THE BEST naval news since 1995
Naval Air Station Lemoore is proud to announce that it is turning 61 years old. The base was commissioned on Saturday, July 8, 1961, in front of a crowd of thousands of thrilled personnel, residents and distinguished guests. When it was first built, the base was the U.S. Navy’s largest and most modern Master Jet Base in the nation and…
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Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) is gearing up to return an MV-22 Osprey to the fleet after conducting a wing-off stow ring replacement on the aircraft, the first completion of this procedure by a naval aviation depot. In another inaugural depot-level repair, FRCE artisans tackled corrosion on the aircraft’s K-fittings with the wing off, rather than the standard wing-on method;…
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A Navy C-26D aircraft made a 2,241 mile, eight-stop, eight-day, eight-country trek. The aircraft flew from Naval Support Activity (NSA) Naples, Italy to a repair depot in New Braunfels, Texas landing on May 16. While not an epic trek across time and space, the flight of the C-26 Metroliner was an example of Tactical Airlift Program Office (PMA-207) Fixed Wing/Operational…
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The Naval Aviation Training Systems and Ranges program office (PMA-205) in partnership with Navy dive technicians from Underwater Construction Team 2 (UCT-2) completed undersea sustainment on a critical piece of infrastructure at the Southern California Anti-Submarine Warfare Range (SOAR) in March. “Sustaining this infrastructure is a no-fail program imperative,” said Capt. Lisa Sullivan, PMA-205 program manager. If they are not…
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The Navy’s Air Combat Electronics program office (PMA-209) recently completed the first test flight of the T-45 trainer aircraft’s Mission Computer Alternative (MCA) which is intended to improve readiness for the legacy system. PMA-209 collaborated with the Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems program office (PMA-273), which manages the T-45 aircraft, and Air Test Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 to execute the…
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Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) has expanded its support of next-generation naval aviation by declaring capabilities on a new round of F-35 components. These capabilities build upon the 17 F-35 components the depot previously declared capabilities on in 2020. “This expansion of our F-35 component workload is extremely important because the F-35 is a not just a unique platform, it’s…
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The Navy awarded a $217.1 million contract May 24 to Raytheon Missile Systems to deliver 154 Tomahawk missiles to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army by 2025. The Full Rate Production (FRP) contract, Lot 18, marks the first multi-service procurement for Tomahawk, which further expands integration into new firing platforms for the Marine Corps and Army. “This is a major…
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The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS) expanded its educational offerings by graduating a group of civilian engineers from its inaugural Advanced Flying Qualities Intermediate Course during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, May 20. “As a Class 97 graduate, I cannot overstate the knowledge, skill, and intuition engineers take away from their time at USNTPS,” said…
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In May 2020, Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) awarded a five-year, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity, long-term contract for the P-8A Poseidon Maritime aircraft estimated at $30 million to a small business, S&K Aerospace. In the nearly two years since the contract was awarded, the partnership has proved critical to keeping the P-8 in the sky. The…
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The Air-to-Air Missiles Program Office acquired Italy as its 28th Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-9X International Partner, Dec. 17. The Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C., notified the Navy International Programs Office that the Italian Air Force accepted and signed the Letter of Offer & Acceptance (LOA) provided by the United States Government. Italian Air Force officials signed the LOA Nov. 19,…
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