US Air Force reports lower B-21 costs after negotiations with Northrop

On the same subject

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  April 29, 2019 | International, Naval

  China’s latest class of warship makes its public debut

  By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia – the first of a new class of guided missile destroyer from China made an appearance at a naval review to mark the 70th Anniversary of the country's navy. The Type 055 destroyer, named the Nanchang, was among several ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy or PLAN that took part in the naval review held off the northern Chinese city of Qingdao with Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance. China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, a refurbished Soviet-era ship, was also in attendance along with 18 warships from 13 other nations including Australia, India and Japan. The United States declined an invitation to send its ships to the naval review, and France was disinvited after its frigate Vendémiaire sailed through the Taiwan Straits prior to the event, Reuters reported. The Nanchang was launched at Shanghai's Jiangnan Changxin shipyard in June 2017. The Type 055, which is classed as a cruiser by the Pentagon, measures almost 590 feet and displaces 10,000 tons according to specifications released by China — although some naval analysts believe that figure is an underestimation. Each ship is also equipped with a total of 112 vertical launch cells that are capable of launching either surface-to-air or anti-ship missiles, and fitted with a modern sensor suite that includes phased array radars. Speaking at a regular press briefing conducted by China's Ministry National Defense on Thursday, Senior Col. Ren Guoqiang confirmed that the Nanchang is on the verge of completing sea trials and will be officially handed over to the PLAN later this year. In addition to the Nanchang, recent open-source satellite and aerial imagery show that seven other Type 055s are in various states of construction and fitting out at the two major Chinese naval shipyards in Shanghai and Dalian. The latter is also where China's first domestically-built carrier, which is based closely on the Liaoning, is currently being completed. Further underscoring the astonishing pace of China's ongoing naval buildup, the photos also show five other smaller Type 052D destroyers undergoing construction at Dalian with six more being built at Shanghai. The latter shipyard has four more destroyers of an unknown sub-type being put together, along with what are reportedly the modules for China's third and largest aircraft carrier. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2019/04/26/chinas-latest-class-of-warship-makes-its-public-debut/

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  August 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  How to navigate the cycle of autonomy hype

  Instead of assuming that autonomy will offer an obvious panacea for perennial challenges, it’s smart to take a step back.

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  September 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Land

  Planes, tanks and helicopters: Equipment shortfalls are hurting the Guard’s readiness, leaders say

  By: Kyle Rempfer NEW ORLEANS — The Tennessee National Guard currently has trainers in Ukraine, armored units in Poland, aviators in Kosovo, and other airmen and soldiers deployed across Southeast Asia and the Middle East. That's to say nothing of domestic missions like disaster relief for which they are also responsible. Although those missions are broad, Tennessee Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Max Haston said his guardsmen are well trained to accomplish their tasks. Still, readiness shortfalls on big-ticket items strain their capabilities. “The biggest thing that does impact readiness ... is ensuring we have a common platform across our services,” Haston told Military Times. “We've done a terrific job of taking care of our soldiers with the fielding of individual personal equipment — ballistic vests, helmets, all that stuff. ... But it's the major end items. It's the tanks, the Bradley [fighting vehicles], the helicopters and the planes," he said. Haston explained that readiness issues aren't exclusive to Tennessee Guardsmen. He said they were “enterprise-wide," and boiled down to “dollars and cents.” Readiness concerns aren't something the Guard cooked up on its own. It was the first issue Defense Secretary Jim Mattis brought up during his speech at the 2018 National Guard Association of the United States conference in New Orleans last month. “The way we're going to address the challenges we face is we're going to restore readiness across our force, and you [the National Guard] are considered every bit a part of that force as any active element," Mattis said. “We cannot be unprepared when destiny in the form of mobilization day taps us on the shoulder, for then it will be too late." While his words were welcomed, Guard leadership was still left wondering what the next step will be while they juggle missions abroad with training constraints at home due to outdated equipment. One example: the Tennessee Army National Guard's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment operates M1A1 Abrams AIM SA tanks, according to Haston. However, active-duty Army units, by and large, are operating the newer M1A2 SEP variant. Full article: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/09/06/planes-tanks-and-helicopters-equipment-shortfalls-are-hurting-the-guards-readiness-leaders-say