VAW-121 Hawkeye Down

(Breaking) Getting early reports that an E-2C Hawkeye assigned to the VAW-121 (“Bluetails”) is down in the North Arabian Sea.  The crew evidently conducted a controlled bailout and three of the four have been recovered by SAR efforts.   Fourth remains missing after four hours. I can only speculate on what the cause of the mishap…

The Problem With Proliferation: Cruise Missile Edition

March 2011.   The still of the pre-dawn darkness is only slightly disturbed by the passage of a container ship.   Like the many thousands of others like her plying the ocean’s ways, this one’s cargo is neatly stacked on the deck — ISO shipping containers in a multitude of colors and shippers markings.  …

Красная звезда вторник: Red Star Tuesday — Overhauling Russia’s Air Force

The average age of aircraft in the Russian Air Force is about 25 years, so the defense ministry is working up an ambitious plan to replace a major portion while eliminating some inventory by retirement, all by 2020.  Fifteen hundred aircraft of which 350 are to be new production combat aircraft over the next ten…

Aegis BMD: “Build a Little, Test a Little, Learn a Lot”

Rear Admiral Meyer’s philosophy of “Build a Little, Test a Little, Learn a Lot” drove the testing and milestones of the Aegis system. Having witnessed problems with existing missile systems related to a lack of testing, tests that incorporated too many objectives, and failed system integration efforts requiring massive “get well” programs, he drove the…