Eagle Eye For Distributed Ops?
In the article “Beans and Bullets” of the August
Seapower, it mentioned the difficulties of resupply for the
Marine DO (Distributed Operations) units as they needed several
drops of 200 pounds of supplies as opposed to one larger drop
from a traditional helicopter or the Joint Precision Airdrop
System.
It would seem that a converted version of the Coast Guard’s
proposed Eagle Eye [vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aerial
vehicle] could meet the basic requirements of the Marine Corps
resupply with its ability to carry a 210-pound load at altitudes
of 14,000 feet. In addition, another possible Marine application
for the Eagle Eye would be a variant equipped with hard points
so individual DO units could operate a single or several Eagle
Eyes for limited strike or close air support missions.
Kevin Kuo
Syosset, N.Y.
The Military vs.Civilian Courts
As a comment to Navy League National President John A. Panneton’s “Striking
A Balance” in the August Seapower, there is a question
in my mind concerning whether the actions of the U.S. military
forces are subject to the ruling of a civilian court. We are
in a time of active warfare and the ultimate authority over
the military, at any time, rests with the commander in chief,
the president of the United States.
I recognize that my thoughts are biased in that I place little
value upon the legal profession as a group, and have even less
trust in them. That being said, allowing the civilian courts
jurisdiction over military actions is an unwise course at best
and could easily lead to a disruption of all military decisions
by court oversight.
Charles W. Bird
Oracle, Ariz.
Clarifying MLP Contributions
We would like to clarify the contributions regarding the development
of the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) as detailed in your June
article “The Right Connections.”
Notional designs for the MLP represent input from many participants
in the Navy. The concept for MLP originated in the Program
Office for Sealift, Special Mission Ships, Boats and Craft
(PMS 325) within the Program Executive Office for Ships (PEO
Ships). This innovative idea emerged from discussions on how
to find an affordable solution to address gaps in our current
maritime prepositioning capability, part of the larger acquisition
strategy for the Maritime Prepositioning Force (Future). Subsequent
MLP designs were then developed by Naval Sea Systems Command,
specifically the Future Concepts and Surface Ship Group.
The Center for Innovation in Ship Design (CISD) at Naval Surface
Warfare Center Carderock Division did not design the MLP, nor
develop the Sea Fighter, E-Craft or Sealion, as indicated in
the article. Rather, CISD is a member of the team that is developing
and evaluating the MLP concepts along with other future naval
ship concepts.
Currently, MLP is a conceptual design early in the acquisition
process. Before moving forward with design and construction,
requirements must be defined and formalized by the Navy and
Marine Corps. Once validated requirements are established,
PEO Ships will work with the design community in Navy and industry
to acquire an MLP that meets those requirements.
Capt. Patricia Sudol
Program Manager, PMS 325
Howard Fireman
Director, Future Concepts and Surface Ship Group
