F-35 Takes Its Show on the Road
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.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is taking its show on the road this spring, CNN reports. The sophisticated fighter jet will be seen at airshows across the country alongside 20th-century war birds, like the F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning, and P-51 Mustang.
Lockheed Martin plans to increase production of its hellfire missile and laser-guided smart bombs, International Business Times reports. Lockheed will expand its munitions production to meet higher demands from the Pentagon and US allies.
The shipping line Maersk announced the first UAV delivery at sea, reports C4ISR & Networks, a rotary-wing UAV from Xamen Technologies that delivered cookies to the tanker Edgar off the Danish coast.
The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee opposes a GOP bill to reform DoD acquisitions, reports The Washington Examiner. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) says he supports giving the Pentagon more one-by-one acquisition leeway instead of Rep. Mac Thornberry’s (R-TX) bill, which Rep. Smith says is too prescriptive, micromanaging Pentagon spending decisions.
More disputes brewing in the South China Sea where, Reuters reports, Chinese activity on a reef China seized from the Philippines might be the precursor to more Chinese land reclamation in this major shipping route. ADM John Richardson, head of US naval operations, expressed concern that an upcoming international court ruling on the reef could cause Beijing to declare an exclusion zone in the busy trade route.
Military Times reports that Pentagon officials were criticized by the Senate Armed Services Committee on what the committee sees as inaction against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Two generals received Senate confirmation Thursday to lead commands, whose tasks including formulating strategy against ISIS, The Washington Examiner reports.
ISIS kills another cultural leader, reports The Guardian, Syrian poet, Mohammad Bashir al-Aani, known for a lyrical style and opposition to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The poet and his adult son who was also killed join a growing list of cultural figures targeted by the Islamic State.
Under pressure from Congress, reports The Washington Post, NavSec Ray Mabus rejected the promotion of the admiral in charge of the elite SEAL teams in the wake of findings that RADM Brian L. Losey had retaliated against whistleblowers.
On Friday, an arresting cable broke on the USS Eisenhower, injuring eight sailors, Daily Press reports.
Northrop Grumman’s Hellhound, on display at the AUSA trade show in Alabama, raised some eyebrows last week, Defense News reports. A remote combat station on the light recon vehicle could be used to equip the Hellhound with a laser for shooting down unmanned threats.
