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Pointblank

Senior Member
From DARPA: LRASM testing:
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Designed for both surface and air launch,LRASM seeks to develop an autonomous, precision-guided anti-ship standoff missile based on the successful Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) system. LRASM aims to incorporate sensors and systems to create a stealthy and survivable subsonic cruise missile with reduced dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, network links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments. The program also focuses on precision lethality in the face of advanced countermeasures.

“This fully functional test is a significant step in providing the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force with a next-generation anti-ship missile capability,” said Artie Mabbett, DARPA program manager for LRASM. “This test is the culmination of the five-year development and integration of advanced sensors in an All-Up-Round (AUR) missile. It also represents the first time we’ve integrated advanced sensors and demonstrated the entire system, resulting in performance that substantially exceeds our current capabilities.”

DARPA designed the free-flight transition test (FFTT) demonstration to verify the missile’s flight characteristics and assess subsystem and sensor performance. Beyond the primary objectives of the free-flight transition, the test vehicle also detected, engaged and hit an unmanned 260-foot Mobile Ship Target (MST) with an inert warhead.

A B-1 bomber from the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron conducted the mission from Dyess AFB, Tex., to the Point Mugu Sea Test Range off the coast of southern California. Once in position, the B-1 released the LRASM, which followed a pre-planned route towards the target. Approximately halfway to its destination, the weapon switched to autonomous guidance, in which it autonomously detected the moving MST and guided itself to hit the desired location on the target. A F/A-18 fighter from the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 31 in China Lake, Calif., followed the weapon during the flight.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (LMMFC) is the prime contractor for the demonstration of the LRASM weapon. BAE Systems’ Information and Electronic Systems Integration division is the prime contractor for the design and delivery of LRASM’s onboard sensor systems.


The target after being struck:
LRASM.jpg

A black circle indicates where the missile hit and punched straight through the target.
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Can' t equiped SSN ?

I am surprise because from withdrawal of Sub-Harpoon, US SSN have no AShM, i think definitely a bad decision.

Fortunately USN use the quietest submarines to close attack with torpedo !
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
AM General's JLTV prototype (AM General)

By Lance M. Bacon
Staff writer
Evals begin for new JLTV prototypes

By Lance M. Bacon
Staff writer Army times
Sixty-six Joint Light Tactical Vehicle prototypes produced by three companies have been delivered, and the battle to replace your Humvee has begun.

The vehicles — made by AM General, Lockheed Martin and Oshkosh — started 14 months of rigorous testing and evaluations during the first week of September. The tests are being conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.

This follows more than 400 ballistic and blast tests on armor samples and in excess of 1,000 miles in shakedown testing, according to Army data.

An initial order for nearly 55,000 vehicles will go to the winner. Long-term plans include the first Army units receiving JLTVs by fiscal 2018 and all 49,000 JLTVs delivered to the Army by sometime in the 2030s, he said. The Marines will acquire 5,500.

It’s been a long haul for the JLTV. The Senate Appropriations Committee was about to pull the plug when Army and Marine leaders, in a rather unprecedented move, teamed with industry leaders to trim vehicle costs by $100,000 and cut 16 months from the $52 million engineering and manufacturing development phase.

The result was a $250,000 base vehicle that costs a little more than a recapped Humvee but offers the survivability of a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, better mobility than a Humvee and the ability to add mission kits. It will be transportable by ship or helicopter and be able to provide 30 kilowatts of exportable power.

Despite this success, the latest round of Pentagon cutbacks may be an obstacle that JLTV cannot overcome.

Program managers are admittedly taking a calculated gamble with the program’s testing schedule. With the cuts mandated by sequestration biting into the planned testing and evaluation budget of the JLTV, joint program manager Army Col. John Cavedo said that instead of pushing back the start of testing to save money, the services are going to proceed as planned until next summer.

The services will have to begin curtailing planned testing and evaluation activities if sequestration remains in place and the program doesn’t receive a new infusion of cash by July.

Meanwhile, the testing continues. “Iron triangle” are the buzzwords in the JLTV camp. Each vehicle is engineered to enhance and balance protection, performance and payload.

Here’s a look at the contenders:

Lockheed Martin
A newcomer to this arena, Lockheed beefed up force protection while cutting weight and cost during the technology demonstration phase. It quickly hit helicopter lift requirements and logged more than 160,000 testing miles.

The company’s key partner, BAE Systems, brings its vast armor knowledge to bear. Lockheed also turned to the Meritor Pro-Tec air suspension system to enhance off-road performance with minimal crew fatigue.

Soldiers should especially appreciate the user-friendly crew cab, which was designed around the war fighter.

Lockheed’s aerospace background and systems integration experience enabled it to put a substantial amount of capability into the dashboard, which frees space for the war fighter.

AM General
AM General, maker of the Humvee, has the most experience with this type of vehicle. That is evident when looking at the JLTV prototype, called the Blast Resistant Vehicle-Offroad. Many have described it as a “Hummer on steroids.”

The company teamed with General Dynamics to build a vehicle officials describe as having “modular armor already proven effective in government-supervised blast testing” and a mobility technology with more than 300,000 operational test miles.

A self-leveling suspension adds mobility, reduces strain on crew and keeps weapons on target. The vehicle exceeds 14 JLTV mobility criteria, including forward speed, cross-country speed, speed on grade, ride-limiting speed, operational range, onboard power and energy storage, according to company data.

Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense took the success of the MRAP all-terrain vehicle’s modular and scalable protection and packaged it into the much smaller JLTV.

The diesel-electric powertrain was replaced with a digitally controlled Duramax engine, but mobility is its key strength.

The TAK-4i intelligent suspension system provides up to 20 inches of independent wheel travel.

These combine to provide a vehicle that is 50 percent faster off road than the MRAP all-terrain vehicle without adding bumps and bruises, officials said.

The company has built military vehicles for 90 years, and repeatedly points to its ability to build “on time and on budget.”

That ability will be put to the test as the company on Sept. 4 entered a second round of negotiations with United Auto Workers Local 578 in search of a five-year contract extension. The contract is set to expire in 2016.

A UAW flier indicates the company has set a Sept. 30 deadline for reaching an agreement on the contract extension. Oshkosh Corp. vice president of communications John Daggett said the company needs the extension to help it compete for the JLTV contract.

Requirements and perks
The Pentagon requires at least 600 mean miles before an essential function failure. The JLTV must also operate in altitudes from minus 500 feet to 12,000 feet and maintain full mission capability in temperatures from minus 40 degrees to 125 degrees, according to established requirements. When temperatures drop well below zero, the JLTV must start within one minute with no external aids, kits or prior warming of the batteries.

Once fired up, the vehicle can go 350 paved miles at 35 mph or 300 miles in operational terrain on a single tank of JP-8 fuel. The JLTV can go from 0 to 30 mph in seven seconds on dry, level, hard terrain, and can ford 60 inches of saltwater obstacle without a fording kit, in forward and reverse, while maintaining contact with the ground.

Weighing in at no more than 12,660 pounds, the JLTV can be prepared in 30 minutes for transport by aircraft, Maritime Prepositioning Force ships or rail. This is aided by an adjustable-height suspension that includes five heights.

To keep costs down, the Army opted for an “incrementally scalable” command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance solution. Simply put, you take only what you need.

But some cool features are common to all of the vehicles. One example is the central tire inflation system, which allows the driver to adjust vehicle tires to any one of four preset tire pressures: highway, cross country, mud/snow/sand and emergency. It takes two minutes to deflate from one setting to the next, and from two to six minutes to inflate, depending on the setting. A visual indicator warns the driver of excessive speed at pressure conditions.

Safety is a key factor in the vehicle’s design. Two soldiers can install B-kit armor in five hours. An 800-pound rocket-propelled grenade protection kit can be installed in two hours at field-level maintenance and completed by the crew within 30 minutes. Each vehicle has a backup viewing capability that also provides a 25-foot situational awareness to your six o’clock.

The JLTV also has an automatic fire-extinguishing system to protect the crew cabin and engine compartment. Fixed fuel tanks are self-sealing, mounted externally and shielded by the JLTV structure. Each crew seat has a combined seat and blast restraint device. Ingress time for a crew of four in combat equipment is 30 seconds or less. Egress with B-kit doors is within 10 seconds.

And let us not forget the creature comforts.

The heater can raise the crew compartment from minus 40 degrees to 65 degrees Fahrenheit in one hour. The air conditioner can drop the temp from 120 degrees to 90 degrees within 40 minutes. That leaves plenty of time to put the adjustable driver seat in the right position.

And when the road is long, the driver and commander can place their 12- or 24-ounce drinks in the JLTV’s two cup holders.

Jeff Bollier and staff writer Paul McLeary contributed to this report.
hmmm that new Hummvee smell...
 

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
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Newport News Shipbuilding said:
On Saturday, November 9, 2013, Newport News Shipbuilding will christen the nation's newest aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) during a ceremony on-site where the ship is being constructed. President Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the United States. His daughter, Susan Ford Bales, will serve as the ship's sponsor, performing the traditional honor of breaking a bottle of American sparkling wine across the ship's bow during the ceremony.

Prior to the ceremony, the dry dock in which CVN 78 was structurally built will be flooded, preparing the ship for launch in the days following her christening. The christening ceremony will be held in front of the ship's bow.

Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the first of a new class of aircraft carriers, the first new design since USS Nimitz, which was launched in 1972. Redesigned from keel to mast, the ship will be able to launch aircraft more quickly while costing less to maintain, saving the Navy a projected $4 billion over the ship's 50-year lifespan.

This is GREAT and exciting news. Another day long awaited and a very histroical day for the US Navy as a new class of carriers is launched and developed. If things go as planned, it will be another 40-50 years before another new class is launched and christened like this again..
 

kwaigonegin

Colonel
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This is GREAT and exciting news. Another day long awaited and a very histroical day for the US Navy as a new class of carriers is launched and developed. If things go as planned, it will be another 40-50 years before another new class is launched and christened like this again..

It's quite possible that the GRF class is the last of the traditional flattop we'll see for the USN. There will no doubt an Improved class will follow sometime in the future however when a totally redesigned class comes online in the next 40 or 50 years it probably won't look anywhere like what we are use to seeing of a traditional aircraft carrier. I'm speculating that in the next 40 or 50 years, new generation fighters (7th and 8th Gen) will be 100% STOVL and doesn't require such a large deck. Heck most likely new fighters coming online in mid 22nd century will be all pilotless and fully autonomous anyway. Of course I'll probably be gone from this Earth by then so won't see it anyway LOL
 

thunderchief

Senior Member
Washington Navy Yard attacked , multiple fatalities reported :

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One shooter is dead after opening fire Monday morning at the Washington Navy Yard and authorities are investigating the possibility of additional shooters wearing military-style uniforms, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier confirmed.

At least six people were killed and at least four others were wounded, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.

"We are still trying to confirm the number of fatalities," Mayor Vincent Gray said at a press conference. "As far as we know, this is an isolated incident."

LIVE BLOG

A suspect was reportedly inside the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building at 8:20 a.m. Several news outlets reported that a suspect barricaded himself inside a particular room, but police have not confirmed. Approximately 3,000 people work in the building.......................
 

thunderchief

Senior Member
Apparently , it is not a terrorist attack , more like shooting rampage by former member of USN . R.I.P. to deceased

Aaron Alexis, 34, is dead gunman in Navy Yard shooting, authorities say

Rampage at Navy Yard: At least 12 people are dead and others wounded after a shooter opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, police said. But hours after the rampage began, it was still unclear whether the shooting was the act of a lone gunman, or if other shooters were involved.

The dead gunman in Monday’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard is Aaron Alexis, 34, a Navy veteran and native of Brooklyn, an FBI official said Monday afternoon.

Police say it is unclear if Alexis acted alone. Authorities are still searching for another possible suspect: a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns, wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform......

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Navy vet ID'd as shooter in DC attack that killed 12

A gunman suspected in the killing 12 people at a Navy building in Washington Monday morning has been identified as Aaron Alexis, 34, a Navy veteran from New York, Fox News has learned.

Alexis, who was discharged from the Navy within the last few years after serving hitches in Texas and Illinois, sprayed bullets from the third or fourth floor down to an open area in the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters in southeast Washington in an attack that began just after 8 a.m. He was later killed as he traded shots with responding police.

Many who managed to escape in the early minutes of the episode recalled panic and fear after a routine Monday morning was shattered with fire from an AR-15.

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bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
My sincerest condolences to the families of the victims of this tragedy.

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WASHINGTON (Sept. 16, 2013) Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus speaks with Washington Navy Yard personnel at a gathering point at Nationals Park. The Washington Navy Yard was evacuated after a shooting Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)

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WASHINGTON (Sept. 16, 2013) Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus is interviewed by local and national media near the Washington Navy Yard about a shooting at the Navy Yard. (U.S. Navy photo by Ed Buice/Released)

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By Carol Morello, Peter Hermann and Clarence Williams, Updated: Monday, September 16, 8:44 PM
At least 13 people are dead and 14 others were injured after a gunman opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, Navy officials said, spreading fear and chaos across the region as authorities sought to contain the panic.

The incident, in which the death toll rose almost hourly, represents the single worst loss of life in the District since an airliner plunged into the Potomac River in 1982, killing 78.


D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier and Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced the mounting number of casualties in a series of news conferences. The suspected shooter, identified by the FBI as Aaron Alexis, 34, living in Fort Worth, is among the 13 dead. Alexis was a military contractor, one official said.

But even hours after the rampage began, it was still unclear whether the shooting was the act of a lone gunman, or if other shooters were involved. Lanier initially said authorities were looking for two more potential shooters dressed in military style clothing. But shortly after she announced a detailed description of two suspects, city officials said one had been located and cleared.

Lanier described the other possible suspect, who has not been located, as a black man in his 40s with gray sideburns, wearing an olive-drab military-style uniform. He, and the man who was cleared, came under suspicion when they were seen on surveillance videos.

Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to call 202-727-9099.
 
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