Nevada
US Army picks Sierra Nevada for long-range spy plane integration work
![US Army picks Sierra Nevada for long-range spy plane integration work US Army picks Sierra Nevada for long-range spy plane integration work](https://www.armytimes.com/resizer/v2/HK6K6ZC5BZFTXITKRRFFJGIZFY.png?width=1200&auth=bac7fe42a40fd2083f46c1fe12cdd7ed06dcaf3dc684159dc622581b80e7e8ae)
Sierra Nevada Corporation has won a U.S. Army contract to serve as the lead system integrator for the service’s future long-range spy plane.
The award for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, or HADES, integration work covers a 12-year period worth $93.5 million initially and potentially up to $994.3 million, the Army announced Thursday.
Choosing a lead integrator is a major step in the service’s effort to overhaul existing fixed-wing aircraft that perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The service plans to retire roughly 70 aircraft – its entire ISR fleet – as it brings on the HADES aircraft that will be able to rapidly deploy and provide deep-sending capabilities.
“HADES is the centerpiece of the Army’s long-promised aerial ISR transformation strategy,” Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale, deputy chief of staff for Army intelligence (G-2), said in a statement announcing the deal. “HADES allows the Army to fly higher, faster and farther, which directly impacts our ability to see and sense deeper, delivering an organic capability in line with the Secretary of the Army’s number-one operational imperative – deep sensing.”
For the first time, the Army is using a large-cabin business jet – the Bombardier Global 6500 – to serve as the airframe for the spy plane. The service awarded Bombardier a contract in December for one aircraft, with an option to buy two more over a three-year period.
RELATED
A L3Harris Technologies, MAG Aerospace and Leidos team was competing against Sierra Nevada for the integration contract. All four companies are involved in ISR fixed-wing prototype efforts with the Army.
The Army has spent more than five years assessing ISR fixed-wing prototypes using high-speed jets to inform the HADES program. It began with the deployment of Artemis – or Airborne Reconnaissance and Target Exploitation Multi-mission System – which has flown in the European theater near the Ukrainian border. Leidos built Artemis using a Bombardier Challenger 650 jet.
Then the service deployed Ares – or Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System – to the Pacific region in April 2022. L3Harris built the aircraft using a Bombardier Global Express 6500 jet.
Combined, Artemis and Ares had flown more than 1,000 sorties by April this year, according to Andrew Evans, who leads the Army’s ISR Task Force. They fly roughly 10-hour missions and average 20 sorties a month, he added.
The Army is also preparing to take on four more prototypes that will inform the requirements for the HADES program. The service chose a pair of companies to deliver two jets each with spy technologies to advance long-range targeting plans.
MAG Aerospace and L3Harris will outfit a Global 6500 with ISR sensors for the Army’s radar-focused Athena-R effort.
And Sierra Nevada is providing its RAPCON-X, based on a converted Bombardier business jet, for the service’s signals intelligence-focused Athena-S project.
Now that the Army has picked a team to integrate sensors onto the jet, the process will take 18 months before the aircraft can deploy for a user assessment, the Army has estimated. That assessment moves the aircraft from a controlled test environment in the United States to operational environments to stress test the systems.
The Army will deploy HADES for a limited period of time and then start building more aircraft as the early prototype remains deployed.
The service plans to field 14 HADES aircraft by 2035, according to a slide Maj. Gen. Wally Rugen, then-director of Army aviation, displayed during a speech at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference in Denver in April.
While industry officials said they anticipate the Army will continue to award the same team subsequent contracts to build all of the HADES aircraft, Andrew Evans, who leads the Army’s ISR Task Force, noted earlier this year that “the guidance to our acquisition teammates was to ensure that we give ourselves as much flexibility as possible in the process.”
Using 70 “very capable” Beechcraft King Air and De Havilland Canada Dash-8 aircraft, the Army, “has done some enormous and powerful work in support of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan” Evans said. But the existing fleet won’t be able to fulfill long-range missions off the coast of China — which the U.S. government considers its top threat — “or really almost any other place in the world if you’re talking about extended geographic ranges with limited basing and access,” he added.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Nevada
No tax on tips fires up Nevada hospitality workers: ‘I want that!’
![No tax on tips fires up Nevada hospitality workers: ‘I want that!’ No tax on tips fires up Nevada hospitality workers: ‘I want that!’](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a43abbc93812142ad791255450e0241d443580a6/606_1651_2949_1769/master/2949.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=0331e61ad25c480954eb3e8c0262832b)
Kristine serves gamblers playing countertop video poker screens at the center bar of Las Vegas’s Ellis Island casino. She declines to share her last name for privacy reasons, but is not timid about her support for Donald Trump when asked about his campaign promise to end federal taxation on tips.
“I want that!” Kristine says as she fulfills cocktail waitresses’ orders. “Our tip compliance is too high. They take so much from our paycheck.”
Tip compliance – the tax process for expected earnings from tips – has become a political football in Nevada, with federal lawmakers from both parties piling in to co-sponsor bills or present their vision for how tax exemption for tips should work.
The push for tax relief for a specific sector of wageworker may seem out of the blue if the idea wasn’t so brazenly opportunistic. According to state employment figures, one in four jobs in this crucial swing state are in leisure and hospitality, many if not most of which are tip-earning positions at bars, restaurants, casinos, spas and hotels in Las Vegas and Reno.
The frenzy over the issue started in June, during a Trump rally in Las Vegas, where he surprised supporters, press and members of his own party, saying: “Hotel workers and people that get tips, you’re going to be very happy because when I get to office we are going to not charge taxes on tips.”
It was a “wild-ass promise”, says Ted Pappageorge, treasurer for the Culinary Union Local 226, which represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Nevada.
He points out that during Trump’s four years in office and the four years since, the union’s heard “not a peep out of him” regarding overtaxed wage workers. Indeed, Trump’s signature legislative achievement as president was a tax cut that mainly benefited corporations, real estate developers, and billionaires and millionaires transferring wealth to their scions. “One of the problems is Trump lies, and he lies a lot,” Pappageorge said.
But, Pappageorge added, Trump’s comments created an opening. “There’s actually a requirement now to have a discussion and an opportunity for us to wedge into the discussion, to make it real.”
The union is now seeking tip compliance relief for their members while also advocating to raise the federal sub-minimum wage, which allows employers in some states to pay tipped earners as little as $2.13 per hour.
Trump’s opponents have been listening. In Kamala Harris’s first Las Vegas rally as the presumptive Democratic nominee, she announced that she wouldas also pursue no taxes on tips, delighting rank-and-file Democrats who had become intrigued with the proposal, and irritating Trump supporters who wanted him to have the policy all to himself.
“Why is she copying him?” says Kristine, the Ellis Island bartender. She voted for Trump in the last two election cycles and will again this fall. “I believe in women power, but I feel like we need a better president, like a strong personality, a tough one, to put [things] back to normal.”
Wistful for the pre-pandemic economy, before food, fuel and housing prices shot up, Kristine says it would be nice if people could afford to enjoy themselves again: “Go on vacation again, because everything we make goes to bills, that’s it, and it’s not enough still. Everything is so expensive and you’re making the same money.”
Southern Nevada’s vulnerability to economic slumps has led to two local sayings: the region is “the first to suffer, last to recover” because “when the economy gets sick, Las Vegas catches pneumonia.”
The city was hit hard by pandemic-era travel restrictions. Since then, resorts have recovered strongly, reporting record profits from gaming each of the past three years. In resorts and casinos that are unionized (Ellis Island is not), the culinary union leveraged these historic profits to negotiate higher wages for their members.
Still, many workers say their tip earnings have remained stagnant.
Machines such as the Smarttender beverage-mixer and screen-based ordering systems have depressed tip earnings by dehumanizing the experience and distorting the scale of service, says Sheri Earl, 51, a cocktail waitress at Mandalay Bay. “It looks like a lot of the servers are bringing out so many drinks, but we’re not being tipped on all of those.
“Also,” Earl adds, “people just aren’t tipping the way that they used to because they don’t have the money. I noticed when I’m serving, more people will give $1 for four drinks, whereas it used to be $1 per drink, so I’m serving more drinks, but bringing back less money.”
A lifelong Democrat, Earl’s loyalty to the party had wavered in recent years, and her conversations in the employee break room suggest that many her colleagues will support Trump out of nostalgia for how they thrived before Covid.
But Harris’s candidacy has reaffirmed her allegiance to the Democratic ticket, Earl says. “She’s very optimistic about changes that she wants to do as a female president, and a lot of the tax cuts for the working class helps.
“Now, I don’t think there will ever be no taxes on tips,” Earl clarified. “I expect to pay it, but not at rates where it’s unrealistic, or I can’t support my family, or I can’t pay my bills at the end of the month.”
Others were less inspired.
“It’s a ‘so you vote for me’ promise,” says Samantha, a blackjack dealer at Ellis Island. “I don’t think Congress will let it happen. [The candidates] can say it, and they can hope that because they said it, you’re going to vote for them, but it isn’t going to happen.” Shrugging, she says she does not intend to vote. “Unfortunately, I don’t believe that my vote matters.”
Democratic presidential candidates have enjoyed a winning streak in Nevada that goes back four cycles from Biden’s narrow 2020 win, to Hillary Clinton’s 2.4% margin over Trump, to Barack Obama’s victories in 2012 and 2008. Survey averages currently show Trump leading Harris by 2 to 3 percentage points.
Before Biden dropped out, Trump led by 9 points in Nevada. Harris has rejuvenated Democratic enthusiasm and made strides to corral the unwieldly coalition that defeated Trump four years ago, but Nevada is proving to be a different beast. It’s one of the few swing states in which Trump continues to lead in most major polls. But her canny decision to jump on the no tax bandwagon may help.
Badass Tax Guys, a tax preparation company in Henderson, Nevada, has hundreds of tip-earning clients, and many have mentioned to owner Robert Wagner that the proposal, while intriguing, seems too good to be true.
“‘We see all the upside, and we love keeping our money, but what’s the catch potentially?’ is what I’m hearing right now,” he paraphrases while warning that it would be exploited if not written carefully to solely target those who need relief.
“I would put a tip jar on my desk, you know what I mean?” Wagner quips. “I’ll charge lower fees and you can throw the difference in the tip jar. All of a sudden, my income is to going to go down quite a bit. I generally like the idea overall, but if you’re going to do that there needs to be a way to stop Wall Street from taking advantage of it.”
Nevada
Nevada State Veterans Memorial relocating to new home in Centennial Hills
![Nevada State Veterans Memorial relocating to new home in Centennial Hills Nevada State Veterans Memorial relocating to new home in Centennial Hills](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3c82ec9/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2560x1344+0+6/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff8%2F37%2F435bd510469aacfae83e2887e0b8%2Fmemorial-7-scaled.jpg)
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There will be a new home for the Nevada State Veterans Memorial soon.
On Wednesday, the Nevada Department of Veteran Services (NDVS) and the City of Las Vegas announced a special celebration to say “farewell” to the old location of the Nevada State Veterans Memorial in front of the Grant Sawyer Building.
The celebration will be held at the current site located in front of the Grant Sawyer Building on Friday, Sept. 13, at 9 a.m.
The new location will move to the Thunderbird Family Sports Complex in Centennial Hills.
As state officials transition from the Grant Sawyer Building into new offices at the McCarran Center, NDVS said the new offices are too small for the two-acre memorial — therefore, it must find a new home.
NDVS officials worked with Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office, Nevada State Public Works, and Las Vegas Ward 4 Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske to keep the memorial within Las Vegas following a local veterans group’s petition.
State officials said the new site will open up potential enhancements around the memorial, including an outdoor amphitheater. They said the new site will also have restrooms, parking, lighting, and easy access for viewing
Nevada
Paseo Verde takes first loss of Little League World Series, Nevada falling to Texas 5-2
![Paseo Verde takes first loss of Little League World Series, Nevada falling to Texas 5-2 Paseo Verde takes first loss of Little League World Series, Nevada falling to Texas 5-2](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f5a192c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8640x4536+0+612/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F80%2F65%2Fb7eaef624ed5ba8ba4bb9f70bf5d%2Fap24228831384864.jpg)
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After winning their first two games in Williamsport, Paseo Verde has received its first loss in the Little League World Series.
Nevada fell to Texas 5-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The team isn’t eliminated yet, as the boys from Henderson will play the winner of Hawaii and Florida in the consolation bracket championship.
PV still has a chance to be the first Nevada Little League team since 2014 to win it all.
The team of Bourne, Texas got off to a fast start in the 1st inning, putting up two runs with Wyatt Erickson pitching for Nevada. In the 2nd, Paseo Verde answered by scoring two runs themselves to tie things up.
Texas would break the tie in the 3rd inning, bringing in three runs to take a commanding 5-2 lead. The PV All-Stars were unable to rally back, failing to put any more runs on the board through the 6th.
Nevada’s next game will be against Hawaii or Florida on Thursday. The winner of that game will advance to the Little League World Series U.S championship game. The loser will be eliminated.
-
Ohio1 week ago
Ohio taxpayers sent families $966 million for private school tuition: Capitol Letter
-
World1 week ago
What could an EU Commissioner do to tackle the housing crisis?
-
News1 week ago
Full Trump-Musk Interview: Assassination Bid, Iran-Israel, Russia-Ukraine, Kamala-Biden, US Election
-
News1 week ago
Roger Stone says his email accounts were how the hackers got into the Trump campaign
-
Science1 week ago
Opinion: A route to safer chemotherapy
-
World1 week ago
Ukraine recieves €4.2 billion from EU as part of recovery plan
-
World1 week ago
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 901
-
World1 week ago
A hidden ocean on Mars, would it spur human settlement?