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The article focuses on Australia's Wedgetail aircraft program and the lessons it provide to the U.S. in terms of future defense industrial programs. The program integrates new radar, communications and electronic warfare capabilities into a commercial airframe. Australia's government made a direct commercial contract with a U.S. defense firm for the program. One of the lessons is the challenge in managing a procurement program despite the distance between the customer and the lead contractor.

The article reports that flight operation and crew comfort improvements in the U.S. carrier Gerald R. Ford have caused delays and cost overruns. Topics discussed include the 22 percent increase in the carrier's projected cost and the incorporation of innovative systems, such as the electromagnetic aircraft launch system, that aim to improve operational efficiency. Improvements made to the power generation capacity and the installation of a dual-band radar are also mentioned.

This article reports that the U.S. Navy's biggest surface-ship project will be ready by next spring to order the first DD(X) Zumwalt-class destroyer. The integrated power system being developed for DD(X) is the key to building a fast, minimally crewed warship that can run futuristic radar systems, lasers and rail guns. Today's U.S. Navy warships turn their propellers and generate their electricity with separate systems. On DD(X), one system will do it all, powering the ship, guns, radar and all other needs. Eventually, the Navy wants its entire fleet to have integrated power.

The article discloses the findings of an independent panel investigation into U.S. Navy readiness highlighting the poor conditions of the Aegis advanced radar systems aboard cruisers and destroyers. Poor training, bureaucracy and cultural resignation are identified by the panel as contributing factors to the technical problems of the radar systems. Naval expert A.D. Baker III asserts that such problems will affect the putative ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability of the service.

The article looks at new tools designed for U.S. military aircraft to ensure the completion of the mission and the safety of the pilot. It says that the most significant of the elements that make up the capability is a new generation of multimode active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, combined with advanced tactical data links and satellite communications. Among the aircraft already equipped with Raytheon AN/APG-79 AESA radar are the Blacklions of Strike Fighter Squadron 213. Cmdr. Paul Gronemeyer comments on the new radar.

Focuses on the role of intelligence analysts of the United States Army in the aerial bombings against Yugoslavia. Information on the Q-37 artillery-finding radar used by the analysts; Functions of the Hunter unmanned aerial vehicles; Types of analysis done by the Army.

The article reports on the call of U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Tom Copeman for the agency to re-evaluate the next flights of littoral combat ships in 2013. It states that the U.S. Navy is in the process of building Air Missile Defense Radar that will replace its SPY-1 radars in Aegis ships. According to the author, Copeman suggests improved dependence on mobile landing platform to increase military accommodations in some Navy bases.

The article reports on the plan of the U.S. Army to install the Helicopter Autonomous Landing System (HALS) radar systems from Sierra Nevada on 10 UH-60L Black Hawks, which allows pilots to navigate through dust, sand, snow and bad weather. The system is also expected to minimize accidents caused by unimproved landing zones and increased frequency of aerial missions. The key advantages of the HALS radar system are mentioned by Layne Merritt, director for engineering technology at the U.S. Army.

The article focuses on technologies which, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), continue to present the greatest risk to the cost and schedule of the aircraft carrier Gerard R. Ford, including the advanced arresting gear, dual band radar and the electromagnetic aircraft launch system, known as EMALS. Officials note that the advanced arresting gear allows the carrier to trap a wider range of aircraft. It cites that electric currents in the EMALS produce magnetic fields that are used by a linear induction motor to launch the aircraft.

The article reports on the effort of the nonprofit Alfred Mann Foundation to convince the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to loosen restrictions on the radio spectrum to permit wide use of microstimulators to treat spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. David Hankin of Alfred Mann stated that the group has been working on technology that implants microstimulators in paralyzed limbs to produce small electrical pulses that stimulate nerves. He cites concerns expressed by military officials that radar signals could overpower the microstimulators.

The article presents an update on the 12-month, $200 million modernization program of the cruiser Bunker Hill. A bar was located on the cruiser's mess deck although the alcohol rules of the U.S. Navy still stand. Some of the additions to the cruiser include radar and electronics gear, a dedicated fitness center, and a water-manufacturing system. The cruiser's new digital video surveillance system, which can watch for fires or damage, is expected to save the ship between 12 and 15 people according to Jim Sheridan of Lockheed Martin.

The article introduces a new breed of radar capable of spotting periscope-like targets and automatically alert the operator to take a closer look. The radar being developed by the U.S. Navy is the Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discrimination (ARPDD) for its aircraft and anti-submarine MH-60R Seahawk helicopters which are slated for deployment in 2009. The radar can boost its scan rate from zero revolutions per minute (RPM) when staring in one direction up to a classified RPM for the new ARPDD mode. The Navy hopes to install ARPDD by 2013.

The article focuses on the statement made by U.S. Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter that service officials are folding in a nuclear-power option into the analysis of alternatives that is ongoing for the next-generation cruiser, the CGX. According to the preliminary analysis of a nuclear-powered cruiser, the biggest power drain is in maintaining the constant operation of the huge air and missile defense radar that is planned. Officials are studying several issues such as logistics.

The article reports on the raid of a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) sailor's home by Japanese police in Kanagawa Prefecture as official inquiry widened into how technological secrets about the Aegis radar system got onto a disk with pornographic computer files being passed around by MSDF shipmates. Authorities suspect that a man aboard the destroyer Shirane is stealing and selling Aegis data. The radar was developed by the U.S. Navy to protect carrier battle groups against missile attacks.

Reports on the preparation of various sites for the shift of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to new satellite equipment and upgrade led by Harris Corp. Replacement of old equipment at remote FAA sites to provide improved backup radar, weather and air-to-ground communications between operating aircraft and FAA facilities; Views of David Helfgott, CEO of Americom Government Services, on the need of satellite by some critical communications; Advantages of the upgrade.

Reports on a discussion on key operational details of missile defense systems at the 4th Annual Missile Defense conference organized by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) of the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington on March 20, 2006. Concern of U.S. Marine Corps General James Cartwright on the global command and control of the systems; Decision of MDA director Henry Obering to offer to schedule 2007 for the preparation of a second forward-based radar for the system; Debate on whether defense against cruise missiles should become part of the MDA portfolio.

Reports on the U.S. Navy's new EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft which was officially named, the Growler, on November 8, 2005. Dissatisfaction of several naval aviators from the Prowler community on the Growler name; Information on a technical problem in the ALQ-218(V)2 threat radar detection pods of the EA-18G according to Captain Steve Kochman, Navy program manager for the EA-18G; Number of Growlers that the U.S. Navy plans to acquire through fiscal 2013.

Reports on the demand of the U.S. Marine Corps for an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) feature that jams the cell phones that trigger roadside bombs. Remarks from David Jeffreys, program manager of F-35 maker Lockheed Martin, on the search by the Marines for the feature; Electronic warfare aircraft candidates which was identified in a report to the U.S. Congress; Features of the Active Electronically Scanned Array radar of JSF.

Reports on the upgrading plans of the U.S. Navy for its New Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. Technological advances employed in the DD(X) destroyer; Comparison between the radar configurations of the DD(X) and DDG destroyers; Cost savings for the upgraded destroyers.

Focuses on the XF3D-1 Skynight jet fighter plane of the U.S. Navy. Capabilities of the Skynight; Radars of the Skynight being used in combat mission; Museum where an F3D Skynight is featured.

Provides information on the test to be conducted in several technologies in the DD(X) destroyer of the U.S. Navy. Multiuse dual-band radar; Integrated composite deckhouse; Peripheral Vertical Missile Launch System.

Reports that Raytheon Systems Co. will develop and produce the next-generation radar for the United States Navy's F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. Development of an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar; Bidders for the project.

Reports that a critical component of the United States (US) Navy's SPY-1 Aegis radar could become the next-generation weather radar for widespread commercial use in the US. Interest expressed by the National Weather Service and Federal Aviation Administration in the technology; Purpose of the plan to test the antenna; Value of the phased-array antenna.

Reports on scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington's development of a shipborne radar that has the potential of tracking incoming missile threats infinitely faster than state-of-the-art radar. Capability of the technology to track multiple targets; Comments of Robert Meger, director at the laboratory; Funding in 1997 for the research. INSET: Agile Mirror..