V22 Osprey

The after taking 25 years to develop the F22 Raptor from conception to operational certification the United States Air Force (USAF) produced the world’s first 5th Generation air superiority fighter. (site) This revolutionary fighter plane leveraged its very low observable stealth (VLO) and thrust-vectoring and digital fly by wire technology, to produce an extremely fast, agile and deadly air to air combatant. (GEO P 2) However, in 2009 Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, (SECDEF) convinced the President (POTUS) and Congress to truncate the F22 program, leaving the USAF with less than 187 operational F22 Raptors, this number was well short of the 381 the USAF estimated they needed to meet their mission requirements. (AWC 1/ site) Gates made his controversial decision based on three factors. This essay will explore these factors and explain how the 2009 U.S strategic environment, the overall cost of the F22 and Secretary Gates’ desire to change the Department of Defense (DOD) all lead to the decision to limit the production of the F22 Raptor at 187 aircraft.

The HAWK missile system has a fairly short history compared to many other weapons and Units. At only 35 years of Army service, it was short lived and underutilized. The missile system spent most of its time in the Army National Guard (ARNG) rather than active service. This was mainly due to its high mobility and ease of deployment, making it less cost effective to have active component units. HAWK is a highly praised Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system, but is no longer in the U.S. Army’s arsenal. However, countries such as Sweden, Japan and several Asian Pacific countries are still utilizing

During my tenure with NTB, I have undertaken complex engineering and project work within the boundaries of the Navy Technical Regulatory Framework (NTRF) to successfully deliver technical products and services for the acquisition and sustainment of Minor War Vessels (MWV) for the RAN. In the naval context, these includes specification and validation of compliance with Platform System Requirements for the current and future ships through the development of material specification for maritime capability certification assurance process and provide technical naval system advice to naval community that is accurate, on time and pragmatic.

d. Logistical Supportability: (1) Deployability: required resources (less is better), (2) Infrastructure Needs: in-country evaluation of runways, road, bridges and other permanent structures which are required for combat operations (more is better), (3) Supportability: evaluation of required classes of supply and combat support personnel (less is better)

Marine Systems: It designs and builds submarines, surface combatants, auxiliary ships and large commercial vessels.

The design reduced overall length during transport and storage. The nose section mounted using hinges to permit easy access to the avionics and other mission equipment. The center section incorporated the wing-box, fuel tanks engine and landing gear. Because of its dual, hover and conventional aircraft flight requirements, Burt designed a complex structural arrangement. The Allison C20 gas turbine engine, attached to a combining transmission was integrated into the center fuselage. Drive shafts from the combining transmission pass through the center of the wing and connect to transmissions (Bell 206 tail rotor gear boxes) in nacelles at each wing-tip. The cantilevered wing box experienced very diverse structural loads during hover and conventional forward flight, and an additional challenge required the wing-box wet fuel tank preserve the dry integrity of the transmission drive shaft conduits. The removal of the entire top part of the fuselage provided access to the engine and center gear box. The removable tail was attached using a lightweight screw row. The tail contained various antenna and actuators for the pitch control surfaces. Scaled Composites installed the hard points and mounts

NAVAIR is headquartered in Patuxent River, MD, but has eight different locations throughout the continental United States that provide continuous Atlantic and Pacific fleet support. NAVAIR is commanded by Vice Admiral Paul Grosklags; however, Mr. Garry Newton is the senior most civilian member (NAVAIR Leadership). The joint operations between military and civilian personnel allows for ideas to be maximized and fair in distribution to the public. Plus, the delegation of leadership is vital to the success, improvement, and development of any individual or organization. According to the Department of Defense in the United States and NAVAIR, NAVAIR’s mission is to “provide full life-cycle support of naval aviation aircraft, weapons and systems that are operated by Sailors and Marines” (About NAVAIR). The significance of this is that Sailors and Marines are guaranteed continuous support from NAVAIR. With constant support, Sailors and Marines are able to perform their duties on naval ships, land-based operations, and naval aircraft with excellence. NAVAIR explicitly states that “because we develop, deliver, and sustain aircraft, weapons, and systems – on time, on cost, with proven capability and reliability – Sailors and Marines succeed in every mission and return safely home” (About NAVAIR). Since NAVAIR provides diverse support to the Navy and Marine Corps, wartime

In September 2011, the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee voted to cancel the Army and Marine Corps' Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) in their version of the fiscal year 2012 defense bill (Munoz, 2011). This measure could have completely shut down efforts to replace a thirty year-old fleet of Humvees, loyal but potentially outmoded tactical wheeled vehicles. The Army's Modernized Expanded Capacity Vehicle program has been a project set to replace the High Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) family in the works for years. The project, however, continues to be stymied by budgetary constraints. Per-vehicle costs for the JLTV begin at $250,000 and are likely to climb, as Lockheed-Martin secured a preliminary contract for engineering, design, and development. The high cost of the JLTV does preclude it from completely replacing the HMMWV, and yet cost does not preclude the JLTV from supplementing the Army's fleet. A middle-ground solution is the best method of maximizing initial investments, while also banking on the robustness of national security.

The need for a weapon that is mobile, as well as perform a much needed defensive service, presented the opportunity to create the 3 Inch M1918 Anti-Aircraft Gun. “The 3-Inch M1918 AA gun is a derivative of the 3-Inch M1898 that is too large to be feasibly mobile” (Ordnance, T.O, 1920). While this gun cannot be fired while being towed behind a vehicle, it is transportable enough to move to an area that needs protection from the ever-growing aircraft attack threat.

help with the proper functioning of the boat or ship. They have specific duties in the operations

During the overall restructuring of the United States Army current active Army units began to transform into modular organizations to enhance the capability to perform its mission by making them a quickly deployable, flexible and lethal unit than had been previously structured. Therefore, Combat Aviation Brigades were developed and are multi-functional, allowing for a combination of attack helicopters, reconnaissance helicopters, medium lift helicopters, heavy lift helicopters, and medical evacuation capabilities. It was decided that aviation units will not be a portion of a larger unit such as combat brigades and will continue to reside at the division level due to resource constraints. The various helicopters that are to be

The V22-Osprey was an aircraft that began as a figment of the imagination of the US armed forces and related parties. It is a tiltrotor aircraft that can takeoff vertically, considered a VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing), as well as an STOL (short takeoff and landing), while also being capable of converting into a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. The aircraft was a quite costly and deadly "research project" that began in 1982 that has since gone into production and use. These factors made it a controversial project at time, however its benefits have surpassed the challenges presented

A few decades ago, the military needed an upgrade on its cargo and troop carrying capabilities. In the 1950’s, the less modern World War II cargo aircraft were the C-190, C-47, and C-46’s. These did not meet the requirements for a continuously modernizing U.S. Military. (Simpson, M. (2011, October 19)). Therefore, in 1951, the U.S. Air Force put out a General Operating Requirement for a new airframe that will meet specifications in the category’s of how many passengers or paratroopers it will hold, as well as size

On the basis of United States Code, Title 10, and joint doctrine, the Marine Corps, in coordination and cooperation with the Navy, has made logistical self-sufficiency an essential element of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) expeditionary warfighting capabilities. This means that the Marine Corps’ logistics mission, at all commands and support levels, is to generate MAGTFs that are rapidly deployable, self-reliant, self-sustaining, and flexible and that can rapidly reconstitute (Logistics Operations, 1999). While the Marine Corps is unmatched in its ability to be the most rapid responding force across the globe, a deficiency exists that should be addressed. Over the past decade, there have been numerous successful innovations in ground and aviation logistics, but they have lacked in standardization or integration within the MAGTF. Emerging operating concepts such as disaggregated MAGTF operations and seabasing, along with current fiscal constraints, are driving the need to further modernize and integrate MAGTF logistics in order to optimize support to the warfighter (Borrelli & Hodge, 2013). Independently, the logistical concepts and systems that exist for the ground elements and the aviation elements are proven to be effective and efficient, however, when the aviation and ground elements work in concert the response of logistical support is hindered. This paper will offer possible solutions to close the logistics gap between the Marines Corps’ aviation and

A British and American engineering company are apparently working on just such a vehicle for the U.S. military. It would be considered a new class of vehicle known as a “Tactical Reconnaissance