http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/navair/ en-us Tue, 7 Oct 2008 01:17:06 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099182/posts The May fire aboard the carrier George Washington that injured 37 sailors, caused $70 million in damage and delayed the ship’s forward deployment to Japan was “entirely preventable,” according to the Pacific Fleet commander in a final report made public Friday. Adm. Robert Willard faulted the ship’s leadership for improperly handling the conditions that led to the fire. And he blamed inadequate firefighting training for the long amount of time it took to locate and extinguish the fire. Willard also aimed higher, questioning naval leaders in Hawaii, San Diego and Norfolk about “possible shortcomings” while the ship was undergoing training... The Virginian-Pilot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099182/posts#comment Tue, 7 Oct 2008 01:17:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095862/posts NEW YORK, NY October 02, 2008 —After nearly two years away, the USS Intrepid is coming home today and taking its old spot off Manhattan's West Side. The historic aircraft carrier, fresh from a 22 month, $120 million restoration, will be towed up New York Harbor and slotted into its familiar Hudson River berth. The floating military and space museum will reopen to the public on November 8 with a large celebration on Veterans Day, November 11. The museum will offer new exhibits and facilities for public events along with visitor access to crew quarters and other spaces previously off-limits. WNYC Newsroom http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095862/posts#comment Thu, 2 Oct 2008 16:32:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/2094876/posts This memorial has been REDONE, to express the moment of that day and the memory of sacrifices made aboard the Naval carrier USS Forrestal - CVA-59 on July 29, 1967 in North Vietnam -- Gulf of Tonkin, South China Sea, at or about 10:50 AM. Once the fires were extinguished, the extent of the devastation was apparent. Most tragic was the loss to the crew, 134 had lost their lives, while an additional 64 were injured. This disaster remains the single worst loss of life on a Naval vessel since the USS Franklin (CV-13) was bombed in WWII while operating... YouTube Video http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/2094876/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 15:06:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2091122/posts What is there in the experience of a naval carrier pilot that would help prepare a person to be president? Beneath the derring-do that is part of the successful aviator’s image are many fine qualities — some natural, some learned. Above all, you must be true to yourself. Delusional people rarely survive the harsh demands of carrier flying. You cannot cheat your way through a carrier landing, or ignore the reality of a dark night and a pitching deck. You must be absolutely committed to a cause greater than yourself, because your life is what you wager each time you... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2091122/posts#comment Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:28:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090485/posts YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Thousands of people crowded onto Yokosuka Naval Base’s Pier 12 on Thursday to welcome the aircraft carrier USS George Washington to its new home in Japan. The historic significance of the event was repeatedly emphasized by U.S. Navy and Japanese military officials, as the George Washington is the only nuclear-powered ship to be forward deployed to Japan. "I think this is beautiful," said Chief Petty Officer Cleo Bowie, who was among a smaller group of George Washington sailors who arrived ahead of the ceremony. "A lot of people maybe haven’t really taken it in yet,... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2090485/posts#comment Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:27:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089574/posts TOKYO — Groups opposed to Thursday’s arrival of the USS George Washington to Yokosuka Naval Base say demonstrations will grow in size and number in upcoming days. "We want to express our opposition to America," Masahiko Goto, a lawyer and leader of a Yokosuka citizen’s group, said Tuesday. "We want a withdrawal of the deployment." On the day of the ship’s arrival to its new forward-deployed base, a rally will be held at 6 a.m. at Kannonzaki Park near Uraga station, where protesters can watch the carrier as it approaches, organizers said. Protesters also will embark on boats to follow... Stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089574/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:01:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088511/posts India to Order 29 MiG-29Ks in Russia India intends to order additional consignment of 29 MiG-29Ks in Russia, Lenta.ru reported with reference to defense sources of Indian Express. The cost of the order is estimated at around $2 billion, but the negotiations with Moscow haven’t been launched yet. In 2004, India ordered 12 one-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUB under the complex contract for supply of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier cruiser. The deal budget amounted to $1.6 billion. The purchase of the second consignment will enable India to create additional squadrons. India plans to extend the 50 MiG-29K fleet to... Kommersant, Russia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088511/posts#comment Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:09:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2088217/posts I was officer of the deck from 1600 until 1800. I was serving on board a CVE, a so-called "baby flattop" or "jeep carrier," whose assigned duty was to escort a fleet of Navy tankers in the waters not so very far this side of the Philippines. Our mission was to protect the oilers while they steamed up and down in a very limited area close enough to the scene of operations so that Admiral Halsey could retire with the greater part of his powerful units and fuel his fleet, aircraft carriers and all, while the carriers' planes were over... Naval History http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2088217/posts#comment Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:40:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2087364/posts SOUDA BAY, Greece, Sept. 21, 2008 - Loaded bow to stern with 26 combat aircraft and ready to deliver up to 1,800 Marines ashore on demand, USS Iwo Jima has a lot to bowl over a first-time visitor. But Navy Capt. Robert M. Irelan, Iwo Jima's commanding officer, said he has little doubt the civilian leaders who visited today were as wowed by the ship's crewmembers as by its technology and combat power. "It's not the steel," Irelan told participants in the Defense Department's Joint Civilian Orientation Conference of Iwo Jima, one of the Navy's largest amphibious assault ships that... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2087364/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:25:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2087893/posts Lockheed Martin and the US Department of Defense are attacking the motivation behind a recent barrage of criticism aimed at the basic combat abilities of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Such “false claims” published in separate reports a few days apart have become a significant business risk for the programme, said Maj Gen Charles Davis, chief of the F-35 joint programme office. Each of the eight international partners must make acquisition decisions for the F-35 within the next year, said Tom Burbage, a Lockheed vice president. Some of partners, including Norway and The Netherlands, face controversial decisions within the next... Flight International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2087893/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:44:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086461/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), its largest supplier, sought on Friday to shoot down criticism of their $299 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the costliest planned U.S. arms buy ever. Published reports that Russian-built Sukhoi fighter jets thrashed the F-35 in simulated dogfights last month are "just flat false," Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Davis, the Pentagon official in charge of the program, said in a teleconference hastily called by Lockheed to rebut negative publicity at a critical juncture for the program. > Citing U.S. Air Force analyses, he said the F-35 is at... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086461/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:59:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086535/posts September 19, 2008: China announced that its first class of carrier aviators had begun training at the Dalian Naval Academy. The naval officers will undergo a four year course of instruction to turn them into fighter pilots capable of operating off a carrier. China already has an airfield, in the shape of a carrier deck, built at an inland facility. The Russians have warned China that it may take them a decade or more to develop the knowledge and skills needed to efficiently run an aircraft carrier. The Chinese are game, and are slogging forward. stragegy page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086535/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:51:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085585/posts Nathan G. Gordon, a Navy pilot who received the Medal of Honor for rescuing other aviators in World War II, and who later became Arkansas's longest-serving lieutenant governor, died Sept. 8 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital in Little Rock. He was 92 and had pneumonia and other ailments. Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085585/posts#comment Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:48:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085200/posts NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD – The U.S. Navy is making progress in the recovery of its grounded P-3C Orion aircraft. Currently, 10 of grounded aircraft have been inducted for outer wing modifications, with the first one due to be completed this fall - less than a year after grounding 39 aircraft for structural fatigue concerns. Additionally, the Navy awarded contracts to L-3 Communications Aug. 19 and to Lockheed Martin Aug. 26 for the production of 17 outer wings assembly kits for the P-3C Orion with delivery of the first outer wings scheduled to occur in early 2010. These kits will... NAVAIR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085200/posts#comment Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:41:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084433/posts September 17, 2008 The tenth and final nuclear-powered Nimitz-class supercarrier, George H. W. Bush, enters service in 2009, but the next-generation is on its way. The Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 is the first ship in the first new carrier class in over 40 years. Northrop Grumman has received a $5.1 billion, seven-year contract for construction of the CVN 78, which is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2015. Northrop Grumman began advance construction of the Gerald R Ford in 2005, under a separate $2.7 billion contract. Roughly one third of the ship’s 1,200 structural units are currently... Gizmag.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2084433/posts#comment Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:12:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082358/posts TOKYO - Japan was searching Sunday for an unidentified foreign submarine detected in its territorial waters earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry said. The Aegis destroyer Atago of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted what it determined to be a periscope of an unknown submarine between Kyushu and Shikoku islands in western Japan, the ministry said. By the time officials confirmed that the submarine was not a U.S. or Japanese vessel, it had left the area, it said. Officials dispatched the Atago as well as P-3C patrol airplanes to look for the submarine, the ministry said in a statement. "We... Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082358/posts#comment Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:05:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081758/posts Fariborz Haghshenass has put together a report Iran's Asymmetric Naval Warfare, a 40 page report highlights the capabilities Iran is developing to challenge competitors at sea. washingtoninstitute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081758/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:25:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081382/posts TOKYO (Reuters) - No injuries had been reported after two explosions were heard late on Friday near a U.S. naval base where a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will soon dock south of Tokyo, Japanese police said on Saturday. Police said investigations were underway and that rocket fragments had been found near the controversial naval base at Yokosuka, but few other details were available. Residents had reported that the roof of one nearby home had been damaged by the blasts, police said. The blasts occurred about two weeks before the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington is scheduled to arrive at the... reuteurs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2081382/posts#comment Sat, 13 Sep 2008 04:23:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080727/posts Wall Street analysts are smiling on the early and friendly contract award to Northrop Grumman for detail design and construction of the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), the lead ship in the U.S. Navy's next class of aircraft carrier. "We had been expecting contract award in late Q4, so the early date adds clarity to [Northrop Grumman's] long-term outlook at Shipbuilding," Credit Suisse analysts said in referring to Northrop's recently restructured shipbuilding unit. But perhaps most importantly, the CVN-78 contract has been structured as a cost-plus type, with various fee mechanisms, they further said. "This means that, should cost... Aviation Week http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080727/posts#comment Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:28:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080356/posts KEVIN Rudd had underestimated China's growing military strength and his blueprint for an expanded navy would feed Beijing's fears it is the target of a containment strategy, defence analysts said yesterday. The head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, Hugh White, said China already had the potential to challenge US power in Asia, particularly in a Taiwan contingency. Professor White argued that Beijing was sharpening its capability to target American carriers and the Prime Minister "underestimates how serious that challenge is". the australian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080356/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 23:05:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080106/posts Opposition defends Joint Strike Fighter over simulated dogfights September 11, 2008 THE federal Opposition has dismissed new doubts about the multi-billion dollar Joint Strike Fighter project and the jet's performance. The JSF jets, for which Australia is likely to pay $16 billion, were comprehensively beaten in highly classified simulated dogfights against Russian Sukhoi fighters, it has been reported. The war games, conducted at Hawaii's Hickam airbase last month, were witnessed by at least four RAAF personnel and a member of Australia's peak military spy agency, the Defence Intelligence Organisation, The West Australian said. Opposition defence spokesman Nick Minchin said he... Australian Associated Press (AAP) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080106/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:59:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079892/posts Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown While its illusion as an "affordable" multi-role fighter-bomber is alive and well in Washington D.C., the F-35 "Joint Strike Fighter" is already a disaster, and the bad news has barely begun to roll in. Internationally recognized combat aircraft designer Pierre Sprey and Straus Military Reform Project Director Winslow Wheeler summarize the many failures in a new opinion piece that appears in the Sept. 10, 2008 issue of Janes Defence Weekly and is reproduced below. "Joint Strike Fighter: The Latest Hotspot in the U.S. Defense Meltdown" by Pierre M. Sprey... Center For Defense Information (CDI) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079892/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:24:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079956/posts My former son in law was aboard the ENTERPRISE. It is so tough on families to be separated for so long a period. My daughter was devasted that it would be even longer this time. 11 September 2001: Enterprise was beginning her voyage home from the Persian Gulf. Watching a U.S. morning news show live (although locally in the early evening) the crew saw the U.S. report that the Al Qaeda terrorist network has launched attacks on New York's World Trade Center and Washington D.C.'s Pentagon. The Enterprise was ordered to turn around and headed back to the waters off... nationmaster.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079956/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:45:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2077245/posts Russia plans temporarily to base anti-submarine aircraft in Venezuela, foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Monday. (UPDATED) "Before the end of the year, as part of a long-distance expedition, we plan a visit to Venezuela by a Russian navy flotilla... and the temporary basing of anti-submarine aircraft of the Russian Navy at an airport in Venezuela," spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said. The four ships will include the Peter the Great nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser and the Admiral Chabanenko anti-submarine ship, Nesterenko told a briefing in Moscow. The Venezuelan navy announced Saturday that four Russian ships with almost 1,000 sailors aboard would... hurriyet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2077245/posts#comment Mon, 8 Sep 2008 12:41:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076570/posts The general also confirmed that a decision to build new aircraft carriers for the Russian Navy had been adopted. Russia's Navy commander, Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky, said in July that the Navy command had decided to form in the future 5-6 aircraft carrier task forces to be deployed with the Northern and Pacific fleets. RIA Novosti http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076570/posts#comment Sun, 7 Sep 2008 09:55:40 GMT