Navy Abandons Zumwalt-Class Destroyer

US Navy cancels its “stealth-ship” the Zumwalt-class Destroyer (DDG 1000), because of increased costs.

USC Football: Pete Carroll And Trojans Tour Aircraft Carrier USS JOHN C. STENNIS

USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN-74) is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier.  The USC Trojans are and 11-Nation Title winning super-program.  At the helm of both is Coach Pete Carroll.  At least for a moment, Coach Carroll was at the helm of both.
Last month, Carroll joined fellow Trojans Steve Smith, Matt Leinart, Brad Budde, Ron Yary and Jeremy [...]

Gore Vidal Questions Whether Senator McCain Was Ever A POW

Author Gore Vidal questions whether Senator John McCain was ever a POW in North Vietnam.

Video: Test Of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

This video is of the Marine Corps’s version of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35B.

yojoe out

Notre Dame Football Coach Charlie Weis Disparages U.S. Military

Hoodlum - noun - a young street ruffian, esp. one belonging to a gang.
Thug - noun - a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber, or murderer.

Notre Dame Football Coach Charlie Weis was quoted as saying “I could get hoodlums and thugs and win tomorrow. I won’t do it that way.”
Evidently Coach Weis is referring [...]

Iraq Update: Too Few Drones In The Air

Danger Room is reporting that there is a shortage of military drone aircraft in Iraq. And insurgents are exploiting this weakness.
Is there still a question about the usefulness of drones?
yojoe out
For more on unmanned aircraft:

Marine Corps: V-22 Osprey Engines Are Failing In Iraq

Over at the definitive military-technology blog Danger Room, it is being reported that the engines on the V-22 Osprey are wearing out, much faster than expected. The Osprey is the tilt-rotor aircraft used by the Marine Corps for troop transport. It is capable of transporting 24 combat-loaded Marines 242 [...]

Cost of President’s Helicopter Continues To Rise

As previously reported on Dreadnaught, the cost of the president’s new helicopter was increasing. The Pentagon is now reporting the coast has almost doubled, from an original cost of $6.1 billion to $11.2 billion. Now, each Marine One will cost $400 million.
yojoe out

US Navy: Carrier Air Wing To Be Unmanned By 2025

The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) in the U.S. Navy currently consists of:

3 squadrons of F/A-18 Hornets
1 Marine Corps squadron of F/A-18 Hornets
1 squadron of EA-6B Prowlers
1 squadron of S-3B Vikings
1 squadron of E-2C Hawkeyes
1 detachment of C-2 Greyhounds
1 squadron of SH-60F and HH-60H Seahawks

By the year 2025 the CVW will include a squadron of [...]

Navy’s Latest Ship Constructed From Steel Salvaged From The World Trade Center

The latest San Antonio Class LPD is USS NEW YORK. The mission of the LPD is to transport Marines and their equipment, including AAAVs, LCAC, and MV-22 Osprey. The all-important-and-inspiring difference with the NEW YORK, is that the bow stern is constructed of 8 tons of steel salvaged from the wreckage of the [...]

Air Force: No Blogs For You

The Air Force has determined that airmen will find no useful information on blogs. Thus, from this point forward the Air Force will block all websites with “blog” in the name. A spokesman for the Air Force explained that sites such as the New York Times will be authorized, because it is a reputable [...]

Missiles? We Don’t Need No Stinking Missiles: Ohio Class Submarines Retrofitted With Tomahawks and SEALs

The fleet ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), also known as “Boomers,” were originally designed during the Cold War to serve as undetectable launch platforms for submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). The Ohio-class SSBNs - viewable on Google Maps - were designed to carry 24 Trident missiles and provide the sea-based “leg” of the triad [...]