Monday, July 31, 2006
JASDF F-4 emergency cable arrested landing video
From Asagiri: A JASDF F-4 made an emergency cable arrested landing at Kadena Air Base on Jul. 26 after it encountered hydraulic problems.
The aircraft was diverted to Kadena because Naha Air Base was busy with civilian flights.
The original article comes with a Real Video of the landing, we have one here in WMV for those who don't have Real Video player installed.
Source
嘉手納基地 空自のＦ４戦闘機が緊急着陸
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US firm offers sophisticated radar to India
Raytheon is promoting its AMRAAM missiles, ATFLIR targeting pods and AESA radars to India.
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USS Kitty Hawk Video Cast Part 2
Part 2 of our tour of USS Kitty Hawk.
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New Radio Enhances Strike Eagle Capability
USAF F-15Es now comes equipped with VHF radios. This allows the Strike Eagles to communicate with ground troops and civilian aircraft.
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Creative Troops, Maintenance Keep Vintage Tankers Airborne
The unseasonably warm summer weather in Europe is helping the USAF 100th Air Refueling Wing's fleet of KC-135s maintain a mission-capable rate of 84 percent.
Cold weather usually cause the plane's struts and fuel bladders to leak.
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Arirang-2 on Orbit
South Korea has successfully orbit its Arirang-2 satellite that has the ability to spy on North Korea.
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Early-morning F-15 flights irk Kadena's neighbors
F-15s from Kadena had to cancel their early morning flights twice in a week forcing them to return back to Kadena.
Two groups of Eagles were supposed to depart on Wednesday and Thursday for Hawaii but the refueling tankers from Guam encountered problems and both missions were canceled.
They eventually managed to depart on Friday and Saturday.
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Lincoln Wraps Up RIMPAC, Heads Home
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Jul. 29, after the final weekend of the biennial Rim of the Pacific 2006 (RIMPAC) exercise.
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Spitfires in all their glory
A special commemoration will be held at the Imperial War Museum Duxford to celebrate the 70th birthday of the Spitfire on Aug. 13.
Visitors will be able to view a selection of Spitfires at closer quarters than normal and meet former and current crew and pilots.
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Eisenhower Strike Group Completes JTFEX 06-2
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) completed an eight-day Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFEX) 06-2 "Operation Bold Step," Jul. 28, off the East Coast.
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Attack choppers to make air show debut
Sky Soldiers Demonstration Team, a civilian team flying the AH-1F, made its debut at the Vectren Dayton Air Show.
The team is the air show arm of the nonprofit Army Aviation Heritage Foundation.
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Russian bomber crashes on way to navy celebration
A Russian Su-24M that was on its way to a military parade marking Russia's Navy day celebrations crashed after take off on Sunday.
Both pilots failed to eject and did not survive. Flight data recorders from the airplane that crashed in the Kaliningrad region has been recovered.
Sources
Russian bomber crashes on way to navy celebration
Black boxes from crashed Su-24 found
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Air crews engaged in aerial combat re-supply drops
Canada's Air Force is back into the combat re-supply business since the Korean War with CC-130 Hercules supplying troops in southern Afghanistan.
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Lockheed Martin Wins $13 Million U.S. Army Contract to Improve Helicopter Survivability Against Small Arms Fire
Lockheed Martin will develop, integrate and flight-test two systems that will protect helicopters from small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).
The first system, the Hostile Fire Indicator (HFI), uses sensors to detect muzzle flashes from small arms fire and RPGs, and precisely compute the bearing to the threat’s location. The second system, a Visual Acquisition Disruptor, will inhibit the ability of enemy combatants to acquire an accurate shot at the aircraft.
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How missiles miss the target
Another problem has plague the RAAF F/A-18 upgrade program. The Litening pod has been found unsuitable for carriage on station 4 of the Hornet by the U.S. Navy and withdrew the flight certification.
This means the Litening can only be carried on station 5, the centreline pylon. Australia may have to spend extra millions to correct the problem and fund the further flight tests.
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Sunday, July 30, 2006
Tomcat Chapter Draws to a Close
112 from VF-31, piloted by Lt. Blake Coleman and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Cmdr. Dave Lauderbaugh, is the last F-14 Tomcat to catapult from an aircraft carrier. Last time Baby! U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Laird.
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Report: U.S., Japan to discuss Patriot missiles
Japanese officials will ask their U.S. counter parts to accelerate the delivery of PAC-3 missiles when both sides meet in August.
Tokyo also wants Washington to send an Aegis destroyer with SM-3 missiles in addition to one that is set to be deployed in mid-August in Yokosuka.
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Missile defense plans have their skeptics
Japanese experts are also questioning the effectiveness of missile interceptors against North Korea's ballistic missiles.
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Syrian Downing of Israeli drone Raises Specter of Syrian Scuds
Israel lost a UAV on Friday in the mountains east of Beirut and DEBKA claims that the drone was actually shot down by Syria.
This was to prevent Israel from monitoring a shipment of weapons from Syria into Lebanon.
Israel claimed that the aircraft encountered technical problems.
Sources
Syrian Downing of Israeli drone Raises Specter of Syrian Scuds
Israeli drone crashes in Lebanon, jets attack
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Who's to Blame for the U.N. Attack?
The Israeli Air Force and the Northern Command of the Israeli Defense Forces are pointing fingers at each other over the deadly attack of a U.N. compound in Lebanon.
One version of the story is that an army spotter saw Hizballah firing from an area near the U.N. building but locked into the U.N. building by mistake, the wrong coordinates were then passed to the Air Force.
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Stealth fighter fleet logs 250,000 flight hours
The F-117 fleet hit the 250,000 hour mark during a flight Tuesday by Col. John "Ripper" Forsythe.
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U.S. Air Force Awards Lockheed Martin F-16 Mission Planning Delivery Order
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a Mission Planning Enterprise Contract (MPEC) delivery order to upgrade the F-16 Mission Planning Environment software.
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F-22A Set for Showdown in Congress
A showdown is expect at the U.S. Congress over the multi-year procurement of 60 F-22As.
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Russian general criticizes American National Missile Defense program
In a rare move, Russia's Chief of Staff, has published an article criticizing the U.S. National Missile Defense program. His article can be considered a policy statement by the Russian defense establishment.
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Made in the UK, bringing devastation to Lebanon - the British parts in Israel's deadly attack helicopters
Israel's Apache combat helicopters, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets all uses British made parts which goes against government guidelines banning the sale of weapons likely to be used "aggressively against another country" or fuel regional tensions.
Israel's use of the warplanes in Lebanon is causing an uproar in London and a Commons committee on arms export controls is expected to issue a strong statement on exports to Israel late next week.
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Two F-16s reach milestone
88-0471 and 88-0428 are the first F-16 Blk 40s to pass 6,000 flying hours. Only one other F-16 Blk 40 in the U.S Air Force inventory has reached the 6,000 flying-hour mark.
Aircraft 88-0428 was accepted into service in September 1989 and aircraft 88-0471 was accepted in January 1990 and assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
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Navy officer takes charge of Iwakuni's Marine Aircraft Group 12
U.S. Navy Capt. David B. Emich is the first Navy aviator to lead a Marine aviation group when he took over Marine Aircraft Group 12 on Friday.
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Final farewell to Canberra spy plane
The RAF said goodbye to the Canberra bomber on Jul. 28 at RAF Marham. The 39 (1PRU) Squadron was disband as well.
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Lakenheath Strike Eagles return from Bulgaria
The USAF 48th Fighter Wing encounter a few problems during their recent deployment of 10 F-15Es to Bulgaria.
The An-124 Condor that ferried the airmen and their equipment could not land at Graf-Isnatievo Air Base and had to land at other airport.
Fuel for the F-15Es had to be truck in from Turkey as Bulgarians used a different type of fuel.
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Saturday, July 29, 2006
USS Kitty Hawk Video Cast
LTJG Peter Bissonnette from VAW-115 was our host during the tour of Kitty Hawk. This is the first of three videos from the tour.
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USS Kitty Hawk Singapore 28 July 06
A tour of the U.S. Navy's oldest active warship yesterday.
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AirLaunch Breaks C-17 record again (PDF)
AirLaunch successfully dropped its QuickReach rocket weighing 72,000 pounds from a C-17 on Wednesday. The previous record was 65,000 pounds.
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Pilot hits new heights in flying feat
Flight Lieutenant Chris Stevens from the RAF has clocked 10,000 hours flying fighter aircraft.
In a career spanning 40-years, he has flown the Spitfire, Hunter and Lightning.
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Taiwan seeks 66 F-16 fighters -US official
An anonymous U.S. official has confirmed that Taiwan is seeking to buy as many as 66 F-16 Blk 50/52s.
Taiwan is expected to seek JDAMs and HARMs to go along with the aircraft purchase as well.
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Birds may have caused Russian MiG-29UB crash - air force
The Russian Swifts lost its MiG-29UB in the Perm Territory in the Urals Thursday after it took off from Bolshoye Savino Airport.
Both crew ejected and one has been hospitalized with a broken leg. Preliminary investigations found that the MiG encounter bird strikes.
Sources
Russian aerobatics team plane crashes in Urals
Birds may have caused Russian MiG-29UB crash - air force
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Military plane crashes in Konya
A former member of Turkey's Turkish Stars aerobatic team was killed when his F-5A crashed after take-off Thursday.
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Boeing chief isn't happy with defense operations
Boeing's CEO is not happy at way things are going at its defense unit after fumbles at the unit triggered Boeing's first quarterly loss in three years.
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Langley set for jets' return
Langley Air Force Base is all set to welcome back its Raptors and Eagles this weekend after work on resurfacing its runway have been completed.
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Navy to upgrade Hornet fleet
The U.S. Navy is helping the Finnish Air Force upgrade its fleet of 63 Hornet aircraft.
Under the current Mid Life Upgrade 1 plan, the Finnish F-18s will incorporate the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, Tactical Aircraft Moving Map Capability and digital wingtip wiring for AIM-9X missiles.
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Korea to Develop Blackout Bomb
South Korea is starting work to develop a bomb that can knock out the enemy's power grid.
It will take three years to design and test the weapon before mass production begins.
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Bahrain - UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters (PDF)
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain of 9 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.
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Two more US arms planes given permission to refuel in Britain
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has given the green light for Washington to use British airports to refuel planes shipping bombs and missiles to Israel.
His Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, had earlier embarrassed him by threatening to lodge a formal protest over two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes use of Glasgow Prestwick Airport as a refuelling stop.
She claims that the Americans failed to follow proper procedures during the shipment of bombs.
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Saudi Arabia – Remanufacture and Upgrade of AH-64A to AH-64D Apache Helicopters (PDF)
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of the remanufacture and upgrade of 12 AH-64A to AH-64D Apache helicopters.
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United Arab Emirates - UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters (PDF)
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Arab Emirates of 26 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.
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Stealthy giants sneak in, drop their load and slip out
The U.S. Air Force has resumed bombing runs at an Australian outback test range with one B-2 landing in Darwin Thursday.
The bomber was empty but an pair of B-2s each dropped two 2,000-pound non-explosive blivets on Wednesday.
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Poland – Shadow 200 RQ-7B Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (PDF)
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Poland of Shadow 200 RQ-7B Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Systems.
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Besby Frank Holmes; WWII Fighter Pilot
Lt. Col. Besby Frank Holmes, 88, a World War II fighter pilot who in 1943 took part in the famous mission to kill Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, died of a stroke Jul. 23.
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The cost of fighting close up comes home to Israeli officers
The high losses in Israel's officer corps could force the IDF to change tactics and employ special forces to pinpoint Hizbollah's bunkers for destruction by laser-guided bombs.
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Boeing suspends C-17 testing
Pentagon has stopped Boeing from carrying flight testing of new C-17s after it noted some issues with the processes and procedures.
Work on the assembly line continues.
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First Sonar Images of 'Nazi Aircraft Carrier'
The Polish Navy is 99 percent certain that the Nazi carrier, Graf Zeppelin, has been located. First images of the site are available as well.
The Polish navy mounted a two-day expedition to the site after oil company Petrobaltic discovered the wreck.
Sources
First Sonar Images of 'Nazi Aircraft Carrier'
'Nazi aircraft carrier' located
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Friday, July 28, 2006
Radar Vector
Radar Vector is one year old today. I'll taking a break. News will be back tomorrow.
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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Famous flying ace no hotshot after all
Two researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles claims that German aces including the Red Baron achieved their kills by luck rather than skill.
They studied the records of all German fighter pilots of WW1 and found they often scored easy victories against poorly armed or less manoeuvrable aircraft.
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Second Eurofighter Typhoon for Austria in Final Assembly
The second Eurofighter Typhoon destined for Austria has started final assembly at EADS Military Air Systems at Manching north of Munich.
AS002 (Austrian Single-seat) will be delivered to the Austrian Air Force in 2007 with the contracted capability.
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NAS Oceana Hosts Air Force Raptors, Crew
Video from the U.S. Navy on the current deployment of F-22As at NAS Oceana.
Sources
NAS Oceana Hosts Air Force Raptors, Crew
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Sun sets in the West for the S-3
I guess I don't have the chance to see an S-3 Viking again as the U.S. Navy has disestablish the last squadron in the Pacific, VS-41, at North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado.
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Russia Rejects U.S. Call to Reconsider USD 1 Bln Military Contracts With Venezuela
Russia has rejected a call from Washington to reconsider the sale of Su-30s and helicopters to Venezuela.
Defense minister Sergei Ivanov stressed that Moscow will honour the contract.
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MBDA shows updated Sea Skua concept
MBDA is showing an improved Sea Skua anti-ship missile known as Sea Skua Mk 2 which the company hopes to arm on the AgustaWestland Future Lynx.
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Yak-130 training aircraft crashes in Moscow region
A Yak-130 has crashed at Zhukovsky airfield, both pilots managed to eject to safety.
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Analysis: USAF adds $1.7B to F-22 costs
The Government Accountability Office said Pentagon's proposal to buy 60 F-22As under a three-year, multi-year contract will cost the taxpayers $1.7 billion more.
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Getting to grips: Gripen users' group formed
Sweden, Hungary, South Africa and Czech Republic have formed a Gripen Users' Group.
The main goal is to initiate closer collaboration between the Gripen users concerning efficiency in both operational and technical aspects.
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