McCain: UCLASS Should Carry 2-Ton Payload
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Former Navy pilot Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), wants the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) system to carry two tons of weapons and told DefSec Ashton Carter, reports Breaking Defense. Currently the Navy lists the UCLASS as a reconnaissance aircraft. Rep. Randy Forbes, chairman of the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee, supports Sen. McCain’s vision of the UCLASS, but can accept a smaller, one-ton payload.
The House passed a $3.8 trillion budget last night with a total of $568 billion in base and war budgetary authority, the war fund set at $96 billion of that total. The Obama administration had requested $534.3 billion plus a $50.9 billion in war funds, for a total of $585.3 billion, reports Breaking Defense.
The FAA will now allow unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds to fly at or below 200 feet during the day, within visual-line-of-sight of the pilots, and at predetermined distances from airports or heliports, reports UAS Magazine. The major FAA rule change for UAS eliminates the need to acquire a certificate of authorization for every flight, allowing an approved UAS operator to fly anywhere in the US with a single COA.
The Navy plans to replace its aging C-2A Greyhound cargo aircraft with 44 V-22 Ospreys, anticipating delivery of eight a year starting in 2020, reports Stars and Stripes.
A Navy reservist and F-35 test pilot for Lockheed Martin at NAS Pax River, talks about his job and the JSF in a video provided by the Naval Air Systems Command that shows the jet in action.
The House cyber security bill, Protecting Cyber Networks Act, similar to a Senate version passed out of committee last week, provides legal protections for companies sharing cybersecurity data with civilian government agencies. Neither bill extends protections for companies sharing cyber data directly with the DoD or NSA, reports The Hill.
USA Today surveyed more than 50 utilities and finds significant vulnerabilities, including a physical or cyber attack every four days on the nation’s power grid.
The Obama Administration will not seek new authority for the NSA to collect American’s phone records, set to expire June 1, if the authority is not re-authorized by Congress, reports The Hill.
House Armed Services Chairman, Mac Thornberry proposes a six-year project of sweeping Acquisition reforms, reports Breaking Defense. A key provision strips away reporting requirements and redundant oversight.
New DoD rules ban foreign-made flags from flying at military bases, reports The Hill. Flag poles and and other components used to hang a flag are not included in the ban.
Speaking Wednesday before Congress, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani thanked the American public and the US military for making “great sacrifices” to help his country, reports The Hill.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey gives a shout-out to the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work’s Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families, praising its work with veterans initiatives at the local government level and including a group of more than 300 organizations, reports Defense.gov.
The first (and only) Martian marathon has been won by NASA’s rover Opportunity, reports CNN. It’s the first time a human enterprise has clocked 26.219 miles (42 kilometers) beyond the home planet.
