Aircraft carrier USS
Gerald R Ford
is scheduled to deploy in May 2023.
(Michael Fabey)
The US Navy (USN) plans to next deploy aircraft carrier USS
Gerald R Ford
(CVN 78) in May as the service continues to work out issues with the Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWEs) on the second Ford-class ship, USS
John F Kennedy
(CVN 79), according to Captain Brian Metcalf, Ford-class carrier programme manager.
Newport News Shipbuilding 3D printed critical parts for aircraft carrier USS
Gerald R Ford
.
(Janes/Michael Fabey)
HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has started to use additive manufacturing and 3D-printed parts to support its aircraft carrier programmes and sees the potential for such work aboard operational carriers, according to Brian Fields, vice-president of
Enterprise
(CVN 80) and
Doris Miller
(CVN 81) programmes.
The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) selected Lockheed Martin as the ‘preferred tenderer’ under Joint Project (JP) 9102 Phase 1 that seeks to build a military satellite communication (satcom) system for the Australian Defence Force (ADF).Lockheed Martin will progress to the next stage of the procurement process, which includes engaging in “collaborative tender clarification and improvement activities”, the DoD said in a media release on 3 April.
What happened since 2020?
USNS Mercy Sailor Stores N95 MasksPublic Domain
It is not often that such an esteem source comes forward with an intense experience nearly 16 years ago that directly impacts the Covid-19 policy today and for the last 3 years. In a stunning exclusive statement to CDMedia, this man shares his first-hand comparison of what the United States Department of Defense had planned as preparation for a pandemic in 2007. It is a 180 degrees from what the U.S. covid policy was for the last three years and going forward.
In 2007, Colonel James Zietlow was the U.S.
On Tuesday, April 4, Finland joined NATO, making it the transatlantic alliance’s 31st member and the first new member since North Macedonia in 2020. Finnish membership will bring a modern force to the alliance, better able to deter Russian attacks along their shared 835-mile border.
Finland’s accession has been in the making for about a year when the country’s voters and politicians were forced to abandon their neutrality in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, cooperation with NATO has always it has been important.
USN
The U.S. Navy is actively exploring using its CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotors in other roles beyond carrier onboard delivery, or COD. This could include acting as backup communications nodes in the event that a carrier air wing’s E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft are unavailable for any reason.
Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, currently the head of the Navy’s Naval Air Forces and the U.S.
A Pile of U.S. Dollars
On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced its latest round of military aid for Ukraine, totaling $2.6 billion.
According to a White House press release, $2 billion of the funding would be for different types of munitions, weapons, and radar. The additional military aid also comes just ahead of an expected and much-anticipated spring offensive against Russian troops.
In a statement released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the package will include “U.S.-provided HIMARS, air defense interceptors, and artillery rounds that Ukraine is using to defend itself.
According to the Chinese military’s assessment, the Chinese fleet of six Jin-class ballistic missile submarines conducts “almost continuous” patrols from Hainan Island to the South China Sea. According to analysts, equipped with a new, longer-range ballistic missile, they can reach the continental United States.
When it was released in late November, the 174-page report received less attention. Four regional military attachés with experience in naval operations and five other security specialists say this still demonstrates significant growth in China’s military might.
Rafael
NATO’s newest member, Finland, announced Wednesday it will procure the David’s Sling medium-range air defense system from Israel. This is the first export customer for the system.
The system, which fires the unique “dolphin”-nosed Stunner interceptor, is a joint venture between Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Raytheon.
The Navy has added funding in its budget plans for a critical airborne electronic attack capability that’s expected to provide increased range and address specific gaps.
The Navy is requesting an increase of $32.5 million in research and development funding for the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band Extended (NGJ-MBX) in fiscal 2024.
The next-gen system, which is the replacement for the decades old ALQ-99, will be mounted on the EA-18G Growler aircraft.
