DefenceTalkThe U.S. Navy got its first look at the upgraded MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned system when Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered its first MQ-8C system this month. Northrop Grumman is the Navy’s prime contractor for the MQ-8 Fire Scout program of record. The company delivered the first MQ-8C aircraft to the Navy in early July […]https://www.defencetalk.com/first-upgraded-mq-8c-fire-scout-delivered-to-us-navy-48544/

DefenceTalkThe US military has fewer ships to send as reinforcements in a crisis because of budget cuts that have slashed funds for maintenance and training, the Navy’s chief warned Friday. The Navy will maintain one aircraft carrier and one amphibious ship group in the Middle East and in the Pacific, even under multi-billion dollar automatic […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-will-have-fewer-reinforcements-in-a-crisis-48540/

DefenceTalkFollowing the decision earlier this year to proceed with full-rate production, the Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) a $113.7 million advance acquisition contract for long lead materials and related support for five full-rate production Lot 2 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. “This contract award, along with OSD’s full rate production decision, is a testament […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-awards-northrop-contract-for-e-2d-advanced-hawkeyes-48535/

DefenceTalkLockheed Martin’s Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) recently completed four engineering verification flight tests, as part of the U.S. Navy’s System Design and Development program. During the tests conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., four projectiles were fired at various hard and soft targets located 45 nautical miles downrange. All four targets were […]https://www.defencetalk.com/lockheed-lrlap-projectile-scores-four-of-four-in-tests-for-us-navy-48363/

DefenceTalkBy Rear Adm. Tom Moore, Program Executive Officer, Aircraft Carriers This year has been an exciting and rewarding year for aircraft carriers. In December 2012, we said good-bye to probably our most legendary aircraft carrier and held a formal inactivation ceremony for USS Enterprise (CVN 65). She is now at Huntington Ingalls-Newport News to begin […]https://www.defencetalk.com/cvn-78-a-true-leap-ahead-for-the-navy-and-naval-aviation-48342/

DefenceTalkAfter an extensive testing period, the U.S. Navy announced July 1 in an Initial Operational Test and Evaluation report that its new patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, P-8A Poseidon, was found “operationally effective, operationally suitable, and ready for fleet introduction.” “This milestone and accomplishment is possible due to the great team of individuals who worked diligently […]https://www.defencetalk.com/p-8a-passes-initial-operational-test-and-evaluation-48320/

DefenceTalkPatrol Coastal (PC) ships USS Tempest (PC 2), USS Squall (PC 7) and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) arrived pierside in Bahrain July 3, as part of a realignment that will see a total of eight PCs permanently stationed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). USS Hurricane (PC 3) and USS Monsoon (PC […]https://www.defencetalk.com/5th-fleet-pc-force-grows-to-eight-ships-48287/

DefenceTalkIn a matter of a few weeks, the U.S. Navy has begun a journey that could well revolutionize airborne operations at sea. On May 8, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) was successfully launched by catapult from the deck of the USS George H.W Bush. The UAS itself, the X-47B built by Northrop Grumman, was developed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-navy-takes-first-steps-into-the-world-of-carrier-based-uas-48289/

DefenceTalkWorking with Lockheed Martin and the UK Ministry of Defence, we have linked simulation facilities across five UK sites to create a common synthetic environment to evaluate F-35 interoperability with other UK military platforms. Linking Air and Maritime A recent trial saw Royal Navy, RAF and US Navy pilots operating the F-35 fighter jet during […]https://www.defencetalk.com/ukus-trials-review-f-35-interoperability-in-a-simulated-maritime-scenario-48193/

DefenceTalkITT Exelis has been awarded a contract valued at more than $125 million by Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Md., to deliver the latest variant of the AN/ALQ-214 airborne jammer. The AN/ALQ-214 is a subsystem of the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures (IDECM) suite. Under this contract, Exelis will engage in the second full-rate […]https://www.defencetalk.com/exelis-to-provide-us-navy-aircraft-with-advanced-electronic-countermeasures-48064/