’22 Budget Will ‘Shrink’ the Fleet
CNO ADM Mike Gilday told Congress this week that flat or declining Navy budgets ‘will definitely shrink’ the fleet, reports USNI. The Navy has for years been building toward a goal of 355 ships, but only has enough money for 300 vessels with its current budget.
Military Firearms Keep Disappearing
An investigation has found that at least 1,900 US military firearms were lost or stolen during the 2010s, with some resurfacing in violent crimes.
IG Report: P-8A Readiness Rates Drop
An evaluation of the readiness of the US Navy’s P-8A Poseidon says the aircraft’s mission capable rates have fallen below the targets set by Naval Air Forces. The May 19 report was released by the DoD’s Office of the Inspector General.
Pax Pilots Aid Efforts to Collect Ocean Sciences Data
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. US Navy squadron VXS-1 flies NP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft — a RC-12M King Air and a UV-18 Twin Otter — to help scientists collect data for airborne research, reports Seapower Magazine. The US Naval Research Laboratory’s Scientific Development Squadron One is based at NAS Pax River and logs more than 400 flight hours each year. NRL oceanographer Damien Josset, who participated in the…
Anti-Drone System Shoots Streamers Into Propellers
DARPA has finished work on an anti-drone system that can shoot strings of streamers into the propellers of threatening drones, causing them to fall from the sky. The Mobile Force Protection program is designed to defeat drone intrusions over military installations and convoys using small unmanned aircraft.
Attitudes Shifting Re: F-35
It used to be funds holding back the F-35 program, but increasingly the Pentagon and Congress have begun questioning the costs of operating and sustaining the platform.
MQ-25 Conducts First-Ever Unmanned Aerial Refueling
The MQ-25 Stingray program’s first-ever aerial refueling of a manned receiver aircraft by an unmanned tanker was successful. The test took place June 4 out of MidAmerica Airport in Illinois.
US to Treat Cyberattacks as Terrorism
The Department of Justice will prioritize cyberattacks as highly as acts of terrorism.
Biden Shifts Focus of DoD Budget
The Biden administration’s first DoD budget proposal — for FY22 — declares climate change a “national security priority,” includes $30.8 million to address extremism among troops, and enhances training at all levels,
‘Largest Ever’ R&D, T&E Budget Hike Sought
The Administration’s FY22 military budget requests contains the “largest ever” budget hike in research, development, testing, and evaluation, says DefSec Lloyd Austin. The White House has proposed $112 billion in that area, a 5 percent increase.
