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    CombatACE Facebook Winner - Week 3
    Erik
    By Erik,
      CombatACE Facebook Contest Winner Week 3 - Matthew Mckee   The Randomizer selected #73 this week and on our Facebook list that is Matthew Mckee. Congratulations!   Week 1 - Ivan Adamek Week 2 - Shaun Griffies   Matthew post on your/our Facebook page what your CA username is, then send us a PM here so we know you posted. Once we have that information we'll get your free download subscription added to your account. See you again next week for our latest winner. If you haven't added us to your Facebook likes we can't draw your number.

    Hose falls from Marine plane onto home
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Hose falls from Marine plane onto home No one injured in incident at San Diego air show   At the Miramar Air Show held last weekend in the San Diego area an air refueling hose from a KC-130J fell to a rooftop with no reported injuries. WIVB posted this about the incident.   "SAN DIEGO (AP) - A 75-foot refueling hose fell from a large cargo plane that was part of an air show Saturday and landed on a house in a San Diego County neighborhood, according to military officials. No one was injured. Investigators were trying to determine how the heavy-duty retractable rubber hose became detached from a C-130J Hercules, Maj. Jay Delarosa of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar said.   The house in Carmel Mountain just north of the Marine base sustained roof damage.   Retired navy nurse Cashmere Monroe was in the garage when the hose hit her home, and her 14-year-old daughter was in the house.   "When I heard the noise, I thought the garage door had hit something," Monroe told the San Diego Union-Tribune.   Monroe went inside and a neighbor knocked on her door and told her to look at the roof. She told the newspaper she immediately smelled fuel fumes when she opened the door.   Fire officials evacuated both Monroe's house and a neighbor's house.   There was likely a small amount of jet fuel in the hose, according to Delarosa. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said no fires were reported.   Hazardous material crews and Marine Corps recovery teams were at the suburban home about 20 miles north of downtown San Diego early Saturday afternoon.   Fire officials estimated the damage at $10,000.   Delarosa didn't know if the four-engine C-130J was in the process of refueling another aircraft when the hose fell.   The mishap occurred as the annual Miramar Air Show attracted tens of thousands of people to the Miramar base. The incident did not affect the air show, Delarosa said.   The C-130J is a four-engine turboprop aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The transport planes are a military workhorse used around the world for more than 50 years, although the Marines fly newer versions of them."   The full article can be viewed here: WIVB

    Brazil says Project F-X2 Will Resume in November
    Erik
    By Erik,
    Brazil says Project F-X2 Will Resume in November   Defence Talk — By Brazilian Ministry of Defence on October 8, 2010   BRASILIA: Defense Minister Nelson Jobim predicted that the process of choosing a vendor for the new fighter of the Brazilian Air Force (F-X2 program) will be resumed in November, after the conclusion of the presidential elections. According to Jobim, the President expressed his interest in discussing the case with his successor.   This information was given by the minister at a press conference after the opening of a symposium on the Modernization of the Armed Forces, sponsored by the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP).   Jobim reiterated that no decision had yet been taken, and said that the recommendation that the Defense Ministry will submit to the President will give priority to the transfer of technology by the vendor, and that this transfer must be guaranteed by the government of the vendor’s country of origin. "What we want is national capacity, we do not (just) want a plane," he argued.   The choice of supplier will open a new phase of contract negotiations to define commercial and financial aspects, which can take several months. In the case of submarines, negotiations took nearly a year after the supplier was selected.   The first units of the new fighter aircraft will arrive in Brazil in 2016, according to the Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Juniti Saito.   Jobim said that plans to equip the armed forces, tailored to meet future needs, are still under development and will have a 20-year horizon. Project F-X2 will be part of this plan, together with Pro-sub (submarine construction), the Guarani armored vehicle, which will replace the Urutrus; the 50 transport helicopters being built in Helibras, and the KC-390 military cargo aircraft being developed by Embraer. Also included are the Integrated Border Monitoring (SISFRON) and the Blue Amazon Management System (SisGAAz), both based on satellites.   The minister explained that there are no defined budgets for the plan. "The number is the result of requirements," he said, pointing out that there are several ways that may supplement budget revenues: premium collection from banks that pay military salaries, and revenue from a property fund controlling non-operational real estate assets of the armed forces, among others.   Jobim mentioned the KC-390 project to businessmen in the audience as a paradigm to be followed: it occupies a niche in the international market because it could replace the Hercules around the world that will retire in coming years, and it has foreign partners for its production. Agreements for production have already been concluded with Chile, Colombia, Portugal and the Czech Republic.           Defence Talk                

    Israel to buy 20 F-35 fighter jets in deal with US
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Israel to buy 20 F-35 fighter jets in deal with US Defence Talk — By Agence France-Presse on October 8, 2010   WASHINGTON: Israel has signed a contract with the United States to buy 20 F-35 fighter jets, officials said after Washington offered "incentives" for the Jewish state to help sputtering peace talks.   The sale of the US-made Joint Strike Fighter will arm Israel with a more sophisticated combat aircraft than any nation in the Middle East, amid rising tensions with Iran and after a major US arms sale to Saudi Arabia.   "The most advanced fighter jet in the world today, the F-35 will enhance Israel?s ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat or combination of threats, from anywhere within the Middle East," Michael Oren, Israel?s ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.   Oren called the contract "an event of great strategic and historic significance" and that it would serve the common interests of the United States and Israel.   It was unclear whether the sale, reportedly valued at 2.75 billion dollars, was intended as an inducement to Israel to extend a freeze on settlements to keep the Palestinians in peace talks, or whether Israel agreed to such a trade off.   But Oren earlier told the Washington Post that the US administration had come up with "a number of suggestions, incentives if you would, to the Israelis that would enable the government to maybe pass a limited extension of two or three months."   The White House last week denied reports that Obama had sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offering Israel diplomatic, military and security incentives in exchange for a 60-day extension of the moratorium.   The F-35 agreement was signed on Thursday in New York, with US Air Force officials and Israeli defense officials attending.   "This agreement is for Israel's first operational squadron and the aircraft are scheduled to be built between 2015 and 2017," a US Air Force official said on condition of anonymity.   "This agreement is part of the United States commitment to ensure that Israel has the most advanced weapons for its national defense."   Each F-35 jet costs about 100 million dollars, and Oren said the deal illustrated how his country's purchase of US arms generated "thousands of more jobs, both here and Israel."   Israel spends an estimated 2.25 billion dollars on US defense contracts, he said.   The announcement came less than a month after Washington unveiled plans to sell Saudi Arabia 60 billion dollars' worth of weapons and hardware, including 84 F-15 fighters.   The F-15s are less advanced than the new F-35 aircraft, which are still under development.   US officials had described the vast arms sale to the Saudis as a counter to the threat posed by Iran, citing Tehran's missile arsenal and its disputed nuclear program.   Israeli and US officials have refused to rule out possible military action to stop Iran from securing nuclear weapons. Tehran has denied it is pursuing a clandestine drive to build atomic weapons.   Manufactured by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and its partners, the F-35 is billed as a "fifth-generation" fighter for the United States and its allies, with stealth technology that would allow it to dominate other planes in air-to-air combat while also backing up ground forces.         Defence Talk                

    Russia successfully test fires long-range missile
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Russia successfully test fires long-range missile   Defence Talk — By Agence France-Presse on October 8, 2010 Moscow: Russia on Thursday successfully tested its new nuclear-capable Bulava intercontinental missile, the defence ministry said, its first successful firing for months after a series of embarrassing failures.   The missile was fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea in North European Russia and hit its target in the Kura firing area on the Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific Ocean some 6,000 kilometres (3,730 miles) away, it said.   "The parameters of the trajectory worked out as planned and the warheads successfully landed at the Kura firing area," said a defence ministry statement quoted by Russian news agencies.   The last firing of the Bulava in December ended in one of the military's worst embarrassments in recent years when the missile disintegrated early in its flight, producing a spectacular plume of light visible over Norway.   Russian news agencies said the firing was the 13th test of the Bulava. Of the last 12 test firings, only five have been deemed to be fully or partially successful.   The Bulava, which can be equipped with up to 10 individually targeted nuclear warheads, has a maximum range of 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles).   "This weapon will guarantee the security of Russia in the next 30-40 years," Russian defence expert Igor Korchenko, who advises the defence ministry, told the RIA Novosti news agency.   Its incorporation into the armed forces is part of a wide-ranging military reform aimed at updating the armed forces' Soviet-era structures and equipment to bring them in line with the demands of modern warfare.   December's failed launch of the Bulava caused spectacular images in the sky above the Norwegian city of Tromso, prompting initial speculations they were caused by a meteor, the northern lights or even a UFO.   According to Russian news reports, the defence ministry has ploughed a large proportion of its procurement budget into ensuring the missile becomes the key element of its rocket forces.   A high-ranking source in the Russian chief of staff told the Interfax news agency that the missile could now be taken into the armed forces as early as the middle of 2011.   "Two more tests are planned by the end of the year and if they are successful then the question can be posed about a completion of the testing," said the source, who was not named.   The missile is designed for use with Russia's new Borei class of nuclear submarines like the Yury Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky. Analysts have said the vessels risk being worthless unless the Bulava works.   The successful launch of the Bulava is a major boost for the armed forces and came on the same day India announced it intended to buy up to 300 advanced stealth fighter jets from Russia.   Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov had earlier this week given a withering assessment of the Russian defence industry, saying the country was looking to buy abroad rather than buying Russian models that failed to meet the required standards.   Russia last month announced plans to triple its defence spending to 19 trillion rubles (613 billion dollars, 454 billion euros) over the next decade as part of its military modernisation drive.         Defence Talk                

    USAF Looks To Expand NMUSAF
    DWCAce
    By DWCAce,
    (photo courtesy of NMUSAF)   Construction of new Air Force Museum building could start in 2012 BY: JOHN NOLAN , DAYTON DAILY NEWS 10/04/2010   WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — Construction of a building to house the spacecraft collection and former presidential aircraft at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force could start in 2012 if fundraising stays on track, museum officials said Monday.   That 200,000-square-foot building would house a retired space shuttle, if the Air Force museum is ultimately awarded one by NASA for permanent display. It would also house the museum’s seven former Air Force aircraft dubbed “Air Force Ones” that carried U.S. presidents.   NASA may not announce until summer 2011 which contenders will be awarded the retired shuttles because of a revamped schedule for the orbiters that will have them flying well into 2011, said museum director Charles Metcalf and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who visited the museum Monday. The government previously had planned to retire the shuttle fleet this year.   NASA has already said it plans to award a shuttle to the Smithsonian Institution for its National Air and Space Museum. The Air Force, which helped bring the shuttle into existence, has formally requested one for the Air Force museum. Other contenders include the Johnson Space Center, Houston, and Kennedy Space Center, Fla.   Brown said he has been lobbying NASA in behalf of the Air Force museum.   The Air Force Museum Foundation, which raises money for the Air Force museum’s needs, has raised $18.6 million toward an initial goal of $25 million that would be enough to construct a basic building to house the spacecraft and aircraft, museum officials said Monday. The foundation estimates it would need to raise an additional $17 million to fit out the building for opening to the public and for outside parking lots, sidewalks and landscaping.   Museum officials are hoping the foundation will transfer an initial $175,000 within the next week or two for the start of design and environmental studies for the new building, said Dan Dobbyn, chief of the museum’s operations division.   Plans are to heat and cool it with a geothermal system that would make use of ground water, Metcalf said. It costs about $750,000 annually to heat and cool the museum’s three hangar-style, existing buildings, which is second only to payroll among the museum’s biggest expenses, he said. U.S. Air Force AIM Points    

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