Alexandria, U.S.A. — Riki Ellison, Chairman and Founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA) commented on the announcement of the first U.S. Navy nomination for director of the Missile Defense Agency, Rear Adm. James D. Syring for appointment to the rank of Vice Admiral.

“The Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta announced that the President of the United States, has nominated Navy Rear Admiral James D. Syring for appointment to the rank of Vice Admiral and for assignment as Director, Missile Defense Agency to replace the current, Lt. General Patrick O’Reilly who is currently under investigation by the Defense Department’s Inspector General’s office whom have recommended the Pentagon leadership take corrective action against him.

This marks the first time in history that the United States Navy will have the Directorship and Command of the Missile Defense Agency and its predecessor organizations since the initiation of the Strategic Defense Initiative proposed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The United States Air Force, the United States Army and a Presidential appointed civilian have overseen and commanded the development, acquisition and research of missile defense since 1983.

The United States Navy is the main service and platform for U.S. sea based missile defense around the world which will have 28 current Ballistic Missile Defense Capable Aegis Ships in its fleets by the end of 2012 and the President’s planned European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) is dependent on the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense systems both on land and sea. The United States Navy is focusing on Directed Energy, Electronic Magnetic Force, in the Electric Rail Gun for future technologies and developments, all of which are applicable to missile defense.

Rear Admiral Syring is currently serving as program executive officer for Integrated Warfare Systems, Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C.

Image Courtesy of  jim.greenhill

The article Secretary of Defense Announces Control of the Missile Defense Agency appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Update, 4/15: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta set new limits on F-22 flights, ordering that they stay within safe distance of a landing strips due to ongoing concerns about oxygen deficiency.

Last week, CBS’ 60 Minutes aired an interview with two of the pilots who are refusing to fly the jets. They will receive whistleblower protection, and not be reprimanded for speaking out.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7407680n

The pricey F-22 Raptor jet has just gotten back up in the air, but the safety problem that grounded it doesn’t seem to be resolved.

Last year, the F-22 was grounded for four months because pilots were experiencing dizziness and other symptoms of hypoxia, which is caused by a lack of oxygen. The Air Force looked into possible malfunctions in the plane’s oxygen-generation system, but in September, the planes were cleared for service after technicians were unable to pinpoint a source of the problem.

May 14, however, the Air Force’s Air Combat Command confirmed that some pilots — they would specify only “a very small” number — have requested not to fly the F-22.

General Mike Hostage, who heads the Air Combat Command, said in a news briefing yesterday that the Air Force is taking cautionary measures but would continue to fly the planes. “We don’t have a conclusive answer yet, and that’s why we continue to fly with the mitigating procedures, because I can’t learn about the problem if I don’t fly the airplane,” he said.

Since the planes started flying again in September, there have been more than 12,000 sorties and 11 reported instances of “hypoxia-like symptoms.” An Air Combat Command Center spokesman told ProPublica today that a team of two-dozen Air Force and outside specialists is monitoring the planes and pilots for both mechanical and medical problems regarding the hypoxia symptoms, but that no “root cause” has been determined.

Before the grounding, there had been at least 12 separate reports of hypoxia-like symptoms, and planes had been limited to flying at lower altitudes. In late 2010, an F-22 pilot died in a crash after he apparently lost control of the plane when the oxygen system malfunctioned. The Air Force’s official report on the incident acknowledged the oxygen system failure but blamed the pilot’s response for the crash.

As ProPublica has detailed, the roughly $70 billion F-22 program has long experienced structural deficiencies and cost overruns. The U.S. halted orders of the jets in 2009, as then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates argued the F-22′s specific capability was not widely applicable in the nation’s “spectrum of conflict.”

The planes have yet to be deployed in combat, though last week a number of them were reportedly sent to the United Arab Emirates.

by Cora Currier, ProPublica, May 15, 2012, 6:43 p.m.

Image Courtesy of By U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. Ben Bloker [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The article Air Force Pilots Balk at Flying the World’s Most Expensive Fighter Jet appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.