Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Key Issues MADCAP SPY-6 radars Osprey groundings
The V-22 Osprey, which may deploy to Iraq this fall, will likely crash again but people need to "accept that when it happens" because that is "what airplanes do over time," Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway said today.
The Navy is considering whether to terminate or continue a $197.6 million Lockheed Martin contract to develop a Littoral Combat Ship, which is now on hold, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen said today.
The littoral warship being built for the Navy by General Dynamics will face a cost overrun similar to that of a competing vessel made by Lockheed Martin, Navy acquisition executive Delores Etter said today.
The Navy plans to lower the performance requirements for the troubled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle while also inviting contractors to compete against General Dynamics for the development of more reliable subsystems, Navy acquisition executive Delores Etter said today.
On top of the president's fiscal year 2008 budget plan and related supplemental funding requests, the Navy has identified $5.6 billion in unfunded priorities, including $2.9 billion for new ships, according to documents submitted to Congress.
Navy Secretary Donald Winter today declined to rule out the possibility that major cost problems affecting the first Littoral Combat Ship might also hurt the rest of the class, disrupting plans to buy three more littoral warships next year.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been on the job for about a month, told Congress today he has not yet determined whether the Pentagon is too focused on buying large systems tailored for the Cold War.
The Navy's fiscal year 2008 budget request, officially unveiled this morning, slashes the number of aircraft the department would buy, while maintaining plans to purchase seven ships.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway today urged the White House to "rally the country to war," arguing it could help address the challenge of recruiting 92,000 additional troops to boost the size of the Marines and the Army.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England has directed the Navy to restore the budget for six short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing Joint Strike Fighters in fiscal year 2008, reversing plans to delay the fielding of the Marine Corps version of the fighter, according to Pentagon and service officials.
Robert Gates, the White House's nominee to be the next defense secretary, said yesterday he has no use for an under secretary of defense for intelligence who independently analyzes intelligence reports, but such a post could be useful for more limited purposes.
Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Marine Corps leaders exchanged praise today at a ceremony that transferred command of the service from Gen. Michael Hagee to Gen. James Conway.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England yesterday summoned top Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps officials, as well as senior Pentagon budget experts, to review the status of the Pentagon's largest weapon system development program -- the Joint Strike Fighter -- and plan for a high-level follow-on meeting next month.
The head of the Canadian navy, Chief of the Maritime Staff Vice Adm. Drew Robertson, met Monday at the Pentagon with his U.S. counterpart, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen.
The Defense Department is appealing nearly 80 provisions in the House and Senate's proposed fiscal year 2007 defense appropriations bills, wrangling over billions of dollars for weapons systems, operations and personnel.
Faced with the prospect of a long war against violent extremists that could increasingly emphasize nontraditional missions, Navy and Marine Corps leaders are planning to significantly revamp fleet operations by dispersing naval forces more widely across the globe.
Navy Secretary Donald Winter says he wants to motivate defense contractors to do a better job building systems that are operationally suitable for military use, appropriately sustained on the battlefield, and produced on a predictable schedule and budget.
Recent inspections of two U.S. Navy mine warfare vessels in the Middle East turned up boatloads of problems, according to official inspection reports prepared earlier this month.
House proposals to retain vintage Navy battleships and aging Air Force aircraft are prompting outright opposition from the Defense Department, but the House and Senate's combined support for expanding the Army's size is forcing DOD to reluctantly come to terms with the idea, according to Pentagon documents.
V-22 Osprey program officials blame a recent emergency landing in Iceland on the aircraft's ingestion of ice during the trans-Atlantic flight and previous wear and tear that made the engine more susceptible to compressor stalls.