While most of the defense community has been expecting the U.S. Navy to reap the majority of the harvest from the nation’s Pacific Pivot and shift to Asia, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says all Pentagon forces will benefit. Speaking recently as part of a global panel at the third Jakarta International Defense Dialogue, or JIDD, Carter ticked off a series of programs and capabilities from the range of U.S. forces that will be needed to successfully accomplish the shift, the American Forces Press reports.
While the U.S. Navy still officially counts the Griffin missile as part of the Littoral Combat Ship’s (LCS) surface warfare (SUW) module package, the service is now testing the system aboard other ships to see if it is actually up to the task, even for the short term, says the head of the LCS Council of admirals overseeing the vessel.
LONDON — The Spanish army has begun transporting three Eurocopter EC665 Tiger attack helicopters to Afghanistan, kicking off the country’s first operational deployment of the type. The helicopters will be deployed to Herat in west Afghanistan beginning March 27. They will be used to support the pullout of Spanish troops, which is due to be completed in 2014.
LANGKAWI, Malaysia — Indonesia says it is open to the U.S. military’s “Pacific Pivot” and shift of focus to Asia, a stance that is in line with Indonesia’s efforts to procure more U.S. defense equipment. U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter issued a press statement March 22 saying, “Asian defense leaders were eager for a U.S. presence and involvement in the region and will very palpably feel the U.S. rebalance in the Asia Pacific region.”
CANCELED: U.S. Fleet Forces recently notified several Navy commands that the Secretary of Defense approved cancellations of their upcoming deployments due to budget limitations imposed by sequestration. The April deployments of the Naval Station Norfolk-based USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), USS Kauffman (FFG 59) and the Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-based USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51), along with their supporting units, have been canceled. Kauffman and Comfort were scheduled to deploy to the U.S.
NUCLEAR STUDY: Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, has named two members to a congressionally mandated advisory panel examining nuclear security: former Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) and T.J. Glauther, former deputy energy secretary. The “Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the National Security Enterprise” will eventually comprise 12 members.
LANGKAWI, Malaysia — While Australia’s requirement to replace its aging F-18s captures much public attention, other military aircraft procurements in the country’s pipeline include a new primary trainer and advanced maritime patrol aircraft. Australia’s defense department publicly agreed last October to help with further development of the Boeing P-8A with the intent of eventually purchasing the aircraft. It has, however, yet to order the P-8A. These would replace the air force’s 19 Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion aircraft.
HOUSTON — SpaceX retrieval crews began recovery of the company’s Dragon CRS-2 resupply craft from Pacific waters off the coast of Baja, Calif., on March 26, following its departure from the International Space Station and a successful plunge through the Earth’s atmosphere. Slowed by three parachutes, the unpiloted capsule splashed down 200 mi. west of Baja at 12:34 p.m. EDT, with a nearly 2,700-lb. cargo of research gear and equipment for distribution to scientists, refurbishment or disposal.
The U.S. Navy recently started at-sea testing and data collection of the Rapid Prototype Torpedo Warning System (TWS) and Countermeasure Anti-Torpedo (CAT) system. The tests are being conducted aboard the CVN-77 USS George H.W. Bush by the Naval Sea Systems Command (Navsea) Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) team. The aircraft carrier is currently completing training qualifications. This marks the first aircraft carrier to use the TWS, Navy officials say, which was installed during the ship’s recent planned incremental availability period.
PRYING EYES: Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is joining other lawmakers in drafting legislation to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens from being invaded by loitering UAVs, specifically UAVs operated by private citizens. “The only way to truly embrace these innovative, job-creating technologies, is to assure the public that these technologies will not compromise Coloradans’ basic privacy rights,” says Udall, who is supportive of a bid from his home state to become one of six test sites for civilian-use UAVs.
MUHU ISLAND, Estonia — Estonia unveiled the first of two new long-range air defense radar posts March 26 as part of an effort to modernize the former Soviet-occupied country’s air surveillance capability in support of NATO air policing missions. Produced by ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS), Estonia’s first Ground Master 403 (GM 403) radar was delivered to the Baltic nation last December under a 2009 contract valued at €25 million ($32 million), including options.
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The U.S. Forest Service is in search of six or more high-fidelity networked aerial firefighting simulators for initial and recurrent training of fire management officials and contract pilots flying a wide variety of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft for the agency.
Engineers from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock recently released software that provides the U.S. government, industry and academia a standardized method of analyzing ship testing data that is expected to improve high-speed craft design, Navy officials say. The software — called Standard G — uses a physics-based approach to analyze data recorded during wave-impact testing on watercraft and was developed in partnership with the Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Naval Academy and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
GROUND FORECAST: The West’s simultaneous withdrawal from Afghanistan and fiscal austerity efforts at home will eat into the MRO business for ground combat vehicles, according to one consulting group, but the industry may not see its worst fears realized. Visiongain sees the global military ground vehicle MRO market at $5.66 billion this year, and it should continue to achieve “strong and stable” growth.
LANGKAWI, Malaysia — Australia’s air force chief is still optimistic that his country will eventually order 100 Lockheed Martin F-35s, even though the government is currently looking at ordering 24 additional Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets in light of delays with F-35 development.
