According to a Louisville Courier-Journal report, 23-year-old Navy SEAL Jonathan Kaloust died Wednesday after his Humvee flipped during training exercises. Seven other soldiers who were injured in the incident have been treated for minor injuries and released.

Kaloust was assigned to the Navy SEAL team in Forty Story, Virginia. According to the Courier-Journal, Kaloust was from Massapequa, New York and attended State University of New York Binghamton University before joining the Navy in 2011.

This is not the first military training death to happen in 2013. Earlier this year, two Navy divers accidentally drowned during training exercises in a test pond at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

Though Fort Knox is most well-known as the location of the U.S. Treasury’s Gold Bullion Depository, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division, and the 3rd Recruiting Brigade of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command are all located at the facility, in addition to several other divisions.

Two U.S. Navy divers recently proved that even training is dangerous, and even fatal, as they drowned while training in a Maryland test pond. According to a Baltimore Sun report, Diver 1st Class James Reyher and Diver 2nd Class Ryan Harris accidentally drowned at a test pond at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in February. Details of the incident have not been released.

Another soldier, an engineering technician, also died at the test pond in January while performing maintenance. The facility has now been closed indefinitely.

The pool where the soldiers drowned is, according to the Sun, also known as the “Super Pond.” The structure is 1,070 feet long and 150 feet deep. It is used by the U.S. Defense Department and researchers for training and to test the effects of explosives on marine vessels.

The investigations of the soldiers’ deaths are still ongoing, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has stated that more information about the incidents could be released in the future, when the office issues its final report.

The publication quoted a former Soviet naval anti-sabotage officer as saying the dolphins probably took in search of mates. The officer stated that it isn’t uncommon for the dolphins to take off during mating season, but that they come back to their handlers “in a week or so.”

The Ukrainian dolphins were being trained to attack (enemy) swimmers and to detect mines. In a statement that invokes the likes of Austin Powers villain Dr. Evil, an unnamed source told RIA Novosti that the dolphins were being trained to use “special knives” and “pistols fixed to their heads.” Obviously, that throws the entire report into doubt, but if true it could mean some of the ocean’s smartest animals could soon have the firepower to defend their territory.

The U.S. and Soviet navies began training dolphins in the 60s and 70s. When the U.S.S.R. fell, the dolphin training program was transferred to the Ukrainian Navy, which continued training the mammals for civilian purposes, but restarted military training for the animals in 2012.

The New London Day reported on August 14th that Ward, who has a wife and children, had been having an affair under the guise that he was separated. When he was named commander of the USS Pittsburgh, he sent his mistress an email from a fictitious co-worker named Bob. The email stated that Ward had died, but the woman didn’t believe it. When she showed up at Ward’s former residence, she was informed that Ward had moved to Connecticut for his new position. She then turned over the email and other evicence to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

The AP reports that on September 5th, Ward was found guilty of Uniform Code of Military Justice violations. A Navy spokesperson stated Ward has received a letter of reprimand for the violations, which include adultery, unbecoming conduct, and dereliction of duty.

(Photo Courtesy the U.S. Navy)

The launch of the satellite would make the Indian Navy the 4th country in the world to feature a satellite group as a core component of their mission. This, along with their carrier group, solidifies their place as one of the Asia-Pacific regions most powerful navies. This upgrade was the only thing they need to be considered a “modern” navy.

The new satellite’s tasks include observing the Earth’s surface and ensuring uninterrupted satellite communication for the Indian Navy. It will provide sharp growth for the Indian Navy’s capabilities and the fleet will be able to exchange large amounts of information in real time. If this works out it could pave the way for a full military satellite communications network

This launch will further the regions future as a hotspot for conflict. This is mostly due to the buildup of China’s naval fleet and the United States’ response by refocusing 60% of it’s fighting vessels to the region by 2020. The great powers in the region are increasingly at odds over the limited resources available.

The buildup by nations is already becoming obvious. One obvious item is that almost half of all combat ready F-22 fighters are already in the Pacific theatre. If there is a fight with China in the future of the United States, it will help to have the 1.3 billion people of India on our side.

photo courtesy of worldphotocollections.blogspot.com

Due to the amount of burning debris at the crash site, authorities set up a safety zone around the site, preventing anyone from stumbling into the sizable indention left as a result of the mishap.

According to the Associated Press, the The Northrop Grumman RQ-4A BAMS-D drones are capable of flying 11 miles above the surface of the earth for upwards of 30 hours at a time. The drones are primarily used as surveillance, and come equipped with a radar that can “penetrate cloud-cover and sandstorms”. The plane, which can reach speeds of around 390mph, is operated on the ground by a crew of four individuals.

The bad news, of course, is that the drone cost upwards of $46 million, and was one of five that was recently acquired from the Air Force Global Hawk program.

In a recent letter to Senator Ted Kennedy, Admiral Gary Roughead explained why he preferred the $2 billion Arleigh Burke-class ships over the DDG-1000. “While there are cost savings associated with the DDG-1000’s smaller crew, they are largely offset by higher estimated maintenance costs for this significantly more complex ship,” Roughhead wrote. “On balance, the procurement cost of a single DDG-51 is significantly less than that of a DDG-1000, and the life-cycle costs of the two classes are similar.”

According to Wired, the cancellation may have more to do with the ship’s defensive capabilities than it’s hefty price tag. Deputy Chief of Naval Operations Barry McCullough stated that the technological marvel apparently can’t defend itself against air attacks, leaving it almost entirely vulnerable to assault. Furthermore, the DDG-1000s might not be able to protect its fleet from common household weaponry employed by just about every militarized country on the planet.

If this wasn’t already cause for concern, sources have told Defense News that the military was particularly concerned about a new ballistic missle that could, in theory, sink the DDG-1000 with relative ease. The older ships, however, are better equipped to handle the “classified threat” than its modern, $5 billion counterpart.

“One source familiar with the classified briefing said that while anti-ship cruise missiles and other threats were known to exist, those aren’t the worst. The new threat, which­ didn’t exist a couple years ago, is a land-launched ballistic missile that converts to a cruise missile,” the source explained. “Other sources confirmed that a new, classified missile threat is being briefed at very high levels. One admiral, said another source, was told his ships should simply ­stay away. There are no options. Information on the new threat remains closely held.”

I guess the adage is true: Sometimes older is, in fact, better.

Days after the DoD released their 30 year aviation plan, the United States Navy has started the exploratory process to find a 6th generation fighter to replace the F/A18-E/F and EA-18G. This was mentioned in the aviation plan as something they were planning to do. The Navy hopes what ever plane is chosen, it will be in service to replace the F-18 in 2030.

“Whatever jet is selected will hopefully replace the Super Hornets around 2030,” said Rear Adm. Donald Gaddis this afternoon at the Navy League’s annual Sea, Air, Space conference. “Before the Navy can settle on the final capabilities such a plane will have, it needs to know what types of technology the defense industry can bring to the table for a brand new fighter that will be fielded in less than two decades,” said Gaddis. “The new jet must be able to survive in anti-access environment, have next-gen sensors and maybe even the ability to ‘buddy’ refuel other fighters and perform airborne early warning (AEW) duties.”

Here are some concept sculpture pictures of a boeing F/A-XX carrier based strike aircraft:

Here’s what the actual RfI says the service wants in the new jet:

“The intent of this research is to solicit Industry inputs on candidate solutions for CVN based aircraft to provide multi-role capability in an A2AD operational environment. Primary missions include, but are not limited to, air warfare (AW), strike warfare (STW), surface warfare (SUW), and close air support (CAS). Also consider the ability of your concept to provide other capabilities currently provided by strike fighter aircraft, such as organic air-to-air refueling (AAR), Tactical Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA), and airborne electronic attack (AEA). The trade space refinement activity will characterize a broad tradespace, to include unmanned, optionally manned and manned aircraft. System attributes and system capabilities will be considered in the context of cost and affordability. Concepts that are derived from legacy aircraft, “clean sheet” new design aircraft, as well as innovative technology concepts specifically tailored for the operational context are all relevant. Please provide a separate white paper for each technology concept or family of related and complementary technology concepts; multiple white papers may be provided.”

With China and Russia bringing out their very own 5th generation fighters really soon, the need to look into staying a step ahead of those 2 superpowers becomes even more apparent.

Here is the actual Rfi that was released:

Navy FA-XX_RFI[1]

What, are the armed forces of America seriously trolling people on the internet now? Nah. Alas, it appears to be have been an errant tweet, most likely the result of one momentarily confused Twitter handler who mistook which account they were posting to on Tweetdeck.

It’s particularly astute at this moment that the term SNAFU is reported to have military origins. The original tweet has already been deleted but, as things go on Twitter, it was already retweeted multiple times before being removed.

Luckily, no state secrets were spilled in this mistaken tweet, but then again, the government shouldn’t be (and probably isn’t) sharing state secrets on Twitter in the first place.

The U.S. military’s inventory of unmanned aerial vehicles, will grow to 645 aircraft in fiscal 2022 from about 445 in fiscal 2013, which is an increase of 45%. The total is in line with the military’s budget restraints going forward.

“The military departments adjusted their plans to comply with a constrained top line by procuring fewer aircraft than desired,” Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter wrote in a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.

The Defense Department plans to spend $770 billion on aviation assets from 2013 to 2022. This includes fighter jets, attack helicopters, airlift and cargo aircraft, combat search and rescue aircraft, air refueling planes, bombers, anti-ship and submarine aircraft, drones, training platforms and other aircraft used by Special Operations forces. Annual funding levels will peak at $80 billion in 2022, according to the Pentagon.

The Air Force “plans to continue aggressive funding” for a new long-range bomber with nuclear capabilities, according to the aviation report. The bomber would reach its initial capability in the mid-2020s, according to the Pentagon. The Defense Department plans to “hold down” the unit cost to “ensure sufficient production” of 80 to 100 bombers, according to the report. And they are also starting to look at a 6th generation fighter tabbed the F-X to replace the brand new F-22. Before you freak out, remember that the F-22 is new now, but this is a 30 year plan. In 30 years, who knows where military technology will be.

DoD Aviation Plan