Archive for July, 2011

UK helo shortage remains, Parliament warns

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

UK helo shortage remains, Parliament warns

A British Parliamentary committee finds that the UK’s much-discussed helicopter shortages aren’t resolved, after all.

Antonov An-124

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Report: Parts-swapping is common across Navy

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Report: Parts-swapping is common across Navy

Crews swap parts to get ready to sail or take aboard inspectors, and the practice is common across the fleet — especially aboard submarines.

Frost: Va. politicians vow to fight potential CVN delay

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Could the Atlas V carry astronauts?

By Philip Ewing on Monday, July 18th, 2011

Could the Atlas V carry astronauts?

NASA and ULA say they’ll cooperate on studying whether humans could someday fly to space on a big utility rocket.

Special report: DoD’s budget quandary

By Philip Ewing on Monday, July 18th, 2011

Special report: DoD’s budget quandary

An extended look at how DoD arrived at what one analyst calls “an inflection point,” what it means, and where things could go next.

AF hopes to shrink airlift fleet

By Philip Ewing on Monday, July 18th, 2011

AF hopes to shrink airlift fleet

The Air Force would like to be able to retire more of its aging C-5A cargo planes, but first Congress needs to give authorization to shrink the size of its airlift fleet.

Weekend wrap: Expeditionary links

By Philip Ewing on Friday, July 15th, 2011

Weekend wrap: Expeditionary links

The week that was. The links that were.

Tie Future Budgets to Strategy

By John Reed on Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Tie Future Budgets to Strategy

With more rounds of defense spending cuts looming, the Pentagon must choose which roles and missions are a top priority and which ones aren’t important as it drafts future budgets; a move that will no doubt entail risk and the usual round of ‘painful choices,’ a pair of think tankers advised lawmakers and their staff today on Capitol Hill.

Marine UAVs’ new home in Afghanistan

By Philip Ewing on Thursday, July 14th, 2011

Marine UAVs’ new home in Afghanistan

A detachment of Marines has begun flying their own dedicated drones with the help of a new runway at Camp Leatherneck.

Early F-35 costs increase $771M, Lockheed says

By Philip Ewing on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Early F-35 costs increase $771M, Lockheed says

Arizona Sen. John McCain said via Twitter he thought the cost overruns were ‘outrageous!’ and ‘disgraceful.’

The 95,000-ton elephant in the room

By Philip Ewing on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

The 95,000-ton elephant in the room

It’s hard to know what to make of the rumors and reports that a grand budget deal in Washington could end up costing the Navy an aircraft carrier or two.

NYT: First lady pushes for better treatment of military in movies

By Philip Ewing on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Iran denies Panetta’s weapons smuggling charge

By Philip Ewing on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Iran denies Panetta’s weapons smuggling charge

Iran is trying to counter the American condemnations with “news” stories and official denials — the question is, who is it trying to reach with such messages?

F-35C winds up first jet blast deflector tests

By Philip Ewing on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

F-35C winds up first jet blast deflector tests

Navy engineers are determining how they’ll accommodate both their new and existing fighters when the jets get mixed together on carrier flight decks.

AF: No word when F-22s could fly again

By Philip Ewing on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Surface Navy: ‘We’re not good to go’

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Surface Navy: ‘We’re not good to go’

Top service officials acknowledge that it’ll take much more time and effort to reverse the problems plaguing the Navy’s surface fleet.

A new ‘danger’ for the defense industry

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

A new ‘danger’ for the defense industry

A commentator warns that investors’ hunger for short-term gains from the defense sector could have bad long-term consequences for the industrial base.

The Army’s Oklahoma UAV superhighway

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

The Army’s Oklahoma UAV superhighway

Organizers in Oklahoma want to set up a special aerial preserve where UAVs can fly high and free, part of an ambitious goal of becoming a new hub of unmanned aviation

Israelis visit to evaluate Marines’ V-22

By Philip Ewing on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Israelis visit to evaluate Marines’ V-22

Although there’s no official talk of foreign military sales, teams from the Israeli Air Force have been spending a lot of time lately with the Marines and their MV-22s.