US to accompany American-flagged vessels in Persian Gulf - Naval Technology: US Navy vessels will accompany American-flagged commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the Arabian Sea, to ensure the security of cargo carriers, US defence officials have announced.
The US Central Command, which is responsible for the country's military operations in the Middle East, has recommended the increased security measures.
The decision comes after Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps navy vessels seized the Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel, Maersk Tigris, when it was in Iranian territorial waters transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Maersk Tigris sent a distress call after an Iranian Navy ship fired shots across its bridge and Iranian personnel boarded the vessel.
"We're now positioned so that, should the Iranians decide that they're going to be stupid, we're ready to respond."
In response, the US navy sent Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut to monitor the situation, along with three smaller coastal patrol ships. Officials said no additional ships are being dispatched to the region.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Navy Moving Closer to Acquiring Devastating Ship-Killing Stealth Missiles - Blog
Navy Moving Closer to Acquiring Devastating Ship-Killing Stealth Missiles - Blog: Top defense contractors are poised to compete in a major industry battle to develop autonomous missiles for the U.S. Navy that can kill enemy ships at sea and demolish air-defense radar sites inland.
Although the Navy has so far released few details on what it plans to buy, missile manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing are keeping a close eye on a program the Navy has dubbed “next-generation strike capability.”
The Navy is seeking funds in its 2016-2020 budget to begin the development of next-generation strike weapons, with the goal to start an industry competition in fiscal year 2017. But the Navy has yet to settle on specific requirements.
In about a decade or so, the next-generation strike capability, or NGSC, would supplement or replace the current Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles. What remains unknown is whether next-generation strike will be a single missile or a mix of weapons that would include ship killers and land-strike missiles that would target enemy air defenses deep inland.
The decision to move forward with next-generation strike comes after years of internal debate on how the Navy should arm itself for potential maritime wars against rising powers like China. The U.S. Pacific Command has singled out a new anti-ship missile as an “urgent operational need.”
Although the Navy has so far released few details on what it plans to buy, missile manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing are keeping a close eye on a program the Navy has dubbed “next-generation strike capability.”
The Navy is seeking funds in its 2016-2020 budget to begin the development of next-generation strike weapons, with the goal to start an industry competition in fiscal year 2017. But the Navy has yet to settle on specific requirements.
In about a decade or so, the next-generation strike capability, or NGSC, would supplement or replace the current Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles. What remains unknown is whether next-generation strike will be a single missile or a mix of weapons that would include ship killers and land-strike missiles that would target enemy air defenses deep inland.
The decision to move forward with next-generation strike comes after years of internal debate on how the Navy should arm itself for potential maritime wars against rising powers like China. The U.S. Pacific Command has singled out a new anti-ship missile as an “urgent operational need.”
Navy Moving Closer to Acquiring Devastating Ship-Killing Stealth Missiles - Blog
Navy Moving Closer to Acquiring Devastating Ship-Killing Stealth Missiles - Blog: Top defense contractors are poised to compete in a major industry battle to develop autonomous missiles for the U.S. Navy that can kill enemy ships at sea and demolish air-defense radar sites inland.
Although the Navy has so far released few details on what it plans to buy, missile manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing are keeping a close eye on a program the Navy has dubbed “next-generation strike capability.”
The Navy is seeking funds in its 2016-2020 budget to begin the development of next-generation strike weapons, with the goal to start an industry competition in fiscal year 2017. But the Navy has yet to settle on specific requirements.
In about a decade or so, the next-generation strike capability, or NGSC, would supplement or replace the current Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles. What remains unknown is whether next-generation strike will be a single missile or a mix of weapons that would include ship killers and land-strike missiles that would target enemy air defenses deep inland.
The decision to move forward with next-generation strike comes after years of internal debate on how the Navy should arm itself for potential maritime wars against rising powers like China. The U.S. Pacific Command has singled out a new anti-ship missile as an “urgent operational need.”
Although the Navy has so far released few details on what it plans to buy, missile manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing are keeping a close eye on a program the Navy has dubbed “next-generation strike capability.”
The Navy is seeking funds in its 2016-2020 budget to begin the development of next-generation strike weapons, with the goal to start an industry competition in fiscal year 2017. But the Navy has yet to settle on specific requirements.
In about a decade or so, the next-generation strike capability, or NGSC, would supplement or replace the current Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missiles. What remains unknown is whether next-generation strike will be a single missile or a mix of weapons that would include ship killers and land-strike missiles that would target enemy air defenses deep inland.
The decision to move forward with next-generation strike comes after years of internal debate on how the Navy should arm itself for potential maritime wars against rising powers like China. The U.S. Pacific Command has singled out a new anti-ship missile as an “urgent operational need.”
USS George H.W. Bush successfully field-tests new MAGIC CARPET software - Naval Technology
USS George H.W. Bush successfully field-tests new MAGIC CARPET software - Naval Technology: The US Navy's Nimitz-class supercarrier USS George H W Bush (CVN 77) has successfully field-tested the new Maritime Augmented Guidance with Integrated Controls for Carrier Approach and Recovery Precision Enabling Technologies (MAGIC CARPET) software.
MAGIC CARPET software has been developed for F/A-18E/F/G aircraft to adjust the jet's speed and angle of attack in relation to the intended landing surface automatically.
Initial tests of the system were carried out at Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River in Maryland, US.
Carrier qualification (CQ) operations and the offload of ordnance to the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) were also carried out by the crew.
US Navy assistant air operations officer lieutenant commander Dan Marzluff said: "This underway marked the first use of the MAGIC CARPET technology on an aircraft carrier. This software greatly reduces misses and wave-offs, which translates into more time on-mission and makes us an overall more effective force.
MAGIC CARPET software has been developed for F/A-18E/F/G aircraft to adjust the jet's speed and angle of attack in relation to the intended landing surface automatically.
Initial tests of the system were carried out at Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River in Maryland, US.
Carrier qualification (CQ) operations and the offload of ordnance to the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12) were also carried out by the crew.
US Navy assistant air operations officer lieutenant commander Dan Marzluff said: "This underway marked the first use of the MAGIC CARPET technology on an aircraft carrier. This software greatly reduces misses and wave-offs, which translates into more time on-mission and makes us an overall more effective force.
Patriot Act Faces Revisions Backed by Both Parties - NYTimes.com
Patriot Act Faces Revisions Backed by Both Parties - NYTimes.com: After more than a decade of wrenching national debate over the intrusiveness of government intelligence agencies, a bipartisan wave of support has gathered to sharply limit the federal government’s sweeps of phone and Internet records.
On Thursday, a bill that would overhaul the Patriot Act and curtail the so-called metadata surveillance exposed by Edward J. Snowden was overwhelmingly passed by the House Judiciary Committee and was heading to almost certain passage in that chamber this month.
An identical bill in the Senate — introduced with the support of five Republicans — is gaining support over the objection of Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, who is facing the prospect of his first policy defeat since ascending this year to majority leader.
The push for reform is the strongest demonstration yet of a decade-long shift from a singular focus on national security at the expense of civil liberties to a new balance in the post-Snowden era.
On Thursday, a bill that would overhaul the Patriot Act and curtail the so-called metadata surveillance exposed by Edward J. Snowden was overwhelmingly passed by the House Judiciary Committee and was heading to almost certain passage in that chamber this month.
An identical bill in the Senate — introduced with the support of five Republicans — is gaining support over the objection of Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, who is facing the prospect of his first policy defeat since ascending this year to majority leader.
The push for reform is the strongest demonstration yet of a decade-long shift from a singular focus on national security at the expense of civil liberties to a new balance in the post-Snowden era.
DARPA Aims to Accelerate Memory Function for Skill Learning
DARPA Aims to Accelerate Memory Function for Skill Learning: A new DARPA program aims to investigate the role of neural "replay" in the formation and recall of memory, with the goal of helping individuals better remember specific episodic events and learned skills. The 24-month fundamental research program, Restoring Active Memory Replay or RAM Replay, is designed to develop novel and rigorous computational methods to help investigators determine not only which brain components matter in memory formation and recall but also how much they matter.
To ensure real-world relevance, those assessments will be validated through performance on DoD-relevant tasks instead of conventional computer-based behavioral paradigms commonly used to assess memory in laboratory settings. New knowledge and paradigms for memory assessment and formation could translate into improved rehabilitation and recovery for injured warfighters challenged by impaired memory.
"Military personnel carry a growing responsibility to recount, report and act upon knowledge gleaned from previous experiences, and how well those experiences are recalled can make all the difference in how well these individuals perform in combat and other challenging situations," said Dr. Justin Sanchez, DARPA program manager. But stored memories are not inert, Sanchez noted, and are subject to subtle forces over time.
To ensure real-world relevance, those assessments will be validated through performance on DoD-relevant tasks instead of conventional computer-based behavioral paradigms commonly used to assess memory in laboratory settings. New knowledge and paradigms for memory assessment and formation could translate into improved rehabilitation and recovery for injured warfighters challenged by impaired memory.
"Military personnel carry a growing responsibility to recount, report and act upon knowledge gleaned from previous experiences, and how well those experiences are recalled can make all the difference in how well these individuals perform in combat and other challenging situations," said Dr. Justin Sanchez, DARPA program manager. But stored memories are not inert, Sanchez noted, and are subject to subtle forces over time.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Taliban Gains Pull U.S. Units Back Into Fight in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com
Taliban Gains Pull U.S. Units Back Into Fight in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com: Months after President Obama formally declared that the United States’ long war against the Taliban was over in Afghanistan, the American military is regularly conducting airstrikes against low-level insurgent forces and sending Special Operations troops directly into harm’s way under the guise of “training and advising.”
In justifying the continued presence of the American forces in Afghanistan, administration officials have insisted that the troops’ role is relegated to counterterrorism, defined as tracking down the remnants of Al Qaeda and other global terrorist groups, and training and advising the Afghan security forces who have assumed the bulk of the fight.
In public, officials have emphasized that the Taliban are not being targeted unless it is for “force protection” — where the insurgents were immediately threatening American forces.
In justifying the continued presence of the American forces in Afghanistan, administration officials have insisted that the troops’ role is relegated to counterterrorism, defined as tracking down the remnants of Al Qaeda and other global terrorist groups, and training and advising the Afghan security forces who have assumed the bulk of the fight.
In public, officials have emphasized that the Taliban are not being targeted unless it is for “force protection” — where the insurgents were immediately threatening American forces.
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