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Next year the Navy will begin installing a hybrid electric drive (HED) system on 34 Flight IIA Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers in a bid to lower the fuel costs of the ships, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) told USNI News in a statement.The system, which will marry an electric motor to the ships’ main reduction gear to drive the ship at low speeds, promises to save the service thousands of barrels of fuel in over a ship’s deployment.Earlier this year L-3 — the company was awarded contract in 2012 to develop the technology — delivered two pre-production HED systems for testing ahead of the first installation in the Burkes in the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2016 after research and development testing is done, NAVSEA said.

Source:  Navy Set to Install Hybrid Electric Drives in Destroyer Fleet Staring Next Year – USNI News

Interesting. I didn’t know this when I wrote about hybrid drives this morning.

The normal DDG-51 plant is four LM2500 gas turbines, two per shaft. Turbines spin at ridiculous speeds, whereas ships propellers work best at low speeds. To fix this mismatch, the LM2500s drive through a main reduction gearbox for each shaft. You can also operate with one engine on each shaft offline. I suppose you could just idle one shaft, and run the other on one engine only.

Here, you can use power from the ships service turbine generators to power a small motor that’s linked to the main reduction gearbox. Given a light enough load on the rest of electrical bus, you could simply run the ship off the generators and save quite a bit of fuel.

So, the Brits have a gorgeous Vulcan bomber in their warbird collection. Quite possibly the prettiest cold war airplane, the Vulcan served all the way until the 1980s, even attacking the Falkland islands during the 1982 war in the famous Black Buck raids.

Sadly, they’ll have to stop flying her after this year, when her engines operating hours expire. In the meantime, she’s on a last goodwill tour throughout Great Britain. And earlier this month, on September 5th, she almost suffered a calamity. Her nose gear failed to extend properly into the down and locked position. With a little help from a Supermarine Spitfire,  ATC in the tower, and the good old emergency checklist, they managed to get the gear down and land safely.

NEW DELHI — After three years of waiting, India’s Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and which is responsible for the purchase of weapons and equipment, has cleared a $2.5 billion deal to buy 22 Apache AH-64 Block III attack helicopters and 15 Chinook CH-47F heavy-lift helicopters from Boeing.CCS approval, granted at a meeting Tuesday, means formalities have been cleared and the deal could be inked in the next two months, said a Defence Ministry official.

Source: India Panel Clears $2.5B Helo Deal With Boeing

For decades, India either bought British equipment, Russian, or strived to build indigenously. In the last decade or so, that really has shifted, and India has become a major market for US defense contractors.

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. — The PD-100 Black Hornet has deployed with Marine Corps special operations teams, but the micro unmanned aerial vehicle’s manufacturer sees potential for significantly wider use among conventional combat forces.Created by Prox Dynamics, this handheld helicopter is a powerful surveillance tool that can be tough to detect. It was on display at the Modern Day Marine exposition.James Mitchell, a Marine veteran representing Prox Dynamics, said the Black Hornet — which the company calls a “personal reconnaissance system” — can track enemy movements, investigate suspicious objects, and help troops see down hallways or behind buildings. And it’s incredibly easy to use, Mitchell added, saying he learned to operate one after a 20-minute crash course.

Source: Marines get a closer look at Black Hornet Nano

We’re going to see more and more of these micro-UAVs in use. Will each platoon have one? Probably.

That’s going to change the perspective of the battlefield for a platoon leader. It’s going to be a lot harder to sneak up on a platoon, for sure.

FORT HOOD, Texas — Just a few short days after completing the Adjutant General Officer Basic Course, Army 1st Lt. George McAllister is already earning accolades as the personnel officer for a Fort Hood based combined arms battalion by losing leave forms faster than any of his predecessors. While previous S-1’s for the battalion usually waited until the […]

Source: Ultra-Efficient Personnel Officer Loses Leave Request Forms Faster Than Ever

A congressman who is a combat veteran and Ranger graduate has asked the Pentagon’s top Army leader to produce documents related to the performance of the females who began Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia earlier this year, PEOPLE has learned.In a letter obtained exclusively by PEOPLE, Rep. Steve Russell, R-Okla., gave outgoing Army Secretary John McHugh until September 25 to produce documents revealing the women’s test scores, evaluations, injuries, pre-training and more. The letter was delivered to McHugh’s Pentagon office on September 15.”The training of our combat warriors is paramount to our national defense,” Russell wrote to McHugh. “In order to ensure that the Army retains its ability to defend the nation, we must ensure that our readiness is not sacrificed.”The congressman is concerned because “sources at Fort Benning are coming forward to say the Army lied about women in Ranger School, that the women got special treatment and played by different rules,” according to a Capitol Hill source with knowledge of why the letter was crafted. “These folks say one thing, the Army says another. Congress needs to know the truth, and Russell reached out to find it.”

Source: Documents Requested for Female Rangers : People.com

Always good to see friend of the blog SKK published in People.

My own thoughts on the matter? Questions like this were inevitable. But comments about the women not carrying the guns have already been refuted by comments from their classmates at the press conference held immediately after graduation.

The question about recycling after phases is probably the most valid concern, but there’s room there. There are some fairly hard and fast rules at the Ranger School about how often you may recycle a phase. But the school isn’t the only party with input on the matter.

Let’s say Joe Smith has recycled each phase, and gets to Florida, and fails his patrols, and wants to recycle, and the school is willing to let him. At this point, Joe has been gone from his parent command something like five months, rather than the 61 days of the nominal course. His unit might just decide they’d rather have him back cutting grass and mopping floors than spending more time on TDY.

Obviously, that wasn’t the case with the two soldiers here. They were quite obviously hand picked (as were the other female volunteers) and it was clear that their commands would be expected to allow them as much time as needed away to either pass or fail.

Should Congress review the files? Sure. Just as long as they do so with an open mind, and not with a predetermined outcome in mind.