March 28, 2024

Bird Strike Grounds Navy Aircraft at Pax

DoD Alert Levels

An E-6B Mercury, a nuclear command-and-control plane, hit a bird while landing at NAS Patuxent River on Oct. 2. The Navy estimates the damage due to the bird strike at about $2 million.

Lawmakers Want Large-Scale DoD Cyber Exercise

DoD cyber workers

Congress is requiring the Department of Defense to conduct a large-scale exercise gaming response to a national cyber incident.

No Tanks Will Roll in Trump’s Parade

No Tanks Will Roll in Trump's Parade

President Donald Trump’s Veterans Day military parade will include wheeled military vehicles, but no tanks. This is to prevent “damage to local infrastructure,” the Pentagon says. The parade will, however, include a “heavy air component” at the end.

Organizational Changes Likely in Pacific Fleet

south china sea

The US Navy is pressing toward a major organizational change that could strip US Pacific Fleet of some or all of its functions and consolidate that power under US Fleet Forces Command on the East Coast.

RADM Gordon Peters New Boss at NAVAIR

RADM Gordon Peters will be the new boss of Naval Air Systems Command. He replaces VADM Paul Grosklags as the top officer at NAVAIR. Also at NAVAIR, RADM Brian Corey will replace RADM Mark Darrah as the program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons.

Navy Admonished to Fix Pilot Hypoxia Issues

hypoxia

The House Armed Services Committee tells the Navy to “fix” physiological issues facing fighter jet pilots and student pilots. Hypoxia incidents have been increasing in Navy aircraft over the past decade.

Pax Welcomes 1st Italian-Built F-35B

The first F-35B assembled outside of the US landed at NAS Patuxent River last week after completing a transatlantic flight from Cameri Air Base in Italy.

New Effort to Coordinate DoD Research, Development

DoD Research

The Pentagon is drafting a list of desired technologies as part of a new modernization strategy to coordinate DoD’s research and development, including at US laboratories and government-funded research centers. The goal is to make sure that the military is aligned across the services.

Scrambling to Avoid Gov’t Shutdown

shutdown 2017

Congress is scrambling to avoid a government shutdown. Republicans push for a short-term funding measure.

Navy Reviewing Behavior, Reducing Ranks

Navy Reviewing Behavior

From the Fat Leonard scandal to a review of misconduct and poor performance, the US Navy will be clearing the ranks for younger sailors to move up.