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FORBIN said:

NEW YORK — The United Technologies Corp. announced Monday it is selling its helicopter manufacturing subsidiary Sikorsky for $9 billion to defense group Lockheed Martin, according to Agence France-Press. Sikorsky manufactures the Black Hawk and Seahawk military helicopters as
well as the Marine One helicopter used by the US president.
In 2014, Sikorsky had some $7.5 billion in sales, but operating profits were down.
The cash transaction with Lockheed is expected to close no later than the first quarter of 2016.
UTC will use the sale to repurchase some of its own shares as an indirect way to reward the company's shareholders.
UTC head Gregory Hayes said in a statement the sale will make sure the company remains a technology leader.

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Naval Today said:

US Navy’s future USS Little Rock was officially launched into the Menominee River at the Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) shipyard on July 18.

The Lockheed Martin-led industry team launched the nation’s ninth littoral combat ship (LCS). The ship’s sponsor, Mrs. Janee Bonner, christened Little Rock (LCS 9) with the traditional smashing of a champagne bottle across the ship’s bow just prior to the launch.

Following christening and launch, Little Rock will continue to undergo outfitting and testing before delivery to the Navy later this year.

Vice President of Littoral Ships & Systems, Joe North, said:

This future USS Little Rock will use interchangeable mission modules that empower her to face a variety of high-priority missions, from Anti-Surface Warfare to Anti-Submarine Warfare to Mine Countermeasures. She is ideally suited to navigate the reefs and shallows in the Asia-Pacific, as so well demonstrated by USS Fort Worth on her current deployment.

The Little Rock is one of seven littoral combat ships under construction at Marinette Marine.

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The USS North Dakota (SSN 784) returned to its homeport at U.S. Naval Submarine Base, New London, Conn., July 20 after conducting groundbreaking operations in the Mediterranean Sea. Under the command of Capt. Douglas Gordon, the ship finished its first-ever mission by deploying and retrieving unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) from the ship's dry deck shelter (DDS) in an operational environment. A Kongsberg Maritime REMUS 600 UUV was used in the tests.

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In a first for the U.S. Navy, a submarine has launched and recovered an underwater drone used in a military operation.

The attack submarine USS North Dakota returned to its base in Groton on Monday following a nearly two-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea specifically to test the drone-launching capability.

"This was something they thought we could go do," Capt. Douglas Gordon, the vessel's commanding officer, said in an interview at the base. "We went out, and we proved that."

The drone was launched from a shelter attached to the top of the Virginia-class submarine that can also be used for the undersea deployment of divers and special forces. Gordon declined to provide details of the mission.

The Navy sees the drones, also known as unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs, as a cost-effective way to extend the reach of its submarine fleet, which has been gradually shrinking in size since the end of the Cold War.

"We can do a dual mission," Gordon said. "UUVs do their thing while we do other operations."

Navy Capt. Carl Hartsfield, a program manager for undersea capabilities, said the feat reflects the Navy's commitment to integrating unmanned vehicles. He said the vehicle deployed by the North Dakota is from a class that is readily available on the commercial market and can be reconfigured to carry a wide range of payloads.

The Navy has used unmanned vehicles to simulate enemy submarines for training purposes since the 1970s, and they also have been used to detect mines and map the ocean floor. The military has been researching how to use them more for other purposes including intelligence gathering and even anti-submarine warfare.

The development of the undersea drones has been pioneered at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, which in 2010 launched one that navigated its own way from Newport to Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in what the military called an unprecedented feat. NUWC has worked closely with private companies, academic institutions and other government agencies involved in similar research.

The drone deployed by the North Dakota was a Remus 600, a 500-pound, 10-foot-long vehicle that its maker, Hydroid, says can be equipped with video cameras, GPS devices and sonar technology. Gordon declined to say whether it was self-guided or piloted by a member of the submarine's crew.

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US Air Force said:

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFNS) -- The jets won't arrive for another few months, but Hill Air Force Base activated its first F-35 Lightning II fighter squadron during a ceremony here July 17.

The 34th Fighter Squadron -- affectionately known as the Rude Rams -- was reactivated, marking the beginning of the F-35's combat era for both the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings. The fighter squadron is a historic one, with a past that can be traced back to Word War II, which included participation in conflicts from Vietnam and the first Gulf War to Iraq and Afghanistan, post 9/11.

The squadron was mothballed as an F-16 Fighting Falcon unit in 2010 as part of an Air Force restructuring plan to retire planes and save money, but it returns to accommodate the F-16's replacement, becoming the first operational Air Force unit to fly combat-coded F-35s.

Col. David B. Lyons, the current 388th FW commander and former commander of the 34th FS, said the reactivation is one of the highlights of his career. He led the squadron when it was deactivated in 2010.

"This has got to be one of the finest days of my military career," he said. "To see this squadron shut down in 2010 was heartbreaking, but somebody, somewhere had the good sense to bring it back to duty."

Lt. Col. George Watkins, the new commander of the squadron, said that while the first operational F-35 is not slated to arrive at the base until September, the new squadron shouldn't have trouble keeping busy until then.

The first group of F-35 maintainers, which will make up the 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, have been at Hill AFB for two months, completing mostly administrative work critical to the upcoming aircraft transition.

Watkins said the Airmen have been writing programs on how the unit will maintain the F-35 in peace and wartime scenarios and have created a flying hours program that includes directives for training, off-station sorties, contingency scenarios, local flying and any major modifications to the aircraft.

"There (is) a lot of work to be done before we get that first jet," Watkins said.

The initial group of F-35 maintainers from the 419th FW are in training, and the first 419th FW pilot to fly the F-35 will begin training this fall.

When the F-35s begin to arrive at Hill AFB, they'll be divided among three fighter squadrons and flown and maintained by members of both the 388th FW and its Reserve component, the 419th FW.

"There are slated to be a total of 72 F-35s at Hill AFB by 2019, with approximately 35-40 pilots in each of the three fighter squadrons.

Hill officials hope to have 15 jets by August 2016 and reach a status known as "initial operational capability," which means the fighter wings meet the minimum operational capabilities to use the jet for normal operations."

The 34th FS is scheduled to have five qualified pilots during the first month of flying, taking turns in what will be two F-35s on base. The 388th FW is sending pilots through training at Eglin AFB, Florida, and Luke AFB, Arizona. By January 2016, the wing will have 10 pilots qualified to fly the F-35, including Watkins and Lyons, who both finished their training earlier this year.

The colonels answered to those who have criticized the F-35 program for its expense and apparent lack of performance. The most recent cost estimate for operating and supporting the F-35 fleet exceeds $1 trillion and a leaked internal brief written by a test pilot who was flying the F-35 during a January test run revealed the jet was losing dogfights to the F-16.

"Things aren't perfect, but things are still in development and you can see the potential," Lyons said, adding that the F-35 flies similarly to the F-16, but by fusing many different sensors together, makes the pilot's job easier in the cockpit.

Fighter Wing Spokesman Nathan Simmons said that by the time the F-35 is in full operation at Hill in 2019, the 388th will have added more than 260 active-duty positions.

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Bernard said:

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• Air-to-air combat has transitioned from gun-based to missile-based kills.
• In the 1991 Gulf War, only 38% of visual range engagements required air combat maneuvering.
• On the basis of this, the CSBA proposes that the U.S. Should invest in a new air superiority plan, utilizing low observable bomber-derived platforms (a 6th generation "fighter") to direct a fleet of unmanned air vehicles to engage opponents from beyond visual range.

• The CSBA report failed to differentiate between radar guided (BVR) missiles fired from beyond visual range, and those fired from within visual range.
• USAF studies show that prior to the 1991 Gulf War, missiles fired from beyond visual range accounted for no more than four air-to-air kills, worldwide.
• Even in the 1991 Gulf War, over half of all air-to-air kills occurred within visual range.
• The presumed cost savings for unmanned aircraft do not exist - as evidenced by the Global Hawk program. Early UAVs have been "cheaper" only because they are comparing unmanned prop-driven airplanes to manned jet-driven airplanes.