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Raytheon to upgrade radar systems in Hornet aircraft
By James LaPorta
Feb. 13, 2018

Raytheon-to-upgrade-radar-systems-in-Hornet-aircraft.jpg

An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the "Black Lions" of Strike Fighter Squadron 213, prepares for take off on the flight deck of USS Gerald R. Ford. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Carter/U.S. Navy


Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Raytheon has been awarded a contract for the repair of APG 65/73 radar systems on F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.
The deal, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $56 million under a firm-fixed-price delivery order contract.

Originally developed by the Hughes Aircraft Company -- now Raytheon -- the AN/APG-65 radar systems have been in regular use by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, along with foreign militaries, since the early 1980s, and the AN/APG-73 has been in use since its development in the early 1990s, according to Raytheon.

The AN/APG-73 was integrated into upgraded F/A-18 Hornet aircraft models C and D, along with early editions of the Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Work on the contract will occur in Indianapolis, Ind., and is expected to be completed by February 2019.

More than $27.4 million will be obligated to Raytheon at the time of award from Navy fiscal 2018 working capital funds and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year, the Pentagon said.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/20.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=3
 

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Navy turns to Raytheon for aircraft sensor upgrades
By James LaPorta
Feb. 14, 2018

Raytheon has been awarded a contract for additional hardware and software developments for sensor systems on board F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.

The deal, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $8.8 million and is a modification to a previous award under the terms of a cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract.



What additional developments are planned for the sensor systems is unknown, but Raytheon manufactures the AN/APG-79 Radar Active Electronically Scanned Array, or AESA, for F/A-18 aircrews.

The APG-79 is said to optimize the situational awareness of Super Hornet pilots while providing air-to-air and air-to-surface enhanced capabilities. The APG-79 can also be integrated onto the EA-18G Growler.

Work on the contract will occur in El Segundo, Calif., and is expected to be complete by December 2021, the Pentagon said.

No funds will be obligated to Raytheon at time of award as individual task orders received by the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division will determine funding as they are issued.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/20.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=4
 

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Navy updates Sikorsky contract for CH-53K aircraft
By James LaPorta
Feb. 14, 2018

Navy-updates-Sikorsky-contract-for-CH-53K-aircraft.jpg

The Sikorsky manufactured Ch-53K King Stallion aircraft sits on a airfield. The heavy-lift helicopters are designed to support U.S. Navy and Marine Corps operations. Photo courtesy of MTU Aero Engines AG



Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Sikorsky has been awarded a contract for the initial production of seven Lot III CH-53K King Stallion aircraft, a large heavy-lift cargo helicopter.

The deal, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, is valued at $126.5 million and is a modification to a previous award under the terms of a fixed-price-incentive-firm target, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract.

The modified agreement between Sikorsky and the U.S. Navy provides for "long lead items" in support of the low rate initial production of seven Lot III CH-53K aircraft.

"Long lead items" refers to the equipment, product or system identified at the earliest stage of a project to have a delivery time long enough to affect the overall lead time of the project.

Work on the contract will occur in Stratford, Conn., and is expected to be complete by January 2019, the Pentagon said.

The total amount of the contract will be obligated to Sikorsky at the time of award from Navy fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement funds, which will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, is scheduled to manufacture and deliver 200 CH-53K King Stallion aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps.

Marine officials are expected its first squadron of CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters to become fully operational by fiscal year 2019.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/20...ract-for-CH-53K-aircraft/9351518614772/?nll=1
 

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Rheinmetall to provide munitions to Navy, Marine Corps
The company was awarded contracts for advanced flash-bang grenades and 40mm x 46 low velocity grenade launcher ammunition.

By James LaPorta
Feb. 14, 2018

Rheinmetall-to-provide-munitions-to-Navy-Marine-Corps.jpg

Lance Cpl. Melissa Bustamante fires a Mark 19 40mm grenade machine gun during a live-fire range at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Feb. 6, 2018. Photo by Cpl. Victoria Ross/U.S. Marine Corps


Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have awarded munitions contracts to Rheinmetall Defense, the company said Wednesday in a press release.

Rheinmetall Defense said the Department of Defense awarded the company two multi-million-dollar munitions contracts that total nearly $7 million.

For the Marine Corps, Rheinmetall will provide day and night-capable 40mm x 46 practice cartridges valued around $3 million. The practice cartridges are low velocity grenade launcher ammunition.

The ammunition can be fired out of the M203 Grenade Launcher that is often attached to M16 and M4 service rifles, as well as the new M320 grenade launcher and the Mk 19, a 40mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher.

The Navy has requested advanced flash-bang grenades, awarding Rheinmetall a $3.8 million contract for the purchase. The grenades are commonly used by both conventional and special operation forces when clearing out enemy strongholds.

The company started the delivery of munitions to the Marine Corps in December 2017 and delivery is expect to start for the the Navy at sometime during 2018.

Deliveries on both contracts will be handled by Rheinmetall's U.S. subsidiary, American Rheinmetall Munitions, Inc., which is based in Camden, Ark.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/20.../?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=3
 

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Three Navy Unit Leaders Fired After XO Reportedly Found Naked in Woods
14 Feb 2018
By Hope Hodge Seck




cho-gabbard-holden-1800.jpg

Commanding Officer Cmdr. James Cho (left), Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Jason Gabbard (center) , and Command Master Chief Jason Holden (right) have all been removed from their posts. (U.S. Navy Photos)



Navy leadership took the rare step of relieving all three members of the command triad for Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Four, deployed to Okinawa, Japan, after an embarrassing incident in which the unit's executive officer was reportedly found drunk and naked in the woods.

Officials with Naval Expeditionary Combat Command told Military.com that the NMCB-4 Commanding Officer Cmdr. James Cho, Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Jason Gabbard, and Command Master Chief Jason Holden had all been removed from their posts Monday by Naval Construction Group One Commodore Capt. Mike Saum.


The firings followed "an incident of personal misconduct by the executive officer, and the subsequent mishandling of that incident," NECC officials said in a statement. A spokeswoman for the command declined to elaborate further.

Navy Times first reported the firings Wednesday, citing a source who said Gabbard had been removed from his post after being discovered in the woods on Camp Shields, Okinawa, drunk and wearing just his boots following a command gathering

A source told the publication that Cho and Holden had been relieved after attempting to cover the incident up.

All three senior leaders have been temporarily assigned to Naval Construction Group One, in Port Hueneme, California, officials said.

Capt. Nick Yamodis, who previously served as operations officer for Naval Facilities Northwest, will take over as commanding officer until a permanent replacement is identified.

"Our senior leaders are entrusted to uphold the highest standards of personal and professional conduct at all times," NECC officials said in a statement. "Meeting these high standards of conduct is as critical as meeting our high standards of material, personnel and operational readiness."

The statement continued that trust forms the foundation for every action for military professionals.

"We expect our service members to conduct themselves with the integrity and character to justify that trust," officials said. "When there are any indications that those values are not being followed, we conduct appropriate investigations and take action as necessary."

The move to remove all three leaders in a unit's command is reserved for extreme instances of misconduct or failures.

The Navy relieved the command triad of the destroyer Fitzgerald in one fell swoop last August following a deadly ship collision that left seven sailors dead. The former commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, is now facing a charge of negligent homicide.

Prior to that, the command triad of the destroyer Bainbridge was relieved in 2016 amid a scandal involving fireworks and gambling aboard the ship.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...ed-after-xo-reportedly-found-naked-woods.html
 

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US Navy awards HII $1.4B contract to construct LPD 29

us-navy-awards-hii-1-4b-contract-to-construct-lpd-29-1024x673.jpg

HII rendering of the yet unnamed LPD 29

The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $1.43 billion contract to design and build the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock LPD 29.

Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year, HII said.

Work on the design and construction is expected to be completed by July 2023.

Ingalls has built and delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships. The 11th, Portland (LPD 27), will be commissioned on April 21 in Portland, Oregon. The 12th, Fort Lauderdale, is under construction and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2020.

“This contract is further recognition of the confidence the Navy/Marine Corps team has in the great work our shipbuilders are doing in the LPD program,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding president Brian Cuccias. “We are excited to build this additional ship and in providing our sailors and Marines with the best amphibious ships in the world.”

The San Antonio class is a major part of the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey.

The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/02/19/us-navy-awards-hii-1-4b-contract-to-construct-lpd-29/?uid=1067
 

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US Navy awards HII $1.4B contract to construct LPD 29

View attachment 5752
HII rendering of the yet unnamed LPD 29

The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $1.43 billion contract to design and build the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock LPD 29.

Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year, HII said.

Work on the design and construction is expected to be completed by July 2023.

Ingalls has built and delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships. The 11th, Portland (LPD 27), will be commissioned on April 21 in Portland, Oregon. The 12th, Fort Lauderdale, is under construction and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2020.

“This contract is further recognition of the confidence the Navy/Marine Corps team has in the great work our shipbuilders are doing in the LPD program,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding president Brian Cuccias. “We are excited to build this additional ship and in providing our sailors and Marines with the best amphibious ships in the world.”

The San Antonio class is a major part of the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey.

The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/02/19/us-navy-awards-hii-1-4b-contract-to-construct-lpd-29/?uid=1067

@SOUTHie @The Sandman Kindly note
 

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US Navy sends two destroyers to the Black Sea
February 19, 2018

us-navy-sends-two-destroyers-to-the-black-sea.jpg

USS Carney (DDG 64) transits the Bosphorus Straits, Feb, 17, 2018. Photo: US Navy

The US Navy now has two guided-missile destroyers in the Black Sea after USS Carney transited the Bosphorus on February 18.

Carney is joining sister ship USS Ross which entered the Black Sea on February 17.

Recognizing the fact that having two destroyers in the Black Sea is not something the navy does on a regular basis Vice Adm. Christopher Grady, the US 6th Fleet commander, said the decision to have destroyers operate in the Black Sea was “proactive, not reactive.”

“We operate at the tempo and timing of our choosing in this strategically important region. By nature, ships are flexible, mobile forces, and the Navy is uniquely capable of providing credible and capable forces to defend our nation’s interests throughout the world,” Vice Adm. Grady said.

The US Navy said the naval activities would be conducted in accordance with international law, including the 1936 Montreux Convention which regulates maritime traffic through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus international straits.

The last time two US ships operated in the Black Sea was July 2017, during US-Ukraine co-hosted exercise Sea Breeze. US 6th Fleet ships regularly conduct bilateral and multilateral patrols with our Black Sea partners and allies, including Bulgaria and Turkey, and to conduct exercises with other partners and allies.

“The continued presence of the US Navy in the Black Sea demonstrates our enduring commitment to regional stability, maritime security of our Black Sea partners, and the collective defense of our NATO allies,” said Grady.

In 2017, the US 6th Fleet participated in three exercises in the Black Sea: Spring Storm, Sea Shield and Sea Breeze.

Spring Storm took place March 13-21, 2017. US participation in the bilateral, Romania-led exercise focused on tactical unit and staff interoperability between Romanian and US Navy forces. The Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit led US efforts in the exercise, which consisted of amphibious operations and maritime defense drills.

Sea Shield, a multinational Romanian-led exercise took place Feb. 1-10, 2017. US participation included Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) and focused on deploying leading technology and combat capability in support of allies and partners in collective defense of the Black Sea region. The goal of the exercise was to improve the interoperability and combat proficiency of participating units.

Exercise Sea Breeze took place July 10-22, 2017. Air, land, sea and amphibious forces from 16 nations participated in the exercise, which focused on warfare areas to include maritime interdiction operations, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, damage control, search and rescue, and amphibious warfare. Participating US assets included the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64).

In addition to the three named exercises, five ships from US 6th Fleet entered the Black Sea in 2017-2018 to participate in bilateral and multilateral training, and port visits: USS Carney from Jan. 5-13, 2018; USS Porter from Aug. 18 to Sept. 1, 2017; Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79) in May 2017; USS Carter Hall in March 2017; and Porter from Feb. 2-11, 2017.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/02/19/us-navy-sends-two-destroyers-to-the-black-sea/?uid=1067
 

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US Navy awards HII $1.4B contract to construct LPD 29

View attachment 5752
HII rendering of the yet unnamed LPD 29

The US Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division a $1.43 billion contract to design and build the 13th San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock LPD 29.

Preliminary work has begun on LPD 29, and the start of fabrication will take place later this year, HII said.

Work on the design and construction is expected to be completed by July 2023.

Ingalls has built and delivered 11 San Antonio-class ships. The 11th, Portland (LPD 27), will be commissioned on April 21 in Portland, Oregon. The 12th, Fort Lauderdale, is under construction and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2020.

“This contract is further recognition of the confidence the Navy/Marine Corps team has in the great work our shipbuilders are doing in the LPD program,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding president Brian Cuccias. “We are excited to build this additional ship and in providing our sailors and Marines with the best amphibious ships in the world.”

The San Antonio class is a major part of the Navy’s 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey.

The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/02/19/us-navy-awards-hii-1-4b-contract-to-construct-lpd-29/?uid=1067

Thanks for the tag. IN operates an old US made LPD too an Austin class.
$1.xx billion is expensive.
 

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Thanks for the tag. IN operates an old US made LPD too an Austin class.
$1.xx billion is expensive.
Could you open a thread in the relevant forum.
 

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Navy Maps Submerged Wreckage of C-2A Greyhound
17 Feb 2018
By Tyler Hlavac

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan -- The Navy has mapped the undersea wreckage of a cargo plane that crashed into the Philippine Sea last November, killing three sailors.

Personnel on board the research ship RV Petrel surveyed the wreck of the C-2A Greyhound Feb. 3-5 and determined that its cockpit and fuselage are resting in two sections on the ocean floor, the Navy said in a statement Friday.

The aircraft's flight recorder appears to be intact and planning for a salvage mission continues, the statement said.
Deepwater-salvage experts found the aircraft Dec. 29 by tracking its emergency beacon 18,500 feet below the surface. A recovery operation would be the deepest ever attempted.

"Despite very challenging conditions, every effort will be made to recover the aircraft and our fallen sailors," the Navy statement said.
The Greyhound was carrying 11 passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan when it crashed on Nov. 22. It was assigned to Carrier Air Wing Five, the aviation component of the carrier's strike group.

Shortly after the crash, eight people were rescued by Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12. U.S. and Japanese ships and aircraft spent two days searching for the three missing sailors -- Lt. Steven Combs, Seaman Matthew Chialastri and Seaman Apprentice Bryan Grosso -- over an area of nearly 1,000 square nautical miles.

The Navy has yet to announce the official cause of the crash. It appears the Greyhound suffered a rare double engine failure, two Navy officials previously told Stars and Stripes on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. They said it was unclear what would have caused both engines to fail.

The crash capped off a deadly year for the Navy's Japan-based 7th Fleetthat included a series of high-profile accidents and mishaps. In January, the USS Antietam ran aground and spilled roughly 1,100 gallons of hydraulic fluid into Tokyo Bay; in June, a collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a merchant ship killed seven sailors; and in August, the USS John S. McCain ran into an oil tanker, killing 10 more.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...ound-crashed-last-fall.html?ESRC=eb_180220.nl
 

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F-16's Engine Catches Fire Over Japan; No Injuries Reported
Agence France Presse
20 Feb 2018


Japan's defense ministry demanded explanations Tuesday from the U.S. military after a fighter jet experiencing an engine fire dropped two fuel tanks into a lake in the country's north.

The incident, which caused no injuries, is the latest in a string of accidents involving the U.S. military that have prompted concern from Japanese officials and renewed criticism of the U.S. military presence in the country.

"We are asking the U.S. side to explain what happened and its cause, and we fully demand the U.S. side take prevention measures," Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told a press conference.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon took off from Misawa Air Base in northern Japan's Aomori region early Tuesday morning and immediately experienced an engine fire, Onodera said.

"The U.S. military has told us that it discarded two exterior tanks on Lake Ogawara just north of Misawa Air Base and landed back at Misawa Air Base," Onodera said.
In a statement, the U.S. military confirmed that one of its F-16s had been forced to "jettison two external fuel tanks into an unpopulated area" after an engine fire broke out.

"The safety of our airmen and our Japanese neighbours is our number one priority during flying operations," said Col. R. Scott Jobe, the 35th Fighting Wing commander.

"We will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the root cause of this incident," he said.

The case follows a string of accidents involving U.S. military aircraft, for which U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis apologized to Onodera last month.

U.S. military helicopters made at least three emergency landings in the southern region of Okinawa in January alone.

In December, a window from a U.S. military helicopter fell onto a school ground in Okinawa, and in October a U.S. military helicopter burst into flames after landing in an empty field on Okinawa.

https://www.military.com/daily-news...n-no-injuries-reported.html?ESRC=eb_180220.nl
 

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Command Failures Led to Niger Ambush, Explosive Report Shows
19 Feb 2018
By Richard Sisk

niger-ambush-1200-19-oct-2017.jpeg

Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, and Sgt. La David T. Johnson (U.S. Army photos)

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday that the Pentagon investigation of the Niger ambush in which four U.S. troops were killed is close to being wrapped up, but that was before The New York Times published a detailed and damning report based partly on a video of the firefight.

On his plane back to the U.S. following a week-long trip to Europe, Mattis told reporters traveling with him that Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the AfriCom commander, has an unspecified timeline for completing his review of the draft of the Article 15-6 fact-finding investigation.

However, it is unclear whether Waldhauser's timeline could be affected by the Times' report Sunday, which contradicted previous Pentagon and AfriCom accounts of an Oct. 4 joint patrol with Nigerien troops that resulted in the ambush outside the village of Tongo Tongo, in northwestern Niger.

The Times report said that AfriCom poorly planned the joint patrol and then changed the mission three times while it was underway, leading to the deaths of the four Americans, four Nigerien troops and an interpreter.

What was to have been a routine operation with little risk turned into a raid on a terrorist base to capture a militant leader, carried out by troops lacking air or ground backup and who were unprepared and ill-equipped for the task, the Times said.

In addition to the Article 15-6 investigation, the FBI has conducted its own review of the national security implications of the ambush that killed Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida; Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia.

All were assigned to the Army's Third Special Forces Group. The body of Sgt. La David Johnson was not recovered until two days after the firefight.

The Times report included gruesome details from the helmet camera of Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson that apparently was seized by the militants who attacked the patrol.

The video was later given to a news agency in Mauritania -- Agence Nouakchott d'Information (ANI).

Without disclosing the price, the Times said it bought the video from ANI and submitted it to forensic analysis. The video is being withheld from publication because it shows the deaths of American soldiers and also because it includes Islamic State propaganda, the Times said.

The video shows Black, Jeremiah Johnson, and Wright outnumbered and outgunned as they were cut off in desert scrub from the rest of the patrol.

Black was hit first and fell, mortally wounded. Wright came out of a sports utility vehicle, pulled Black behind the wheel well and continued firing back over the hood of the vehicle, the Times said.

Wright and Jeremiah Johnson then ran to get more cover from the attack. Jeremiah Johnson went down, and Wright turned and fired on the advancing enemy. The militants shot Jeremiah Johnson several more times as he lay on the ground and then turned to kill Wright, the Times said.

Last month, the Pentagon and AfriCom said they were aware of social media posts of images and a video purporting to show the deaths of Black, Jeremiah Johnson and Wright.

At a Pentagon briefing, Dana White, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said, "I'm aware of the reports" on the images and the video, but "we have not confirmed the authenticity" of the posts.

Mattis, who met privately with Waldhauser during the European trip, said the AfriCom commander has yet to sign off on the draft of the Article 15-6 investigation led by Army Maj. Gen. Roger Cloutier, Waldhauser's chief of staff. Mattis has said previously that the draft is thousands of pages long.

On Saturday, Mattis said Waldhauser "gave me the timeline when he expects to be done with it, and when he expects to forward it to me," but did not give dates for the release of the report, which had been expected in January.

Mattis said he will review the report before giving his own approval, but first, "I want to see his [Waldhauser's] endorsement on it. I want to see where he stands. I want to read that. This is a very extensive -- and rightly extensive -- investigation."

Mattis said the method for the report's release remains the same as described by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford shortly after the ambush.

It will first be released and briefed to the families of the fallen; a classified version will then be sent to Congress. Following that, an unclassified version will be released to the public.

The lengthy Times report cited survivors of the patrol, local villagers, families of the fallen, named and unnamed U.S. and Nigerien officials, and official documentation to call into question the sketchy U.S. accounts thus far of what happened -- from small details to the overall scope and purpose of the U.S. counter-terror mission in Africa.
The Pentagon said there were 12 U.S. troops on the joint patrol. The Times said there were 11, who were originally assigned to a train, advise and assist mission with 30 Nigerien troops.

The Pentagon said U.S. troops in Niger were barred from offensive actions on joint patrols. The Times said the joint patrol diverted to a mission to capture militant leader Doundoun Cheffou, who was believed to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Cheffou's capture had been assigned to a separate U.S. Special Forces team, but their mission was scrapped, the Times reported. French air support in neighboring Mali that was tasked to assist the Special Forces team was told to stand down.

Someone in command -- the Times could not determine who -- told the joint patrol, which was already underway, to raid a base near the Mali border where Cheffou's presence was suspected. Someone in command did not tell the French of the new mission.

"We had intelligence confirming the presence of this terrorist [Cheffou]," Nigerien Defense Minister Kalla Moutari told the Times. "On the basis of this information, action was taken."

The joint patrol went to the suspected base and found it abandoned, but there was evidence that it had recently been occupied.

Before beginning the return to their own base near Niamey, the Nigerien capital, the patrol stopped in Tongo Tongo to take on water. There, they were delayed by requests for medical supplies from local villagers, who may have alerted the militants to their presence.

South of Tongo Tongo, the attack began.

The patrol "didn't find any militants," the Times said. "Instead, the militants found them."

https://www.military.com/daily-news...explosive-report-shows.html?ESRC=eb_180220.nl
 

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Flying blind and freezing: Navy investigating terrifying EA-18G Growler flight
By: David B. Larter  
24.02.2018


WASHINGTON — The two-seater EA-18G was cruising at 25,000 feet Jan. 29, about 60 miles south of Seattle on a flight from Washington State’s Naval Air Station Whidbey Island to Naval Weapons Station China Lake. The crew received a warning that the system that controls the cockpit air temperature and cabin pressure, known as the environmental control system, was icing.

By the time the flight was over, an elite aircrew with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine was being rushed for medical treatment, and yet another failure of the EA-18G Growler’s environmental control system — one not seen in any of the previous physiological episodes linked to the ECS — was raising new concerns in the Navy’s sisyphean fight to stop physiological episodes from putting pilots at risk in the sky.

The temperature inside the cockpit suddenly plunged to temperatures reaching -30 degrees and a mist pumped into the the cockpit, covering the instruments and windows in a layer of ice, rendering the pilots almost completely blind, according to several sources familiar with the incident and an internal report obtained by Defense News.

The fog inside the aircraft iced over the instrument panel, forcing the pilot and electronic warfare officer to use a Garmin watch to keep track of their heading and altitude while air controllers began relaying instructions to the crew. The pilot and EWO were forced to use the emergency oxygen supply, which was completely depleted by the end of the flight.

A heroic effort by the two-person crew and the ground-based controllers managed to guide the aircraft back to Whidbey Island, but both pilot and EWO suffered serious injuries due to frostbite. The aircrew suffered from “severe blistering and burns on hands,” according to the Navy internal report.

In a statement, Naval Air Forces spokesman Cmdr. Ron Flanders confirmed the incident and that the Navy was trying to determine the cause of the incident.

“The aircrew was treated upon landing; one of the aircrew is already back in a flight status; the other is not yet back in a flight status but is expected to make a complete recovery,”

“The mishap is under investigation; I cannot comment further. Once the investigation is complete, the Navy will determine which further actions are necessary.”

ECS failures
While the specific failure of the environmental control system in this instance hasn’t been recorded by the Navy previously, the ECS has been a persistent problem as it grapples with a recent spike in PEs in Hornets and Growlers.

The Navy describes the system as “a complex aggregate of sub-components, all of which must function for the system to work as a whole.” The Navy believes that aging parts and inadequate testing procedures have contributed to certain PEs that result from depressurization inside the cockpit and oxygen deprivation.

But overpressurization has also been a problem. Two years ago, a pilot and EWO were horifically injured when their cockpit overpressurized and exploded, shattering the plexiglass canopy and sending shards in all directions.

Overall, about 25 percent of the PEs suffered by aircrews in the Super Hornets and the Growlers have been traced back to ECS failures, according to a Navy official who spoke on background. Those numbers were much higher in the legacy Hornets.

Meanwhile the head of the Navy’s Physiological Episodes Action Team, Sara “Clutch” Joyner, is being pulled from the project after less than a year in the position and is taking a job on the Joint Staff, raising some alarm bells in Congress. Her replacement has not been named.

PEs have wreaked havoc in the aviation community. In 2016, the Navy had its worst year on record for PEs, including 125 total in the Growler/Hornet community.

Last April, Navy instructor pilots staged a borderline mutiny when they felt like their supervisors were ignoring serious PE problems with the Navy’s T-45 aircraft. The Navy has since made progress in T-45 PE incidents but the revolt of the instructor pilots grabbed the attention of senior leadership and made the PE issue front-and-center.

But definitive answers as to what is causing the spike in PEs are elusive and the Navy is continuing to chip away at the issue. Joyner has said that she doesn’t believe there is one solution for all the PE issues but that the Navy has made progress in some areas.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified where the Growler landed upon completing the flight.

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US Army seeks new missile to counter drones, rockets and more
By: Jen Judson
24.02.2018
X4K64AP525CFJEPQNPKYV7ULIU.jpg

The Aviation and Missile Command and its partners – both the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center and the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space – met major milestones in 2017 in the development of the Multi-Mission Launcher. The Army is holding a competition for a second interceptor for the MML with a downselect to one vendor in FY19. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army wants a new surface-to-air missile to provide capability to counter rockets, artillery and mortars, as well as provide residual cruise missile defense and defend against drones, according to the service and fiscal 2019 budget request documents.

The missile the Army is calling the Expanded Mission Area Missile, or EMAM, will be the second interceptor qualified for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 program, or IFPC Inc. 2, which has been in development to counter threats from rockets, artillery and mortars for years.

The service has had to shift priorities to deal with rapidly proliferating drone and cruise missile threats. The drone threat in particular runs rampant, and the cheap and easily accessible systems have been employed by terrorist groups, peer adversaries and in between in conflicts from the Middle East to Eastern Europe.

The Army has existing air defense systems — such as Avenger and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System — but they are not designed to handle the threats IFPC will be able to address, particularly unmanned aircraft systems.

The service has already chosen one interceptor for the system — the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. But since IFPC will feature a multimission launcher, or MML, the Army wants to qualify a variety of interceptors for the system over time.

Lots of options for other interceptors are on the table. The service has fired a wide variety of interceptors in tests with its MML such as the Hellfire Longbow, Stinger, miniature hit-to-killmissiles and the Israeli Tamir interceptor. The Army will also try out directed energy against UAS targets as part of the program.

The Army plans to spend $519.7 million from FY18 through FY23 using a block acquisition approach to bring IFPC Inc. 2 capability online.

The first block consists of an existing interceptor and sensor, as well as development of fire-control software and the MML to defeat UAS and cruise missile threats. The second block will be compatible with the Army’s future Integrated Air-and-Missile Defense command-and-control system, and this block will get a second interceptor, according to the FY19 budget request documents.

A total of $51 million will fund the integration of the new EMAM interceptor into the MML, the budget documents state.

The Army initiated a competitive solicitation in March 2017 using special transaction authorities. Based on evaluation of whitepapers, the Army chose three vendors to be eligible for a contract award, the service said in a statement sent to Defense News.

The vendors, while not named, have been notified of their selection and have been asked for full cost proposals, the Army said.
“The EMAM Product Office plans to award funds for the integration and testing of the second interceptor utilizing a two-phased approach with a demonstration of interceptors from multiple vendors during phase one with a down-select to a single vendor for phase two,” the budget request documents read. “Phase two will consist of activities to finalize design and integration of the interceptor and conduct developmental testing.”

In early FY19, the Army will select the “best value” solution to proceed to a preliminary design review stage, the service said in the statement.

The Army plans to make an engineering and manufacturing development, or EMD, decision in the first quarter of FY20. The EMD phase will run through to the first quarter of FY23.

A production decision is due in FY23 with low-rate initial production running through FY24. The service expects to reach an initial operational capability in the fourth quarter of FY23, the budget documents show.

IFPC Inc. 2 Block 1 will see a limited user test in the fourth quarter of FY19. Then there will be a production decision in the second quarter of FY20 and an initial operational test and evaluation starting in the second quarter of FY21, and ending in the third quarter. The first block will reach initial operational capability in the third quarter of FY21.

https://www.defensenews.com/land/20...23.18&utm_term=Editorial - Daily News Roundup
 
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