MQ-9A accident investigation released
A pilot’s misprioritization of checklist tasks and failure to observe aircraft warnings led to the crash of an MQ-9A Reaper remotely-piloted aircraft on the Nevada Test and Training Range June 7, 2016, according to an Air Combat Command Abbreviated Accident Investigation Board report released May 11.
The aircraft, valued at $11.1 million, was assigned to the 432nd Wing, Creech Air Force Base, Nev., and was destroyed on impact. There were no injuries or damage to private property.
The MQ-9A was performing a training mission at the time of mishap. After the launch and recovery element successfully flew the aircraft to its cruising altitude, they began the process to hand over the aircraft to the mishap aircrew. Subsequently, the mishap pilot placed the aircraft in a power setting that was too low to maintain level flight. The pilot was primarily focused on checklist procedures and did not initially observe the stall warnings. Despite later power increases in an attempt to recover the aircraft, the pilot was unsuccessful.
Indonesian-made ship is newest addition to Philippine navy
The Philippine navy welcomed May 10 a second Indonesian-made amphibious landing dock as part of the military’s modernization program.
The new ship named BRP Davao del Sur arrived at Manila’s South Harbor to a ceremony led by Rear Adm. Gaudencio Collado Jr., commander of the Philippine Fleet.
The delivery completes a 3.8 billion peso ($76 million) procurement of two such vessels from Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia, said navy spokesman Capt. Lued Lincuna.
The ship sailed from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, with 120 Filipino sailors and a 10-man Indonesian delivery crew.
The BRP Tarlac, the first of the two Indonesian-made ships, arrived in the country last year. It has already taken part in missions including a naval blockade against militants, seajackings and kidnappings in southern Philippine waters.
Both ships serve as command-and-control vessels during humanitarian operations as well as for military sealift and transport, Lincuna said. AP
Remains of Iowa sailor killed at Pearl Harbor coming home
The remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are being returned for burial in Kossuth County.
Authorities say William Kennedy, of Titonka, was one of 429 sailors and Marines who were killed aboard a U.S. battleship, the USS Oklahoma. He was 24.
The Des Moines Register reports that Kennedy’s remains had been buried in an area for the unidentified at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. They were recently identified as part of a Department of Defense effort that began in 2015.
Service members honored Kennedy as a plane carrying his remains arrived May 11 at the Des Moines International Airport. He will be buried next to his mother at a Titonka, Iowa, cemetery after his military funeral May 12. AP
China says it successfully tests new type of missile
China’s defense ministry said May 10 that the military successfully test-fired a new type of missile into waters near the Korean Peninsula, an announcement that comes amid Chinese anger over the deployment in South Korea of a sophisticated U.S. missile defense system.
A brief statement on the ministry’s website said the test took place recently in the Bohai Gulf and “achieved the intended result.” It did not reveal the type of missile or provide other details.
Both the timing and the location of the test could be significant, although the test may also have been scheduled well in advance. The Bohai Gulf lies just west of the Yellow Sea, which separates China from the Korean Peninsula. The defense ministry said last month that it would respond to the missile defense system’s deployment by continuing to test new types of weapons under conditions simulating actual combat.
Beijing opposes the system, known by its acronym, THAAD, because its radars are allegedly capable of peering deep into China, allowing the U.S. and its allies to better detect rocket launches and aircraft movements. Washington says the system is necessary to guard against North Korean missile threats and calls China’s concerns unfounded.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said May 10 that China had no intention of softening its opposition.
“China’s position on the issue of THAAD is clear and consistent. We hope South Korea can pay high attention to China’s concerns and handle the relevant issue in a proper way,” Geng said.
The Chinese weapon tested was likely a DF-26 intermediate range missile being developed to sink warships, including U.S. aircraft carriers, said Song Zhongping, an expert on military affairs and commentator for Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV. The Bohai Gulf is the preferred location for such tests because it is Chinese territorial waters, Song said.
However, while the DF-26 could be useful against THAAD, China also has several other missiles that are up to the task, he said.
“It hasn’t much to do with THAAD directly, but it is a kind of warning to South Korea and the U.S.,” Song said. AP
Two ex-executives plead guilty in massive Navy bribery scandal
Two former executives of a defense contractor linked to an international Navy bribery scandal have pleaded guilty to federal charges in San Diego.
Neil Peterson and Linda Raja entered pleas May 9 to conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
The Singapore residents worked for Glenn Defense Marine Asia, which provided fuel, food and other services to the Navy in Pacific ports.
Prosecutors say for years the firm and its owner, “Fat” Leonard Francis, bribed Navy officers with fancy gifts, trips and prostitutes to provide classified information in order to beat competitors and overcharge for services.
The scheme cost the Navy some $35 million.
More than a dozen Navy and company officials, including Leonard and an admiral, have pleaded guilty and more await trial in one of the Navy’s worst corruption scandals. AP