US Army

Rappel du premier message :

Citation :: « J'aime les USA, et je combats pour elle», c'est ainsi que Lamia Lahlou commente son adhésion à l'armée américaine, et sa participation à la guerre contre l'iraq- depuis déjà 8 mois-. Née au Maroc en 1986, Lamia Lahlou rejoint l'armée américaine 3 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001.

Tempérée par sa propre volonté, «la marocaine», ne mâche pas ses mots pour affirmer que ce pas emboité s'inscrit dans le cadre d'un «vrai Jihad». Rapporte une idéo diffusée largement sur Internet (Voir ci-aprés).

Choquée par la mort de sa meilleure amie, Lamia croit dur comme fer que l'adhésion à l'armée américaine est le seul et unique moyen susceptible de calmer le feu de sa vengeance.

A noter que les USA continuent à «renforcer » son armée via le recrutement des marocains, à l'heure où ALQIADIA ciblent d'autres recrues du Maroc vers la Hollande et la Belgique, tout en passant par la Syrie, l'Espagne et l'Iraq.

source: emarrakech.info

Rafi

Citation :: Lockheed Martin Receives Contract For SMSS-KMAX Cooperative Teaming Demo

DALLAS, Feb. 19, 2014 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a contract from the U.S. Army Robotics Technology Consortium to conduct a fully autonomous reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition experiment using both its Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) unmanned ground vehicle and K-MAX unmanned air vehicle.

In collaboration with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, Lockheed Martin will conduct a notional scenario later this year, in which a K-MAX autonomous rotorcraft will transport a Gyrocam-equipped SMSS via sling load into a simulated “area of interest” deemed too risky for human presence. The K-MAX will position itself over the intended release point and autonomously set down, releasing the SMSS upon command from a remote operator.

Once delivered, the sensor-laden and satellite communications-equipped SMSS will assess the area using a combination of autonomous capabilities and tele-operation that will be managed from a remote site, while the K-MAX returns to base.

“This level of mission cooperation between unmanned air and ground vehicles of this size, controlled beyond line-of-sight, is an industry first,” said Joe Zinecker, director of combat maneuver systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “We believe this demonstration could lead to expanded missions, such as remote sensing and monitoring of suspected chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats or events.”

Contract terms are not being disclosed. The demonstration is a follow-up to a 2012 exercise at Camp Grayling, Mich., in which a Gyrocam-equipped SMSS, operated via satellite from more than 200 miles away, successfully conducted a simulated reconnaissance mission.

In this new scenario, the reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition sensor onboard the SMSS will be used to locate, observe and obtain coordinates of targets and other objects of interest. The coordinates and sensor imagery will be passed back through a satellite communications system to a remote operations center hundreds of miles away for analysis.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com

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Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres US Army - Page 26 Star3

Citation :: L’US Army se prépare à perdre 10% de ses effectifs

24 février 2014 – 14:42

Les temps changent… A une époque, avec les engagements en Irak et en Afghanistan, l’US Army craignait de ne pas atteindre ses objectifs en matière de recrutement. Désormais, il lui faudra gérer une déflation massive de ses effectifs, selon l’orientation qui lui sera donnée par l’admnistration Obama, plus précisément par Chuck Hagel, le secrétaire américain à la Défense.

Ainsi, le patron du Pentagone doit annoncer, ce 24 février, un plan d’économies drastiques pour les forces armées américaines. Et, à ce titre, l’US Army s’attendrait à perdre 10% de ses effectifs et ne compterait plus que 450.000 voire 440.000 hommes, selon les informations du New York Times. Elle retrouverait le format qui était le sien à l’aube de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale… A condition que le Congrès approuve ce plan, ce qui est loin d’être gagné… (moins d’effectifs veut dire moins de bases…)

En janvier dernier, le lieutenant-général James O. Barclay III, responsable du bureau G-8 de l’US Army, c’est à dire un organisme chargé de faire correspondre les ressources disponibles avec la stratégie et les plans des forces terrestres américaines, avait parlé d’un seuil de 420.000 hommes à l’horizon 2019.

“Nous sommes sur une trajectoire descendante et les fonds dont on est disposé à nous donner permettraient de financer une armée de 420.000 personnels d’ici 2019″, avait-il affirmé, lors d’un colloque. Ce qui ne veut pas dire que ce format sera forcément atteint, avait-il dit. Car “même à 450.000 hommes, il y a un risque élevé pour que nous puissions mener l’ensemble des missions et des tâches qui nous sont données”, avait-il aussi fait valoir.

L’idée de l’administration Obama est de “pousser énergiquement les militaires hors de la logique de guerre adoptée après les attentats terroristes de 2001″. Mais avec un tel niveau d’effectifs, l’US Army ne serait plus en mesure de mener deux engagements de front, comme elle était supposée le faire au cours de la guerre froide, c’est à dire en Europe et en Asie.

Quant à l’US Navy, elle devrait garder ses 11 porte-avions (elle n’en a que 10 actuellement) et serait autorisée à acquérir 2 destroyers et 2 sous-marins d’attaque chaque année mais devra réduire le nombre de ses croiseurs. Enfin, l’aviation américaine aura à se passer de l’avion d’attaque au sol A-10 (c’est ce qu’elle souhaite depuis longtemps de toute façon) mais se verra imposer le drone Global Hawk, dont elle ne veut pas, aux dépens du légendaire U2 Dragon Lady.

Cette orientation est cependant conforme à ce qu’avait annoncé le président Obama en janvier 2012, même si elle va encore plus loin dans la déflation des effectifs des forces terrestres. Il ne sera ainsi plus question, pour les Etats-Unis, d’effectuer des opérations de contre-insurrection, coûteuses financièrement et humainement, l’objectif étant désormais de pouvoir mener une guerre à un endroit et contenir un adversaire dans une autre.

Seulement, on ne choisit pas toujours ses guerres… Selon les responsables militaires interrogés anonymement par le New York Times, ces coupes budgétaires “vont créer un plus grand risque pour les forces armées si elles sont de nouveau condamnées à effectuer deux opérations militaires de grande envergure simultanément. Le succès (si succès il y a) prendrait plus de temps à venir et il y aurait un plus grand nombre de victimes.” En outre, une armée plus petite “pourrait exciter l’aventurisme d’adversaires potentiels”.

Quoi qu’il en soit, avec un budget annuel de 496 milliards de dollars pour les 5 prochaines années, les forces américaines resteront bien dotées. “Nous allons encore avoir une armée très importante”, a commenté un responsable. “Elle sera agile, capable, moderne et ses personnels seront bien formés”, a-t-il ajouté. Et, comme en France, où l’on entend le même discours depuis 2008, “l’argent économisé par la réduction des effectifs” sera réinvesti dans la formation et l’équipement.

La Cyberdéfense sera épargnée par les coupes, de même que les forces spéciales. Encore que, pour ces dernières, leur budget sera gelé. En 2013, le montant de ce dernier est d’environ 10,5 milliards de dollars, soit un niveau 5 fois plus élevé qu’avant le 11 septembre 2001, pour un effectif de 63.000 hommes, selon les chiffres donnés par le Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment.

http://www.opex360.com/

Citation :: US Army Seeks To Purchase 100 Lakota Helicopters

WASHINGTON — The US Army will request money to buy 100 new UH-72 Lakota light utility helicopters beginning in the fiscal 2015 budget, Army and civilian officials say. The helicopters will eventually replace the training aircraft used at Fort Rucker, Ala., which the service plans on deactivating as part of a larger restructuring of its rotary aviation fleet.

The proposed new helicopters are part of a controversial plan that came to light in December. The proposal calls for the Army National Guard to hand its fleet of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters over to the active-duty Army while receiving Black Hawk helicopters in return. The Army also wants to divest its entire fleet of OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopters, using the Guard Apaches to fulfill that mission.

The new Lakotas would replace the TH-67 training helicopters that the service will also do away with.

One source familiar with the plan said the 2015 funding would cover 55 helicopters, while the Army would ask for more money in fiscal 2016 to complete the buy.

The proposed removal of the Apaches from the Guard has drawn condemnation from the politically powerful National Guard Association and some members of Congress — and it promises to be front and center once Army leaders testify on Capitol Hill after the defense budget rollout on March 4.

“We’re probably better connected to the Hill than the active-duty guys,” said National Guard Association President retired Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett. “But what we want to do is find a smarter way to pay the bills. And we think we can do that without sacrificing our ability to respond and to protect the homeland as well as deploy overseas.”

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel threw his support behind the Army plan during a Monday Pentagon briefing, saying that he was “mindful that many in the Guard and reserve community and in Congress have argued that the reserve component should be protected from cuts because they provide more troops at lower cost.” But going forward, the Pentagon “must prioritize readiness, capability and agility” over numbers.

And that is exactly what the Army claims it is doing in its aviation restructure plan. One senior Army official who spoke on background said that in order for the active Army to retain its combat punch amid an era of flat budgets, the service has to cut the number of different airframes it operates.

Getting rid of two models of the Kiowa and the TH-67 would eliminate three aircraft models of the Army’s seven, while continuing to modernize the Chinook, Apache and Black Hawk until replacement helicopters begin to enter the fleet in the late 2020s and 2030s.

“What do the states need?” the Army official asked. “They need this light utility helicopter to do the missions they have and they need lift; they need Black Hawks.”

Single-use combat helicopters such as the Apache “have very little to no utility to a governor,” the official continued.

While the cost of the new Lakota buy is still uncertain, a baseline cost for the helo is $5.5 million per unit, without extra mission systems added on.

Lakota maker Airbus Group, Inc., formerly EADS North America, has delivered 296 helicopters to the US Army, not including the 20 more that Congress added into its January omnibus spending bill.

The Army National Guard fields eight battalions spread across nine states outfitted with Apaches, but the Army insists that the multi-use OH-60L Black Hawks will be more useful in natural disaster and homeland security missions than single use-Apache attack helicopters.

“The states gain 111 more Black Hawks than they have today,” the official continued.

When the service began tackling the problem of what to do with its helicopter fleets in the face of sequestration and flattening budgets, the original plan was to eliminate five aviation brigades: three in the active force and two in the reserve.

“Apaches, Chinooks, Black Hawks — our best equipment that we have built up over these last 13 years — were going to be divested entirely out of the Army,” the official said.

But by eliminating the Kiowa and replacing it in the active force with the Apache, the service says it will save over $1 billion a year in operating costs, while not giving up any of the firepower that ground units have relied on so heavily in Iraq and Afghanistan. ■

http://www.defensenews.com

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Citation :: Lockheed Martin Receives $255 Million U.S. Army Contract For Guided MLRS Rocket Production

DALLAS, March 13, 2014 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a $255 million contract in late 2013 from the U.S. Army for Lot 9 production of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rocket.

The new allotment of rockets will be delivered to the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Republic of Italy. Delivery will begin in April 2015. Work will be performed at the Lockheed Martin facilities in Camden, Ark., and Dallas, Texas.

“We are proud of the continued confidence our customers place in Lockheed Martin,” said Ken Musculus, vice president of tactical missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Guided MLRS is a weapon that is trusted and proven in combat, and we will continue to deliver a reliable product.”

GMLRS is an all-weather rocket designed for fast deployment that delivers precision strike beyond the reach of most conventional weapons. GMLRS Unitary rockets greatly exceed the required combat reliability rate and have established a reputation for affordability.

In combat operations, each GMLRS rocket is packaged in an MLRS launch pod and is fired from the Lockheed Martin HIMARS or M270 family of launchers. GMLRS is an international cooperative program among the U.S., France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Other international customers include Japan, Jordan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Lockheed Martin has produced more than 25,000 GMLRS rockets at its facility in Camden, Ark. The facility has received more than 60 awards over the last decade, including the 2012 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the Shingo Silver Medallion Award for Operation Excellence.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com

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Citation :: Lockheed Martin’s DAGR® Missile Scores a Perfect 16 of 16 in Flight Tests for U.S. Army

Orlando, Fla., March 19, 2014 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] recently demonstrated the ability of its DAGR® missile to launch from an Apache AH-64D helicopter and repeatedly hit the target during a series of Air Worthiness Release (AWR) live firing flight tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The AWR tests demonstrated DAGR’s capability as an air-launched weapon. In each of the 16 flight tests, a DAGR missile locked onto the laser spot illuminating the target before launch. Upon launch, each missile flew between 1.5 and 5.1 kilometers and hit the target within one meter of the laser spot.

“These flight tests confirm DAGR’s ability to safely launch and separate from a moving, diving platform without degrading aircraft or weapon performance,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, close combat systems development program manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “These tests also validate DAGR production readiness at our Ocala Operations facility.”

Prior to AWR testing, Lockheed Martin completed DAGR System Qualification testing, validating the missile and rail-mounted canister for use in aircraft captive carry, storage and transportation operations. The 30 System Qualification guided flights demonstrated DAGR’s ability to hit moving targets, devastate tactical targets such as structures and trucks, and achieve high accuracy when launched with a 7-degree offset, up to six kilometers away from the target.

DAGR incorporates proven HELLFIRE II technology into a 2.75-inch/70 millimeter guidance kit that integrates seamlessly with legacy Hydra-70 rockets. Its lock-on-before-launch mode ensures the missile identifies the correct target prior to launch. Multiple DAGRs can be fired in rapid succession at different targets using different laser codes from multiple designators. The result is a laser-guided missile that puts a 10-pound warhead within one meter of the laser spot, defeating high-value, non-armored or lightly-armored targets while minimizing collateral damage.

Lockheed Martin has conducted more than 40 DAGR guided flights from ranges of 1 to 6 kilometers. DAGR has been launched from multiple HELLFIRE-equipped rotary-wing platforms, including the AH-64D Apache, AH-6 Little Bird and OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, as well as the ground-based HELLFIRE/DAGR pedestal launcher.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

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Citation :: Weapons Spending Inches Upward

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s five-year projections for procurement spending on its 63 major weapons programs, submitted to Congress this month, has turned more positive than last year’s spending forecast, according to an analysis of the US Defense Department’s 63 top weapons programs compiled by analytical firm VisualDoD.
The 2014 outlook for these efforts showed an overall 0.6 percent decline across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). The 2015 FYDP projects a slight growth of 2.5 percent.
Despite the slightly more rosy forecast, there is one issue that could throw a wrench into Pentagon procurement plans. DoD’s overall five-year spending outlook is $115 billion above federal spending caps, meaning it would need to be heavily modified or cut if sequestration remains in 2016 and beyond.

Of DoD’s 63 major weapons programs, funding for space-related efforts is projected to increase the most, showing a 4 percent average annual growth rate through the next five years, according to the VisualDoD data.
Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, noted that there also could be additional space funding within DoD’s classified budget coffers.
DoD spending on its top unmanned aircraft programs is expected to decline from projections a year ago, but still grow at a 2.5 percent average annual rate.
Purchases of the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper are projected to decline 12 percent, or almost $397 million, between 2015 and 2018 when compared to 2014 planned spending levels across that same period.
Despite the NATO troop drawdown in Afghanistan, unmanned aircraft are still expected to play a large role there in the future. One program that could boost spending across this sector is the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike program.
But as DoD’s spending on these systems declines, suppliers are going to have to pursue foreign military sales and global commercial sales to “stay afloat,” according to an analysis by Frost & Sullivan, a US-based consulting firm.
High development costs associated with new unmanned aircraft are “compelling several manufacturers to merely modify existing aircraft and subsystems,” the report said.
“Large defense contractors like Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin will likely acquire and/or partner with technologically advanced small businesses to enhance their capabilities in the face of reducing market potential,” Michael Blades, an aerospace and defense analyst with the firm, said in a statement. “These acquisitions will help firms widen their profit margins as well as compete in the nascent civil [unmanned aircraft] market.”
The outlook for DoD’s top ground vehicle programs is much more dismal, particularly in light of the Army killing the Ground Combat Vehicle effort.
The Army instead moved money originally eyed for that program into the General Dynamics M-1 Abrams tank and Stryker vehicle programs.
Overhaul and maintenance work might preserve parts of the ground vehicle sector, Callan noted, but not much money is going toward new programs. The only new vehicle efforts are the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle.
Helicopters
Projected Pentagon spending on its top helicopter programs in the coming years is bleak, with rotary-wing procurement expected to fall 14 percent annually, according to the analysis.
Two helicopter programs — MH-60 Seahawk and UH-72 Lakota — are slated to reach the end of production in DoD’s five-year projections. (Other major programs in the same boat include Raytheon’s Joint Standoff Weapon and Tactical Tomahawk, General Atomics’ MQ-1C Gray Eagle, and Oshkosh’s Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles.)
“It’s 50 percent off the peak, which is pretty draconian,” Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Virginia-based Teal Group, said of the military helicopter market projections.
A big unknown in this sector is the procurement rate for the Air Force’s Combat Rescue Helicopter program.
The Air Force intends to award to Sikorsky a contract for 112 new Black Hawk helicopters that will replace HH-60G Pave Hawks by the end of June, according to service officials.
The Air Force says it plans to spend just over $1 billion between 2015 and 2019 for the effort.
But the Army plans to retire the Bell Kiowa Warrior and has not funded a new armed aerial scout program.
It did, however, fund procurement of 100 new Airbus Lakota helicopters, adding more than $800 million for that effort in the coming four years.
The downturn in military helicopter purchases could lead to a major merger within the industry, Aboulafia said.
The military has relied heavily on helicopters over the past decade, particularly in Afghanistan, where rugged terrain has limited the access of fixed-wing aircraft and ground vehicles.
Production rates have soared for the big US helicopter makers Sikorsky, Boeing and Bell over this period.
The projected downturn in the helicopter market sounds bad, “but on the other hand we were at a very high [production] peak,” Aboulafia said.
Fewer military buys could lead to the acquisition or merger of one of the three big US helicopter makers, the analyst said.
“You have to ask the question, is three primes the right number for the US, especially when there is foreign competition from another two primes?” Aboulafia said.
“You’re going to almost certainly see the impetus for a merger or for some kind of asset swap,” he said. “It’s just a question of whether [the Justice Department] and DoD permit it.”
The three prime helicopters survived defense spending declines in the 1990s and the current projected downturn is still not as severe as two decades ago.
“Even with this downturn, there’s more business than there was,” Aboulafia said. “On the negative side, corporations have different expectations of growth and profitability today.”
Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter, and Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland have each competed for US military business.
The only new DoD helicopter program looming way out in the 2020s is what is being called Joint Multi-Role program.
A major Pentagon review of the acquisition system last year showed DoD has a difficult time purchasing and developing new helicopters. Between 1997 and 2011, 10 of 13 of its helicopter programs experienced cost growth of at least 15 percent above original estimates.
The Wild Card
The one wild card in DoD’s procurement outlook is the White House’s Opportunity Growth and Security Initiative — a funding measure separate from the Pentagon’s 2015 base budget proposal.
“This is where the lobbyists are really going to earn their pay this year,” Callan said. “It seems to be stuffed with things that ... big companies could go to the mat for.”
The bill could boost procurement levels in 2015 by $8 billion. The initiative includes $1.2 billion in funding for 56 new helicopters alone and another $1.1 billion for new Boeing P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft.
The other unknown is the Pentagon’s war funding projections for 2015, known as overseas contingency operations (OCO). War spending measures have historically included limited procurement funding; however, DoD has used the request to replace equipment damaged or destroyed in combat.
“There’s all these budgetary tricks and sleights of hand,” Aboulafia said of the White House initiative and OCO budget. “So, it’s not the base budget that has anything of interest, it’s the way procurement is being handled as a series of wishes and hopes.”
DoD submitted a $79 billion “placeholder” for its war budget. However, that number is expected to decline as American forces leave Afghanistan.
The Afghan government has yet to approve a force-level agreement that would allow NATO troops to remain in the country beyond the end of this year.

http://www.defensenews.com/interactive/article/20140330/DEFREG02/303300013/Weapons-Spending-Inches-Upward

Citation :: Lockheed says wins first production order for new PAC-3 missiles

(Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp has won a U.S. Army contract worth $611 million to build 92 missiles and 50 launcher modification kits, the company's first production contract for a new enhanced missile designed to upgrade the Patriot missile defense system.

The Pentagon announced the contract modification late Friday, and said a total of $874 million, including funding from fiscal 2013 and 2014, was now available for Lockheed's work on the new missiles through May 31, 2016.

Lockheed's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) adds a larger, more powerful motor to extend the missile's reach by 50 percent, and larger fins and other structural modifications to help the weapon intercept faster and more sophisticated ballistic and cruise missiles.

Lockheed said the missile enhancements could be applied to every Patriot PAC-3 system now in use around the world.

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Citation :: Les soldats américains vont être dotés de supers pouvoirs

http://m.01net.com/article.html#art617224

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US Army - Page 26 4cdc5300-4889-4be3-9a10-1fb0c573da7d

"Les belles idées n'ont pas d'âge, elles ont seulement de l'avenir"

7th Special Forces Group Snipers Compete in USASOC Sniper Competition

Spoiler:

V-22 Osprey US Army - Valencia (Spain)

Citation :: Nouvelle fusillade sur la base américaine de Fort Hood

Un soldat a ouvert le feu sur ses camarades, le 2 avril, à Fort Hood (Texas), où est implantée la plus grande base militaire des Etats-Unis, avant de se suicider avec un pistolet semi-automatique Smith & Wesson de calibre .45 acheté dans un commerce local.

Le bilan est de 4 tués (dont l’auteur de la fusillade) et de 16 blessés, dont plusieurs, traités au Scott and White Memorial Hospital, sont dans un « état critique » d’après les médecins.

La fusillade a éclaté à 16h00 (heure locale). Dans un premier temps, le soldat en cause, affecté à Fort Hood depuis février, a tiré sur des militaires d’une brigade médicale, puis, après un court trajet effectué à bord d’un véhicule, sur d’autres appartenant à un bataillon logistique.
L’US Military Police est rapidement intervenue, selon le général Mark Milley, le commandant de la base. Mis en joue par une policière militaire, l’auteur des tirs, dont l’identité n’a pas encore été révélée, a retourné son arme contre lui.

« Nous ne connaissons pas ses motivations. Nous savons que ce soldat souffrait de problèmes mentaux », a indiqué le général Milley, après avoir précisé que ce soldat, déployé pendant 4 mois en Irak 2011, suivait un traitement pour une « dépression » et « d’autres désordres psychiatriques et psychologiques ». Mais, a priori, il n’avait pas été diagnostiqué comme « souffrant de stress post-traumatique ».

« A l’heure actuelle, l’enquête ne permet pas d’indiquer que cet incident est lié à un acte terroriste même si aucune piste n’est écartée », a encore affirmé le général Milley.

La base de Fort Hood avait déjà été le théâtre d’un fusillade en novembre 2009 (13 tués, 32 blessés). Son auteur, le commandant Nidal Hasan, un psychiatre, a déclaré en juin 2013 qu’il voulait « défendre les taliban ». Selon l’enquête, il aurait été en lien avec l’imam Anwar Al-Awlaki, membre d’al-Qaïda dans la péninsule arabique (AQPA), éliminé par une frappe aérienne en septembre 2011.

Quoi qu’il en soit, il s’agit du deuxième incident de ce type pour les forces armées américaines en l’espace de quelques mois. Le 16 septembre dernier, Aaron Alexis, un entrepreneur civil de 34 ans, soigné pour de graves problèmes de santé mentale, avait en effet tué 13 personnes alors présentes dans le bâtiment du Naval Sea Systems Command, situé dans le quartier de Washington Navy Yard.

http://www.opex360.com

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Citation :: Soldiers and aircraft with U.S. Army Europe’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade and elements of USAREUR’s 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) conducted a Mission Rehearsal Exercise, or Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center here, March 28

Spoiler:

Citation :: Army explores sea-basing helos

WASHINGTON — The Army is considering certifying some of its attack helicopters to operate from ships — a mission historically conducted by the Marine Corps — as the service looks to broaden the role it would play in an Asia-Pacific battle.

Operating from ships at sea “seems to be a growth capability, and we do sense that there is increasing demand out there” in South Korea and U.S. Central Command, said the Army’s director of aviation, Col. John Lindsay, at an April 8 event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

The service has been running drills on landing AH-64 Apache helicopters on Navy ships in recent months, but “we’ve gotta make sure that we have the appropriate demand signal coming in from the combatant commanders,” Lindsay said, to determine “how much maritime capability does the Army need to invest in.”

Lindsay acknowledged that over the long term, “we still have some work to do” to determine how much the Army wants — or needs — to invest in operating Apache helicopters from naval vessels, but there is serious work being done.

The Asia-Pacific region, an area of increased focus for the U.S. military, is primarily maritime. The Pentagon has said it does not envision prolonged land wars in its future after more than a decade in Afghanistan and Iraq, and is planning to shrink the Army. Experts say the Pacific is a theater geared more toward Navy and Air Force capabilities, due to the sheer size of the region.

So how does the Marine Corps feel about the Army doing this?

“I’ve never been on a crowded battlefield,” Lt. Gen. John Wissler, commander of III Marine Expeditionary Force and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Japan, told the Defense Writers Group on April 11. “I’ve never been anywhere where I said ... ‘There’s too many guys here.’ ”

But there would be challenges. While the Army is “making strides in learning how to operate” at sea, Wissler said there is an “unknown, hidden cost” associated with operating aircraft in saltwater environments.

“[Marine Corps] helicopters are different than [Army] helicopters,” he said. “The maritimization of an aviation platform is a very extensive, technical thing. If you don’t do it, you suffer significant challenges.”

Col. Frank Tate, the Army’s chief of aviation force development, said he is preparing to head to Fort Rucker, Ala., in mid-April to attend a conference that would discuss the effects of seawater on the Army’s rotary-wing aircraft.

“The Army is not new to this idea of maritime operations and ship operations,” Tate said at the same event.

In a nod to Marine Corps sensitivities over the issue, Tate was quick to point out that flying Army helicopters from the decks of ships isn’t new. He was involved in operations in Haiti in the early 1990s, when the Army flew Apaches off the back of Navy frigates.

But Wissler noted that the deployment to Haiti had “significant impacts to helicopters and readiness” across Army aviation since they were not built to operate from ships.

“They had a mission, they met the mission, they went and executed the mission and that’s what we all do,” he said.

Wissler said the Marine Corps does not have a shortfall in sea-based aircraft; however, the number of amphibious Navy ships is limited.

The ship shortage has restricted the types of training Marine Corps pilots can do at sea.

Wissler also said there are challenges to operating in an amphibious environment, and that adding the Army to the mix would require in-depth planning.

“That’s easy stuff; we’ll sort through that,” he said.

“If the Army has a capability to bring in an amphibious environment, a capability that we need as a joint war-fighting team, good on them,” Wissler added. “I just think there’s challenges to it. I say that because I know they know there are challenges to it.”

http://www.armytimes.com

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Spoiler:

Citation :: U.S. Plans to Build a Stealth Dirt Bike
by MIKE HOFFMAN on APRIL 15, 2014

U.S. military leaders have approved funding to develop a hybrid, stealth motorcycle to be driven by special operations teams in the not too distant future.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has issued a grant to integrate a multiple fuel, hybrid-electric power plant into a dirt bike built by BRD Motorcycles. The hybrid electric engine will be built by Logos Technologies.
DARPA leaders forsee an electric bike that can drive for an extended range while producing nearly zero engine noise.
“Quieted, all-wheel-drive capability at extended range in a lightweight, rugged, single-track vehicle could support the successful operations of U.S. expeditionary and special forces in extreme terrain conditions and contested environments,” said Wade Pulliam, manager of advanced concepts at Logos Technologies. “With a growing need to operate small units far from logistical support, the military may increasingly rely on adaptable, efficient technologies like this hybrid-electric motorcycle.”
A hybrid drive system would offer the bike more range than a purely electric system. This will be the first time a hybrid drive system is incorporated onto a motorcycle, a Logos official said.

http://defensetech.org/2014/04/15/pentagon-wants-to-build-a-stealth-dirt-bike/#more-22721

Citation :: Lockheed Martin Receives $611 Million Contract for Production of First PAC-3 MSE Missiles

DALLAS, April 28, 2014 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a $611 million contract from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command for the first production order of the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) following the Army’s successful Milestone C decision earlier this year. The contract includes the production of both PAC-3 MSE missiles and Launcher Modifications Kits (LMKs).

The PAC-3 MSE’s revolutionary two-pulse solid rocket motor provides increased performance in both altitude and range – while employing the same proven hit-to-kill technology that the PAC-3 Missile uniquely brings to the Patriot system.

In 2003, Lockheed Martin received a contract to increase the altitude and range of the PAC-3 missile. The missile received the larger, more powerful dual-pulse motor for added thrust, along with larger fins and other structural modifications for more agility.

The larger fins collapse to allow the missile to fit into the current PAC-3 launcher, and give the interceptor more maneuverability against faster and more sophisticated ballistic and cruise missiles.

The launcher modification kits enable the Patriot Configuration 3 launcher to control and launch the hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missiles, as well as heritage Patriot missiles.

“These enhancements are the natural, pre-planned evolution of a system that was first demonstrated 20 years ago,” said Scott Arnold, vice president of PAC-3 programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Every current Patriot-using nation is a candidate to upgrade their PAC-3 systems to the PAC-3 MSE.”

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 115,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com

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Citation :: Les hélicoptères Black Hawk transformés en drones pour l'armée américaine

Hélicoptère Black Hawk piloté à distance

© Sikorsky Aircraft

La révolution apportée par les drones change la manière d'aborder de nombreuses problématiques lors d'opérations militaires, qu'il s'agisse de reconnaissance, d'approvisionnement ou de frappes ciblées en territoire ennemi. Mais le développement de nouveaux appareils dédiés est un processus long et coûteux, sans parler de son déploiement à grande échelle. Sikorsky Aircraft compte y circonvenir en adaptant simplement ses hélicoptères Black Hawk, déjà en service.

L'entreprise américaine Sikorsky Aircraft, spécialiste des hélicoptères et fabricant notamment des modèles Black Hawk et Sea Hawk, a fait voler le 11 mars un UH-60MU Black Hawk piloté à distance. Effectué en collaboration avec le centre de R&D AMRDEC (Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center) de l'armée américaine, ce vol fait partie du programme MURAL (Manned/Unmanned Resupply Aerial Lifter) de Sikorsky, qui vise à permettre aux missions de réapprovisionnement d'être effectuée par des appareils pilotés à distance.

Cette utilisation en tant que drone sera optionnelle et aura pour but d'augmenter le nombre de sorties tout en minimisant les risques pour le personnel et sans avoir à trop augmenter les cadences de travail, ni à accroître la taille de la flotte. Le déploiement de personnel pourra ainsi être réservé aux missions les plus délicates, et le rendement global des Black Hawk serait doublé. L'autre avantage d'une modification des Black Hawk par rapport à l'introduction de nouveaux équipements dédiés est bien évidemment le moindre coût que cela représente, ainsi que l'unicité de la flotte. Avoir moins de modèles différents signifie moins de pièces et moins de formations nécessaires pour les équipes.

Sikorsky travaille sur ces technologies depuis 2007, et a signé un accord de R&D coopératif (CRADA) avec l'armée américaine en 2013 pour formaliser cet effort et créer des démonstrateurs. Deux hélicoptères sont utilisés pour effectuer ces recherches, qui incluent des simulation de contrôle lors d'expéditions et des manoeuvres de précision.

La démonstration a été effectuée au centre de développement de Sikorsky, à l'aide de la technologie "Matrix" de Sikorsky, dédiée à l'automatisation des tâches pour le pilotage à distance, et d'une station de contrôle au sol conçue pour être portée sur soi. La technologie Matrix a pour but de doter les appareils à décollage et atterrissage vertical (VTOL, à savoir les hélicoptères et certains aéronefs à ailes fixes) d'un haut niveau de sophistication, afin qu'ils puissent effectuer des missions complexes avec une supervision humaine réduite au minimum.

www.industrie-techno.com/‎

Invité

Citation :: U.S. military studying sports to improve soldiers' training and care

The U.S. military is following the lead of the sports world to better train, prepare and take care of its soldiers.

During preseason camp last year, the two college football teams that would ultimately wind up playing for the BCS title had at least one thing in common. Each had met Navy Capt. Tom Chaby. Auburn and Florida State coaches invited Chaby to speak to their teams, knowing their players would sit up a little straighter and listen more attentively when a man who once commanded SEAL Team 5 stood at the front of the room.

Chaby delivered his message and answered questions from rapt audiences in Auburn, Ala., and Tallahassee, Fla. But he didn't go to those campuses solely to give pep talks. To help him in his current job, Chaby wanted to pick the brains of coaches and support staffers. He wanted to examine the organizational structures that help elite athletes succeed with the hope that he might generate ideas to take to his employer and help 18,525 elite soldiers.

Chaby directs the Preservation of the Force and Family initiative, a multi-pronged effort by all the branches of the United States military to better prepare special operations soldiers for battle and take higher-quality care of them when they return home. These elite groups -- the SEALs, the Army's Rangers, Green Berets and Night Stalkers and the Air Force's Special Tactics teams -- are often the first sent into combat zones, and their members routinely risk their lives in missions deemed too specialized or too dangerous for more conventional troops. Chaby's group is tasked with finding better ways to handle the physical, psychological, social and spiritual pressures faced by elite soldiers. For the physical piece, the military has learned that one set of organizations has already discovered the ideal organizational structure -- major college and professional sports teams.

Since POTFF was formed in 2010 to deal with the issues created by 10 years of constant combat, Chaby and his team have worked to make the support personnel for the military's special operations forces more closely resemble the support staff of an NFL or Major League Baseball team. They are working to place strength coaches, dieticians, athletic trainers and physical therapists with each unit for the same reasons college and pro teams have done the same with their athletes. They want workouts and diets designed for the job at hand. Just as a football team would want to build beefy tailbacks with explosive, fast-twitch burst to best handle a series of four- to six-second plays, the SEALs or Rangers might want to build lighter, leaner, high-stamina soldiers who may have to spend days traversing the mountains of Afghanistan with limited food. Both groups want to prevent minor, nagging injuries with proper training and care. Both groups also want to rehabilitate major injuries quickly and effectively so that patients can get back on the field.
At the Exos facility, a rehabbing soldier does a drill originally designed for football linemen.
At the Exos facility, a rehabbing soldier does a drill originally designed for football linemen.
Bill Frakes/SI

"We took that professional or collegiate sports model, and we're molding it to figure out how that works in the tactical setting," said Chris Knerl, an exercise physiologist who now serves as a human performance advisor for Air Force Special Operations Command in Mary Esther, Fla.

The difference is that one field has far greater stakes than the other. So, it would make sense that the military's elite units would have at least the same resources as a decent college football team. Unfortunately, they don't have them. Alex Lincoln is a former Auburn linebacker who now runs The Eagle Fund, a charitable program that offers injured soldiers -- mostly special operations forces -- a chance to rehab at the facility run by Exos and orthopedic surgeon James Andrews in Gulf Breeze, Fla. Lincoln, who has worked with injured soldiers since 2010, understands both worlds well. His assessment of the military's training resources prior to the inception of the POTFF program? "Less than what a good high school program would have," he said.

In the past, training facilities and guidance varied wildly from unit to unit. Some had athletic trainers assigned to them. Others didn't. The soldiers who led training relied on their own personal preferences rather than science. "Whatever the person that was leading the physical training liked, that's what you did," said Lincoln, who has worked with special operations soldiers who remained in their units into their 50s.

That is slowly changing as POTFF and private initiatives such as The Eagle Fund grow. The military has hired the same kind of support personnel sports teams have -- often from sports teams. Knerl used to be a one-man support team and now runs a 53-person operation. Don Kessler worked as an athletic trainer for the Naval Academy, Rutgers, Princeton and San Diego State. Since 2011, Kessler has worked with the Navy SEALs in Coronado, Calif. Mike Sanders now serves as the THOR3 human performance coordinator for the Army's 7th Special Forces Group. Before he was hired by the Army, Sanders was the strength and conditioning coordinator at the University of Denver. "At the end of the day, we have the same physiology and biology," Sanders said. "The cool thing about the human body is that the human body is the most important weapon." Chaby puts it even more succinctly. "Humans," he said, "are more important than hardware."

The military spends a lot of money on sophisticated weaponry. The current cost estimate for the fleet of F-35 Strike Fighter planes being amassed by the branches of the U.S. military is $391.2 billion. With a target of 2,443 planes, that's an average cost of $160.1 million a plane. But what does the military spend to maintain the most versatile weapons in its arsenal? This year, the human performance prong of the POTFF program received an appropriation of $26 million after requesting $46 million. Ensuring every special operations soldier has access to more advanced training and rehab services will require more money, but Chaby is confident a cold calculation of costs would show a savings in medical and training costs on the back end.

In the military, every asset costs something. For a SEAL officer with 10 years of Naval service, his training -- not including his salary -- has cost taxpayers an average of $1,039,930. An officer in one of the Army's special forces units with 10 years of service costs an average of $847,082 to train. If such a soldier suffers a career-ending injury that costs him 10-15 years as an active special operations soldier, that money essentially goes to waste. Even worse, the military loses valuable experience. "When a guy gets hurt, what's going on between his ears is priceless," Lincoln said. "You can't afford to lose that."

One former SEAL is certain that he'd be a current SEAL if he would have had access to the training tools made available by The Eagle Fund. "I'll put it to you like this," Marcus Luttrell said. "If I'd had this place back when I was a young frogman and after when I got shot, I'd probably still be an active-duty frogman. That's how significant this program is."
"If I'd had this place back when I was a young frogman and after when I got shot, I'd probably still be an active-duty frogman," Marcus Luttrell said. "That's how significant this program is."

Luttrell is the author of Lone Survivor, an account of the costliest day in the history of the U.S. military's special operations groups. Eleven SEALs and eight of the Army's Night Stalkers died on June 28, 2005 after Luttrell's four-man team was attacked and then a helicopter sent to rescue the SEALs was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. In the process of escaping the attack, Luttrell sustained a laundry list of injuries including a gunshot wound, a broken back, a crushed hand, torn knee ligaments and a torn rotator cuff.

Luttrell's rehab didn't truly begin working until 2010, when he first traveled to the Exos -- then called Athletes Performance -- facility in Gulf Breeze on an invitation from The Eagle Fund. There, trainers and strength coaches more accustomed to working with future NFL draft picks and pro athletes treated Luttrell more like an athlete than a patient. "You have these collegiate and pro athletes here getting in shape to do a job. Well, that's exactly why I'm here," said Luttrell, who trained at Exos for several weeks earlier this year while future first-round picks Jadeveon Clowney and Eric Ebron trained a few feet away. "I think that door swings both ways. When you see these guys here -- especially the amputees -- busting their butts trying to get back on the line, to get back to work, it's got to be motivational." Luttrell said the coaches and trainers at Exos helped heal his body and reduce chronic pain. Luttrell said the reduction in pain also helped reduce mental issues that psychiatrists had previously tried and failed to treat with prescription medication.

Luttrell is watching the progress of POTFF, because he wants all special operations soldiers to have the resources he eventually found. He just hopes they can utilize them while still in the service so they can extend their careers. "You've got to think about how much money you dump into us from day one of training to the time we get to our team and deploy. If you get a guy who has an injury and that ends his career, well, that's just money thrown down the drain," Luttrell said. "This program and the stuff that's implemented out here, you have the ability to not only heal the operator up and get him back on the line, you save that money you put into him and you save that asset."

Army Staff Sgt. George Perez hopes someday the military will institute a program similar to POTFF for any soldier who might face combat. Perez came to Exos late last year after receiving an Eagle Fund scholarship. Unlike most Eagle Fund beneficiaries, however, Perez was never a member of a special operations unit. He began his Army career as a paratrooper in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division. In 2003, at age 19, Perez found himself in Iraq. On Sept. 14 of that year, as his unit rolled through an area near Fallujah, an IED blasted the Humvee in which Perez rode. He looked down to see the lower section of his left leg bent upward over his knee. Doctors initially thought they had saved the leg, but an infection forced an amputation below the knee. Perez, from Carteret, N.J., refused to quit on the Army. He taught himself to walk using a prosthetic, and he re-enlisted about a year later. Perez remains on active duty, jumping out of planes for the Army's Golden Knights parachute team. But for years, Perez struggled with the direct and indirect effects of his injury.

Strenuous physical activity would leave his body wrecked. He overcompensated with his right leg, and his misaligned lower half led to chronic back pain. After a few years, medications couldn't dull the pain anymore. Perez had resigned himself to the pain, but his visit to Exos changed his outlook. Trainers there got him moving again. They forced him to strengthen his left thigh, which helped balance his body and alleviate back pain. Shortly before leaving Exos to return to duty, Perez ran a mile without pain for the first time since the blast. Perez will never forget how he felt when he realized that he might be able to live and serve without pain. "I'm going to talk to you like a soldier," he said. "Holy [expletive]!" Perez was amazed at how quickly advanced training helped him. "I think I could run circles around some of the other soldiers if I was able to do this," he said.
Army Staff Sgt. George Perez
Army Staff Sgt. George Perez can run without pain after working with the trainers at Exos.
Bill Frakes/SI

While advanced services for the entirety of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines would require a significant up-front investment, Pentagon officials might be able to use the results of the POTFF program should they attempt a cost-benefit analysis. Even before POTFF started, Scott Lephart and the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh were studying injury rates in the military. Near the turn of the century, Lephart read a journal article that examined the most common types of injuries suffered by soldiers in combat and training. Lephart realized those injuries weren't all too different from the ones suffered by the college and pro sports teams his group had already been studying for 15 years. So, Lephart approached military leaders with an idea for a long-term research project: Study soldiers with the hope that the data could be combined with the information researchers had already learned in the sports world to help the military better prevent and treat injuries. "You've got this problem," Lephart remembered saying. "We've already developed methodology to find a solution to address the problem. Why don't we partner and start doing some research to help you reduce these injuries?"

The NMRL now has six labs at military installations around the country, and the information collected has helped programs like POTFF determine how best to allocate their money. The data has shown some promising trends. According to figures provided by the United States Special Operations Command, prior to 2010, less than 10 percent of students who were injured during the SEALs' Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training class rehabbed their injuries, re-entered the program and became SEALs. Since '12, 30 percent of new SEALs graduated even after suffering injuries in training. Rehabbing more similarly to athletes allowed more prospective SEALs to recover, re-enter the program and graduate. Meanwhile, training like a sports team also appears to be reducing injuries. A study of 14,000 non-battle injuries suffered by Army special forces soldiers between '11 and '13 revealed that 57 percent occurred as soldiers trained on their own, while only six percent occurred as soldiers trained within the structure of the POTFF human performance initiative.

Those who work with the soldiers hope the numbers will get even better as they gain more experience in the military environment. Sanders, who assists the Army's special forces units with their strength training, also believes more experience will allow the military "coaches" to design workouts that will make soldiers more effective in battle. "We have to know what the science is. What is the need of that individual -- the SEAL, the Green Beret, the combat controller? We have to know what their needs are, and we have to train them for that," Sanders said. "What we're faced with is I don't know when the competition is going to be. I don't know what the rules of the game are going to be. And I don't know exactly, physiologically speaking, what my guys are going to need when they get into their jobs."

Sanders and the others who came from the athletic world learned immediately that the "competition" their tactical athletes face is no game. Sometimes, the people they train don't come home. "It's what drives us," Sanders said. Meanwhile, the Air Force's Knerl said he routinely gets inquiries from acquaintances in the sports realm wondering if the military is hiring. The jobs may not necessarily pay as well, but they do offer a sense of mission. "We're doing it because we want to serve," Sanders said. "We want to give back."

The question now is whether the military will continue to provide the resources to offer its elite soldiers the kind of training and rehab capabilities that football players at mid-level FBS programs now regard as a given. Chaby hopes the program can grow, because he believes it will save the country money in the long run. He said he isn't asking for "gold-plated training." He only wants what his fellow special operations soldiers need to do their jobs. "We're going to milk these guys for everything they're worth," Chaby said, "so we owe it to them."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20140430/united-states-military-soldiers-training/#ixzz30QxB5QeW

Citation :: DoD extends CEASAR special mission aircraft in Afghanistan

Gareth Jennings, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

A US Army-operated C-12 CEASAR aircraft. Three such platforms will continue to operate over Afghanistan through to at least April 2015.
Source: US Army

The US Army has awarded Dynamic Aviation Group Inc a USD22.4 million contract in support of the Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance And Reconnaissance (CEASAR) programme, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced in late April.

The contract covers the continued operations, sustainment, and integration of three Beechcraft King Air A200CT communications electronic attack (EA), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, currently deployed in support of Operation 'Enduring Freedom' in Afghanistan.

The CEASAR system mounted in these contractor-owned and government-operated (COGO) aircraft is based on the Raytheon AN/ALQ-227 EA system as fitted to the US Navy's (USN's) Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic warfare (EW) aircraft. It is designed to provide both a communications jamming and an intercept/monitoring capability, and is capable of accommodating new signals intelligence receivers to meet emerging requirements. It is suitable for both manned and unmanned aerial vehicle applications. While the CEASAR aircraft were known to have an EA capability, they were not previously known to be fielded for ISR duties.

According to the DoD, the contract is set to run through to 30 April 2015. Although international combat operations in Afghanistan are set to conclude at the end of 2014, the DoD has identified four key high-end capability gaps for the country's national security forces that will need to be bridged after the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission ends on 30 December. These are air support; intelligence enterprise; special operations; and Afghan security ministry capacity. "International funding and coalition force assistance will be critical to sustaining the [Afghan security] force going forward," the DoD said in a statement released on 30 April. The CEASAR programme would appear to be one of those capabilities that will continue.

Based out of Virginia, Dynamic Aviation Group Inc is a provider of a range of ISR solutions for the DoD. The company's fleet comprises King Airs and Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. Although the CEASAR aircraft are owned by Dynamic Avlease Inc (a member of Dynamic Aviation Group Inc), as COGO assets they are operated by the US Army under the general C-12 Huron designation.

The war in Afghanistan has seen a proliferation of special mission King Air aircraft, known colloquially as 'funnies', and there are now believed to be approximately 25 different versions of such funnies flying today. These include the Beechcraft C-12 Highlighter (full-motion video), C-12 Horned Owl (electro-optical and ground-penetrating radar), C-12R Aerial Reconnaissance Multi-Sensor (ARMS), King Air 350ER TACOP-LIDAR (tactical operations-laser imaging detecting and ranging), King Air 200T Desert Owl (ground-penetrating radar), and the King Air 350 Constant Hawk-Afghanistan (persistent wide-area surveillance for counter-IED operations).

http://www.janes.com/article/37262/dod-extends-ceasar-special-mission-aircraft-in-afghanistan

Citation :: Army investigating helicopter crash on Fort Bliss training area

FORT BLISS -- A helicopter belonging to the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Bragg, N.C., crashed Saturday night at the Fort Bliss training area near Orogrande, N.M., Fort Bliss spokesman Lt. Col. Lee Peters said.

The Army is not releasing if there were injuries among the four-person crew, because an investigation is ongoing, Peters said. But no one was injured on the ground, he said.

A CH-47 Chinook crashed about 8:15 p.m. Saturday. It was doing high-altitude mountainous environment training. No Fort Bliss soldiers, personnel or equipment were involved in the incident.

Investigators from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center from Fort Rucker, Ala., are deploying to investigate. The 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg is also investigating, according to Fort Bragg.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

David Burge may be reached at 546-6126.

http://www.elpasotimes.com

Citation :: Raytheon, US Army certify TALON Laser-Guided Rocket on Apache helicopter

TUCSON, Ariz., May 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and the U.S. Army have completed the certification process for air worthiness release (AWR) of the TALON Laser-Guided Rocket (LGR) on the Apache AH-64D/E Attack helicopter. The AWR certification provides for potential operational employment of the TALON weapon system on U.S. Army Apaches and Apaches in international fleets.

The TALON LGR is a low-cost, digital semi-active laser guidance and control kit co-developed with the United Arab Emirates. TALON integrates directly to the front of the legacy 2.75-inch Hydra-70 unguided rockets.

"With completion of the AWR, we can offer Apache customers an affordable guided-rocket solution that provides capability within the current Hydra-70 rocket firing envelope," said Darryl Kreitman, Raytheon TALON program director. "TALON's architecture and ease of employment make it a low-cost, highly precise weapon for missions in urban environments, counter insurgency and swarming boat defense missions."

TALON requires no hardware or software modifications to the launcher or aircraft platform and can be fired from any aircraft that fires 2.75-inch Hydra-70 unguided rockets using the standard M260/261 launchers.

http://raytheon.mediaroom.com

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Citation :: House Armed Services Committee Unveils $600B Defense Spending Bill

http://www.executivegov.com/2014/05/house-armed-services-panel-unveils-600b-defense-spending-bill/

Citation :: Le Spartan remplace l’Aviocar dans l’US Army

http://www.avionslegendaires.net/2014/05/actu/le-spartan-remplace-laviocar-dans-lus-army/

Citation :: Raytheon's Excalibur Ib moves closer to full rate production

US Army completes Initial Operational Test & Evaluation

YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz., May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and the U.S. Army completed Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) for Excalibur Ib during a series of successful tests. This milestone moves the program one step closer to full rate production. During IOT&E, artillerymen from Fort Riley's 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery fired numerous Excalibur Ib rounds, scoring several target hits and averaging less than two meters miss distance.

"Excalibur's performance and reliability continues to reach new levels in every test event," said Lieutenant Colonel Josh Walsh, U.S. Army Excalibur Product Manager. "This projectile is exceeding all of its key performance parameters, and the Army's artillerymen continue to sing its praises."

Excalibur Ib is the newest variant of the 155mm GPS-guided projectile. IOT&E is administered by the U.S. Army's Test and Evaluation Command and performed by an active-duty artillery battalion in a tactical environment. Raytheon expects the Army to announce a full rate production decision by mid-year.

"Excalibur is a model program," said Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Land Warfare Systems product line. "It is an excellent example of a government-industry team working together to put a critical capability into the hands of our warfighters."

Raytheon is also funding a program to augment the combat-proven Excalibur with a laser spot tracker (LST), giving the weapon a dual-mode GPS/LST guidance capability. The company is planning a live-fire demonstration of Excalibur S this year. Laser guidance will mitigate target location error, enable attack of mobile targets, and can ensure precision effects when GPS is either degraded or denied.

The LST can also be incorporated into the 5-inch Excalibur naval variant the company is also developing. Excalibur N5 will use the same guidance and navigation unit produced for the Ib. Raytheon is planning a live fire demonstration of Excalibur N5 later this year.

http://raytheon.mediaroom.com

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