Central Control Elusive for Navy’s Unmanned Systems

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The US Navy’s unmanned dream is a common control system, reports Defense News, but its increasingly diverse portfolio of unmanned systems is creating a jumble of control systems and creating problems for a force that hopes robot ships, aircraft, and submarines will help it regain a significant advantage over rivals China and Russia.

NAVAIR has a handshake deal in place to start production soon on the new presidential helicopter, a Sikorsky VH-92A, reports USNI. The VH-92A will replace an aging fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters.

The F-35′s goal of a $25,000 cost per flying hour may be unattainable, reports Defense News. The Pentagon’s cost assessment office doesn’t believe the F-35 can reach that goal by fiscal 2025.

Navy chief ADM John Richardson said the USS Lincoln’s Persian Gulf trip had been “planned for some time,” reports Breaking Defense, the day after the White House released a stern statement announcing the immediate deployments of an aircraft carrier strike group and bomber wing to the Persian Gulf to deter an unnamed Iranian threat.

The Navy’s top officer wants you to stop counting his ships, reports Defense News, and start thinking about what those ships can do.

Check out these military, veteran discounts and deals for May and beyond, reports Military Times.

Air Force Times looks at how improving enemy anti-aircraft threats put pilots and crews at risk.

Defense News reports the Arctic is now America’s first line of defense requiring DoD to spend more money on cold weather technology and more time on Alaska’s ranges and working with Native American tribes.

President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted in 2009 of killing an Iraqi prisoner, reports Associated Press.

Climate change threatens to block Marines’ access to the sea, reports Defense News. The corps is still recovering from nearly $3.6 billion in estimated damages inflicted on East Coast Marine bases from September’s Hurricane Florence. With this year’s hurricane season looming, Marines are preparing to battle more than storms. They’re also eyeing a fight with rising coastal waters, both in the coming months and across the span of decades, thanks to global climate change.

The Navy’s response to Iran proves new unpredictable deployment model works, reports Military.com. The new deployment model is meant to keep adversaries guessing is working, says the service’s top admiral.

USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: May 6, 2019