US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jura said:

this is interesting:
BAE Systems Ramps Up for Virginia-Class Submarine Payload Module Launch Tube Production

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General Dynamics Electric Boat has awarded BWXT Nuclear Operations Group a contract for the delivery of Virginia Payload Module (VPM) launch tubes.

According to the company, the contract is worth approximately $35 million.

The VPM will comprise four large-diameter payload tubes in a new hull section to be inserted in Virginia-class submarines.

Work has already begun for development efforts and qualification of the processes required to manufacture these payload tubes, BWXT said, noting that the development is expected to be completed by 2019.

Fabrication of a quantity of first-of-a-kind VPM payload tubes will begin in 2017 with delivery of the first tube scheduled in 2019. The fabrication portion of the contract represents 75 percent of the tube production work available at this time.

The work will be conducted at BWXT’s Mount Vernon, Ind. manufacturing facility, the same site where launch tubes are being manufactured for Columbia-class (formerly known as Ohio Replacement Program) submarines. The company also said it was in the process of adding approximately 120 new jobs at Mount Vernon to support this and other new manufacturing activities.

“We are excited to begin Virginia Payload Module fabrication work as we have been investing in our facilities to meet the needs of Electric Boat and the U.S. Navy in preparation for such an opportunity,” said Peyton S. (Sandy) Baker, president and chief executive officer of BWXT. “This opportunity also illustrates BWXT’s ability to grow organically into related areas of our heavy component manufacturing business.”

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The US Army is planning to demonstrate a host of combat vehicles in the role of robotic wingmen in 2017 at Fort Benning, Georgia, as it prepares to enter an official program of record in 2023.

The service is already successfully teaming unmanned and manned aircraft in the field, pairing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters with Shadow and Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft to fill the role of an armed scout helicopter after the Army retired its OH-58 Kiowa Warriors.

But teaming vehicles on the ground poses more challenges such as safely navigating around stationary or moving obstacles and rolling over rough terrain. The Army has a lot of thinking and experimenting ahead of itself to iron out concepts for today's and tomorrow's battlefield.

One of the efforts planned for the summer of 2017 at Fort Benning will assess whether it’s possible to give the weapons loader on an Abrams tank the responsibility to control unmanned air and ground vehicles by equipping the tank with an automatic loader, Lt. Gen. Michael Lundy, the commanding general at the Army’s Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, said during a teleconference with reporters this month.

Lundy noted an automatic loader, which is a proven capability not yet fielded, would be integrated into an Abrams in order to take the burden off the weapons loader and free that crew member for unmanned systems operations duty.

The plan takes what the Army has and, without introducing new force structure, should supplement the Abrams with increased situational awareness among other capabilities, Lundy said.

The demonstration would then lead to a decision on whether the Army should require a product improvement to add an automatic loader to the Abrams, he said. Then more operational decisions would be made such as what a manned-unmanned teaming arrangement with Abrams would look like.

“What does that mean for tethered UAS, ground vehicles that are attached to the Abrams tank? We really got to do some more experimenting before we get to those kinds of decisions,” Lundy said. “How do you use those kinds of capabilities and how does it increase either the lethality or the protection or mobility of said combat vehicle.”

Also this summer at Fort Benning, the Army will conduct a joint capability technology demonstration of the robotic wingman concept using Humvees. The second phase, to be conducted later at an unspecified time, will demonstrate the same capability using M113s, according to a set of slides used during a presentation at a capabilities information exchange between industry and Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Eustis, Virginia, this month.

The demonstrations will feed into the development of the Army’s planned programs of record for both a semiautonomous robotic wingman starting in 2023 and an autonomous version that would come online in 2035, the slides noted.

The semiautonomous wingman would take existing combat vehicles and give them leader-follower capability, waypoint navigation, and obstacle detection and avoidance. The autonomous wingman will be a purpose-built platform and have fully autonomous navigation capability and teleoperated weapons.

The efforts in the robotic wingman arena are part of a bigger Army strategy to gradually bring more autonomy, artificial intelligence and common control of unmanned systems into soldier formations over the course of 25 years. The Army will move from having to keep constant vigilance over robotic systems to developing relationships where the unmanned move alongside a war fighter on a mission, much like a hunter and his bird dog.

The Army Capabilities Integration Center unveiled a version of its robotics and autonomous systems strategy in October.

The strategy identifies five capability objectives that will guide science and technology research and development and how unmanned aircraft and unmanned ground systems are used.

The Army wants to use unmanned systems to increase situational awareness, lighten both the soldier’s physical and cognitive loads, bolster force sustainment, and help units move and maneuver on the battlefield while protecting soldiers from threats.

The service plans to submit a draft capabilities development document (CDD) for Army Requirements Oversight Council (AROC) review in January on the Squad Multi-Purpose Equipment Transport, which is a ground robotic vehicle that will be able to carry gear, supplies and equipment for an entire squad. The Army also plans to submit a draft CDD for leader-follower automated resupply in February.

A CDD for a robotic wingman will be needed in 2019, according to the Army’s slides.

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Jura said:

now I read All Navy F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, Growlers grounded after incident injuring aircrew

source is NavyTimes

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A Growler's canopy exploded off the jet earlier this month, which led the

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to temporarily ground

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and

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squadrons, according to a Naval Safety Center summary of the incident.

The Growler's pilot and electronic warfare officer were injured Dec. 16 at

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in Washington state as it prepared for a training flight. The Navy said at the time it was an "on-deck emergency" that involved the aircraft's canopy but did not elaborate.

The Navy suspended flight operations for Growlers and Super Hornets throughout the fleet for several days while they conducted an initial investigation. Super Hornets were included in the stand-down because they share common aircraft systems with the Growler, the Navy said in a statement. Several Super Hornet squadrons are based at

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in Virginia Beach.

The Naval Safety Center classified the incident as a "Class A" mishap, its most serious type. It means there was at least $2 million in damage to the Growler or a "permanent total disability" to a crew member.

The pilot and electronic warfare officer were taken to a hospital to be treated for their injuries. The Norfolk-based Naval Safety Center described the officers' injuries as "severe." The center did not provide any more details.

The Growler is a variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet and is capable of offensive electronic jamming, electronic emissions detection and electronic suppression of enemy air defenses.

The Navy said Naval Air Systems Command and Boeing engineers identified several factors that likely contributed to the incident. Naval Air Forces ordered changes to be implemented throughout the F-18 fleet because there are similarities in the component designs for the affected systems in the Growler incident, the Navy said in a statement.

The measures include changes to "aircraft water-wash procedures" and updates to the Navy's procedures for ground emergencies.

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on Dec. 19.

The Growler mishap remains under investigation.

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Jura said:

now I read US Army to Demo Robotic Wingman Vehicles in 2017

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with a great comment below it: "Is anyone else getting the feeling that there won't be any soldiers needed in our next war?"

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TerraN_EmpirE said:

... I have long said The Abrams next evolution should follow the South Korean K2, the new Autoloaders are better and better and really you don't need a 12 rounds per minute rate of fire from a tank.

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Yet another aviation squadron commander has been fired as the turmoil rippling through Marine aviation refuses to take any time off for the holidays.

Lt. Col. Wade Workman was relieved of his duties Wednesday as head of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, which has seen two of its F/A-18 Hornets crash since Workman took command on Jan. 15, said Capt. Kurt Stahl, a spokesman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. A third Hornet from the squadron crashed in England in October 2015.

“The decision to relieve Lt. Col. Workman was unrelated to recent mishaps,” Stahl said in an email. “This decision was based on issues concerning command climate within the squadron.”

Maj. Gen. Mark Wise, commander of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, decided to fire Workman due to a ” loss of trust and confidence” in his ability to serve as squadron commander, Stahl said.

The Marine Corps is struggling through an aviation readiness crisis brought about by years of wars, budget cuts and delays in replacing older aircraft – all of which have left many aircraft unable to fly. Aircraft parts can be hard to obtain and with fewer aircraft flying, pilots are not getting enough time in the air.

Stahl did not say specifically why Wise decided to relieve Workman.

“There was an unhealthy command climate that negatively impacted trust within the unit that is critical to effective operations,” Stahl said.

Workman declined to comment on Wednesday.

Two F/A-18C Hornets from the squadron crashed over the summer. One of the squadron’s pilots, Maj. Richard Norton, was killed on July 28 when his Hornet crashed during a training mission near Marine Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms in California. On Aug. 2, a Navy pilot successfully ejected from an F/A-18C that was on loan from the squadron.

The back-to-back crashes prompted the head of Marine aviation to order all non-deployed aircraft to suspend flight operations for 24 hours.

Separately, Maj. Taj Sareen, was killed on Oct. 21, 2015 when his F/A-18C crashed in England.

Workman is the fourth commander in the aviation community to be fired in 2016. On Dec. 2, Wise relieved Lt. Col. Michael E. Hernandez as commander of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 11.

Wise’s decision to fire Hernandez was based on performance; “No misconduct was involved,” a 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing news release said.

In April, Lt. Col. Armando Gonzalez was fired as commander of Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 in Yuma, Arizona, after a command investigation found he “created an intimidating, hostile, and offensive work environment.”

And in January, Lt. Col. Edward Pavelka was relieved of command of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 just three days before two of the squadron’s CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters collided off Hawaii, killing 12 Marines. An investigation found that the squadron did not have enough flyable helicopters, crews were not getting enough flying hours and morale was low prior to the crash.

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