A reliable source on Friday told ‘The New Indian Express’ that the test conducted on March 31 nearly 45 nautical miles away from Vishakhapatnam coast in Andhra Pradesh was highly successful. The indigenously developed weapon with a dummy payload was reportedly launched from the submarine in full operational configuration.

The trial was carried out with the support of the personnel of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) while the DRDO provided all logistics. The missile was fired from 20-meter deep and it pierced into the sky after breaking the water surface. INS Arihant had first successfully fired a prototype of K-15 (B-05) missile in November last year.

The K-4 missile was fired from onboard silos of the ship submersible ballistic, nuclear (SSBN) submarine demonstrating the capability of the newly built underwater warship to fire long range nuclear capable missiles and the killing efficiency of the most advanced state-of-the-art weapon system.

“Having an operational range of nearly 3,500 km, the missile was fired towards north for a shorter range. It covered more than 700 km before zeroing on the target with high accuracy reaching close to zero circular error probability (CEP),” informed the source.

DRDO officials however refused to speak on the mission. While the officials associated with K-4 mission and Arihant project were tight-lipped, Director General of DRDO Selvin Christopher did not respond calls from this paper.

On March 7, this missile was test fired from a submerged pontoon (replica of a submarine) positioned nearly 30 feet deep sea offshore Vizag coast. Although, the DRDO didn’t officially confirm about the secret mission, it was learnt that the test was a roaring success.

Even as the DRDO had reportedly conducted the first test of the missile system, which was developed under a secret project, in 2010, it officially admitted to have a missile named K-4 with a video footage of the missile launch in the Aero-India show in January last year.

Reports indicated the K-4 missile with the features of boost-glide flight profiles is designed to defeat any anti-ballistic missile systems. Equipped with the satellite updates to modify accumulated errors from its inertial navigation system, the weapon system is claimed to be quite dangerous and one of its kind in the world.

The 111-metre-long INS Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which are capable of carrying 6 torpedoes of 533 mm and 12 B-05 (K-15) missiles or 4 K-4 missiles.

Powered by an 85 MW capacity nuclear reactor with enriched uranium fuel, this submarine can achieve surface speeds of 12 knots to 15 knots, and submerged speeds of up to 24 knots, carrying a crew of 95.

Apart from Arihant, the K-4 will also arm another Arihant class submarine INS Aridhaman which is currently under construction along with two others. These submarines will have eight launch tubes each.

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[The] total acquisition cost estimate has decreased from $51.7 billion in February 2011 to $48.2 billion in December 2015, about 7 percent, due primarily to stable requirements that led to fewer than expected engineering changes. The fixed price development contract also protects the government from paying for any development costs above the contract ceiling price.

Regarding the schedule, the program office delayed the low-rate initial production decision 9 months because Boeing had problems developing the first four aircraft. Boeing has largely addressed the problems, but proposed a new schedule to reflect the delays. (See figure below.) Boeing still plans to deliver 18 operational aircraft to the Air Force by August 2017—assuming the Air Force approves production.

Operational testing will be completed later, in October 2017. While aircraft deficiencies could be discovered late, the plan presents little cost risk to the government because Boeing must correct deficiencies using its own resources. Boeing plans to deliver the aircraft over 6 months, instead of 14.

Boeing has a challenging road ahead to complete testing and deliver aircraft. Test officials believe Boeing’s test schedule is optimistic and it may not have all aircraft available when needed to complete planned testing.

Boeing also has not gotten several key aerial refueling parts qualified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and cannot get final FAA certification of KC-46 aircraft until this occurs. Program officials estimate there are 4 months of schedule risk to delivering 18 aircraft by August 2017 due to testing and parts qualification issues. Boeing is working on ways to mitigate the schedule risks.

Why GAO Did This Study

Aerial refueling—when aircraft refuel while airborne—allows the U.S. military to fly farther, stay airborne longer, and transport more weapons, equipment, and supplies. The Air Force initiated the KC-46 program to replace its aging KC-135 aerial refueling fleet. Boeing was awarded a fixed price incentive contract with a ceiling price of $4.9 billion to develop the first four aircraft, which will be used for testing.

Boeing is contractually required to deliver the four development aircraft between April and May 2016. Boeing is also required to deliver a total of 18 aircraft by August 2017, which could include some of the development aircraft if they are brought to operational configuration. The program plans to eventually field 179 aircraft in total.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 included a provision for GAO to review the KC-46 program annually through 2017. This report addresses progress made in 2015 toward (1) meeting cost and performance goals and (2) delivering the aircraft on schedule. GAO analyzed key cost, schedule, development, test, and manufacturing documents and discussed results with officials from the KC-46 program office, other defense offices, the FAA, and Boeing, the prime contractor.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is not making recommendations at this time. DOD’s technical comments on a draft are incorporated as appropriate in the final report.

Click here for the full report (21 PDF pages) on the GAO website.

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The US Army is gradually upgrading its AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters to the latest AH-64E Apache Guardian configuration, like this aircraft flying over Hawaii on a training mission. (US Army photo)

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These were the main conclusions from the prequalification list released by the defense ministry’s Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation this morning, Friday April 8.

The five shortlisted companies are BAE Systems Land & Armaments (USA), Elbit Systems (Israel), Hanwha Techwin (South Korea), Huta Stalowa Wola (Poland) and Nexter Systems (France).

The most notable point, of course, is that Elbit is back in the running. This is the second Danish artillery competition in recent years, and Elbit had won the first tender, but on April 30 last year that tender was canceled 12 hours before the final decision was to have been confirmed and the contract awarded to Elbit.

Officially, the explanation was that the ministry wanted to wait and see how much it would cost to repair a wrecked helicopter before spending too much money on other things. But, actually, it was that the ministry did not want to buy Israeli artillery.

Remarkably, the Polish Huta Stalowa Wola has also been short-listed. It will be interesting to see what they have to contribute. And BAE is still competing, although it was eliminated during the evaluation phase last time as their M109 could not shoot to the 40 kilometer range demanded by the Danes. BAE’ gun could only manage 28 km, which is standard in the US military.

Finally, there are the two producers which were also in the running a year ago and were beaten by Elbit. Hanwha Techwin was then called Samsung Techwin, but the product is the same.

In parallel, the Danes are looking at what happens in Norway, which is engaged in a similar acquisition project. At some point, we should choose whether to go along with the Norwegian procurement, or whether we should make our own purchase.

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Japan is reacting to China’s newly-affirmative policies by upgrading its capabilities, notably by setting up a new amphibious force within the army. This order for 30 AAV-7A1 amphibious vehicles will probably be followed by others. (US Navy photo)

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Norway has short-listed two European shipyards, DCNS and TKMS, as possible suppliers of the new submarines it plans to buy to replace its four Ula-class boats. The Netherlands and Poland are named as possible partners in a joint program. (Norway MoD photo)

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The program’s cost amounted to nearly 6,000 million euros, and the first unit is scheduled to be delivered in 2016.

However, the economic situation has forced the Ministry of Defence to review this program, deciding to dispense with 13 of the aircraft which, although they will still be acquired, will be offered for sale on the export market.

The air force also requested a delay in the delivery of the second batch to deal with payments more easily. After several negotiation sessions, this morning the president of Airbus Spain, and head of the military division of Airbus D & S, Fernando Alonso, said "we are close to signing an agreement with Spain to postpone the delivery of the second batch of 13 aircraft until 2024."

This has been confirmed in a meeting with reporters, in which he also pointed out that "the other 14 will, in principle, be delivered from 2016 to 2018."

The initial delivery schedule for our country called for the first aircraft to arrive in 2016, with another four to follow in 2017. Another 10 were to be delivered in 2018 and 2019, while the final 12 would be delivered between 2020 and 2022, at a rate of four per year.

Now, with this reprogramming, the final 13 aircraft that will be offered for sale to other countries will be delivered from 2024. Relinquishing these units means that the government would not have to pay for their maintenance, so the bill would be reduced by about 800 million euros, that will be added to the money generated by their sale.

Alonso also admitted that the company had to "stop production for two months” after the crash of a pre-delivery aircraft in May, which killed four Airbus flight test personnel. However, and although the plane is still having some problems of capabilities, "they are now identified and we know how to fix them." Optimistically, he stressed that they will reach, or come "very close" to achieving, the delivery goal of 20 aircraft this year.

In addition to Spain, Airbus is also negotiating deadlines with Germany, France and Britain, because "the countries’ needs have changed." Alonso also said that "since the summer, there has been a resurgence of interest in military equipment" and that some countries have requested A400Ms. Thus, if Airbus finally manages to change the contractual delivery dates, the aircraft will "be given to other countries that are asking for them now."

The A400M program is financed by seven countries which originally agreed to acquire 174 units of this modern military transport aircraft: Germany (53), France (50), Spain (27), United Kingdom (22) Turkey (10), Belgium (7) and Luxembourg (1). In addition, Malaysia will acquire four additional units.

The cost of this ambitious project amounted initially at 20,000 million euros, but successive delays and problems during production forced to revise this figure in 2010 and finally its price increased by 3,500 million euros, of which 2,000 million is paid by the partner nations and the other 1,500 million euros could be recovered through future sales to third-party countries.

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Finmeccanica Signs Contract to Supply 28 Eurofighter Typhoon to Kuwait

(Source: Finmeccanica; issued April 5, 2016)

Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah and Finmeccanica CEO Mauro Moretti during the contract signing ceremony, while Italian Defense Minister Sen. Roberta Pinotti (background) looks on. (KUNA photo)

Kuwait, Italy Sign Eurofighter Contract

(Source: Kuwait News Agency; published April 5, 2016)

Kuwait Joins the Typhoon Family

(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued April 5, 2016)

Kuwait Signs Contract for the Delivery of 28 Eurofighter Typhoons

(Source: Eurofighter GmbH; issued April 5, 2016)

Kuwait Signs Contract for the Delivery of 28 Eurofighter Typhoons

(Source: BAE Systems; issued April 5, 2016)

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Defence Minister Launches the French Army’s Future Tactical UAV

(Source: French Ministry of Defence; issued April 5, 2016)

(Issued in French only; unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)

Multi-sensor payloads, long endurance and the ability to fly in national airspace (with an on-board pilot) are the main reasons for which France selected the Sagem Patroller optionally-piloted aircraft to meet the French army’s MALE UAV requirements. (Sagem photo)

Patroller: The French Army’s New Tactical Drone

(Source: Sagem; issued April 5, 2016)

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Expectations are that the winning bidder would be announced before the next election, even if an early poll was called for July. Much depends upon the passage of two unrelated items of legislation through the Australian Government. One of these is a tax reform bill that, if rejected again would trigger a "double dissolution" election in which both houses of the Australian government would be subject to re-election.

If this takes place, the selected site for the construction of the submarines may well prove to be a decisive issue.

The Australian submarine contest is the first time since before the Second World War that Japan has offered its submarine designs for export. Mitsubishi is offering a modified version of the Soryu class diesel-electric submarine that is equipped with an air-independent propulsion system.

Until recently, this was considered to be the leading contestant in the bidding contest but it is unclear how the threat of an impending election would affect this situation.

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The increase reflects continuing growth in Asia and Oceania, Central and Eastern Europe, and some Middle Eastern states. The decline in spending in the West is also levelling off. At the same time, spending decreased in Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Thus, the global military expenditure picture is mixed.

The United States remained by far the world’s biggest spender in 2015, despite its expenditure falling by 2.4 per cent to $596 billion. Among the other top spenders, China’s expenditure rose by 7.4 per cent to $215 billion, Saudi Arabia’s grew by 5.7 per cent to $87.2 billion—making it the world’s third-largest spender—and Russia’s increased by 7.5 per cent to $66.4 billion.

Falling oil prices signal cuts to military expenditure

A combination of high oil prices and new oil discoveries and exploitation has contributed to a surge in military spending in many countries around the world in the past decade. However, the crash in oil prices that started in 2014 has begun to reverse this trend in many oil revenue-dependent countries. Further cuts in spending are expected in 2016.

The most dramatic oil revenue-related reductions in spending in 2015 were in Venezuela (–64 per cent) and Angola (–42 per cent). Decreases were also recorded in, among others, Bahrain, Brunei, Chad, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Oman and South Sudan.

Despite declining oil revenues, several other oil-exporting countries continued to increase military spending in 2015. Many of these countries—notably Algeria, Azerbaijan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Viet Nam—were involved in conflict or faced with heightening regional tensions. However, Russia’s expenditure was lower than projected in its budget, and Saudi Arabia’s spending would have fallen but for the additional $5.3 billion cost of its military intervention in Yemen. Russia and Saudi Arabia are planning cuts in 2016.

Decline in Western military spending coming to an end?

Military spending in North America and Western and Central Europe has been decreasing since 2009, largely as a result of the global economic crisis, as well as the withdrawal of most US and allied troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. There were signs in 2015, however, that this decline was coming to an end.

US military spending was down by 2.4 per cent in 2015, a much slower rate of decline than in recent years. This was the result of measures passed by the US Congress to partially protect military spending from previously agreed budget deficit-reduction measures. US military spending is projected to remain roughly level in real terms in 2016.

Taken together, spending in Western and Central Europe was down by just 0.2 per cent in 2015. However, in Central Europe alone spending was up 13 per cent. There were particularly large increases in countries bordering Russia and Ukraine—namely Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia—which are those most concerned about Russia’s intentions following the crisis in Ukraine. I

n contrast, Western European expenditure was down 1.3 per cent but this was the lowest rate of annual decline since the start of the recent fall in spending, which began in 2010. The United Kingdom, France and Germany have all announced plans for modest spending increases in the coming years sparked by concerns about Russia and the threat posed by the Islamic State.

‘Military spending in 2015 presents contrasting trends’, said Dr Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of SIPRI’s military expenditure project. ‘On the one hand, spending trends reflect the escalating conflict and tension in many parts of the world; on the other hand, they show a clear break from the oil-fuelled surge in military spending of the past decade. This volatile economic and political situation creates an uncertain picture for the years to come.’

Other notable developments:

• Military spending in Asia and Oceania rose by 5.4 per cent in 2015 and was heavily influenced by China. Heightening tensions between China and various countries in the region contributed to substantial increases in expenditure by Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam, and triggered the start of a reversal of the long-term downward trend in Japan’s military spending.

• SIPRI is not publishing an estimate for the Middle East for 2015 as data is unavailable for several countries. For those countries for which data is available, spending increased by 4.1 per cent in 2015. Iraq’s military expenditure rose by 536 per cent between 2006 and 2015—the largest increase by any country in the world during that period.

• Military expenditure in Latin America and the Caribbean decreased by 2.9 per cent, largely explained by the huge fall in spending in Venezuela. Brazil’s military expenditure also declined slightly as a result of its economic crisis. Spending continued to increase in Central America due to the growing militarization of the anti-drug war.

• Military expenditure in Africa fell by 5.3 per cent, following 11 years of continuously rising spending. This was mainly due to the large cut by Angola, the largest spender in sub-Saharan Africa, in the wake of the sharp fall in oil prices.

* All percentage increases and decreases are expressed in real terms (constant 2014 prices).

SIPRI monitors developments in military expenditure worldwide and maintains the most comprehensive, consistent and extensive data source available on military expenditure. Military expenditure refers to all government spending on current military forces and activities, including salaries and benefits, operational expenses, arms and equipment purchases, military construction, research and development, and central administration, command and support. SIPRI therefore discourages the use of terms such as ‘arms spending’ when referring to military expenditure, as spending on armaments is usually only a minority of the total.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament. Established in 1966, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public. SIPRI is regularly ranked among the most respected think tanks worldwide.

Click here for the fact sheet (PDF pages) on the SIPRI website.

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Denmark’s Fighter Selection Date Faces Yet Another Delay As Replacement Program Struggles to Lift Off

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Kuwait signed a memorandum of understanding in September to buy the planes, but efforts to close the deal have hit repeated snags and a third source urged continued caution.

Finmeccanica declined to comment. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Arabian Business website.

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When Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Ray Conner in February warned employees that jobs would be cut this year — anywhere from 4,000 to 8,000, as it turns out — he cited intense pricing pressure from Airbus.

Yet the financial stresses come not just from the European archrival, and some of them are self-inflicted, analysts say.

Boeing has “a lot of challenges on a lot of fronts,” said Bank of America aerospace-industry analyst Ron Epstein.

Boeing could see lower profit margins over the next few years as income declines from its longtime moneymakers, the 737 and 777 jet programs, with little prospect that the 787 Dreamliner can fill the gap.

While the 737 and 777 programs transition to new models between now and the end of the decade, they’ll generate significantly less cash.

Production of the 777 in Everett is set to drop next year from 100 jets per year to about 80, which “is a big deal, because it’s so profitable,” Epstein said.

And as Boeing in Renton moves from the current model 737 to the new 737 MAX, the process is likely to hit some glitches and slow production, he said.

Though the 787 Dreamliner program is ramping up, it won’t come close to making up the cash shortfall. Boeing lost about $6 million on every Dreamliner it delivered in the last three months of 2015.

Epstein said Boeing would need to make an average profit of about $30 million per airplane on the next 900 Dreamliner deliveries just to pay off the production costs it has deferred into the future.

“Is that doable? There’s a prevailing view it’s not,” Epstein said. At some stage, he said, Boeing is likely to take a write-off on the 787, hitting its profits.

Aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group points out that the 787’s lack of profitability, due to past production glitches, is “absolutely nothing to do with Airbus.”

“That’s a little gift the previous CEO (Jim McNerney) left behind,” he said. Aboulafia agreed with Epstein that new CEO Dennis Muilenburg may have to bite the bullet and declare a loss on the 787. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Seattle Times website.

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Russian Defence Ministry Concluded A New Contract with “Irkut” Corporation for Su-30SM Aircraft Deliveries

(Source: Russian Ministry of Defence; issued April 3, 2016)

The Russian ministry of defense has awarded the Irkut aircraft company a contract to deliver “over” Su-30SM combat aircraft through 2018, which will substantially boost its air force’s capabilities. (UAC photo)

Russian Defence Ministry Concluded A New Contract with “Irkut” Corporation for Su-30SM Aircraft Deliveries

(Source: United Aircraft Corp.; issued April 4, 2016)

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The "Bild" newspaper reported that parts of the propeller engines could not cope with extreme temperatures and that individual parts of the engine were found to have "material flaws." The newspaper also claimed that one engine on a British A400M had cut out during a flight, though this had not yet happened to the three planes already owned by Germany's air force.

The Defense Ministry confirmed the report on Friday. "Yes, it's true that the airplane manufacturer has found problems with the propeller engine," a spokeswoman for the ministry told the Reuters news agency before adding that the Italian company that manufactures the engines for Airbus was analyzing the problems and that Airbus had offered to repair the engines free of charge.

The ministry added that the nine new A400Ms that Germany has already ordered - which are currently being manufactured - were also being checked, though it remained unclear when they would be delivered. "We don't yet have a current delivery plan for this year," the spokeswoman said.

Extra costs for the taxpayer

The development of the four-engine Airbus plane has become a saga of faults and misfires. Initially, its main problem was being overweight, and thus unable to carry the military vehicles it needed to.

But after its budget began to balloon - currently to over 20 billion euros ($23 billion), according to the "Defense Industry Daily" - it soon became clear that the project would be unable to break even without sales to countries outside NATO. The only trouble: The constant delays meant that many potential customers, such as South Africa, began looking elsewhere for alternatives - or even suing Airbus for compensation.

The A400M finally had its maiden flight in 2009, but the first aircraft was only delivered to France's air force in August 2013. The Germans did not get their first aircraft until a year later.

In May 2015, one A400M intended for Turkey's air force crashed during a test flight in Spain as a result of engine failure caused by a software glitch. In response, Germany was one of several countries to ground all their A400Ms.

In December, Germany's Defense Ministry secured the promise of a compensation payment from Airbus because of the delays. But members of the parliament's defense committee criticized the figure - 13 million euros - as too low, on the grounds that the costs to the German taxpayer would be "several times higher," as Rainer Arnold, defense policy spokesman for the Social Democrats, put it.

Future problems

A few weeks ago, parliamentary and military sources were quoted in the press saying that the German air force was considering planes from other manufacturers to "complement" the A400M - not because of the late delivery, but because it did not have all the capabilities that the air force required.

But, despite nominal plans to complete construction of the new planes this year, Germany's Defense Ministry admitted on Friday that it did not know whether Airbus would actually be able deliver new planes in 2016.

Tobias Lindner, the defense spokesman for the Greens, described hopes that the new plane could be finished this year as "extremely unrealistic," because the new engine problems would cause more delays.

The fate of the A400M is doubly unfortunate because it was poised to take a significant market share from the US Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules. If the plane is ever successful, industry experts believe that it could also pose a serious threat to Russian transport planes such as the AN-70, the IL-76 and the AN-124.

In 2014, the A400M became one of several overspending defense projects (including the Eurofighter and the Tiger helicopter) to be assessed by the international consultancy KPMG at the behest of the German government.

It concluded that one major problem was that Germany's military procurement authority, the BAAINBw, was severely understaffed. Not only that, KPMG also noticed that the delays to projects created waves of inefficiency that rippled throughout the military. As the weekly "Die Zeit" pointed out in 2015, if the air force only has three A400Ms, it makes no sense to train pilots to fly them, but when the planes are finally rolled out, the air force will suddenly lack trained pilots.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: An Airbus spokeswoman told Germany’s dpa wire service April 1 that the problems outlined in the report of abrasive wear and heat resistance in the plane‘s engines are "essentially correct."
Two separate problems have been identified in the gear boxes, requiring the aircraft to undergo regular inspections and to have parts replaced if necessary, Airbus told Reuters April 1.
One issue was with the material structure and strength of the ring gear in about 14 gear boxes produced in the first half of 2015.
The other problem was cracking of a plug that could see small parts of metal released into the oil system of the gearbox, affecting gear boxes that rotate to the right.
However, Airbus stressed that the aircraft, which have four propeller engines, can fly normally.
The Airbus spokeswoman told dpa that the heat resistance issue had already been solved, and that Airbus was "working hard" to solve the second problem. "It has no impact on the security of the plane. The problem can be solved during regular engine inspections," the spokeswoman said.
“This isn’t good news,” German Defense Ministry spokesman Boris Nannt told Bloomberg News in Berlin Friday. Airbus discovered issues with the transmission, prompting European air-safety regulators to order additional precautionary measures and a search for the cause by the component’s manufacturer, Italy-based Avio Aero, he said.
Bloomberg also quoted Fernando Alonso, Airbus’s military aircraft chief, as saying in a statement he’s confident the engine and transmission suppliers can fix the issue in time to meet a goal of delivering 20 A400Ms in 2016.
Nannt said that wasn’t certain.)

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The contractor’s Pratt & Whitney military aircraft unit met the goal for delivering engines last year, but quality deficiencies in “turbine blades and electronic control systems resulted in maintenance activity to remove suspect hardware from the operational fleet,” according to the latest Selected Acquisition Report sent to Congress and obtained by Bloomberg News.

Pratt & Whitney “has taken action to improve quality surveillance within their manufacturing processes,” and manufacturing quality experts at the Defense Department have worked to ensure improvements are in place as production of the single-engine aircraft accelerates, according to the report prepared by Pentagon acquisition officials with help from the F-35 program office.

Pratt & Whitney, the sole maker of engines for the F-35, is under pressure to hone its quality processes as the Pentagon plans to spend almost $49 billion buying as many as 2,457 engines for the fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp. Congress has approved $6.7 billion in engine funding so far, according to the report. The Pentagon has requested money to buy 63 engines next year, increasing to 105 by 2021.

‘Continuous Improvement’

Pratt & Whitney spokesman Matthew Bates said in an e-mail that its quality management “is designed to ensure safe, reliable products” and the company “is investing significant resources in advanced quality inspection techniques and continuous improvement in our supply base, which has [led] to year-over-year improvement.”

The reliability of installed engines is exceeding 90 percent “which is well ahead of 2020 requirements,” he said. (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Bloomberg news website.

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At Sea Aboard the Zumwalt: Inside the US Navy’s New Stealth Destroyer (excerpt)

By Christopher P. Cavas

With its strikingly unique silhouette, the US Navy’s first DDG-1000 land-attack destroyer, the future USS Zumwalt, sails through the fog towards the Atlantic Ocean for a new series of sea trials. (Twitter photo)

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