March 19, 2024

The F/A-18 Hornets Will Not Retire

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The Navy will be sticking with their F/A-18 Hornets until the F-35 comes on line, extending the Hornets initial 6,000-hour life span to 10,000 hours over the next two decades. Navy Times reports the official decision from VADM Mike Shoemaker, who took over Naval Air Forces Jan. 22.

Nor is the Air Force likely to retire its A-10, despite its continuous efforts. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has support in both chambers to reverse what he called “the Air Force’s misguided attempt to retire all the A-10s,” reports The Hill.

Reuters reports US business concerns that slow FAA regulations for UAV will drag down the US market. A British company using UAVs to collects and analyzes data for the energy industry reported a 700 percent business growth last year.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest importer of weapons and increased their buy 54 percent from 2013 to 2014. Their anticipated 9.8 billion purchase in 2015 is a 52 percent hike from last year, moving them above India to become the the world’s top defense equipment importer, reports Jane’s 360.

Wired warns you, watching the time lapse animation video of NASA’s 18 satellites orbiting the earth (as opposed to them watching you) is mesmerizing, and interesting as well to learn where they are and when.

Sandstorms delayed the launch of a solar airplane from Abu Dabi until Monday, when it took off and successfully landed in Oman, the first stop on a flight around the globe purely fueled by the sun, reports CNN. The experimental aircraft is expected to take five months to complete the flight. There will be a number of stops in the US.

With an eye on the budget, the US Coast Guard is consulting with some experts on technology for their next icebreaker, Canadian and Finnish ship designers, reports USNI.

 

 

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