173rd paratroopers arrive in Poland

http://www.army.mil/article/124554/173rd_paratroopers_arrive_in_Poland/

a company-sized contingent of U.S. paratroopers from U.S. Army Europe's 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) from Vicenza, Italy, arrived in Poland to begin exercises with Polish troops.

This new exercise is the first in a series of expanded U.S. land force training activities in Poland and the Baltic region that are in addition to previously scheduled multinational land force military exercises such as Combined Resolve II, Saber Strike, Rapid Trident, and Saber Guardian. Exercises like this will take place for the next few months and beyond, and are aimed at assuring regional allies of the U.S.'s unwavering commitment to NATO.

In the coming days additional companies will move into Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia for similar exercises.

24 U.S. Apache attack helicopters perform mass landing in South Korea

Photo: U.S. Army/2nd Combat Aviation Brigade

The image in this post shows 24 AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopters with the 4th Aerial Reconnaissance Battalion (Attack), 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade conduct a mass landing at Camp Humphreys, South Korea on Apr. 18.

The photo is quite rare as the U.S. Army unit does not usually fly all of its 24 choppers in one mission.Based on their own description on FB, the battalion, also known as the “Death Dealers,” conduct scenario based training at a moment’s notice keeping the battalion ready to “Fight Tonight.”

Lockheed Martin GMLRS Alternative Warhead Logs Successful Flight-Test Series, Shifts To Next Testing Phase

Lockheed Martin successfully conducted the fifth and final Production Qualification Test (PQT) for the new Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Alternative Warhead recently at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.  During the long-range test, four rockets were fired from a HIMARS launcher and destroyed their respective targets approximately 65 kilometers away. The test is the final milestone before the Developmental Test/Operational Test (DT/OT) phase, which incorporates soldiers into the system testing. The DT/OT phase will begin this summer and will conclude with the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) exercise in the fall of 2014.  

“This next phase of testing will be critical in determining operational effectiveness,” said Ken Musculus, vice president of Tactical Missiles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.  “We are committed to the customer and their success on the battlefield, and these tests ensure production of a trustworthy and effective solution.”

In April 2012, Lockheed Martin received a $79.4 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the Alternative Warhead Program (AWP). Under the terms of the contract, the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase of the program runs 36 months, focusing on system performance, warhead qualification and producibility.

The Alternative Warhead is designed to engage the same target set and achieve the same area-effects requirement as the GMLRS submunitions warhead, but without the lingering danger of unexploded ordinance. The Alternative Warhead is being developed by ATK under subcontract to Lockheed Martin.

The AWP is part of a U.S. Department of Defense plan to create a GMLRS variant which meets the DoD’s cluster munition policy. The Lockheed Martin GMLRS Alternative Warhead program will also be compliant with the provisions of the Convention on Cluster Munitions international treaty.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/press-releases/2014/april/mfc-041614-lm-gmlrs-alternative-warhead-logs-successful.html

101st Airborne Division conducts brigade air assault

Now these are called war games...

The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) holds a unique position as the only air assault division in the world.

'Nuts' :)

http://www.army.mil/article/123707/101st_Airborne_Division_conducts_brigade_air_assault/

Pentagon to Test Hypersonic Missile in August

Lt. Gen. David L. Mann, commander, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command announced that US will conduct the second test of one of its hypersonic missiles in August.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AWH) is part of the U.S. military’s conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) program, which aims to give Washington the ability to strike any target on earth with a conventional warhead with a speed of Mach 5 or about 3,600 mph within an hour’s time.

The AWH was first tested back in November 2011. It was launched at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii and traveled about 2,500 miles in about a half hour before reaching its target at the Reagan Test Site, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

At the time of the test back in 2011, the Pentagon said: “A three-stage booster system launched the AHW glide vehicle and successfully deployed it on the desired flight trajectory. The vehicle flew a non-ballistic glide trajectory at hypersonic speed to the planned impact location at the Reagan Test Site. Space, air, sea, and ground platforms collected vehicle performance data during all phases of flight.”

The AWH missile would be an integral part of the U.S. military’s efforts to overcome China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy, given its ability to operate at far distances, penetrate contested environments and strike with precision. However, the U.S. also has to contend with Chinese and Russian programs to develop hypersonic missiles.

Lockheed Martin’s DAGR® Missile Scores a Perfect 16 of 16 in Flight Tests for U.S. Army

Photos : LockheedMartin

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.

Philippines says US defence agreement close, amid China row

The Philippines said yesterday a deal to allow a greater US military presence on its territory could be signed next month, in a timely defence boost amid a worsening territorial row with China.There was optimism the pact could be secured ahead of US President Barack Obama’s April visit to Manila after the two sides agreed on a contentious issue that would see US forces build “structures” on their hosts military bases, Filipino officials said.

“Discussions in the sixth round were substantive and productive, and significant progress was made,” Philippine Defence Undersecretary Pio Batino told reporters in Manila following the latest round of talks in Washington last week.Fellow negotiators said: “If the negotiations are successfully concluded and that happens before the arrival of President Obama, then we will be happy of course”.However, the officials declined to set an April deadline, citing the need to ensure the language was in line with Philippine laws and yielded the maximum benefits for the hosts.



Washington has said Obama will visit the Philippines in April as part of a four-nation tour of East Asia.
The Philippine government sees hosting more US forces as an important part of its strategy to counter an increasingly assertive China in an escalating dispute over rival claims to the South China Sea.With its military capabilities dwarfed by China’s the Philippines has been looking for more diplomatic and military support from the US, its former colonial ruler and longtime ally.

A decades-long dispute over rival claims to parts of the South China Sea has sharply worsened over the past two years, with the Philippines accusing China of bullying and violating international laws.Among the recent flare-ups, Manila accused the Chinese coastguard of firing a water cannon on January 27 at two Filipino fishing boats near a shoal that is within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

The Philippines then said Chinese ships blocked Filipino vessels from bringing food to Filipino marines on another shoal within its territory.

Both outcrops lie many hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest Chinese landmass, but China claims most of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbours.

American forces were forced to pull out of major military bases in the Philippines in 1992, ending nearly a century of military presence, amid a rental dispute and rising anti-American sentiment.

However since 2002 several hundred Special Forces troops on short term deployments have training Filipino counterparts who are fighting militants in the south.