Move to Put Drones at Wallops Gains New Support

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 Accomack County, VA, Board of Supervisors has joined those lobbying for the US Navy drone program to be located at the Wallops Flight Facility, DelmarvaNow reports. Two other sites are being considered, one in Jacksonville, FL, and the other in Key West, FL. The Navy is looking for a home base for its still-under-development MQ-4C Triton drone program.
Talk about pulling its weight for NAVAIR. The Sikorsky CH-53K late last month finished its first external load flight test carrying 20,000 pounds, USNI News reports. Previously, it had lifted 12,000 pounds. The testing took place in Florida.
The T-50A jet trainer completed its first flight test last week, Defense News reports. “The aircraft in its new configuration with the 5th Gen cockpit and other upgrades performed flawlessly,” Mark Ward, Lockheed Martin T-50A lead test pilot, said after the flight. The aircraft is a crucial piece of the Air Force’s plan to eventually replace all of its fighter jets with the fifth-generation F-35s and F-22s, according to the article.
Aviation Systems Engineering Co., headquartered in Lexington Park, is one of 18 Maryland companies to be awarded an ExportMD grant. ASEC representatives will be attending the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom in July.
Washington Technology Top 100 puts Lockheed Martin Corp. in its No. 1 spot, for the 22nd consecutive year. Lockheed Martin boasts $11.6 billion in prime contracts. Click here for the Top 100 list and Washington Technology’s analysis of the firms.
South Korea and Vietnam are interested in purchasing refurbished aircraft from Lockheed Martin, mainly P-3s and S-3s, Reuters reports. This comes about as tensions rise in the region.
As China steps up its military presence in the Pacific, the US is hoping to garner support from India and other countries in the region, PressTV reports. “In the not too distant future, American and Indian Navy vessels steaming together will become a common and welcome sight throughout Indo-Asia-Pacific waters,” US Navy ADM Harry B. Harris Jr. said.
The recently released “Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan” asserts the US Air Force will not have the structure in place that it needs to maintain its air superiority, Defense Systems reports. The report outlines a “complicated operational environment that intertwines traditional airpower – planes and associated ground crews – with space assets and new age enablers such as cyber,” the article states.
While President Obama is unlikely to fulfill his campaign promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay before he leaves office, the Associated Press is reporting that officials are scrambling to release as many prisoners as possible and considering legal strategies. Those include allowing some of the men to strike plea deals and sending others to foreign countries to be prosecuted.
Pentagon officials said Friday that at least 11 US servicemembers have been infected with the Zika virus since January, USA Today reports. Nearly all of the people traveled to countries where the mosquito-born illness is prevalent.
Navy officials have placed a drinking ban on its sailors — 18,600 of them — stationed in Japan and halted their off-base liberty after police arrested a sailor on suspicion of drunk driving following a car crash in Okinawa that injured two people. This comes after an American military civilian in Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of dumping the body of a 20-year-old Japanese woman.