Preserving the USS Olympia - a Protected Cruiser

The USS Olympia, which fought in the Spanish American War of 1898 has been preserved and is a valuable piece of US maritime history. Unfortunately, Olympia needs $10-15 million in repairs to keep her a viable museum for years to come. She has not been out of water for approximately 40 years. If you have connections or resources to help, please contact me at 612-599-1935 or bdskon@fedex.com.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

US Navy Frigate based on the National Security Cutter



From http://hgworld.blogspot.com/

More voices have joined the conversation, pointing out the advantages of a patrol frigate over the single mission LCS.
MicroSystems Integration used historic U.S. Navy data from the 2010 Navy Program Guide to calculate the expected frequency for each of the 19 missions for the LCS-type ship during an average year and then assigned the preferred ship to each.

The analysis determined that out of the 19 missions traditionally performed by small surface combatants, seven indicated the Patrol Frigate was the preferred ship. When compared against a non-missionized LCS, (just the seaframe, no mission systems), the Patrol Frigate was the preferred ship in 15 missions. 
To compare operational costs (fuel and personnel), six modeled scenarios were run based on proposed scenarios in the CSBA paper, ranging from securing loose nuclear weapons to maritime interdiction. For those two scenarios, the Patrol Frigate reflected an operational savings of approximately 29 percent and 33 percent, respectively, when compared to an LCS-type ship. In all six scenarios (the two above and convoy protection, maritime stability operations, counter piracy/counter crime, and humanitarian assistance/disaster response), the Patrol Frigate reflected an operational savings of approximately 26 percent.

US deploys stealth jets to air base in Southwest Asia - Air Force - Stripes

US deploys stealth jets to air base in Southwest Asia - Air Force - Stripes

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The End of An Era - They were flown by hero's - making history.

At the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday, the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is positioned beneath space shuttle Discovery in the mate-demate device. Discovery will be lowered and mated to the aircraft in preparation for its departure from Kennedy on Tuesday. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

DoD Buzz | As last MRAP heads home, is an era over?

DoD Buzz | As last MRAP heads home, is an era over?