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U.S. Navy News
Railgun
Navy Railgun Ground Test
U.S. Navy engineers at the Office of Naval Research prepared and test-fired a slug from their rail gun in a 2008 test firing. On Friday,
December 9, the ONR will attempt to break its own record.
The next step: turning the test versions of the railgun into an actual gun. Current firings have been limited to Naval test facilities on
dry land.
The future of the railgun looked in doubt last summer. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted in April of 2011 to eliminate
funding for two of the Navy’s most futuristic (and by the same token least concrete) weapons: the free electron laser, essentially a
super-powered death ray, and the railgun.
That changed on Dec. 31, 2011, when President Obama finally signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2012, or H.R. 1540. A section in that bill demands an update on the feasibility of the electromagnetic railgun, but doesn't kill the
weapon outright.
Instead it delays the end, requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a report this summer on the feasibility of developing and
deploying the electromagnetic rail gun system to be used for either land- or ship-based force protection.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/30/incredible-sci-fi-railgun-takes-another-step-toward-reality/#ixzz1l3wFKO4i
F/A-37 Tests
Those of you who were in the service will appreciate this. The specs on this new fighter jet are awesome. Talk about whip lash!
The plane in these pictures is still officially the 'Air Vehicle Number 1', a prototype, on board the USS George Washington CVN-73 for
catapult fit checks. Not exactly still Top Secret, but certainly not yet made public.
It will be known as the F/A-37. Although specs are classified, it is believed to be Mach 3.5 (top speed in the Mach 4 range) super-
cruise stealth fighter/bomber/interceptor with approximately a 4,000nm range. Awesome!
Check out the Navy test pilot in the cockpit of the F/A-37... LT Kara Wade.
U.S. Navy Drill Team in Norway
http://www.whc.net/rjones/USN/USN_team.html
Railgun
Navy Railgun Ground Test
U.S. Navy engineers at the Office of Naval Research prepared and test-fired a slug from their rail gun in a 2008 test firing. On Friday,
December 9, the ONR will attempt to break its own record.
The next step: turning the test versions of the railgun into an actual gun. Current firings have been limited to Naval test facilities on
dry land.
The future of the railgun looked in doubt last summer. The Senate Armed Services Committee voted in April of 2011 to eliminate
funding for two of the Navy’s most futuristic (and by the same token least concrete) weapons: the free electron laser, essentially a
super-powered death ray, and the railgun.
That changed on Dec. 31, 2011, when President Obama finally signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2012, or H.R. 1540. A section in that bill demands an update on the feasibility of the electromagnetic railgun, but doesn't kill the
weapon outright.
Instead it delays the end, requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a report this summer on the feasibility of developing and
deploying the electromagnetic rail gun system to be used for either land- or ship-based force protection.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/30/incredible-sci-fi-railgun-takes-another-step-toward-reality/#ixzz1l3wFKO4i
F/A-37 Tests
Those of you who were in the service will appreciate this. The specs on this new fighter jet are awesome. Talk about whip lash!
The plane in these pictures is still officially the 'Air Vehicle Number 1', a prototype, on board the USS George Washington CVN-73 for
catapult fit checks. Not exactly still Top Secret, but certainly not yet made public.
It will be known as the F/A-37. Although specs are classified, it is believed to be Mach 3.5 (top speed in the Mach 4 range) super-
cruise stealth fighter/bomber/interceptor with approximately a 4,000nm range. Awesome!
Check out the Navy test pilot in the cockpit of the F/A-37... LT Kara Wade.
U.S. Navy Drill Team in Norway
http://www.whc.net/rjones/USN/USN_team.html
U.S. Air Force News
The venerable A-10 tank killer aircraft is taking a hit of its own as part of the Defense Department’s decision to eliminate six of the Air
Force’s tactical air squadrons and one training squadron.
Air National Guard squadrons will bear the brunt of the losses. Three of the five A-10 squadrons going away will be Guard units. Air
Force leaders plan to eliminate one Reserve and one active duty squadron.
The Air Force will also decommission one Guard F-16 squadron and one F-15 training squadron.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. James Winnefeld confirmed the type of aircraft and duty status of each squadron during an
editorial board meeting with Gannett Government Media reporters, said Lt. Col. Patrick Seiber, Winnefeld’s spokesman.
Seiber said the vice chairman would not name the specific squadrons the Air Force plans to eliminate. Air Force officials contacted
Monday declined to name the squadrons.
“The Air Force plans to lay out the entire force structure announcement in the coming week,” said Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek, an Air Force
spokeswoman.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta first announced the Air Force would get rid of seven squadrons Jan. 26 as he highlighted that and
other reductions the Defense Department would make to account for $487 billion reduction in growth to defense spending over the next
decade.
“The review determined that we could eliminate six of the 60 [Air Force tactical air squadrons] as well as one training squadron. None
of that will impact our ability to dominate the skies,” Panetta said.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said the pilots in the decommissioned squadrons would transfer to other units, including
those that fly unmanned aircraft like MQ-9 Reapers and MQ-1 Predators.
“What we are doing is re-missioning the units,” Schwartz told reporters at the Pentagon Jan. 27. “In other words, for example, a unit
that was operating manned aircraft might transition to a remotely piloted aircraft mission. And so, their fundamental skills will still be
employed but in a different way.”
A source with the Air National Guard, who asked not to be identified, said he expected the Air Force to target three A-10 Guard units
that just recently transitioned from F-16s to A-10s as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process – known as BRAC.
The Guard source said he expected the Air Force to close the 107th Fighter Squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich.; the
163rd Fighter Squadron at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station, Ind.; and the 184th Fighter Squadron at Ebbing Air National Guard
Base, Ark.
The Guard source also said the Iowa National Guard’s 124th Fighter Squadron, which flies F-16s, is a target for decommissioning.
The Air Force will reduce its end strength by 10,000 Airmen to account for shrinking infrastructure, Schwartz said. It’s unclear if the
service will target Airmen assigned to the lost squadrons.
First built in 1975, the A-10 Thunderbolt II – better known as the “Warthog” -- is known as the infantryman’s favorite Air Force aircraft
because of its ability to fly low and slow over a battlefield providing close air support.
The Air Force flies 189 A-10s in the active duty, 108 in the Air National Guard, and another 48 in Reserves. Air Force leaders plan to
phase out the A-10 and allow the F-35 Lightning II to take its mission sets once it enters the Air Force fleet in numbers.
But the F-35 program has experienced problems and Panetta announced in his budget “preview” that the Pentagon would delay it once
again.
The venerable A-10 tank killer aircraft is taking a hit of its own as part of the Defense Department’s decision to eliminate six of the Air
Force’s tactical air squadrons and one training squadron.
Air National Guard squadrons will bear the brunt of the losses. Three of the five A-10 squadrons going away will be Guard units. Air
Force leaders plan to eliminate one Reserve and one active duty squadron.
The Air Force will also decommission one Guard F-16 squadron and one F-15 training squadron.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. James Winnefeld confirmed the type of aircraft and duty status of each squadron during an
editorial board meeting with Gannett Government Media reporters, said Lt. Col. Patrick Seiber, Winnefeld’s spokesman.
Seiber said the vice chairman would not name the specific squadrons the Air Force plans to eliminate. Air Force officials contacted
Monday declined to name the squadrons.
“The Air Force plans to lay out the entire force structure announcement in the coming week,” said Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek, an Air Force
spokeswoman.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta first announced the Air Force would get rid of seven squadrons Jan. 26 as he highlighted that and
other reductions the Defense Department would make to account for $487 billion reduction in growth to defense spending over the next
decade.
“The review determined that we could eliminate six of the 60 [Air Force tactical air squadrons] as well as one training squadron. None
of that will impact our ability to dominate the skies,” Panetta said.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said the pilots in the decommissioned squadrons would transfer to other units, including
those that fly unmanned aircraft like MQ-9 Reapers and MQ-1 Predators.
“What we are doing is re-missioning the units,” Schwartz told reporters at the Pentagon Jan. 27. “In other words, for example, a unit
that was operating manned aircraft might transition to a remotely piloted aircraft mission. And so, their fundamental skills will still be
employed but in a different way.”
A source with the Air National Guard, who asked not to be identified, said he expected the Air Force to target three A-10 Guard units
that just recently transitioned from F-16s to A-10s as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process – known as BRAC.
The Guard source said he expected the Air Force to close the 107th Fighter Squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich.; the
163rd Fighter Squadron at Fort Wayne Air National Guard Station, Ind.; and the 184th Fighter Squadron at Ebbing Air National Guard
Base, Ark.
The Guard source also said the Iowa National Guard’s 124th Fighter Squadron, which flies F-16s, is a target for decommissioning.
The Air Force will reduce its end strength by 10,000 Airmen to account for shrinking infrastructure, Schwartz said. It’s unclear if the
service will target Airmen assigned to the lost squadrons.
First built in 1975, the A-10 Thunderbolt II – better known as the “Warthog” -- is known as the infantryman’s favorite Air Force aircraft
because of its ability to fly low and slow over a battlefield providing close air support.
The Air Force flies 189 A-10s in the active duty, 108 in the Air National Guard, and another 48 in Reserves. Air Force leaders plan to
phase out the A-10 and allow the F-35 Lightning II to take its mission sets once it enters the Air Force fleet in numbers.
But the F-35 program has experienced problems and Panetta announced in his budget “preview” that the Pentagon would delay it once
again.
Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs: The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) has designed a new tool
for state veterans to have better access to services. "Stand Up and Be Counted" is a new online tool launched in January that
encourages all Illinois veterans to submit their contact information to IDVA online. Veterans who register through the website will be
contacted within 48 hours by a local Veterans Service Officer, who assists veterans, their dependents and survivors navigate federal,
state, and local benefits and resources. VSOs are trained to provide accurate, up-to-date information, answer questions, and assist
with paperwork and filing of claims for federal, state and local benefits free of charge. Assistance includes compensation benefits,
document assistance, survivor and burial benefits, educational benefits, employment benefits, real estate and permits, referral
assistants, and other services. For more information, refer to http://www.veterans.illinois.gov or call 1-800-437-9824.
In a separate initiative, the Illinois Department of Veterans‘ Affairs (IDVA) has awarded nearly $10 million since 2006vto help Illinois
nonprofits deliver supportive programs to local veterans. ―Win or lose, people who play the Illinois Lottery‘s Veterans Cash scratch-off
game are helping our state‘s veterans,‖ said IDVA Director Erica Borggren. Championed by now-Governor Pat Quinn in 2006,
Veterans Cash has funded programs for veterans throughout Illinois. All proceeds from ticket sales are deposited into the Illinois
Veterans Assistance Fund, making it the first Illinois Lottery ticket for which 100 percent of the net proceeds are dedicated to support
Illinois veterans. On a quarterly basis, IDVA‘s Veterans Cash Grant Committee reviews applications and awards grants to groups that
help veterans address PTSD, homelessness, health insurance costs, long-term care and disability benefits. To date, more than 160
organizations have shared nearly $10 million in funding. To apply for a grant, download an application at the Veterans Cash website
http://www2.illinois.gov/veterans/programs/Pages/veterans-cash.aspx.For more information about IDVA and its programs, visit the
agency‘s homepage: http://www2.illinois.gov/veterans/Pages/default.aspx.
for state veterans to have better access to services. "Stand Up and Be Counted" is a new online tool launched in January that
encourages all Illinois veterans to submit their contact information to IDVA online. Veterans who register through the website will be
contacted within 48 hours by a local Veterans Service Officer, who assists veterans, their dependents and survivors navigate federal,
state, and local benefits and resources. VSOs are trained to provide accurate, up-to-date information, answer questions, and assist
with paperwork and filing of claims for federal, state and local benefits free of charge. Assistance includes compensation benefits,
document assistance, survivor and burial benefits, educational benefits, employment benefits, real estate and permits, referral
assistants, and other services. For more information, refer to http://www.veterans.illinois.gov or call 1-800-437-9824.
In a separate initiative, the Illinois Department of Veterans‘ Affairs (IDVA) has awarded nearly $10 million since 2006vto help Illinois
nonprofits deliver supportive programs to local veterans. ―Win or lose, people who play the Illinois Lottery‘s Veterans Cash scratch-off
game are helping our state‘s veterans,‖ said IDVA Director Erica Borggren. Championed by now-Governor Pat Quinn in 2006,
Veterans Cash has funded programs for veterans throughout Illinois. All proceeds from ticket sales are deposited into the Illinois
Veterans Assistance Fund, making it the first Illinois Lottery ticket for which 100 percent of the net proceeds are dedicated to support
Illinois veterans. On a quarterly basis, IDVA‘s Veterans Cash Grant Committee reviews applications and awards grants to groups that
help veterans address PTSD, homelessness, health insurance costs, long-term care and disability benefits. To date, more than 160
organizations have shared nearly $10 million in funding. To apply for a grant, download an application at the Veterans Cash website
http://www2.illinois.gov/veterans/programs/Pages/veterans-cash.aspx.For more information about IDVA and its programs, visit the
agency‘s homepage: http://www2.illinois.gov/veterans/Pages/default.aspx.