China Can Track F-35 JSF
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China has a new “passive” radar detection device that may be able to track the F-35 stealthy fighter, according to The Motley Fool. The DWL002 can apparently detect stealth aircraft at distances of up to 400 kilometers, and 600 kilometers for larger targets. The system processes “pulse, frequency agility, pulse duration, tactical air navigation system, distance measuring equipment, jitter/stagger radar, and identification friend or foe” signals emitted by otherwise stealthy aircraft to determine its location.
Thousands of federal workers are being kept on paid leave for at least a month, and often for a year or more, while they wait to be punished for misbehavior or cleared and allowed to return to work, reports The Washington Post. During a three-year period that ended last fall, more than 57,000 employees were sent home for a month or more with a cost of over $775 million in salary alone.
US airstrikes on ISIS are benefiting defense contracting giants such as Lockheed and Northrop Grumman, according to The Independent. Share prices are soaring for contractors who produce the bombs, missiles and manned and unmanned aircraft utilized in the conflict. Hellfire missile manufacturer Lockheed’s shares are up 9.3 percent in the past three months. Raytheon and Northrop shares are both up 3.8 percent and General Dynamics shares have risen 4.3 percent.
Many of the Navy’s elite Boeing F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter squadrons are close to grounded with only two or three flyable jets available, reports The Daily Beast. The remaining jets are waiting on critical spare parts and some of those parts are being cannibalized from new jets in an increasingly vain attempt to keep squadrons flying. A veteran F/A-18 fighter pilot said, “It’s pretty bad. Some squadrons have found it difficult to keep more than a few jets up, while other squadrons are spending a tremendous amount of operational time away from home base.”
A “25 Top Contractors Hiring Vets” list has been provided by the Military Times. Federal contractors must list their available positions with One Stop Career centers which provide information and job openings. They establish relationships with local contractors and offer training and one-on-one help for vets who are having trouble getting hired.
A malicious cyberattack campaign, dubbed “Operation DeathClick,” is attempting to infiltrate US defense contractors, according to Federal Times. An Invincea white paper stated, “The combination of traditional cyber crime methods (malvertising) with targeted attacks against defense industrials for theft of [intellectual property] represents another development in the on-going blending of techniques from cyber crime and advanced threat actors with nation state agendas.”
A new documentary describes how the modern battlefield opened an opportunity, and with the development of the all-volunteer military, created a need for women to actively participate in war operations, according to Task & Purpose. “Women in War” airs on PBS tonight at 9 pm EST and October 22 at 8 pm EST on MAKERS.com.
The Pentagon has female service members escorting former CIA captives around Guantánamo’s high-value prison, a personnel change that defense lawyers say is causing an uproar over religious insensitivity, reports The Miami Herald. At least four 9/11 defendants boycotted legal meetings over the issue, but Navy spokesman Captain Tom Gresback said the US military has a policy of being gender neutral in its relations with detainees.
Business Insider reminds us how the F-35 “Lightening II” received its name. In 2006, Lockheed Martin and the Air Force announced that new F-35 jets would be named “Lightning II” in homage to the aerial combat legacy of the World War II-era Lockheed P-38 Lightning and the UK’s Electric Lightning.
