WASHINGTON: The first-ever real-world strike by an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is a big symbolic moment, as the Pentagon is well aware. It’s also a milestone towards making the F-35 a close-support aircraft to bomb targets threatening US ground troops, replacing the beloved A-10 Warthog. That’s why the military not only had a press release…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.AI can make logistics data as valuable as intelligence or operational data for mission success
Valuable intelligence insights can be gleaned from logistics or flight-test data when artificial intelligence or machine learning is applied.
As the Navy sorties 30 ships from Norfolk and surrounding bases, a few ships will be heading back in short order to assist in the cleanup. The amphibious ships USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington, along with hospital ship USNS Comfort, have all loaded up on supplies and have put out to sea.
By Paul McLeary
One variant, in Army colors, has missile racks sticking out of what was originally the passenger cabin — a conversion that units could potentially install or remove as needed in the field. The other, with Marine Corps markings, is a sleeker thoroughbred gunship with internal weapons bays, stealth features, and folding wings to fit in shipboard hangars.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The concepts the Warfighting Lab comes up with aren’t holy writ, but rather a baseline for young Marines to build on, “a point from which to deviate,” said Maj. J.B. Persons, a special projects officer at MCWL. “Give Marines new tools or toys, and they’ll surprise you every time.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
“What’s missing at this point is what the Navy’s modernization strategy is,” the staffer said. The ships in question have enough margin for growth that they could accommodate upgrades, but how much does it cost to keep upgrading old ships? How does the cost:benefit ratio of such upgrades compare to spending the same amount on new vessels? The Navy’s plan is appealing “philosophically,” the staffer said, “but the devil’s in the details.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Instead of growing from 284 ships now to 355 in 2052-2055, the timeframe officials cited in the past, the Navy could reach its goal in 2032-2035, said Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, chief of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Some Marine Corps units, but not all, will get extra training in large-scale combat as the Pentagon refocuses from counterinsurgency to great power conflict. While every Marine would have a role in a major war with Russia or China — the service isn’t big enough to leave anybody on…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Gray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
CAPITOL HILL: If the Commandant of the Marine Corps had one more dollar to spend — and he probably will with the recent budget deal — he’d use it to upgrade Navy ships’ electronics to take full advantage of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, he said this morning. The Marines’ new F-35Bs have the sensors to…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
SAN DIEGO: It takes a million dollars and at least 50 technical experts just to get a carrier strike group’s networks working right before a deployment, Navy officials said at the AFCEA-USNI WEST conference here last week. The Navy’s vision of future war against a major power — China or Russia — relies on secure, reliable,…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
SAN DIEGO: Why does the Marine Corps Commandant want the Navy to build more attack boats? “As a naval force, part of a maritime campaign, we need more attack submarines,” Gen. Robert Neller said at the AFCEA-USNI WEST conference. Why? “I want to get where I’m going,” Neller said to laughter from the audience. “A bunch…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: “When I was an ensign, a lieutenant, we knew we could beat the Russians. It was just a question of time because we were better than them,” NATO’s top admiral said. “I’m not sure we could make that assumption now.” The European allies suffer many shortfalls at sea, said Vice Adm. Clive Johnstone, the…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
ANNAPOLIS: The Navy’s new plan to put mine-hunting gear on a wider range of warships could finally break mine warfare out of its ghetto — or it could keep mine-hunting the same redheaded stepchild but spread it across more decks. The Navy has experimented with integrating Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) onto ships that weren’t minesweepers before,…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: The fleet needs smaller, cheaper aircraft carriers than the badly over budget, behind schedule Gerald Ford, ex-Navy pilot John McCain has long argued. No way, “Bigger Aircraft Carriers Are Better,” declares a recent National Interest article – widely publicized by the carrier industry’s advocacy group, ACIBC – citing a study that RAND did for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. WASHINGTON: Is 13 the Navy’s lucky number? That’s how many ships the House Armed Service Committee wants to buy in 2018, five more than President Trump requested, the seapower subcommittee announced this afternoon. The problem: no one knows where the money’s coming from. The increase is part of a bipartisan push towards the 355-ship fleet…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
