US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Brumby

Major
I put three parts in boldface:
Congress Considers the Carrier 'Gap'

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This is an issue that is long coming and will only get worst. It is a fiscal issue that is symptomatic of a US that has major fiscal issues lacking leadership and made worst by Obamanomics and a liberal agenda. Specific on the carrier gap, the recent article by Hudson Institute on "Sharpening the spear" Chapter 8 has a very good discussion on this. In a two hub model, the minimum required is 11 to ensure no gap. With the retirement of the USS Enterprise and the delay of the USS Ford, it is no surprise that this is happening and has happened recently. I have no confidence that this present Congress will get its act together and that this problem will ever be addressed without a change in leadership. Speaker Ryan is more discipline but will need a new President he can work with.
 

asif iqbal

Lieutenant General
The Mediterranean, East of Suez and Northern seas will be covered by 2 x QE carriers from the UK

I bet Americans will be glad to see them cut the USN slack

UK is planning in having 2 x STOBAR on "surge " duties too

Also if JMSDF adds a MEU which by all accounts is now happening it will cut slack in Pacific too

Actaully this capability has already been factored in by Central Command and US planners it's called "working with allies "
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
This is an issue that is long coming and will only get worst. It is a fiscal issue that is symptomatic of a US that has major fiscal issues lacking leadership and made worst by Obamanomics and a liberal agenda. Specific on the carrier gap, the recent article by Hudson Institute on "Sharpening the spear" Chapter 8 has a very good discussion on this. In a two hub model, the minimum required is 11 to ensure no gap. With the retirement of the USS Enterprise and the delay of the USS Ford, it is no surprise that this is happening and has happened recently. I have no confidence that this present Congress will get its act together and that this problem will ever be addressed without a change in leadership. Speaker Ryan is more discipline but will need a new President he can work with.
Just the same, it is no surprise.

They have been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul for some time.

Going to ten operational carriers, with the types of commitments that the US has, have led to this. Does not matter who is leading. This is simple numbers.

They have tried to increase the tempo and deployment time of the remaining carriers to compensate, but...was warned, and as common sense tells you,...you can only do that for so long.

Now it is time to pay the piper.

The solution is either:

A) To accept less commitments, or
B) Get back to eleven operational carriers at least, preferably twelve.
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
USN to continue buying Boeing Super Hornets as F-35Cs arrive

The US Navy officials have reaffirmed plans to procure an additional 24 to 36 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets through fiscal year 2018 while also boosting F/A-18C life-extension rates, primarily due to delays in fielding the carrier-based Lockheed Martin F-35C.
Boeing has been trying desperately to shore up Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler production in St Louis, Missouri, but the company’s difficulty in securing international sales has raised doubts.

However, comments by navy officials at a congressional hearing this week suggest more F/A-18 orders in fiscal 2017 and 2018. That’s in addition to the dozen aircraft that are likely to be funded in the current fiscal 2016 budget.

“We have a strike fighter inventory management challenge,” says navy air warfare director Rear Adm Michael Manazir. “If you look at the demands in the strike fighters into 2030, we have a shortfall. The shortfall in the early part of the 2020s is about 138 airplanes.”

The navy expects to overcome that shortfall by life-extending the F/A-18C from 6,000h to 10,000h and through the procurement of “two to three squadrons” of Super Hornets.
The service has had difficulty life-extending those aircraft because of depot throughput limitations and an unanticipated amount of internal corrosion. Unlike shore-based aircraft, naval airframes must withstand corrosive seawater and the stress of arrested landings, making the life-extension process much more uncertain

The navy overhauled approximately 30 legacy jets last year, according to Manazir, and throughput rates have increased by 40% this year. In 2017, the navy hopes to life-extend 104 F/A-18Cs.

All this activity relates to the delayed introduction of the F-35, which has been in development since 2001. The navy has pushed out its F-35C procurement profile, contending that aircraft without the Block 3F software load don’t meet the needs of the carrier air wings.

Block 3F includes the full complement of F-35 capabilities and weapons at the end of system development and demonstration (SDD), and is the configuration the navy intends to declare initial operational capability with in August 2018.

The navy eventually aim to field one F-35C squadron per carrier air wing initially, with those squadrons operating alongside Super Hornets and Growlers.
“F-18Es and Fs are the majority of our force going to 2035,” says Manazir. “We might even fly those airplanes close to 2040.”

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Few F-35C for 2018 IOC date for the first combat Sqn about 34 delivered just for this Sqn, other OCU and OEU ! last years only 4 ordered and maybe this year only 2 and after planned 6 then 8 then 10 and 16, 20 ( in 2021 ) by year normaly, a combat sqn have 10.
Hornet remains for long time and more as planned.

Super Hornet delivery has far outnumbered 20 up to 42 by year !
Navy have need about 3 Sqns but Hornet as US fighters F-15/16 is very robust and there are no Fighter gap in fact.
 
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FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
LRS-B budget trimmed again in defence spending revision

The US Air Force’s delayed selection of Northrop Grumman for the Long-Range Strike Bomber programme could see project funding halved this fiscal year, with congressional authorisers recommending another $230 million reduction because of contract delays.
In all, the programme is likely to receive just $556 million for fiscal 2016 compared to the $1,25 billion requested by the Pentagon back in February. Congress has already pulled $460 million at the request of the air force, since that money would have expired before being spent.
The further $230 million downward adjustment is part of a $5 billion savings package proposed by the House and Senate armed services committees this week. Those decreases reconcile the 2016 national defence authorisation act (completed in September) with a new two-year budget deal, which boosts US defence spending by $33 billion in fiscal 2016 instead of $38 billion.
Other programmes facing budget cuts in the agreement include the air force’s new nuclear-armed cruise missile, which takes a $21 million hit because of “contract delays”. That leaves the Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) weapon with $16 million for planned technology maturation activities.

In an upward adjustment, $80 million has been added for more MQ-9s, built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
Importantly, the adjustments leave intact several “unfunded priorities” that were authorised. Those include $979 million 12 Boeing F/A-18E/Fs and $846 million six Lockheed Martin F-35Bs. Another $65 million is added to buy one more Northrop Grumman MQ-4C and$468 million to keep the Fairchild Republic A-10.
The House could vote of the revised bill by Thursday.
The anticipated two-year budget deal has investors feeling optimistic, since the alternatives were a full-year continuing resolution that maintains fiscal year 2015 government spending levels or full sequestration. In response, Moody changed its outlook for the global aerospace and defence industry from stable to positive, with worldwide defence spending now tipped to grow by 2% to 3%.

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Then finaly they want vote this FY 2016 budget seems :)
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
This Video popped up in my facebook account.
It's interesting tech to be sure and there has been Indications that the DOD is taking notice but No, Tracking point has not yet made a Major sale to the US Military. these are repackaging of there older line of ARs based on Daniel Defence Carbines. Now renamed M600 SR Squad-Level Precision-Guided 5.56 Service Rifle and the M800 DMR Squad-Level Precision-Guided 7.62 (Squad Designated Marksman). Currently the Us army is looking at programs these may nitch in to the M4A1+ and the M110 compact.
Darpa has also contracted to SPI corp. For a Program along similar lines the Computational Weapon Optic.
There is also a program in relation to the next generation of Enhanced Night vision scopes that brings some of the same idea in.

Already Trackingpoint and similar systems are impressive. Tracking point Partnered with another firm, Recon Instruments who manufactures sports quality Smart glasses offering a system that can allow shooters to Aim in Bind fire. Although As yet no one has produced Military Eyepro Quality Smart glasses the potential is there.
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
follow up,
TrackingPoint Announces Military Squad-Level Precision-Guided Firearms
New Products Expected to Provide Insurmountable Squad Overmatch Capability.

Offerings Include M600 SR Service Rifle and M800 DMR Designated Marksman Rifle.

Company Offers Ten Zero-Cost Systems to Any Organization that can take the Guns into the Fight Against ISIS.

Pflugerville, Texas (November 4, 2015) – TrackingPoint’s new Squad-Level Precision-Firearms (SQLPFs) are designed to change the face of war. The M600 SR 5.56 NATO service rifle and M800 DMR 7.62 NATO designated marksmen rifle utilize TrackingPoint’s new RapidLok™ Target Elimination Fire Control system to automatically acquire and eliminate enemy combatants.

“We firmly believe that the M600 SR and M800 DMR will save countless lives and enable our soldiers to dominate enemy combatants including terrorists,” said John McHale, TrackingPoint CEO. The company is offering ten free M600 SRs or M800 DMRs to any U.S. organization that can legally bring them to the Middle-East in the fight against ISIS and Al Qaeda. “It’s hard to sit back and watch what is happening over there. We want to do our part. Ten guns don’t sound like a lot but the dramatic leap in lethality is a great force multiplier. Those ten guns will feel like two hundred to the enemy,” said McHale.

According to retired Colonel Tommy Gilmore TrackingPoint’s Squad-Level Precision Fire weapons will provide a significant overmatch advantage. "The modern battlefield is a dynamic, confusing, and very lethal environment. We have seen extraordinary advances in major weapon systems development. Now we see with the TrackingPoint precision-guided M600 SR and M800 DMR a force multiplier and a major step forward for the individual soldier, sailor, airmen, and marine. I have shot several TrackingPoint PGFs, in fact I own one, and can say without reservation the TrackingPoint PGFs are by far the most lethal and accurate small-arms weapons platform ever designed and produced,” said Gilmore.

M600 SR – NATO 5.56

Designed to replace the M4A1, the M600 SR delivers an 87% First-Shot-Success-Probability out to 600 yards regardless of shooter experience or skill. This is approximately 30 times the first-shot kill-rate for the typical soldier behind an M4A1. The M600 SR can eliminate targets moving as fast as 15MPH.

M800 DMR – NATO 7.62

Designed to replace the M110 and M14, the M800 DMR delivers an 89% First-Shot-Success-Probability out to 800 yards. According to the Army’s own data (Whitefeather study, 1999) this result is approximately 33 times the first-shot kill rate of today’s operational snipers. The M800 DMR can eliminate targets moving as fast as 20MPH.

RapidLok™ Target Elimination Fire Control System

As a soldier pulls the trigger the enemy is automatically acquired and tracked. When trigger pull completes, the target is instantly eliminated. Total Time-To-Kill (TTK) is approximately 2.5 seconds for the M600 SR and M800 DMR. RapidLok™ Fire Control is image stabilized enabling fighters to make off-hand shots as if they are shooting supported. RapidLok™ has an auto-snap feature that automatically adjusts point-of-impact to target center of mass. Also, target velocity is instantly measured and contemplated in the launch solution. RapidLok incorporates a laser-based Barrel Reference System that ensures shot-to-shot perfect zero eliminating error from shock, vibration, or environmental changes such as temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure.

Zero-Signature Lethality

The M600 SR and M800 DMR stream video to TrackingPoint’s ShotGlass™ wearable glasses. The soldier can see the battlefield without putting his head behind the gun, and is completely unexposed and can see and eliminate targets as if he were looking in the scope. Soldiers can shoot over berms and around corners with an extremely high hit rate on moving targets at long distances.

Availability and Pricing

The M600 SR ($9995) and M800 DMR ($15,995)will begin shipping on December 5th to the United States Military, United States organizations that can bring the guns into the fight against terrorism legally, and qualified United States citizens. Taya Kyle will be using the M600 SR and M800 DMR in the American Sniper Shootout December 5th in Mason, Texas.

About TrackingPoint

TrackingPoint, based in Austin, Texas, created the first Precision-Guided Firearm, a revolutionary new shooting system that puts fighter jet lock-and-launch technology in small arms, enabling shooters to make shots previously considered beyond human ability. To learn more, visit
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.


# # # # #

Media Contact:
Kimberly Chung
TrackingPoint
512-220-5196
[email protected]
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This seems a publicity stunt but, they might end up actually following through on a few units as The US seems now to be deploying units into the region. And Deployed units have a way of getting non standard issue gear. Especially when it's low cost.
101st Airborne to deploy to Iraq, Kuwait
By Michelle Tan, Staff writer10:23 a.m. EST November 6, 2015
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The 101st Airborne Division headquarters will deploy to Iraq and Kuwait early next year to support Operation Inherent Resolve, the Army announced Friday.

The headquarters, from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will serve a nine-month deployment. The soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gary Volesky, will replace those from the 82nd Airborne Division headquarters as part of the regular rotation of forces. The 82nd Airborne Division soldiers, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, have been
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Once in theater, the 101st Airborne headquarters will take command of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command — Iraq. They will be responsible for command and control of coalition troops training, advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces.

There are about 3,000 U.S. troops currently deployed to Iraq, including about 1,300 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. The Fort Drum, New York-based soldiers arrived in September, and they are training and advising Iraqi troops.

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. For five months, the division headquarters led the military’s contribution to the effort to fight the spread of the Ebola virus in western Africa.

In Africa, the command built Ebola treatment units, trained health care workers and built a logistics infrastructure to support ongoing activities by U.S. and international agencies.

The soldiers returned to Fort Campbell in late February.
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