Final Deployments for P-3C Orions
The last of the US Navy’s P-3C Orions are on their final overseas deployments, reports The Drive. The patrol planes are being split between bases in Bahrain and Japan. The Navy is preparing to retire its Orions. Their replacements: P-8A Poseidons.
USS Fitzgerald Is Now Back in the Water
USS Fitzgerald leaves dry dock after more than a year of repairs after a June 2017 collision with a merchant ship that killed seven sailors.
Unmanned Fleet: Duties Hazy, Need Clear
Pressure from China and Russia convinces Navy officials of the need for an unmanned fleet, even without a specific plan for integration into what will become a shift in the composition of the entire fleet.
Moran Chosen as Next Chief of Naval Operations
ADM William Francis “Bill” Moran has been nominated to replace ADM John Richardson as the Navy’s chief of naval operations. He is a Cold War aviator who helped reinvent the sea service as its top personnel officer.
Blue Angels Set to Move to Super Hornets
The US Navy’s Blue Angels are tentatively set to start flying the F/A-18 Super Hornet in 2021. The move to the Super Hornet will mark the first time the fighter jet demonstration team has changed aircraft since it moved from the A-4F Skyhawk II to the F/A-18 Hornet in 1986.
Japan’s 1st F-35 Crashes in Pacific
The jet was less than a year old with a total of 280 hours in the air; it had been aloft 28 minutes before contact was lost. This is the second F-35 to crash since the jet’s first flight in 2006 and could reignite concern about the F-35 having only one engine.
Navy’s Aviation Accidents Keep Rising
Manned aviation accident deaths across the services continue to break records, but the steady six-year climb finally halted this year. Only the Navy did not improve in the total accident categories from 2017 to 2018 and is still 83 percent higher than in 2013.
Pilot: Despite Testing Challenges, CH-53K ‘on the Right Track’
The new CH-53K heavy lift helicopter has had some struggles during its past year of testing but it will emerge as a capable and reliable asset for the Marine Corps, says Lt. Gen. Rudder, a Marine aviator.
VADM: F-35 Program Could Be Hurt If Plan With Turkey Is Nixed
Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not reflect opinions of the Leader’s owners or staff. F-35 program manager VADM Mathias Winter tells Capitol Hill lawmakers that if Turkey is ejected from the F-35 program, it would deal an immediate blow to the production rate for new planes and place fresh stress on an already strained supply chain, reports Breaking Defense. NAWCAD Lakehurst has adapted weapons loaders for the F-35B, reports dcmilitary.com. The modified support equipment gives the Lightning II more…
Navy Plans for Unmanned ‘Ghost Fleet’
Navy plans for a “ghost fleet” of 10 large unmanned vessels able to operate without humans aboard and estimated at $2.7 billion over the next five years.
