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    F-35 Slated for AZ, FL, UT, and VT
    Erik
    By Erik,
      AZ, FL, UT, VT to get Air Force's new F-35 fighter   PHOENIX — The U.S. Air Force has chosen bases in Arizona, Florida, Utah and Vermont as homes for the military's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, prompting applause from officials banking on the pricey new combat jets to supercharge their communities' economies.   Operational missions of the single-engine jets would go to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and the Burlington Air Guard Station in Vermont, the Air Force said Thursday. For training, the Air Force recommended Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. The Air Force also announced Wednesday that 59 F-35 jets would be stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.   The announcement of these bases as "preferred alternatives" is a disappointment for seven bases passed over during this round of selections, including sites in Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida and South Carolina.   But U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was jubilant at the inclusion of Luke, located in Phoenix suburbs. Military backers there have waged a vocal campaign to win the jets, as have groups in other states where bases are trying to preserve their relevance as fleets of aging F-15 and F-16 fighters edge toward the scrap yard.   "The unparalleled capabilities inherent to Arizona — from the Barry M. Goldwater Range, to great flying weather, and strong support from state and local governments and communities — serve to provide the best environment and the finest quality of life for our military personnel training in the Air Force's next generation fighter," McCain said.   The Department of Defense said Thursday's basing decision includes 250 to 300 F-35 aircraft. According to McCain, three squadrons with dozens of aircraft would be based at Luke if the Air Force finalizes its decision.   So far, Lockheed Martin Corp. has built just a few of roughly 2,400 F-35s that the United States says it wants to buy, but the plane's cost already has more than doubled to some $113 million apiece.   Other bases under consideration included Mountain Home Air Force Base and Gowen Field in Idaho, Tucson International Airport in Arizona, Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, Jacksonville Air Guard Station in Florida, and Shaw Air Force Base and McEntire Air Guard Base in South Carolina.   Military officials said Thursday's announcement isn't cast in stone.   Kathleen Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, said the other sites — she called them "reasonable alternatives" — will continue to be evaluated as part of environmental studies.   Maj. Gen. Stanhope Spears, the adjutant general for South Carolina, said he was disappointed with the announcement, but the McEntire base is still in the running.   "Right now, we don't have specifics on when additional candidate bases will be announced," Spears said. "We currently have the newest and most capable F-16s in the United States Air Force and will continue to be an elite fighting force."   In Idaho, officials counting on a $1 billion boost to the state's economy from up to 3,000 new personnel and 144 planes at two sites were taking heart in the military's plans to eventually buy thousands of F-35s.   "Given the number of F-35s our nation is going to be building, this isn't the end of the story," said John Revere, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. "Congressman Simpson firmly believes Gowen Field and Mountain Home remain strong contenders for future siting decisions."   Gowen got some consolation when it was named a finalist for a C-27J Spartan cargo plane operational mission, the Defense Department said. The other operational-mission finalist for the twin-engine plane is Great Falls, Mont.   The Air Force also announced Thursday that Holloman, in New Mexico, was being transitioned to an F-16 training mission, with the capacity to take on two squadrons.         Associated Press Article

    Boeing Flies F-15 Silent Eagle
    DWCAce
    By DWCAce,
      Boeing Flies F-15 Silent Eagle By: Chris Pocock AIN Defense Perspective >> July 2010 Military Aircraft The Silent Eagle testbed is a modified F-15E (the original prototype). On its first flight it demonstrated its conformal weapons bay. (Boeing)   Boeing has flown the interim version of the Silent Eagle, a company-funded effort to generate further export sales of the F-15 Strike Eagle.   The demonstrator, designated F-15E1, took off from St. Louis for an 80-minute flight, during which the doors of the new conformal weapons bay were cycled. The bay is a development of the F-15E’s existing conformal fuel tank that allows internal (and therefore more stealthy) weapons carriage. On the first test flight the Silent Eagle demonstrator contained an instrumented AIM-120 AMRAAM. The launch of one of these missiles from the F-15E1 will be soon be demonstrated on the Pacific Missile Test Range, said Boeing program director Brad Jones. Development of a definitive Silent Eagle–including AESA radar, large-screen cockpit display, digital electronic warfare system and canted tails–awaits customer funding.   Korea has “great interest” in the Silent Eagle, Jones said last month.  

    August Calendars Released
    Erik
    By Erik,
      Fates Returns   In a grand farewell it is my distinct pleasure to release the calendar artwork for August 2010. It has been my pleasure for the past six months to create the calendars here at CombatACE. September's calendars will be released by Fates as he returns to continue the contributions he started so long ago. We look forward to Fates' keen eye and creativity returning to a screen near you. I had such a hard time choosing for this month that I decided to release a set of my top picks. August's calendars are available in wide screen and high definition formats. Get yours today. Click the link below:   GET YOUR CALENDAR ARTWORK HERE   Enjoy!                

    Dayton Air Show 2010
    Dave
    By Dave,
      Yesterday I ventured out to the Dayton Airshow. I went 2 years ago and so it was time to go back. I met Fracture there and we walked around for hours in the heat and took tons of pictures. The aerial displays were awesome and did not disappoint. What did disappoint was that with the heat the crowds would sit under the wings of all the planes. Messing up a lot of the shots. I guess that comes with the territory. There was a huge variety of aircraft from F/A-18A/C's to the Super Hornet. The EF-18G was even there. Again though there was a ton of people around it, making getting a good shot impossible. The humid air made for a hazy day so the shots didn't come out as well as I hoped. Then I find out later that there was a hair on the top of my lense I couldn't see so I had to crop the pics so the hair wasn't in the shot. One thing I learned is that my 200mm lense just doesn't cut it for airshow shooting and the picture quality of the aerial displays show it. The airshow was great and it was great to finally meet Fracture but it was a bad shooting day. I had all sorts of camera problems. So I apologize to everyone for the shoddiness of the pictures. However, if you havent been to the Dayton airshow its one of the biggest in the states and a must see for any aviation buff.                                                                                                            

    Aftermath New Release
    Dagger
    By Dagger,
      The Aftermath Going where no mod has gone before.   After the release of "Star Trek Legacy" which was a very much anticipated release, the Star Trek gaming world was so disappointed by the bugs in the game, even with 2 patches and seemingly no support from anybody involved. So the community came to the rescue with a host of mods starting to show up which helped the game greatly. After a few of them gave up, or merged with other mods, or just were released and the teams disbanded, one mod continued to work on the game. Tjoz, and his small team were busy turning out their work, improving it, adding new ships and now they even have expanded it to include a new graphics engine, new ships, new planets, new game types, and a new look, as well as a new name.     So what direction is it going? Well this may answer some questions.   So with all the changes, what is main premise for the New Aftermath? ST: Aftermath breaks from Legacy modding tradition and opts out for a heavily stylized game worlds apart from all other Legacy offerings. Aftermath is the first project of its type to introduce a semi-persistent world to Legacy: the 'Berratta Verge'.   Aftermath has been around for a few years now starting things off with the Stage 1 release. Over a period of 2 years, Aftermath quickly grew and spawned many ground breaking releases that changed Legacy and the modding community. This news is to explain what Aftermath 2010 is shaping up to be.   Aftermath is set in an area of space known as 'The Berratta Verge'. This area of space has only recently been discovered after the collapse of the Borg Hive network. The only race to have any records of this area of space are the Borg and their records are inconsistent at best. From records gathered from a heavily damaged Borg Cube drifting outside the Verge, there are at least 14 systems in the Berratta Verge. The Borg have tried to probe the area of space for the last 200 years and have come up with nothing. Countless Borg ships have been lost in this area of space, drifting and rotting away cut off from the rest of the Collective. The last Borg stronghold in the Berratta Verge was at a system called 'Nepera Dissi'. With everyone from Starfleet through to the Vulcans on the run to explore this area of space and the ever curious Borg exploring their new found freedom, the Berratta Verge is the latest secret to unravel from the collapse of the Collective and the Transwarp Network.   Apart from the locale of Aftermath, everything else is in the process of changing. In comes a stylized version of ST never before seen within the Legacy or general ST community. This is not your average Star Trek. Aftermath 2010 is the final evolution in the Aftermath lineage. A very different world of Star Trek is forming. Much darker, unforgiving, vengeful and brutal. Total chaos is the name of the game. Every race you know and love have been re-imagined in a much darker theme. With each race getting a new identity, the way in which we have all seen the races on all mediums before will never feel the same.   From the curiousness of the Borg to the savage primitive behavior of the Klingons, this new ideal of Star Trek will not be for everyone...     The new explosions:     So for all those who decided Legacy wasn't worth the hard drive space, take a second look and you can keep up with the development in our forums Aftermath Forum

    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence Pack Released
    Dave
    By Dave,
      http://store.steampo....com/app/10180/   5 new maps. Only $14.99 on Steam

Portal by DevFuse · Based on IP.Board Portal by IPS


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