LOCATIONS
LAND
25 Nov 14. Huntsville, Alabama, home of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, has become a national center for geospatial and energy technologies, AL.com reports. Robert Cardillo, the new director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, told the Geo-Energy Summit that the town in northeast Alabama is playing an important role in storing and processing geospatial data, according to the article. “You’re a group of passionate, committed individuals who contribute much to our national security,” Cardillo said Nov. 12 at the event, held in Huntsville. (Source: Open Source Information Report/C4ISR & Networks)
24 Nov 14. USAF releases basing criteria for Reserve KC-46A tanker. The US Air Force (USAF) has released the criteria for selection of candidate bases for the first reserve-led KC-46A Pegasus aerial refuelling tanker aircraft. The basing criteria was issued after extensive internal review. It includes proximity to refuelling receiver demand, airfield and airspace availability, fuels considerations and the potential to establish an active-duty association, as well as capacity and environmental requirements and cost factors. US Air Force secretary Deborah Lee James said: “The KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker remains one of our top three acquisition priorities. “We will begin to replace our ageing tanker fleet in 2016, but even when the programme is complete in 2028 we will have replaced less than half of the current tanker fleet.” The USAF will validate all reserve-led global mobility wings with a runway of at least 7,000ft against the approved criteria, which will be used to identify candidate bases for the aircraft. Following the release of the candidate bases, Air Force Reserve Command and Air Mobility Command will conduct site surveys at each base. They will assess each location against operational and training requirements, potential impacts to existing missions, housing, infrastructure and manpower. The survey team will then develop cost estimates to determine how to bed down the KC-46A. Identification of candidate installations is expected in spring 2015, while the selection of preferred and reasonable alternatives and the environmental impact analysis process would begin in fall, followed by announcement of final base in 2016. Developed from Boeing’s 767-200ER airliner, the KC-46A is a military aerial refuelling and strategic transport aircraft designed to replace USAF’s ageing KC-135 Stratotankers fleet. Boeing is currently under contract to deliver 18 KC-46s by 2017 to the USAF, which is planning to procure a total of 179 tankers by 2028. In a separate development, USAF announced Eielson Air Force Base (AFB), Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and Nellis AFB, as candidate bases to host the 18th Aggressor Squadron and its assigned 18 F-16 Fighting Falcons. The aggressors are currently based at Eielson AFB, which has recently been named as preferred alternative for 48 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant aircraft. The Air Combat Command will now conduct site surveys of the bases, while the selection of preferred and reasonable alternative bases will be announced in 2015. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
MARITIME
26 Nov 14. UK to Move All Submarines to Clyde Naval Base. Two Trafalgar Class submarines will move from Her Majesty’s Naval Base Devonport to Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde in another step towards HMNB Clyde becoming the Royal Navy’s submarine centre of specialisation. By 2020, HMS Talent and HMS Triumph will have moved to Scotland making HMNB Clyde home to all of the UK’s submarines. The Royal Navy’s other two T-Boats, HMS Torbay and HMS Trenchant, are to remain at their current home in Devonport until they are decommissioned in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said, “This decision balances the Royal Navy’s operational requirements with giving more clarity to our servicemen and women to plan their family lives. HMS Torbay and HMS Trenchant crews and