Pentagon: Chinese carrier likely to join naval fleet in 2019
The Pentagon says China’s first home-built aircraft carrier is likely to enter into service this year.
In a report May 2 on Chinese military power, the Pentagon said this fits with Beijing’s goal of developing a global force that can conduct military operations at expanding distances from the Chinese mainland.
The only aircraft carrier in China’s current naval fleet was bought as a mostly empty hull from Ukraine in 2002 and commissioned in 2012. China says aircraft carriers are needed to protect its coastline and trade routes.
The U.S. Navy has 11 aircraft carriers — the most of any nation. Earlier this year the Trump administration asked Congress to permit the early retirement of one carrier, but this week President Donald Trump withdrew that request. AP
U.S. Air Force General Tod Wolters sworn in as NATO commander
U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters has been sworn in as the top military officer of the 29-nation NATO military alliance.
The former pilot, who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq, became Supreme Allied Commander Europe at a ceremony on May 3 at NATO’s military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.
Wolters, who replaces U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti for a term likely to run two to three years, will also be commander of U.S. forces in Europe.
The NATO post of SACEUR is always held by an American military officer.
NATO’s top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, says the command is “one of the most challenging and most important military positions in the world.” Wolters will oversee NATO’s biggest reinforcement of its collective defenses in Eastern Europe since the Cold War. AP
SpaceX confirms crew capsule destroyed in ground test
SpaceX finally confirmed May 2 its crew capsule was destroyed in ground testing two weeks ago and conceded that the accident is “not great news” for the company’s effort to launch astronauts this year.
Hans Koenigsmann, a company vice president, told reporters it’s too soon to know what went wrong during the April 20 test or whether the crew Dragon capsule’s test flight in March — minus astronauts — contributed to the failure. Flames engulfed the capsule a half-second before the launch-abort thrusters were to fire.
SpaceX still cannot access the testing area at Cape Canaveral for safety reasons, according to Koenigsmann. The company does not want to disturb any evidence that could provide clues to the failure, he noted.
The company has concluded, meanwhile, that the smaller, simpler cargo version of the Dragon capsule is safe to fly to the International Space Station. AP