Friday, September 30, 2005
Last fighter jets decommissioned
Philippines will retire the last of its 40-year-old F-5s, leaving the country without air defense fighters on Satuday.
The PAF will use five S211 trainers as makeshift air defence aircraft in the mean time.
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Lockheed Martin Awarded $38 Million U.S. Navy Contract To Integrate Additional Systems On MH-60 Helicopters
Lockheed Martin will test and integrate additional weapons, as well as communications and navigation systems into new production MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters, and some existing MH-60S aircraft for the USN.
An additional pylon will be added to carry Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, or the shallow water Mk-54 digital torpedo.
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Prowler carries more jamming power to the fleet
The EA-6B Prowler aircraft equipped with the Improved Capability (ICAP) III System is beginning to enter the fleet.
The ALQ-218 receiver replaces the Prowler's ALQ-99 receiver in the ICAP III program.
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US military's 'Gateway to Europe' closes Friday
The U.S. Rhein-Main Air Base near Frankfurt closed operations Friday as part of an agreement signed in 1999.
A formal closure ceremony is set for October 10.
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Building Your Own Air Force, One Mig at a Time
Don Kirlin of Air USA has two privately owned MiG-29 Fulcrums at a hangar in Quincy, Illinois.
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Human error blamed in U.S. chopper crash
The crash of a CH-53E Super Stallion in Iraq in January this year was due to Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT).
The crew became disoriented and flew into ground. A second helicopter that was supposed to provide updated weather information failed to do so. The pilot has been removed from flying status.
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AEW 12/AEWWINGLANT Commodores Mark Wing Disestablishment
The U.S. Navy Carrier Airborne Early Warning Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet has merged with Carrier Airborne Early Warning Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMAEWWINGPAC).
COMAEWWINGPAC will command all E-2C Hawkeye and C-2A Greyhound squadrons from Naval Air Weapons Station Point Mugu, Calif., under the new title of Commander, Airborne Command, Control, Logistics Wing (COMACCLOGWING).
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U.S. Won’t Sell Global Hawk Spy Drones to Korea
During a joint Security Cooperation Committee meeting on Jun. 21, Washington told Seoul that it was “inappropriate at this time" to sell the Global Hawk to South Korea.
Washington is said to be unconvinced that South Korea needs the Global Hawks and is worried that important technologies will be leaked.
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More than expected achieved during Indo-US naval exercises: Smith
During the first phase of Malabar-05, Indian Sea Harriers and USN Hornets engaged in air combat under the control of E-2C aircraft and INS Viraat.
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C-141 makes proud final departure
The last C-141 Starlifter combat aeromedical evacuation flight was flown on Sept. 29.
The aircraft transported the injured servicemembers from Iraq to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, for treatment.
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Lockheed Martin signals more JSF contracts to Turkish firms (Free Registration)
Lockheed Martin has signaled that more sub-contracts for the JSF will be awarded to Turkey.
Some Turkish defense companies and officials have complained of low levels of Turkish participation in the multinational JSF program.
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Boeing, LM To Join Forces In SDB II Competition
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have decided to join forces for the second phase of the U.S. Air Force's Small Diameter Bomb.
Boeing will use the SDB I bomb design and match with an all-weather, tri-mode seeker that Lockheed Martin has been developing for the Joint Common Missile program.
Raytheon has also indicated that it plans to submit an SDB II bid.
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Search And Rescue Helicopters Temporarily Redistributed
Two CH-146 Griffons will deploy to eastern Canada due to the decreased availability of the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter.
They will assist in Search and Rescue operations.
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Global Hawk set to soar over Pax
NAVAIR's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles program is gearing up for the arrival of the Global Hawk Maritime Demonstration System at Pax. River.
The Global Hawk will provide over-the-horizon reconnaissance to protect battle groups.
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Thursday, September 29, 2005
Air Vectors : The Westland Lynx
The Westland Scout, Wasp, & Lynx helicopter is featured in October's Air Vectors.
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Shepherds of the Sky
This Singapore Ministry of Defence video focus on the operations of RSAF's Flying Support Squadrons. It looks at various departments of FSS at Paya Lebar Air Base.
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Apache Aces Abroad
This reporter visit the Republic of Singapore Air Force's Peace Vanguard Detachment at Silverbell Army Heliport in Marana, Arizona.
Peace Vanguard flies the AH-64D Apache.
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Pentagon gives Osprey production go-ahead
The U.S. Department of Defense Acquisition Board has given the go-ahead to begin full-rate production of the V-22 Osprey.
Bell will deliver 360 aircraft to the Marines, 50 to the U.S. Air Force and 48 to the Navy.
Current low-rate production of 11 aircraft per year will increase up to 48 aircraft.
The V-22 recently passed its operational testing with flying colors.
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France, Morocco boost economic ties
Thales will upgrade about 20 Moroccan Mirages.
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Boeing says its refueling tanker would be low-risk
John Sams, Boeing's vice president of Air Force Systems, told Reuters in an interview that flight tests of a sixth-generation refueling boom and a new hydraulic probe and drogue will begin soon.
They will be tested as part of Japan and Italy's 767 aerial refueling tanker certification program.
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EADS and Thales to supply latest-technology missile warner to A400M
EADS Defence Electronics and Thales will supply 85 missile warning systems for the A400M.
It will be fitted with the Multi-Color Infra-Red Alerting Sensor (MIRAS).
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ACM Tyagi becomes first IAF chief to earn para 'wings'
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi became the first chief to earn para 'wings.'
He made his fifth jump in 15 days to earn the award. He will jump again on Oct. 2 with 73 other IAF personnel to commemorate the IAF's 73rd anniversary.
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Barksdale’s big bombers return
The B-52s that left Barksdale Air Force Base to avoid Hurricane Rita have started returning back.
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Roh Names New Air Force Chief
Lt. Gen. Kim Sung-il will replace Gen. Lee Han-ho as the new South Korean Air Force chief of staff.
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Lockheed Martin Delivers 50th F/A-22 Raptor to the U.S. Air Force
There are now 50 F/A-22 Raptors in the USAF. Lockheed Martin delivered the 50th Raptor yesterday.
It will join the 1st Fighter Wing’s 27th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base.
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Pilot of crashed Russian jet “made many mistakes” – Lithuanian DM
Lithuanian Defense Minister Giademinas Kirkilas has said that the pilot of Russia’s Sukhoi-27 fighter jet that crashed in Lithuania on September 15 had made "many mistakes."
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Army demonstrates Future Combat Systems
The U.S. Army gave a public demonstration of several Future Combat Systems technologies at Aberdeen Proving Ground last week.
Several UAVs were demonstrated.
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Nigeria to buy fighter planes from China
Nigeria will buy 12 F7NI and three FT7NI trainer aircraft from China.
The package costs US$251.3 million.
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C-130s damaged by tornado flying again
Three C-130s of the Delaware Air National Guard was damaged by a tornado last year. One year later, the planes are back flying again.
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After 52 years, former pilot wins $67,000 in compensation for WWII injuries
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to pay Col. Frank Fong $67,000 in back compensation.
The World War II fighter pilot lost sight in his left eye in a plane crash.
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All eyes turn to the Su-27’s black box
Four military experts from Ukraine are in Lithuania to help decode the black box of the Su-27 that crash.
The fighter’s four air-to-air missiles have been recovered as well.
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Indo-US joint naval exercise enters 2nd phase tomorrow
Malabar-05 will enter the second phase of full scale exercises today.
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F-16 fighter jets from Spangdahlem to patrol Baltic skies
F-16s from Spangdahlem Air Base’s 52nd Fighter Wing will begin patrolling the skies above three Baltic nations this week.
The F-16s will be stationed at Zoknia air base in Lithuania.
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India could get US invite for F-35 first flight
Washington wants to invite the Chief of Indian Air Force to witness the first flight of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Fort Worth, Texas next year.
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“Pull!”
50 Canadian aircraft technicians pulled a CC-130 Hercules into the Guiness Book of World Records.
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F-15K, Welcome to Korea
Two of South Korea's F-15Ks will arrive in Korea for the first time Oct. 7 next month.
They will transit at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii and Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. They will land at Seoul Airport.
The fighters will make two air refueling on their way to Hawaii and Guam. Each fighter will be flown by a Boeing test pilot with a ROKAF pilot at the back.
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Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Two New Books
Two interesting Tomcat books.
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Blair and Reid 'held secret talks with Saudis on £40bn arms deal'
While lobbying for London's Olympics bid in Singapore, Tony Blair drop in at Riyadh on 2 July to discuss selling the Eurofighter to Saudi Arabia.
Three weeks later, John Reid made a trip to persuade the crown prince to re-equip his air force with the Typhoon.
However the talks have stalled due to Saudi demands.
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Raytheon Awarded $5.3M Contract for CLAWS Development
Raytheon Company has been awarded a $5.3 million contract for the fifth and sixth production systems for the Complementary Low Altitude Weapon System (CLAWS).
CLAWS combines the AMRAAM with the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
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Predators fly first four-ship sorties
The MQ-1 Predator is testing an upgrade to enable a single pilot to simultaneously control four Predator aircraft.
The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group, Detachment 4 flew two-ship and four-ship Predator sorties over a four-day period.
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Air Force national museum adds ‘Wild Weasel’ exhibit
An exhibit commemorating the accomplishments of the "Wild Weasels" during the Vietnam War was unveiled recently at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
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First Danish female fighter pilot continues training
Denmark's first female fighter pilot is going through the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program with the USAF.
She will return back to her country to fly the F-16.
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Raytheon Nets $31.4 Million Contract for MTS-A on MH-60, Predator
Raytheon will provide the Multispectral Targeting System (MTS)-A for the Navy MH-60 helicopter and the Predator UAV (unmanned airborne vehicle) programs.
The AN/AAS-52 MTS-A provides electro-optic/infrared imaging and laser designation/illumination capability.
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Air Force reservists fly last C-141 mission to combat zone
The U.S. Air Force Reserve's 445th Airlift Wing will fly its last C-141 mission to ferry sick or wounded troops back from the Middle East.
The 445th is the last wing still flying the C-141.
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WWII fighter pilots' group holds final reunion
The 352nd Fighter Group had their final reunion at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.
The group destroyed 776 enemy aircraft on 420 flying missions in Europe during WWII.
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Test pilots mark GLIC birthday
Russia's once top-secret Valery Chkalov State Flight Tests Center (GLIC - Russian acronym), marked its 85th birthday last week.
The center has tested every type of Soviet and Russian aircraft from the pre-WWII I-15 to the Su-30MKI.
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New MiG engine for India to be tested by Russian experts
Russia will being testing a new RD-33 engine for India's MiG-29K.
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U.S. blocked copter parts to Israel
Former Israel Security Agency director Avi Dichter said Washington blocked shipments of spare parts for Israel's AH-64A Apaches in 2000.
The embargo was lifted after 9/11.
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Turkey keeps options open for fighter buy (Free Registration)
Turkey said that it will no longer purchase the Joint Strike Fighter as its next generation fighter aircraft.
Turkey may buy the JSF alone, the Eurofighter or a combination of both aircraft.
Compared to the JSF, the Eurofighter partners are guaranteed a share of the work for their domestic defense industries. If Turkey becomes a Eurofighter partner, its local aerospace industry will benefit from it.
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US completes missile test
The U.S. have completed a successful test of its upgraded Alaska-based Cobra Dane radar for missile defense.
It successfully tracked a long-range ballistic missile launched from a U.S. Air Force C-17.
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Senate panel cuts back military space programs
The U.S. Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee has cut funding for the Transformational Satellite Program, the Space Radar program and the Space-Based Infrared System (SBRIS) High program.
The Joint Unmanned Combat Air System funding was cut by $200 million and $270 million for the Joint Strike Fighter program.
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Strategic ballistic missile launched in White Sea - Defense Ministry
Russia has successfully conducted the first in-flight test of a Bulava strategic ballistic missile.
The missile was launched from a Typhoon class ballistic missile submarine.
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New exhibit set to go down a storm
An RAF Tornado F3 will be become an attraction at the Museum of Flight in Scotland.
This Tornado carried out Combat Air Patrols during the first Gulf War.
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Six Stinger missiles seized near border
Pakistani paramilitary forces have seized six Stinger missiles near the Afghan border.
The CIA has offered 150,000 to 200,000 dollars for each missile in Afghanistan.
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Pan-blue lawmakers rule out buying Patriot missiles
Taiwan's Pan-blue legislators have indicated that they will not support the bill for the purchase of Patriot missile batteries.
They said that last year's referendum to boost missile defense failed to get the number of votes necessary to make a valid result.
Thus under Taiwan's referendum law, the arms bill cannot be proposed before March 2007.
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Retired Aircraft Carrier Survives Hurricane Rita Off Texas Coast
Retired aircraft carrier USS Oriskany have survived Hurricane Rita's wrath.
The carrier had moved from Pensacola to Texas to avoid hurricanes this season.
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Mulford, Tata tour US warship in Malabar-05
U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford visit USS Nimitz which is currently taking part in exercises with INS Viraat.
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Ultra Electronics wins 15 mln deal to provide RAF Eurofighter targeting lasers
Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC will supply 20 Litening EF laser targeting pods for the RAF Eurofighter Typhoon.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Cattle stranded amid flooding
The U.S. Army is using Blackhawk helicopters to search for humans as well as cattle affected by Hurricane Rita.
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小松基地でエース養成 Ｆ１５戦闘機パイロット 全国から選抜、指導者に
Thanks to Tengu for this article. The JSADF is conducting its first 'F15 military strategy course.'
The course will be similar to the USN's Top Gun course and take place at Komatsu Air Force Base. Training will be conducted at 'G Airspace' above the Sea of Japan.
