Navy gets $2.7 billion attack submarine sponsored by Michelle Obama
A Connecticut company has delivered to the U.S. Navy an attack submarine that is sponsored by first lady Michelle Obama and will be named for her home state.
General Dynamics Electric Boat delivered the submarine that will become the USS Illinois Aug. 27 after more than five years of construction.
The first lady will be involved in the life of the submarine and the lives of its sailors and their families.
The submarine will begin its active service at a commissioning ceremony on Oct. 29.
It took thousands of shipyard employees in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Virginia and submarine supply businesses nationwide to build the $2.7 billion submarine.
Electric Boat is based in Groton, Conn., and has been designing and building submarines since 1900. AP
Air Force says retired 4-star general under investigation
The Air Force says a retired four-star general is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct.
An Air Force spokesman, Col. Patrick Ryder, said Aug. 26 the general is Arthur J. Lichte. Ryder said it would be inappropriate for him to comment further, beyond saying the Air Force takes all allegations of sexual assault or harassment very seriously.
Lichte’s last assignment before retiring in January 2010 was as commander of Air Force Mobility Command, based in Illinois.
The allegation was first reported by a blog, John Q. Public, written by a retired Air Force officer, Tony Carr.
A voice message left at a Tampa, Fla., telephone listing for Lichte Aug. 26 was not immediately returned. AP
Lockheed Martin unit to manage former Nevada nuclear test site
A subsidiary of defense giant Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $5 billion contract to manage a vast federal Department of Energy reservation where the nation used to conduct nuclear testing north of Las Vegas.
As the Nevada Test Site, the area hosted more than 1,000 nuclear detonations from 1951 to 1992.
The 1,360-square-mile area, now called the Nevada National Security Site, is used for experiments and safety training related to the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
The announcement Aug. 26 by the National Nuclear Security Administration said a five-year contract with a five-year option went to Nevada Site Science Support and Technologies Corp.
The Lockheed Martin affiliate plans to partner with a subsidiary of Fluor Corp. and Longenecker and Associates.
The site had been managed by National Security Technologies LLC, a Northrop Grumman joint venture with three partners. AP