Rapid Fire 2011-09-12: Chinese Aerospace Power
- On the 10th anniversary of the attacks that came as the first shots in the current war with al-Qaeda and its allies, see: Pentagon mini-site | Britain’s PM | Canadian MND statement | French PM (video).
- The Long War Journal asks: How many al Qaeda fighters are in Afghanistan again? The numbers don’t seem to add.
- Meanwhile, ISVG points out that “open-source information indicates that while the United States and its allies have been highly effective at killing or capturing high-level members of [al Qaeda Central], the central leadership of [al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula] remains largely intact.”
- At WIRED’s Danger Room, David Axe chronicles 10 (American) military jobs that barely existed on Sept 10, 2001 – but do now.
- The US military’s 1st JHSV catamaran is launched and christened at Austal’s Mobile, AL shipyard. Meanwhile, the Austal-built USS Independence Littoral Combat Ship has finished repairs for its corrosion issues, and steamed into St. Petersburg.
- India’s 5th stretched C-130J special operations transport flies out to AFS Hindan.
- Boeing is cooperating with Dalhaousie University in Halifax, NS, Canada, as part of its required industrial offsets for sales of C-17A Globemaster heavy aerial transports, CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, and ScanEagle UAVs. Foci include advanced materials development, engineering graphics on mobile electronics, and visual and text analytics.
- House Armed Services Committee hearings coming up this week: The Future of National Defense and the U.S. Military Ten Years After 9/11 (today), Organizational Challenges in Achieving Sound Financial Management and Audit Readiness and Sustaining GPS for National Security (both on 9/15/11).
- Ronald O’Rourke at the Congressional Research Service releases the latest version of “Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans: Background and Issues for Congress”, based on information in the proposed FY12 budget, the Navy’s 30-year plan and CBO’s costing of it. Older versions are available for free thanks to Open CRS.
- Andrew S. Erickson of the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) gave a book lecture at the Naval War College museum on Chinese aerospace power and maritime roles. 1-hour video embedded below:
Categories: Americas - Other, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Daily Rapid Fire, Electronics - General, Events, France, India, IT - Software & Integration, Lockheed Martin, Materials Innovations, Memoriam, Other Corporation, Policy - Procurement, Surface Ships - Combat, Surface Ships - Other, Transport & Utility, University-related, USA, Warfare - Trends
