“BAE Systems has worked successfully with the U.S. Marine Corps for more than 70 years, and we’re proud to continue being a part of programs that will revolutionize the amphibious fleet,” said Ann Hoholick, vice president and general manager of Amphibious & New Programs for BAE Systems. “It is our goal to design a family of systems that incorporates low-risk, mature technologies that are scalable to align with emerging requirements and funding.”Hmmm. The Vice President of Amphibious & New Programs for BAE Systems is bieng a bit coy in her description of working with the Marine Corps for 70 years...unless she's counting FMC's work (BAE bought them out). But whats interesting is the production schedule and the amount of money allocated.
The AAV trade study will allow BAE Systems to propose how to best improve the survivability and force protection of the vehicle while maintaining its current land and water mobility characteristics. Through this $250,000 contract, BAE Systems will determine if an affordable development and production unit cost can be realized using a production schedule that fields 43 upgraded vehicles by September 2017.
One of the SEALs from the bin Laden raid has apparently written a book about the operation.I said it once and I'll say it again. Special Forces especially but the rest of SOCOM too, won't be putting up with this SEAL self promotion vibe they have running through that community.
The book, titled “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden,” was written by a former SEAL team leader who the publisher said was “one of the first men through the door on the third floor of the terrorist leader’s hideout.”He uses a pseudonym, but I know his name and it will likely come out shortly. The bottom line is that doing this makes you a douche of epic proportions. There was whining about how former operators were pointing out that leaks about classified ops were hurting our security. They were called unprofessional, which was unfair. They were not giving out info, they were saying that the giving out of info was a dangerous thing This jackass is going to spill the details of the raid so he can cash in.
Dear Loser,
Enjoy the money, you are now dead to all the rest of us.
Cordially,
Everyone else from the Special Ops community
Our opinion is that the publisher at Penguin clearly had no concern for National Security or Operational Security (OPSEC), or they would have not published this book. Should publishers have more accountability? We say yes.(My Comment: You have got to be shitting me. The publisher is wrong but the author gets a pass? Bullshit)
The Internet and social media has created a world where headlines live and die depending on who’s first to Tweet about it. It’s something that is causing major headaches in the US Special Operations community.(My comment: Too damn late. McRaven was told by an old time Special Forces General to get out the media. He laughed at the guy. Bet he ain't laughing now)
“The Admiral (SEAL) has locked down all media projects until further notice”- A SEAL Master chief recently told SOFREP.
Don't be fooled.
The Marine Corps' decision to proceed with training flights amounts to a vote of confidence in the embattled F-35 fighter program, which has been restructured three times in recent years, slowing production and delaying the plane's operational use.
Marine Corps leaders, increasingly concerned about replacing their current fleet of aging fighters, decided to skip the formal evaluation of the plane's operational utility that the Air Force is completing before proceeding with its own pilot training flights at the base.
Just plain wow.The U.S. Army and Marine Corps have selected three vehicles for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, with the announcement coming Wednesday evening.The awards were somewhat surprising, since two of the three went to companies that submitted their designs in March, as opposed to bidders who had been working on the program since its inception in 2005.The awards went to AM General, ($64.5 million); Lockheed Martin ($66.3 million); and Oshkosh Corporation, ($56.4 million). AM General and Oshkosh are the new bidders.In a notice posted to a government contracting website, the Army said that the firm-fixed price contracts cover the 27-month EMD effort, and that “approximately $99.5Mwas obligated for the three contractors by this action, with initial funding of approximately $28M to $36M for each contractor. The balance of the funding, up to full base contract amount, will be provided in FY 13 and FY 14.”The Army says that it plans to purchase 50,000 vehicles, while the Marine Corps is looking to buy 5,000.The three industry teams who won technology development contracts in October 2008 included BAE Systems and Navistar; General Tactical Vehicles (General Dynamics and AM General); and Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems.But on March 28, Navistar left the BAE-led team to offer the Saratoga Light Tactical Vehicle, and AM General and Oshkosh both announced they were also striking out on their own to submit independent bids.The announcement today — barring a protest — shuts out original TD winners BAE Systems and General Dynamics, as well as newcomer Navistar.
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| Lockheed Martin |
We recently posted a video entitled, “Dishonorable Disclosures” by a group named OpSec that was making a case that the Obama administration had been releasing details of special operations for political gain. Their timing couldnt have been worse. We knew that a major book was on the horizon (and they should have to) by a bin Laden raid participant so we were a bit cautious about the whole politicized thing. Since the OpSec group is headed by SEALs it would surely make them look kind of foolish if an even bigger leak came out by a fellow SEAL. Well, now that book has been announced. According to a report by ABC News, “The book, titled “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden,” was written by a former SEAL team leader who the publisher said was “one of the first men through the door on the third floor of the terrorist leader’s hideout.” See the ABCNews story for details on the upcoming book by “Mark Owen.”Man I hope this is all a false news story.
While we are certainly looking forward to reading the book, we hope that the group OpSec will attempt to maintain their legitimacy by also working to educate the public on any damage that this book might cause. Here’s your chance to do the right thing guys.
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| F-35s were in the air across the nation, from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey to Edwards AFB in California, on 13 August 2012. Two aircraft launched from Edwards; four from NAS Patuxent River, Maryland; three from NAS Fort Worth JRB; and nine from Eglin AFB, Florida; and one from McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for a total of nineteen, which set a record for the F-35 program. The previous record was seventeen flights on 8 August. Of the nineteen flights, five were CTOL and seven were STOVL. |
-- The U.S. Navy has begun integrated testing (IT) of Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) C-1. During its first flight in IT, the JSOW C-1 was retargeted to strike a large moving ship target.You can bet your last dollar that when they talk about getting info from a third party they're talking about using this with P-8's. I wonder if we're about to see a type of control ship operating with UAVs off a carrier. Maybe a P-8 or C-2 stripped down as comm platforms having this as their sole mission.
"This flight test further demonstrates that JSOW C-1 can receive third party target updates in-flight, retarget after release, and strike a precise point on a moving ship using the weapon's autonomous terminal seeker," said Cmdr. Samuel Hanaki of the U.S. Navy's Precision Strike Weapons Program Office. "The program remains on track for reaching initial operational capability in 2013."The test presented two maneuvering ships (large and small) as potential targets. Before weapon release, a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet targeted the smaller ship, and then handed off weapon control to a second Super Hornet also targeting the smaller ship. After release from the first Super Hornet, the JSOW C-1 was guided by the second Super Hornet toward the smaller maneuvering ship target located 90 kilometers from launch point.
While in flight, the JSOW was retargeted by the second Super Hornet to the larger maneuvering ship target. The JSOW provided weapon in-flight track and bomb hit indication status messages back to the controlling Super Hornet while successfully engaging the larger target ship. The test validated JSOW C-1's unique ability to be controlled, updated and retargeted as needed to eliminate its intended target.
"JSOW C-1 brings U.S. and allied warfighters the unique ability to engage moving ships as far as 100 kilometers away with an air-launched precision strike weapon," said Celeste Mohr, Raytheon Missile Systems' JSOW program director. "The 280 Raytheon employees in Tucson, Ariz., and the hundreds of partner-supplier employees across the U.S. worked hard to make this test a success and demonstrate JSOW C-1's ability as the newest and pre-eminent moving maritime target weapon
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight brigadier generals and brigadier general-selects, and six general officer-equivalent civilians were honored here during a ceremony commencing the 2012 Brigadier General Select Orientation Course Aug. 20.Wow.
BGSOC is a week-long course held in the National Capital Region to indoctrinate newly promoted and soon-to-be promoted brigadier generals and senior executives into their new rank and responsibilities.
This year’s BGSOC attendees include Brig. Gen. Burke Whitman, Brig. Gen. Gregg Olson, Brig. Gen. Paul Lebidine, Col. Matthew Glavy, Col. William Mullen III, Col. James O’Meara, Col. Edward Banta, Col. Eric Smith, Ariane Whittemore, Russell Howard, Dr. Todd Calhoun, James Simpson, Leila Gardner and William Dillon.
The course will feature appearances and speeches from the secretary of the navy, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, commandant of the Marine Corps, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, and deputy commandants.
Bonnie Amos, first lady of the Marine Corps, is also scheduled to host the spouses of the BGSOC attendees at the Home of the Commandants, to include a full tour of the 15,000-square-foot house, which is also the oldest continually occupied building in Washington.
The course is held every year in August.
