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Sea State<\/strong><\/p>\n President Trump has been blowing off steam about the US Navy\u2019s catapults. Apparently, the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on the USS Gerald Ford<\/em>\u2014\u2018slated to become the crown jewel of the US Navy\u2019<\/a>\u2014may not be long for this world. In an interview with TIME<\/a>, <\/em>Trump queried the use of \u2018digital\u2019 catapults and appeared to suggest a reversal to the previous generation steam-powered catapults. It\u2019s true that EMALS has been beset by cost and schedule overruns, but the system is expected to save the Navy US$4 billion in maintenance costs over the ship\u2019s 50-year lifetime (not to mention its many other potential benefits<\/a>). Facing an impossible re-engineering task on the Ford class, and said to be \u2018blindsided\u2019<\/a> by Trump\u2019s comments, Navy officials have declined to comment<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Philippines is buying a second-hand warship from South Korea for just US$100<\/a> (!). But, the 30 year old Pohang<\/em>-class corvette was decommissioned in December 2016 and will require considerable investment<\/a> (an estimated US$4 million) to return to service. And it won\u2019t come with all its weaponry. Luckily, South Korea, which is working to build its own arms export industry, \u2018is well positioned to re-equip it for the Philippines, at a price\u2019.<\/p>\n Flight Path<\/strong><\/p>\n A Russian Su-27 fighter came within 20 feet<\/a> of a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft last Tuesday in international airspace over the Black Sea. Russia\u2019s defence ministry said it deployed the aircraft upon locating \u2018an air target approaching the Russian state border\u2019, after which it executed a \u2018greeting manoeuvre\u2019. US Naval Force Europe Capt. Pamela Kunze said<\/a> the interaction was \u2018safe and professional\u2019, despite the \u2018unusually close\u2019 distance. And then on Friday, a US P-8 had another unscheduled rendezvous<\/a> with a Su-27 over the Black Sea\u2014this time coming within 40 feet. To avoid mid-air collisions over Syria<\/a>, Washington and Moscow last week resumed military communications<\/a> after their suspension in the wake of the US airstrike at Shayrat airbase.<\/p>\n Turkey has finalised<\/a> the contract to purchase 52 MFI-395 Super Mushshak military training\/light attack aircraft<\/a> from Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC)\u2014a deal that was settled on 10 May on the sidelines of the 2017 International Defence Industry Fair<\/a> in Istanbul. Last July, PAC won<\/a> the competitive tender to replace Turkey\u2019s ageing fleet of Italian Leonardo light trainers. This will be PAC\u2019s largest order to date, and follows Qatari<\/a> and Nigerian<\/a> orders of the Super Mushshak in 2016. The MFI-395 is a PAC licence-built variant of Sweden\u2019s Saab MFI-17 Supporter aircraft, and was designed to provide primary flight training to Pakistan Air Force pilots.<\/p>\n Rapid Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n On 10 May, a written statement from the Pentagon<\/a> announced the US would begin stepping up its weapons deliveries<\/a> to the People\u2019s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria. The YPG is a Kurdish militia group seen as a valuable partner<\/a> in the fight against Islamic State. The weapons the US will provide include heavy machine guns, mortars, anti-tank weapons, armored cars and engineering equipment. Following the announcement, Turkey warned that there would be a \u2018blowback\u2019<\/a> against arming a group they consider to be a terrorist organisation.<\/a> Only last month, Turkey bombed a number of YPG bases<\/a> in Syria and Iraq.<\/p>\n The US Marine Corps has released a recruiting ad that, for the first time, focuses on female marines in combat<\/a>. The ad shows a young female rugby player standing up to her bullies\u2014skip forward several years and that same girl is now a marine. Even cooler, the woman in the ad is played by an actual US marine, Captain Erin Demchko, who has previously served in Afghanistan. And speaking of elite military forces, a freelance journalist writing for Popular Mechanics<\/a> recently spent 48 hours<\/a> with the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), touring their training facilities and experiencing first-hand \u2018what makes AFSOC among the most versatile forces in America’s military arsenal\u2019.<\/p>\n Zero Gravity<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s talk optics and space\u2014first up, space telescopes. NASA\u2019s US$8.8 billion<\/a> James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>, the more powerful successor to the Hubble, has arrived<\/a> in Houston for final cryogenic testing. The precision-engineered telescope will spend almost 100 days in vacuum and deep-freeze<\/a>, mimicking the deep-space conditions in which it will ultimately operate when it\u2019s launched next year.<\/p>\n Other optical instruments have also been on show with India drawing plaudits<\/a> for its so-termed \u2018space diplomacy\u2019. The GSAT-9 communications and imaging satellite<\/a>, with the moniker \u2018South Asian satellite<\/a>,\u2019 was launched<\/a> by India earlier this month. It\u2019s set to be free-to-use<\/a> for Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Pakistan rejected India\u2019s offer to share the satellite\u2019s capabilities.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good look for a country that\u2019s seeking to grow its soft power<\/a>, but India\u2019s not the only one trying to leverage space in a diplomatic setting<\/a>. Indian pundits see the launch<\/a> in the context of growing Chinese influence in South Asia. Aside from helping<\/a> Pakistan\u2019s space efforts, China\u2019s also been talking with representatives from the European Space Agency. The subject matter is a possible partnership in an eventual moon outpost, but it\u2019ll be a long road<\/a> and China\u2019s civilian space program is still inseparable<\/a> from its secret military efforts. Still, amid this space drive<\/a> and extended ambition<\/a>, four Chinese students just moved into the so-called \u2018Lunar Palace\u2019, a sealed lab and self-contained ecosystem<\/a> located in Beijing and intended to simulate conditions in a lunar habitat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sea State President Trump has been blowing off steam about the US Navy\u2019s catapults. Apparently, the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) on the USS Gerald Ford\u2014\u2018slated to become the crown jewel of the US Navy\u2019\u2014may …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":597,"featured_media":31877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[989,218,803,163,289],"class_list":["post-31876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-kurds","tag-middle-east","tag-nasa","tag-russia","tag-us-navy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n