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Next US Navy budget battle pits ships against strike fighters

The memo directs the secretary of the navy to add funding for 31 more F-35Cs than proposed and to continue buying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets in fiscal 2018.

These measures would be partially offset by capping Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) procurement at 40 ships instead of 52 and down-selecting to one supplier: Lockheed Martin or General Dynamics.

The directive seemingly overturns other contentious navy proposals, like cutting three Northrop Grumman E-2Ds and one MQ-4C Triton and 420 Raytheon AIM-120D air-to-air missiles.

Other budget measures overturned could have “disrupted” development and fielding of new infrared search-and-track sensors, jammers and radar upgrades for navy combat jets.

While this reversal is good news for the aerospace sector, shipbuilders and LCS proponents won’t sink quietly. As one commenter notes, Carter’s stated objection to building past the navy’s 308-ship goal dismisses a 2014 national defence panel recommendation for between “323 and 346 ships,” and overlooks the long-term nature of funding and building vessels compared to fighters.

“That story hasn’t ended yet,” cautions Deloitte aerospace and defence analyst Tom Captain. “The political process is now taking over, and there may be people lobbying to do something different. I don’t think it’s over yet.”

Exactly how this budgetary saga will shape up depends on the final details of the service’s spending proposal – due out in late January or February – and the reaction of LCS advocates in Congress.

US lawmakers sent an encouraging signal in November by adding funds in fiscal 2016 for 11 extra F-35s, seven EA-18G Growlers and five F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

The warm embrace comes at a fortuitous time for the F-35 programme, which secured a $1.2 billion contract in late December to fund long-lead parts for 94 “Lot 11” aircraft.

Carter’s directive to buy more Super Hornets in 2018 and the extra money from Congress for 2016 firm up the Boeing production line in St Louis, Missouri, which faced closure without more orders.

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The Navy secretary is urging his admirals to push forward with integrating women into the storied Navy SEAL teams, over the concerns of Navy SEAL leaders.

As Naval Special Warfare hammers out a plan to start admitting women into their tough training, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is urging Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson to forge ahead. Mabus rebutted some of the concerns NSW brass raised about roadblocks to integration.

In the plan it submitted, NSW argued that allowing women to join direct ground combat units would not increase readiness, and could even distract from it, according to the memo obtained by Navy Times.

Other concerns included, "anticipated adjustment of standards, disruption of social cohesion, partnering compatibility, medical concerns, media attention, and longevity and retention of expertise," Mabus wrote in the Jan. 1 memo.

These concerns have been echoed throughout the armed forces as the services have debated opening the last combat positions to women over the past several years.

The Marine Corps made a similar stand this fall, but Mabus and Defense Secretary Ash Carter decided to move forward with the plan.

Despite NSW's concerns, Navy officials have said that the SEALs' and Special Warfare Combat Crewman's rigorous physical standards and training will not change.

"Some concerns can be dismissed outright," Mabus said in the memo. "First, there will not be any adjustment of standards. As long as a sailor meets the established operationally relevant, occupation-specific, gender-neutral individual standards, that sailor is qualified to serve."

Second, he added, he expects that leadership will ensure that the integration moves forward to fulfill the policy without detracting from its warfighting priorities.

The Mabus memo also called for the Navy to review all job titles that include "man" for all title, including that for Special Warfare Combat Crewman, a move that sparked widespread criticism online after Navy Times reported it Thursday. This In a separate memo obtained Thursday, Mabus gave the same direction to the Navy at large, sparking widespread criticism from online readers.

Mabus calls for replacing title with gendered terms, "to demonstrate through this language that women are included in these positions."

Going forward, Mabus requested quarterly updates from NSW leaders on their implementation progress.

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SAN DIEGO — General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) projectiles with prototype components for a Control and Actuation System (CAS) successfully performed programmed actions and communicated component performance to a ground station via a telemetry link in tests carried out Dec. 7-10 at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, the company announced in a Jan. 8 release.

Fired at accelerations greater than 30,000 times that of gravity from GA-EMS’ 3 megajoule Blitzer electromagnetic railgun, the four test projectiles and the critical components within them experienced the multi-Tesla electromagnetic field within the launcher and performed as expected.

“We continue to mature railgun projectile technologies and conduct testing under varied open-range, real-world conditions,” stated Nick Bucci, vice president of Missile Defense Systems, GA-EMS. “We remain committed to advancing this transformational weapon system and are making significant progress in the development and testing of multimission railgun projectiles and critical component technologies.”

During the December test firings, the projectiles not only survived and operated under the 30,000 G-force and multi-Tesla magnetic field launch conditions, but performed under ambient operating temperatures ranging between 20 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with up to 4 inches of snow on the ground, and with wind conditions ranging from 10 to 50 knots. To date, projectiles have been open-range tested under temperatures varying from minus 11 degrees to as high as 105 degrees.

In June, GA-EMS successfully tested and received data from projectiles with on-board electronics, and marked the 100th launch of its 3 megajoule Blitzer testing prototype railgun weapon system. After the December test series, the Blitzer railgun system has performed 120 successful launches. Risk reduction and technology maturation testing of additional components will continue in 2016.

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Brumby said:

Railgun Projectiles Achieve Success in Series of Critical Open-Range Testing

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Jura said:

"During the December test firings, the projectiles not only survived and operated under the 30,000 G-force and multi-Tesla magnetic field launch conditions, but performed under ambient operating temperatures ranging between 20 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with up to 4 inches of snow on the ground, and with wind conditions ranging from 10 to 50 knots."

what's the connection between 30 thousand g and snow on the ground please?

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