* US NAVAIR performs the 1st steam catapult launch of its carrier-borne F-35C Lightning II fighter, from its land testing facility at NAS Patuxent River, MD. Short video at the bottom of this entry.
* Should the US DoD be restricted to buying only steel melted in the US?
* The Pentagon presented its tentative Air-Sea Battle doctrine which will be developed by the creatively-named Air-Sea Battle Office (ASBO). Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) likes it, though that’s hardly surprising. Two elephants in the room: China, and the US Army. More: DOD Buzz | Defense News | Washington Times | Information Dissemination.
* Australia accepts its 3rd of 4 A330 MRTT/KC-30A aerial refueling tankers, at RAAFB Amberley.
* Republican US Senators Jon Kyl (AZ) and Richard Lugar (IN) sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to lean in favor of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) rather than the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). The point of contention: how to regulate cluster munitions.
* Republicans and Democrats are leaking their respective outlines of what the Super Committee could enact to meets its deficit reduction goals, with its deadline looming in less than 3 weeks while the current continuing resolution expires in 8 days. Such leaks are usually not a sign that negotiations are proceeding productively and in good faith. Roll Call | Politico. Some lawmakers want to prevent the automatic cuts from happening if the super committee doesn’t reach an agreement, which would pretty much defeat its purpose.
* But wouldn’t it help knowing how much is spent in the first place? Nuclear weapons is one area where nobody seems to agree on the numbers.
* The French Marine Nationale sailed almost all its available fleet during the Libyan Harmattan operation, including 3 nuclear subs, according to Mer & Marine [in French].