northrop grumman

Navy Questions Future Viability of Super Hornets; Recommends Against New Buy

F/A-18F Super Hornets, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, fly over the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) in the Atlantic Ocean, May 9, 2019. US Navy Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If Congress mandates the Navy keep buying the current F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, the airframes will be in the fleet into the 2050s. But by then, the fourth-generation fighters likely couldn’t stand up to future threats, a service official said Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, who leads the chief of...

https://news.usni.org/2021/08/03/navy-questions-future-viability-of-super-hornets-recommends-against-new-buy

Navy Weighing How to Include More Capabilities on MQ-25A Beyond Tanking

The MQ-25 T1 test asset refuels the Navy F/A-18 during a flight June 4 at MidAmerica Airport in Illinois. Boeing Photo

Lawmakers are asking the Navy to start adding capabilities to the emerging MQ-25A Stingray unmanned carrier tankers that are set to join the fleet in the next few years, service officials said.

While lawmakers have pushed the service to slow down their planned unmanned surface vessels with a series of land-based testing sites, the opposite is true for unmanned aviation, deputy...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/15/navy-weighing-how-to-include-more-capabilities-on-mq-25a-beyond-tanking

MQ-25A Unmanned Aerial Tanker Refuels F/A-18 Hornet in Successful First Test

MQ-25 T1 test asset refuels a Navy F/A-18 during a flight on June 4,2021 at MidAmerica Airport in Illinois. This flight demonstrated that the MQ-25 Stingray can fulfill its tanker mission using the Navy’s standard probe-and-drogue aerial refueling method. Boeing Photo

A prototype unmanned aerial tanker refueled a F/A-18 Hornet fighter last week in a first of its kind test ahead of introducing drones to the Navy’s carrier flight decks, Naval Air Systems Command and Boeing announced on Friday.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2021/06/07/mq-25a-unmanned-aerial-tanker-refuels-f-a-18-hornet-in-successful-first-test

First SEWIP Block 3 Electronic Attack System Set for Land Testing Later This Year

AN/SLQ-32(V)7 Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program Block 3 array in 2019. Northrop Grumman Photo

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. – With limited and costly ways for a surface warship to physically take out an incoming anti-ship missile, the Navy has been pursuing more ways a warship could use the power of electronic spectrum to splash threats.
To that end, the first array of a massive update of the Navy’s surface electronic warfare systems is preparing for its ground tests later this year. The...

https://news.usni.org/2021/03/17/first-sewip-block-3-electronic-attack-system-set-for-land-testing-later-this-year

Hyten: U.S. ‘Not In A Very Good Position’ Due to Chinese and Russian Missile Capabilities

Chinese DF-26 missiles on display during a military parade in Tiananmen Square. Photo via globalsecurity.org

China, Russia, North Korea and Iran’s continued investment in modernizing cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles has left the United States “not in a very good position,” the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs said Tuesday.

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, speaking in a Center for Strategic and International Studies online forum, said “we need [to] have a strategic deterrence review” that...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/24/hyten-u-s-not-in-a-very-good-position-due-to-chinese-and-russian-missile-capabilities

France Finalizes Purchase of 3 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Aircraft

An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with VAW-120 is refueled in the air. US Navy Photo

France will begin upgrading its E-2C Hawkeye fleet with the purchase of three E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, paving the way to a more capable carrier aviation fleet that’s more interoperable with the U.S. Navy.

Naval Air Systems Command announced this week that France became the second foreign customer for the E-2D when it signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance last month to procure three E-2Ds from the U.S. Navy, for a maximum...

https://news.usni.org/2021/01/06/france-finalizes-purchase-of-3-e-2d-advanced-hawkeye-aircraft

VIDEO: MQ-25A Stingray Prototype Makes First Flight With Aerial Refueling Stores

Boeing tested MQ-25A T1 prototype with a an aerial refueling store (ARS) on Dec. 9, 2020. Boeing Photo

Boeing’s prototype for its naval unmanned aerial tanker proved this week it can operate with the refueling system that will give gas to the carrier air wing, the company announced.

Taking off from the company’s test site at the MidAmerica Airport in Illinois near St. Louis, Mo., the MQ-25A Stingray prototype flew for two and a half hours with an aerial refueling store (ARS) slung under its wing.

“...

https://news.usni.org/2020/12/10/video-mq-25a-stingray-prototype-makes-first-flight-with-aerial-refueling-stores

CNO Gilday: Navy Needs ‘Fundamental Change’ in How it Develops Fighters

An F/A-18 Super Hornet, attached to embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, breaks the sound barrier during an air power demonstration, showcasing firepower capability and maneuverability while at sea in the Indo-Pacific region in 2020. US Navy Photo

A decade from now, the backbone of the Navy’s tactical air fleet will begin to retire with no clear successor in line yet.

Earlier this year, the service signaled the end of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet program and zeroed out the production line past 2021...

https://news.usni.org/2020/11/09/cno-gilday-navy-needs-fundamental-change-in-how-it-develops-fighters

Introduction to the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance Program

The following is the Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Air Force Next-Generation Air Dominance Program: An Introduction.

From the report

On September 15, 2020, U.S. Air Force acquisition executive Dr. Will Roper announced that the Air Force had flown a full-scale flight demonstrator as part of the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
The announcement came as a surprise to many observers, both as the NGAD program was believed to be an early-phase technology development...

https://news.usni.org/2020/10/06/introduction-to-the-air-forces-next-generation-air-dominance-program

VIDEO: Aerial Refueling for E-2Ds Will Expand Reach of Carrier Strike Groups

An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with VAW-126 is refueled in the air. US Navy Photo

The Navy is bringing an aerial refueling capability to its E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command and control fleet, with the first operational squadron certifying its pilots to refuel with Air Force tankers.

The airborne command and control planes have been in operation in the carrier air wing since 2015 but have, until now, not been able to refuel in the air. When the planes get low on fuel, regardless of what targets they’re...

https://news.usni.org/2020/09/01/video-aerial-refueling-for-e-2ds-will-expand-reach-of-carrier-strike-groups

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