's oldest naval air station will be the final class to graduate from the base's officer candidate school, ending a military tradition that lasted nearly seven decades. After graduation ceremonies on Friday, the school will close and consolidate with a training center in Newport, R.I. "Hundreds of classes have suffered out there" on the exercise field and parade deck at Pensacola Naval Air Station, said Allen Hamby, a 21-year-old admiral's son and University of Central Florida graduate who plans to be a supply officer. "And we are going to be the last class doing it." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Welcome to U.S. Air Force AIM Points UPDATED: September 17, 2007 U.S. military air power needs quick expansion (Op-Ed)
BY: George F. Will, Newsweek MONTGOMERY, ALA.—Two and a half minutes. That is how quickly ground troops in Iraq can receive requested close air support from "the iron over head." The request might pass from a ground unit to a forward air controller, to an intelligence analyst, to someone who does risk assessment (should air power be used against a sniper? A building? A city block?), to a combat lawyer who advises the commander if the risk is consistent with the rules of engagement and the laws of war. Based on that advice, the particular munition or angle of attack axis might be changed. At the Air University here at Maxwell Air Force Base, officers are studying their service's new roles. Time was, air power's primary purpose was to attack massed enemy forces, or the enemy nation's "vital center." Insurgencies have neither. Yet in "the long war" against terrorists, air power is, Air Force people insist, "our asymmetric advantage." The enemy has no comparable capacity for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. During World War II, on average, only about 20 percent of a plane's bombs fell within 1,000 feet of its target. So, a force of 1,000 airplanes—with 10,000 crewmen in jeopardy—would have to drop 9,000 bombs to destroy the target. Precision munitions guided by GPS or lasers make today's small inventory of aircraft—some of them stealthy—astonishingly efficient, even in counterinsurgency operations close to friendly ground forces and civilians. That inventory is, however, older than it has ever been—on average, 24 years old. And further aging might be another cost of Iraq. Multiple deployments of Army and Marine units have so frayed those services that there is an emerging consensus that they should be enlarged. Expansion is necessary only because of Iraq, which for years will serve as a powerful warning against manpower-intensive "preventive" interventions and occupations. And all the services' budgets are menaced by the demographic fact that dominates all federal budgeting—the explosion of entitlement spending because of the retirements of 77 million baby boomers, which begin in four months. Any expansion of the Army and Marine Corps will come at the expense of the urgently needed recapitalization of the Air Force, which has just 180 long-range bombers (94 B-52s—the youngest of which was built in 1962—65 B-1s and 21 B-2s). The average age of its tanker fleet is 45. Without tankers, long-range bombers are not long range, and aircraft cannot be kept aloft to surveil the battlefield and offer quick response for ground support. A colonel here who calls himself a "'61 model"—born in 1961—has flown a tanker made in 1957. Flying combat missions, hurrying casualties to out-of-theater hospitals, maintaining the "air bridge" of "bullets and beans" that keeps U.S. forces supplied—all these duties make the Air Force susceptible to the stresses afflicting the rest of America's overextended military. The other services have been at war in Iraq since March 2003; the Air Force has been since 1991, enforcing the no-fly zones. Air Force personnel will be forgiven for feeling that their contributions are underappreciated—again. Americans whose understanding of the European theater of World War II derives from entertainment such as "Band of Brothers" and "Saving Private Ryan" might not know that the fatality rate among U.S. air crews was 40 percent higher than among U.S. ground forces. In World War II and the 1950s, new planes were constantly added to the inventory. Today's aircraft are much more capable but also more complex and expensive and can take decades to develop. The development of the F-22, now being deployed, began 21 years ago. Imagine the challenge of matching technologies to threats that are decades over the horizon. Although American ground forces have not been attacked from the air since Korea, the Air Force must plan for the possibility that the rise of a "near-peer adversary"—perhaps China—will put the USAF in the precarious position of being, as an officer here says, "one technology away from not having air superiority." Air power was born during the most unintelligently fought, and for that reason the most calamitous, of wars, World War I, when generals, reflexively resorting to romantic—and anachronistic—notions of offensives, fought machine guns with young men's chests. The Air University, a means of intellectual recapitalization, was created in 1947, the year before the Air Force became an independent service. The university's mission, which is increasingly urgent as military history disappears from the curricula on American campuses, could be indelicately expressed in the words of the Spartan king quoted by Thucydides: "The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Northrop Grumman to resume E-2D Advanced Hawkeye flights
Northrop Grumman will resume flight testing of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye carrier-based airborne early warning and control aircraft after a planned hydraulic line inspection. The first aircraft completed two flights on 3 and 6 August, both curtailed by weather, before the inspection. The first aircraft is fully equipped with all the upgrades, including new Lockheed Martin APY-9 radar, but the mission system was not powered up for the initial flights, says Capt Randy Mahr, US Navy Hawkeye programme manager. "At the end of October, we will turn the radar on to test the generators," says Mahr. But the primary testbed for the radar will be the second E-2D, which is scheduled to fly in November. "We will start radiating in November," he says. The APY-9 uses space-time adaptive processing to reduce ground clutter and provides "true overland capability", Mahr says. A new Randtron antenna combines both 360º mechanical rotation and electronic scanning in azimuth, allowing the beam to dwell. Flight testing of the E-2D will continue at Northrop's St Augustine, Florida facility to the end of 2008, when the aircraft will relocate to the US Navy's Patuxent River, Maryland, test centre to complete development testing, including carrier trials. The first aircraft has Block 1 software, which provides 75% of the capability, says Mahr. Block 2, which adds the remaining 25%, is almost complete, he says. Development of an in-flight refuelling capability, which will extend missions to 8-9h, is to begin in fiscal year 2008, leading to flight tests in 2009 on an E-2C. Northrop programme manager Tom Vice says the E-2D entered flight testing 680kg (1,500lb) under its planned maximum take-off weight, allowing a significant amount of growth. The company will deliver three pilot production aircraft in 2010 for operational testing ahead of entry into service with the US Navy in 2011. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Subject: NAWCWD leadership
changes hands Rear Adm. Mark Skinner passed the reins of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division to Rear Adm. David Dunaway during a change of command ceremony held on the front lawn of the Administration Building Sept. 18. “It’s been a unique opportunity to serve here, and as I think about what I take forward, one image comes to mind – people,” Skinner said. “The Weapons Division and AIR-5.0 have world-class laboratories, ranges and facilities, but it’s the people who bring the products and services to life.” NAVAIR Commander and former NAWCWD Commander Vice Adm. David Venlet was the keynote speaker. Venlet pointed out that despite the title of the ceremony, there didn’t seem to be a lot in the way of change with this exchange of WD leadership. “Mark and Dave have a lot in common,” Venlet said. “Both of these gents are from Texas. Both grew up believing that football is a religion. Both think the only thing worth driving, on the road, is a pickup truck. And both love the outdoors. But above all, Mark and Dave are both fine Navy officers and excellent leaders.” Three years ago, Skinner came to WD from Patuxent River. His next assignment takes him back to southern Maryland where he will head the Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft Programs. Venlet reminded those in attendance that a commander’s job is more than just celebration and ceremony. Along with the development and testing of Navy weapons and systems also comes risk and concern for safety. “So, when test squadrons like VX-30 and VX-31 have no class A mishaps on your watch, it’s clear that safety is the commander’s top priority,” Venlet said to Skinner. Dunaway, who has served two previous tours with the Weapons Division, returns from his most recent assignment as deputy for the Program Executive Office for Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs at Patuxent River. Venlet referred the audience to the program for details of Dunaway’s career and instead chose to speak about his character. “What I want you to know about him is that he is a man of high integrity, enormous energy, and is greatly respected in the naval aviation community,” Venlet said. “Dave, I know Weapons Division will thrive under your care and direction.” Venlet, who participated in Dunaway’s frocking ceremony in August, told the new WD commander that for a first flag assignment, it’s tough to beat a tour at Weapons Division. “I feel like I’m at home,” Dunaway said. “I really appreciate this place - the view of the Sierras, the rumble of jet engines on the runway, and the pintails at Point Mugu. I’m ecstatic to be back here.” The new WD commander announced that his priorities were family, teamwork, stewardship, people and trust. “I care a lot about family and I intend to foster that,” he said. “This is an organization of people who know their mission; my job is to break down the barriers that get in your way. The warfighters have to know that we are behind them, and that we will continue to listen to their needs and satisfy their requirements.” Skinner told Dunaway that even though his tour here had been filled with a lot of change and great challenges during the last three years, there was one thing he could always depend on. “You’ll definitely be able to count on the people of AIR-5.0 and Weapons Division,” Skinner said to his reliever. “I once told someone that the people of Weapons Division are like the ‘fire and forget’ missiles they develop, test and put into service. Give ‘em a mission, load ‘em on the wing and let ‘em go. Folks here know how to carry the load.” +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=== Boeing awarded $13M contract St. Louis Business Journal - 5:07 PM CDT Wednesday, September 19, 2007 A unit of Boeing Co.'s Integrated Defense Systems was awarded a contract worth more than $13 million from the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Defense said Wednesday. The contract, worth $13,309,866, calls for production of 10 T-45 Training System Airframes, including system equipment and production integration testing and flight test instrumentation. Work will be performed in St. Louis and is expected to be completed in September 2009. Chicago-based Boeing Co.'s (NYSE: BA) Integrated Defense Systems unit, its largest subsidiary, is based in St. Louis and is the area's second-largest employer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Boeing IDS awarded $145M contract St. Louis Business Journal - 4:51 PM CDT Thursday, September 20, 2007 A unit of Boeing Co.'s Integrated Defense Systems was awarded a contract worth more than $145 million from the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Thursday. The $145,154,211 contract calls for continued system configuration support for the F/A-18 A/B/C/D/E/F and EA-18G weapons systems for the Navy and Marine Corps. Ninety-five percent of the work will be performed in St. Louis with the remaining done in China Lake, Calif. Work is expected to be completed in January 2009. Chicago-based Boeing Co.'s (NYSE: BA) Integrated Defense Systems unit, its largest subsidiary, is based in St. Louis and is the area's second-largest employer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Navy Times Outgoing CNO: Navy Has Met Challenges Service has excelled in its larger role, Joint Staff chief-to-be Mullen says By Zachary M. Peterson As he leaves his job as head of the Navy to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen says the readiness of the sea service has “never been higher,” filling a “rapidly expanding mission set” at a high operational tempo. Mullen took over for Adm. Vern Clark as chief of naval operations in 2005. He leaves office to take over for Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace as the top uniformed military official. “We’ve got a rapidly expanding mission set,” Mullen said in a Sept. 18 interview with Navy Times. This mission set “covers a full spectrum,” the admiral noted. This full spectrum includes: *143 ships underway in myriad missions around the globe, ranging from counterterrorism and piracy engagements around the Horn of Africa to conducting humanitarian relief in Latin America. *Sailors ashore in Afghanistan and Iraq serving as individual augmentees for Marine and Army units. *Newly created riverine units. *Seabees doing construction projects in various places. *Electronic warfare squadrons countering improvised explosive devices in Iraq. *Corpsmen serving with Marine units down range. “There’s an enormous pressure on the Navy in a very dangerous time in our world and our missions are actually expanding,” Mullen said. “I’m very proud of what we’re doing and our ability to meet that.” The Navy is no longer focused exclusively on blue water but also on brown and green water closer to shore. “We’ve still got the traditional high-end capabilities, which we still have to be mindful of in the long run,” he said. “My goal is not to want to have to use that, but we’re certainly ready to use that if called on and it’s certainly the strength to deter a potential future adversary.” As the world changes, the Navy’s engagement capability around the world has remained an essential core competency for the service, according to Mullen. “The world’s getting smaller,” he said. “The term ‘globalization’ gets misused at times, but it’s getting smaller, faster, we’re more inextricably linked around the world, and so the ability to exercise with, exchange with, have relationships, understand cultures — it really is a core strength of the Navy.” The western Pacific Ocean is an area of great strategic importance, Mullen said. “There is a tendency to focus [on the Middle East], but what sometimes gets lost is the pace of business in the western Pacific,” he said. “I’m fond of saying it’s a big body of water; it takes a little while to get around in and you need assets to do that. And there are many, many nations out there that border the ocean. We have long-standing relationships and emerging relationships with others.” The admiral cited enduring relationships with Japan, Singapore and South Korea and emerging relationships with Indonesia and Malaysia — all countries he visited during his time as CNO. “One of the first places I went [as CNO] was Indonesia and Malaysia,” Mullen said. “We’ve had a pretty rough road with these countries in the past, but I think continued engagement is really important and they sit in a vital economic node in the Straits of Malacca. And I’ve been very pleased. I’ve watched Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore — a long-standing ally of ours — provide security in the Straits of Malacca and therefore the United States doesn’t have to do that.” Partnerships and cooperation with other nations are part of the 1,000-ship navy concept Mullen first introduced at the International Seapower Symposium in Newport, R.I., in September 2005. “Our theme, a global network of maritime nations for a free and secure maritime domain, is about voluntarily harnessing the power of the international community, in ways that are in the interest of individual nations, in order to effectively and efficiently confront the challenges we all face today,” Mullen said at the time. Two years later, the concept — and Mullen emphasizes that the 1,000-ship navy is a concept — continues to generate discussion worldwide, he said. “I wouldn’t want it to be anything else but that concept and it’s in that concept and in the discussions we’ve had in regions globally that it has military leaders and other governmental leaders — even in our government it’s been well-received by our State Department — thinking about how to engage and create enduring partners from emerging partners against these common challenges that we all have,” Mullen said. “In the end, security in the maritime domain is vital.” “Nobody can do it alone anymore,” he said. “Not the United States, not the United States Navy. We’ve got to have partners and relationships to [promote maritime safety and security].” “I’ve actually scratched my head about why it’s been so well-received,” Mullen said. “Sometimes it gets discussed as if it’s my 1,000-ship navy. It is not my 1,000-ship navy. It is a navy that is composed of navies or other maritime capabilities, coast guards, port security authorities, around the world. It’s voluntary. One of the things that has really struck me about it, and the receptivity it’s received in so many parts of the world, is the barriers to entry are almost nil.” Further, the admiral argued that maritime security is often taken for granted. Demonstrating the Navy’s relevance to the American population has been part of Mullen’s push for a new maritime strategy co-authored by the three maritime services, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The new strategy has taken a little over a year to write and is currently being finalized. “We haven’t had [a maritime strategy] for some 20 years or so,” Mullen said. “We’re in this new era and we really need a new one and we’re closing on that.” The new strategy is expected to be signed by Mullen’s successor, Adm. Gary Roughead, he said. Roughead is awaiting a Senate confirmation hearing before taking his new post. “And I don’t think it’s going to be another 20 years before it gets updated again because things are moving too quickly,” he said. “It’s a very busy time,” Mullen said. “The Navy and our partner the Marine Corps are at a time in making a difference in the world that matches that need and will continue in the future.” Mullen said he will miss serving as the Navy’s top officer, but emphasized his deep appreciation for sailors and their families around the world who are serving in the Navy. “Our high-quality people — and it all happens because of them — are making such a difference,” the admiral said. ********************************************************* Norfolk Virginian-Pilot Report Urges Defense Dept. To Keep Eye On Carrier Costs By Jon W. Glass, The Virginian-Pilot A federal report released Monday urges the Defense Department to step up efforts to contain costs on the Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier, being designed and assembled by shipbuilder Northrop Grumman Newport News. Without better controls, the first-in-class carrier Gerald R. Ford could cost taxpayers more than budgeted and be less capable than planned, the Government Accountability Office said. The Virginian-Pilot reported some of GAO's findings Saturday. While the Navy and the shipyard have made "significant progress" in maturing the ship's computer-aided design, "substantial risk remains," the congressional watchdog agency said. "The budget is optimistic, with a target cost for construction that the Navy will in all likelihood exceed." The Ford already is the Navy's most expensive lead ship, with a total cost estimated at $13.9 billion. That covers $10.5 billion for design and construction and $3.4 billion in research and development for a range of high-tech improvements for the new carrier class. Some of those key technologies now risk busting the Navy's budget because of technical problems and testing delays. They include an electromagnetic aircraft launching system that will replace steam-driven catapults and a new software-run arresting gear to land fighter jets. Both are being built by San Diego-based General Atomics, which has never produced a shipboard system, the GAO said. A dual band radar being developed by Raytheon Co. - critical because it provides the ship's surveillance and air-traffic control capabilities - also has faced development problems. For one, it can't interface with the electronic warfare system now used on carriers, and the Navy still is drafting a plan to fully integrate the radar on the Ford. Besides that, the electromagnetic field created by the aircraft launching system could disrupt the ship's radar and electronic systems, risking flight-deck accidents during aircraft landings, the GAO said. Besides technology issues, the GAO said the Navy lacks effective programs to monitor performance at the Newport News shipyard and to "recognize and mitigate risks that could increase costs." While the Navy said it plans to step up oversight of the shipyard in 2008, after a construction contract is awarded, the GAO said the shipbuilder is performing work equal to 30 percent of the ship's total cost. "The Navy is missing an important opportunity to gain knowledge regarding shipbuilder performance" before awarding the contract, the GAO said. In responses attached to the report, the Defense Department concurred with most of the recommendations GAO issued to monitor costs. The Navy, for instance, has authorized adding 80 people - including 30 more next year - to its shipbuilding office in Newport News to provide independent oversight of Northrop Grumman's performance. The Navy also plans to require contractors working on the carrier program to provide monthly reports that detail changes in cost or schedule. Navy Capt. Michael Schwartz, program manager for the Ford class of carriers, said that the service "is actively managing the risks associated with the cost, capability and schedule" of the Ford. To cut costs, the Navy has eliminated several capabilities considered non critical, including a dynamic armor protection system.
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