April 1, 2014. David Pugliese - Defence Watch

Michelle Tan of Army Times has this:

The U.S. has closed nearly 290 bases across Afghanistan as of March 1 and fewer than 80 bases remain.

When it comes to personnel, there are still about 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but there’s also “a steady path to reduce throughout the year,” said Marine Brig. Gen. Daniel O’Donohue, the chief operations officer for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command.

O’Donohue provided an overview of U.S. troops still serving downrange during a March 18 phone interview with Army Times.

“We’ve reduced our forces from about 100,000, by about 67 percent,” said he said. “We are truly in a support role.”

Read more

March 26, 2014. David Pugliese - Defence Watch

 

The Stars and Stripes is reporting that the U.S. Army’s field artillery is preparing for future wars by returning to Cold War-era tactics supplemented by modern, mobile technology.

More from Stars and Stripes:

Though counterinsurgency has been at the center of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the recent past might not be the best guide to new threats, participants at the Future Artillery conference in London, hosted by Defense iQ, said earlier this week.

Maj. Gen. Mark McDonald, commander of the Fires Center of Excellence at Ft. Sill, Okla., told Stars and Stripes on the margins of the conference that U.S. artillery has to regain the capability to fight in more traditional, force-on-force style conflicts.

His vision of artillery training re-emphasizes 20th-century-style tactics but with 21st-century equipment. Soldiers would focus less on training to fire guns manually, by doing calculations themselves, and would instead rely more on the digital tools.

“We’ve got most of the pieces in place to be able to train the digital system. What we have to do is get everybody really comfortable with it, train with it more often, so that’s their go-to system,” McDonald said.

Full story here

25.03.2014 US Army - army-guide.com

Working closely with Lockheed Martin and a conglomeration of Army technology, acquisition and user community stakeholders, the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center successfully demonstrated an unmanned military convoy Jan. 14 at Fort Hood, Texas.

From a rooftop in the Fort Hood training area, military and industry VIPs saw firsthand how the Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System, or AMAS, enabled two driverless Palletized Loading System prime movers and an M915 tractor trailer truck to seamlessly interact with a manned Humvee gun truck escort. The convoy negotiated oncoming traffic, followed rules of the road, recognized and avoided pedestrians and various obstacles, and then used intelligence and decision-making abilities to re-route their direction through a maze of test areas to complete both complex urban and rural line haul missions.

As the ground systems expert within the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, TARDEC develops, integrates and sustains the right technology solutions to address ever-changing threats and shifts in strategic, technological and fiscal environments. Flexibility and adaptability are vital to future systems, and AMAS is designed to provide a wide range of military vehicle platforms with optionally-manned capabilities that will increase safety and provide the warfighter with additional flexibility.

"We're not looking to replace Soldiers with robots. It's about augmenting and increasing capability," said Col. Chris Cross, chief of Science and Technology at the Army Capabilities Integration Center.

Equipped with GPS, Light Detecting and Ranging systems, known as LIDAR, Automotive radar, a host of sensors and other high-tech hardware and software components, the common appliqué kit's intelligence and autonomous decision-making abilities can be installed in practically any military vehicle, transforming an ordinary vehicle into an optionally manned version.

AMAS can also keep personnel out of harm's way and provide Soldiers on manned missions with increased situational awareness and other safety benefits. For instance, AMAS also features collision mitigation braking, lane-keeping assist and a roll-over warning system, electronic stability control and adaptive cruise control. During manned missions, these additional safety features could theoretically increase Soldier performance. The robotic mode frees up the vehicle crew to more closely watch for enemy threats, while still leaving them the option of manually taking control of the vehicle when necessary.

"The AMAS hardware and software performed exactly as designed and dealt successfully with all of the real-world obstacles that a real-world convoy would encounter," said AMAS Program Manager David Simon, with Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

AMAS development aligns with Army goals for the Future Force. At an Association of the United States Army breakfast in Arlington, Va., Jan. 23, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno talked about the Army Modernization Strategy and the difficult decisions ahead.

"What is that leap-ahead technology that we need that could make a real difference for our Soldiers on the ground?" Odierno asked. "What is the technology that allows us to decrease the weight so we can be more expeditionary? I need tactical mobility for the future. We need to move towards mobility and try to determine how we sustain survivability while increasing mobility."

In his just-released CSA Strategic Priorities, Odierno added that we must prioritize Soldier-centered modernization and procurement of proven technologies so that Soldiers have the best weapons, equipment and protection to accomplish the mission.

Another AMAS demonstration with more vehicles and more complex notional scenarios is scheduled for later this year.

"We are very happy with the results, but the AMAS must undergo more testing before it becomes deployable," said TARDEC AMAS Lead Engineer Bernard Theisen.

"The vehicles and systems are replaceable, but nothing can replace the life of a Soldier. These systems keep Soldiers safe and make them more efficient," he said.

TARDEC is the ground systems expert within RDECOM. It provides engineering and scientific expertise for Department of Defense manned and autonomy-enabled ground systems and ground support systems; serves as the nation's laboratory for advanced military automotive technology; and provides leadership for the Army's advanced Science and Technology research, demonstration, development and full life cycle engineering efforts.

ABOUT TARDEC

TARDEC is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America's Soldiers.

TARDEC is also a TACOM Life Cycle Management Command partner. In this capacity, it is responsible for critical technology functions within the "acquisition -- logistics -- technology" system life-cycle model, including: technology maturation and integration; technology subject-matter expertise; systems-level engineering analysis; and systems engineering.

TARDEC provides engineering support for more than 2,800 Army systems and many of the Army's and DoD's top joint development programs. The organization is responsible for maximizing the research, development, transition and sustainment of technologies and integration across ground systems.

RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness -- technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection, and sustainment -- to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations. If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC delivers it.

Mar 21, 2014 (SPX)

Orlando FL - Lockheed Martin recently demonstrated the ability of its DAGR missile to launch from an Apache AH-64D helicopter and repeatedly hit the target during a series of Air Worthiness Release (AWR) live firing flight tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The AWR tests demonstrated DAGR's capability as an air-launched weapon. In each of the 16 flight tests, a DAGR missile locked onto the laser spot illuminating the target before launch. Upon launch, each missile flew between 1.5 and 5.1 kilometers and hit the target within one meter of the laser spot.

"These flight tests confirm DAGR's ability to safely launch and separate from a moving, diving platform without degrading aircraft or weapon performance," said Kevin Fitzpatrick, close combat systems development program manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.

"These tests also validate DAGR production readiness at our Ocala Operations facility."

Prior to AWR testing, Lockheed Martin completed DAGR System Qualification testing, validating the missile and rail-mounted canister for use in aircraft captive carry, storage and transportation operations.

The 30 System Qualification guided flights demonstrated DAGR's ability to hit moving targets, devastate tactical targets such as structures and trucks, and achieve high accuracy when launched with a 7-degree offset, up to six kilometers away from the target.

DAGR incorporates proven HELLFIRE II technology into a 2.75-inch/70 millimeter guidance kit that integrates seamlessly with legacy Hydra-70 rockets. Its lock-on-before-launch mode ensures the missile identifies the correct target prior to launch. Multiple DAGRs can be fired in rapid succession at different targets using different laser codes from multiple designators.

The result is a laser-guided missile that puts a 10-pound warhead within one meter of the laser spot, defeating high-value, non-armored or lightly-armored targets while minimizing collateral damage.

Lockheed Martin has conducted more than 40 DAGR guided flights from ranges of 1 to 6 kilometers. DAGR has been launched from multiple HELLFIRE-equipped rotary-wing platforms, including the AH-64D Apache, AH-6 Little Bird and OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, as well as the ground-based HELLFIRE/DAGR pedestal launcher.

Mar 13, 2014 ASDNews Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT ) received a $255 million contract in late 2013 from the U.S. Army for Lot 9 production of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Unitary rocket.

The new allotment of rockets will be delivered to the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Republic of Italy.  Delivery will begin in April 2015 . Work will be performed at the Lockheed Martin facilities in Camden, Ark. , and Dallas, Texas .

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Mar 12, 2014 ASDNews By  Justin Eimers, CECOM US Army

The Army, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy have named Tobyhanna Army Depot as the Depot Source of Repair for the Gray Eagle (MQ-1C) Unmanned Aircraft System Ground Control Stations.

The decision by the four services' Maintenance Inter-service Support Management Offices recognizes the depot as the installation best suited for these repairs.

"Through the acquisition process, there is a lot of assessment that takes place, including core logistics analyses that look at our capabilities," said Nick Caprioli, chief of the Business Development Division. "Tobyhanna was selected based on infrastructure, training and technical expertise for this type of work."

Repairs for the new workload will begin in fiscal year 2016, with 19 Ground Control Stations, or GCSs, scheduled per year, totaling more than 75 systems through fiscal year 2018.

The Gray Eagle system is a long-range, high-altitude Unmanned Aircraft System, or UAS, that provides the capability to perform wide-area reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. It is also capable of relaying communications and can be equipped for attack missions. The system consists of the aircraft, GCS, data terminals and data links. Each GCS controls one Gray Eagle aircraft and is used by the operator to perform command and control, payload control and weapon launch operations.

Due to their complexity, Gray Eagle systems and components are currently replaced rather than repaired, exhausting money and resources. Depot personnel are developing cost-effective solutions to repair GCSs and increase capability. Tobyhanna recognizes that the assignment of this Depot Source of Repair, or DSOR, will enable the depot to be selected for additional DSORs for UAS equipment.

Katlin Edmunds, business development specialist, noted that revamping the DSOR decision process will also help substantially reduce costs and bring more UAS work to the depot.

"DSOR selection helps ensure effective use of commercial and organic depot maintenance resources," she said. "We have been aggressively trying to streamline processes, find inefficiencies and figure out the best way to accommodate new UAS workloads."

Based on trends in the market, business management analysts anticipate that UAS will be the depot's largest commodity in the future. As the only Army depot involved in the Integrated Product Team, or IPT, for Air Force and Army UAS, Tobyhanna is well positioned to receive workloads for additional UAS component repairs. The IPT is working with Tobyhanna to identify the need for any new test equipment, facilitation or training necessary for additional UAS work.

"Part of the planning process to bring in this workload is to have our engineers work with the program offices to make sure our capabilities are sufficient to provide the best solution for everybody involved," said Caprioli. "The depot's all-hands-on-deck approach to secure this DSOR selection has helped increase our marketability and should open doors for future UAS workloads."

Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, also known as C4ISR, Systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners. Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, technology insertion, modification, and global field support to warfighters.

About 3,500 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.

The US Army plans on cutting three of its 13 combat aviation brigades by 2019. (US Army)

Mar. 4, 2014 - By PAUL McLEARY – Defense news

WASHINGTON — US Army officials said Tuesday that as part of its wide-ranging aviation restructuring, the service is preparing to cut three of the service’s 13 combat aviation brigades (CAB) by 2019.

The service’s active component currently fields four heavy CABs, 8 medium, and 1 with “Full-Spectrum” capabilities, but Davis Welch, deputy director of the Army budget office told reporters at the Pentagon today that “the restructure will reduce the number of aviation brigades by three in the active component while restructuring aviation brigades to optimize their efficiency and quality.”

He added that under the plan, the Army’s Reserve component will be able maintain its 12 aviation brigades but they “will be restructured and optimized for assault, lift and medavac missions.”

The announcement comes on the heels of the Army’s proposal to take all of the National Guard’s Apache attack helicopters to fulfill the active army’s aerial scout mission after it divests itself of the Kiowa helicopters currently fulfilling that mission.

At the time of this posting, requests for further comment from the Army were unanswered.

Overall, the Army’s fiscal year 2015 request sees the budget for its aircraft fleet tick slightly upward from $4.6 billion ($5 billion requested) in 2014 to $5.1 billion, while the Apache helicopter’s budget will fall from $884 million — $1 billion with Overseas Contingency Operations in 2014 — to $775 million in 2015 so it can upgrade 25 birds to the latest configuration.

There is another $416 million for 55 new Lakota helicopters, with sources saying that the service will request funding to buy 45 more Lakotas in 2016.

The Army is also slated to receive $7.5 billion of the $26 billion for the Opportunity Growth and Security Initiative, 54 percent of which will go toward operations, maintenance and training accounts, while the rest will be pointed to equipment modernization, including $500 million for Black Hawk helicopter upgrades, and more than $600 million for Apache work.

Overall however, the year-by-year budget graph that accompanied the Army’s budget request showed a significant cascade down from the 2010 budget onward.

The Army is asking for $121 billion in its base budget in ’15, down only $4 billion from the $125 billion enacted for 2014 — but down significantly from the $144 billion granted in ’10 during the height of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the big cuts aren’t in the base. The biggest drop is in the wartime spending accounts, which for the Army has dropped by more than half from 2011 to 2014 — going from $99 billion to $43 billion.

That said, the requested budget remains largely flat form 2014, with about $1.3 billion less in research, development and acquisition and $1.8 billion in operations and maintenance. Personnel costs remained flat at $56 billion.

Personnel costs continue to be the albatross hanging around the Army’s neck, eating up 46 percent of the service’s budget overall even as the service continues to shed 20,000 soldiers a year in its effort to reach 490,000 by the end of 2015. It’s current end strength is about 510,000.

But those troops will have to get by with much less training than Army leadership has advocated for.

Training is expected to reach only to company level and, in some cases, battalion level in 2015, with the National Guard performing mostly company level and below training exercises due to lack of funding. The Army will only send those brigades through a full National Training Center rotation that are planning to deploy to Afghanistan or South Korea, or that are part of the 82nd Airborne’s global response force

18 févr. 2014 FUNKER530 - Veteran Community & Combat Footage

Paktika Province, Afghanistan - After spotting Taliban forces on a distant ridge line, U.S. Army mortar teams engage with 60mm mortars. A simultaneous airstrike is called in which accidentally drops a 500 pound bomb on a U.S. Army infantry outpost, mistaking the position for Taliban fighters.

Luckily there were no friendly casualties in this rare incident, due to the First Sergeant's decision to bring everyone to "stand to" before the drop. It is still unclear what caused the pilot to target the wrong position.

"If it wasn't for the decision of our First Sergeant, three of our guys would have died in that wooden building which was shredded by shrapnel."

Click here for my full interview with the cameraman - http://bit.ly/BombInterview

This footage is part of an ongoing documentary of the war in Afghanistan through raw combat footage.

04.02.2014 JDD

Plus de 800 soldats sont sous le coup d'une enquête pour avoir détourné plusieurs millions de dollars, en profitant d'un programme d'aide au recrutement, révèle USA Today. Des bonus auraient été octroyés pour les soldats qui persuaderaient des amis de s'engager en Irak ou en Afghanistan. L'un des soldats auraient touché près de 275.000 dollars. Au moins quatre autres auraient reçu près de 100.000 dollars chacun, selon des documents consultés par le quotidien américain.

Cette affaire est "décourageante et déprimante", a réagi la sénatrice Claire McCaskill. "De toute évidence, nous parlons de l’une des plus grandes enquêtes de l’histoire de l’armée", a-t-elle affirmé. Au total, près de 1.200 recruteurs et 2.000 assistants recruteurs seraient impliqués dans ce scandale.

Le programme arrêté en 2012. L'armée avait lancé des programmes de recrutement en 2005 afin de renforcer ses rangs qui avaient été largement mis à contribution lors des récents théâtres d'opérations. Ce programme avait été étendu à la réserve et aux soldats actifs. Ceux-ci auraient perçu de l'argent dès lors qu'ils parrainaient une recrue. "Personne n'est plus scandalisé que la direction de l'armée des Etats-Unis", a assuré de son côté le porte-parole de l'armée George Wright. "Après des enquêtes internes de l'armée qui ont identifié des cas de fraudes dans les programmes d'aide au recrutement, le secrétaire de l'armée y a mis fin immédiatement", a-t-il ajouté. Ce programme a effectivement été arrêté en 2012.

Plus de 106.000 personnes auraient touchées des primes, précise USA Today. Il faudra attendre 2016 pour que l'enquête aboutisse.

29.01.2014 US Army - army-guide.com

The Canadian Royal Army has enlisted the help of Picatinny engineers to evaluate the life-span of their World War II-era C3 Howitzer.

"We are looking for engineering data that, unfortunately, we're missing right now," said Canadian Army Maj. David Lebel, Equipment Management team leader for Field Artillery Systems.

The C3 Howitzer is a 1950's technology that the Canadian Army is trying to keep in service for ten or 11 more years.

"The fleet is now about 60 years old, and after it was modified to fit Canadian needs, we didn't think at that time to have the contractor provide engineering data -- to check the rail forces or validate the forces that are applied to the structure, either while it's firing or while it's being towed," Lebel explained.

"Now that it's been around for 60 years, we're starting to experience a few cracks here and there, but we can't explain how these cracks are being made. We need to be able to find solutions without having to ground the fleet for a long amount of time."

The Canadian Army uses the C3 howitzers for training, although they use the 155 mm M777 in combat. The operation procedures for towed howitzers are similar, but 105 mm ammunition is cheaper than 155 mm ammunition.

"We take a lot of time to train before going into operations, so this reduces cost," Lebel said.

AVALANCHE CONTROL

In addition to training purposes, the C3 is also used for avalanche control in the snow-covered Canadian mountains.

"There's a stretch of highway in the (Canadian) Rockies called Rogers Pass, which is in Glacier National Park," Lebel explained.

"Because of the mountains' elevation, there's about 300 inches of snow during winter, and it's very prone to avalanches," Lebel said. "We've got a detachment from the Royal Canadian Artillery with [C3 Howitzers] ready to support Parks Canada in managing the dangers on the main road of Roger's pass. Once Parks Canada gives us the go ahead, we shoot to stabilize the area, which means sometimes we do create an avalanche so that we can shovel the snow out."

DISCOVERING DEFICIENCIES

Picatinny's Program Executive Office Ammunition, known as PEO Ammo, employees, with help from Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, engineers, is conducting an analysis of the stresses of the C3 Howitzer in order to support the howitzer's life cycle, said Luke Helsel, ARDEC's C3 Evaluation team lead.

The team will conduct a series of tests over the next year to determine potential problems that could occur throughout the system.

"We're going to do analysis to help the Canadian Army find those problems in advance," said Helsel. "It helps them better predict areas to target for inspections or to perform upgrades. Sometimes that can be a challenge when looking at a design that was done years ago, and has no support from the original contractor."

The data packages for the howitzer are from the 1940s, and they have been updated through the 1980s, but there's no subject matter expert to refer to for questions.

"It's fascinating to look at the older style of design, and to see what we can do to support them maintain their fleet for the next couple of years," said Helsel. "Some of these slick things they did back then are good to look at now. The old design can inspire us for modern work and working on this project we can discover new analysis techniques that we can use here for the M119 or M777."

A gun was recently shipped to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., for mobility trials. In April, it will be transferred to Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., for firing trials.

At Aberdeen, engineers will instrument the gun with strain gauges to measure the amount the metal is being pulled while towing the gun. The gun will also be towed around a series of courses over hills and other terrain while recording data from the gauges.

"Then, using that data, we can predict virtually what the strain is throughout the whole carriage," said Hesel. "After that, we can come back and figure out where we think the other high strain areas are and perform another test to confirm our analysis."

At Yuma, engineers will do similar testing while firing the howitzers at different elevations and azimuths.

"This will give us the engineering technical argument to pursue the direction we need to," Lebel said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to find a few simple, small fixes to extend the lifecycle without having to re-engineering big assemblies on the gun."

The Canadian Army currently has almost 100 deployed across Canada, and the process for replacing the howitzers with newer models could take up to two decades.

"We can't stop every unit from training six months while we're scratching our heads trying to decide how to solve the problem. So by giving us the technical data that we're looking for, ARDEC is really making our job that much more easy either to do preventive maintenance that's much more accurate on potential failure locations. And should there be a failure, they'll be enough engineering data to put together a solution that won't take us four or five months to get to."

"At this point, we know there are problems, but I don't think there's going to be one solution to fix them all. We're gonna have to choose the problem that's the most risky and go about it in a deliberate fashion. But there could be many conclusions," Lebel said.

FRIENDLY RELATIONS

"The reason Canada came to us is that we have a great working relationship," said David Wong, Foreign Military Sales manager for PEO Ammo's Project Manager Towed Artillery Systems.

"Canada purchased 37 of our M777 155mm howitzers, so they know us and the capabilities and resources we have. This project extends the good working relationship we've had for seven years," Wong said.

In addition, the Department of National Defence, especially the Director of Armament Sustainment Program Management, has benefited on several aspects of howitzer maintenance and support from both Project Manager Towed Artillery Systems expertise and Picatinny's resources, Lebel added.

Picatinny also recently updated their M119 Howitzer fleet, which required similar data collection and engineering processes.

A US soldier drops an unmanned ground vehicle over a wall during an exercise at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in 2010. (US Army)

Jan. 20, 2014 - By PAUL McLEARY – Defense News

WASHINGTON — The postwar, sequestration-era US Army is working on becoming “a smaller, more lethal, deployable and agile force,” according to Gen. Robert Cone, head of the service’s Training and Doctrine Command.

But just how much smaller might come as a surprise.

During remarks at the Army Aviation Symposium in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 15, Cone quietly dropped a bomb. The Army, he said, is considering the feasibility of shrinking the size of the brigade combat team from about 4,000 soldiers to 3,000 over the coming years, and replacing the lost soldiers with robots and unmanned platforms.

“I’ve got clear guidance to think about what if you could robotically perform some of the tasks in terms of maneuverability, in terms of the future of the force,” he said, adding that he also has “clear guidance to rethink” the size of the nine-man infantry squad.

He mentioned using unmanned ground vehicles that would follow manned platforms, which would require less armor and protection, thereby reducing the weight of a brigade combat team.

Over the past 12 years of war, “in favor of force protection we’ve sacrificed a lot of things,” he said. “I think we’ve also lost a lot in lethality.” And the Army wants that maneuverability, deployability and firepower back.

The Army is already on a path to shrink from 540,000 soldiers to about 490,000 by the end of 2015, and will likely slide further to 420,000 by 2019, according to reports.

Cone said his staff is putting together an advisory panel to look at those issues, including fielding a smaller brigade.

“Don’t you think 3,000 people is probably enough probably to get by” with increased technological capabilities, he asked.

It’s hard to see such a radical change to the makeup of the brigage combat team as anything else than a budget move, borne out of the necessity of cutting the personnel costs that eat up almost half of the service’s total budget.

Cone used the Navy as an example of what the Army is trying to do.

“When you see the success, frankly, that the Navy has had in terms of lowering the numbers of people on ships, are there functions in the brigade that we could automate — robots or manned/unmanned teaming — and lower the number of people that are involved given the fact that people are our major cost,” he said.

Some of Cone’s blue-sky thinking was echoed by Lt. Gen. Keith Walker in a Jan. 6 interview with Defense News.

In what Walker called the “deep future” — about the 2030 to 2040 time frame — he said that “we’ll need to fundamentally change the nature of the force, and that would require a breakthrough in science and technology.”

While Walker, the commander of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, which oversees much of the Army’s modernization and doctrinal changes, didn’t talk about replacing soldiers with robots, he did say the Army wants to revamp its “tooth-to-tail” ratio, or the number of soldiers performing support functions versus those who actually pull triggers.

“Right now our force is roughly two-third tooth and one-third tail, so as we decrease the size of the Army you may end up reducing one-third tooth and two-third tail, but what if you could slide that fulcrum? Maybe it’s one-half to one-half. The point is you get to keep more tooth, more folks that actually conduct operations on the ground and less supporting structure.”

The Army is already heading down that path in the structure of its brigade combat teams, announcing last year that it was adding a third maneuver battalion to each brigade, along with engineering and fires capabilities. It is adding more punch to its brigade combat teams while reducing the number of teams it fields from 45 to 33 by the end of fiscal 2017, while transferring some of those soldiers to the existing brigades.

22.12.2013 journal-aviation.com (reuters)

Trois appareils américains Osprey CV-22 ont été atteints par des tirs samedi alors qu'ils tentaient d'évacuer des ressortissants américains pris dans les combats au Soudan du Sud, a annoncé l'US Army. Quatre militaires américains ont été blessés par ces tirs.

L'Osprey CV-22 est un appareil de transport hybride, qui tient de l'avion et de l'hélicoptère puisque ses rotors basculants lui permettent de décoller et atterrir verticalement.

Les trois appareils ont été atteints par des tirs alors qu'ils s'approchaient de la zone d'évacuation dans l’État du Jonglei, au nord de la capitale Juba, a précisé dans un communiqué le commandement militaire américain pour l'Afrique (Africa Command).

Endommagés par ces tirs, ils ont gagné un terrain d'aviation dans un pays voisin et la mission a été annulée.

Les Nations unies ont par ailleurs annoncé qu'un de leurs hélicoptères, sur les quatre envoyés à Youai, également dans l’État de Jonglei, a aussi essuyé des tirs d'armes légères vendredi. Il n'y a pas eu de blessé.

L'armée allemande a annoncé samedi avoir évacué du Soudan du Sud 98 personnes, des Allemands et d'autres ressortissants étrangers, qui ont été conduits en Ouganda. Parmi les personnes évacuées figurait l'ambassadeur d'Allemagne à Juba, a précisé le ministère allemand des Affaires étrangères.

Un autre avion a ramené à Berlin le général Hans-Werner Fritz, chef des opérations de l'armée allemande, ses adjoints et cinq autres personnes, précise la Bundeswehr.

Le président sud-soudanais Salva Kiir, qui appartient à l'ethnie Dinka, accuse son ancien vice-président Riek Machar, un Nuer qu'il a limogé en juillet dernier, de vouloir s'emparer du pouvoir par la force. Après avoir fait rage à Juba, les combats se sont étendus à d'autres régions du pays.

(Carl Odera, avec George Obulutsa à Nairobi, Elias Biryabarema à Kampala, Aaron Maasho à Addis-Abeba, Phil Stewart et Missy Ryan à Washington, Andreas Kenner à Berlin; Eric Faye, Danielle Rouquié et Guy Kerivel pour le service français)

Dec 12, 2013 ASDNews Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation

The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) team successfully completed the government’s Manufacturing Readiness Assessment (MRA), an important milestone on the path to vehicle production at the company’s Camden, Ark., manufacturing complex.

The MRA, which measures manufacturing maturity and assesses technical risk, took place at Lockheed Martin’s Camden Operations on Nov. 18 and 19. In October, the company announced plans to produce the JLTV at the award-winning Camden facility, where program officials expect to gain significant production efficiencies and cost reductions.

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