BUFF

no catapults planned atm. & if we don't have the budget for new choppers we don't have it for E-2s ...

The Associated Press Posted : Monday Feb 18, 2008 14:14:41 EST WASHINGTON — Air Force officials are warning that unless their budget is increased dramatically, and soon, the military’s high-flying branch won’t dominate the skies as it has for decades. After more than seven years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Air Force’s aging jet fighters, bombers, cargo aircraft and gunships are at the breaking point, they say, and expensive, ultramodern replacements are needed fast. “What we’ve done is put the requirement on the table that says, ‘If we’re going to do the missions you’re going to ask us to do, it will require this kind of investment,”’ Maj. Gen. Paul Selva, the Air Force’s director of strategic planning, said. “Failing that, we take what is already a geriatric Air Force,” Selva said, “and we drive it for another 20 years into an area of uncertainty.” An extra $20 billion each year over the next five — beginning with an Air Force budget of about $137 billion in 2009 instead of the $117 billion proposed by the Bush administration — would solve that problem, according to Selva and other senior Air Force officers. Yet the prospects for huge infusions of cash seem dim. Congress is expected to boost the 2009 budget, but not to the level urged by the Air Force. In the years that follow, a possible recession, a rising federal deficit and a distaste for higher taxes all portend a decline in defense spending regardless of which party wins the White House in November. “The Air Force is going to be confronting a major procurement crisis because it can’t buy all the things that it absolutely needs,” said Dov Zakheim, a former Pentagon comptroller. “It’s going to force us to rethink, yet again, what is the strategy we want? What can we give up?” The Air Force’s distress is partly self-inflicted, says Steve Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington. The F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, the new jet fighters that will supplant the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon, have drastically higher price tags than their predecessors and require a bigger chunk of the defense budget. “One of the reasons their equipment has aged so much is because they continue to move ahead with the development and presumed acquisition of new weapon systems that cost two to three times as much as the systems they are replacing,” Kosiak said. “It’s like replacing a Toyota with a Mercedes.” It’s not as if the Air Force has gone without any new airplanes. The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the C-17 Globemaster airlifter and the CV-22 tilt-rotor, which flies like a helicopter or an airplane, have all been added since the mid-1990s. The Air Force also is planning to spend between $30 billion and $40 billion over the next 15 years for new refueling tankers. A contract is expected to be awarded soon. Those new tankers, however, won’t be flying until 2013. The Air Force isn’t alone in wanting more money, but its appetite is far greater than the other military branches. Shortly after President Bush submitted his defense plan for the 2009 budget year, which begins Oct. 1, each service outlined for Congress what it felt was left out. The Air Force’s “wish list” totaled $18.8 billion, almost twice as much as the other three services combined. “There’s no justification for it. Period. End of story,” said Gordon Adams, a former Clinton administration budget official who specializes in defense issues. “Until someone constrains these budget requests, the hunger for more will charge ahead unchecked.” Current F-15s and F-16s are on average more than 20 years old and have reached a point where spending more money on extensive repairs is a poor investment, Selva said. Originally designed to last 4,000 flying hours, both have been extended beyond 8,000. An F-15 with a comparatively low 5,000 flying hours disintegrated during a routine training flight over Missouri in early November. For the Air Force, that crash has become a touchstone event that demonstrates the precarious state of a fleet collectively older than any in the service’s 60-year history. Following the Missouri accident, more than 400 F-15s were grounded as Air Force mechanics scoured them for defects that might cause a similar accident. The F-15, a twin-engine jet with a top speed of 1,875 miles per hour, is the anchor of the nation’s air defense network. As aircraft age, corrosion eats away at metal parts. Wiring and sealing begin to deteriorate. The fatigue, which can be hard to detect, is most acute in fighters that make turns while going at incredible speeds. “An hour is not an hour” to an aircraft constantly under the strain of G-forces, Gen. John D.W. Corley, head of Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va., said at a news conference last month. “It’s like dog years.” The more an aircraft is flown, the more expensive and more extensive maintenance becomes, Corley and Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee during a Feb. 6 hearing. The bottom line, the generals said, is older aircraft are in the shop more often and cost more to fly when they are available. It’s not just the fighters that are elderly. Selva, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1980, said he remembers hearing about the first flight of the mammoth C-5 transport when he was in first grade. B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers, which refuel airplanes in flight, have been in the inventory for more than four decades. And mechanics are finding it difficult to keep rust off the A-10 Thunderbolt, a tank-killing plane now a quarter-century old. “If you want to accept that today we’re doing an adequate job with this sort of patchwork of airplanes, when are we no longer able to do an adequate job?” Selva asked. “What’s the next thing that’s going to happen?” Each F-22 Raptor costs about $160 million. The Air Force says it needs 381 of the radar-evading planes and is fighting to keep the production line from being shut down too soon. “We have never rolled off of the requirement to field 381 F-22s,” Selva said. “The real issue at play with the F-22 is when the line closes, it’s closed. Restarting the line will be unreasonably expensive.” The price for a single F-35 Lightning is $77 million, and the Air Force wants close to 1,800 of these fighters. The F-35 won’t be in use for several more years. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said only 183 Raptors are needed. The more Raptors the Air Force buys, Gates said during congressional testimony earlier this month, the less money it will have for the F-35 and other aircraft. About 100 F-22s have been fielded. That aircraft has not been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gates added. The Air Force says the Raptors are needed for future threats, with China, Russia and Iran at the top of the list. “Al-Qaida doesn’t exactly have an advanced aerial defense system,” said Maj. David Small, an Air Force spokesman. The public push for more Raptors prompted Gates to rebuke a top Air Force officer, Gen. Bruce Carlson, who said last week that the service remained committed to buying 381 of the aircraft. In a Friday statement, Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the general’s remarks did not reflect the Air Force’s position. But the statement did not say the service is backing away from its goal of 381 Raptors. Aircraft on the front lines in the terror war are also facing challenges. Officials at Air Force Special Operations Command say it will become increasingly hard to keep two key aircraft flying: The MC-130H Combat Talon II, used to drop commandos into hostile territory and then retrieve them, and the AC-130U, a hulking gunship that flies low to deliver firepower, are both in need of substantial overhauls. “We are literally flying the wings off these two airplanes,” said Brig. Gen. Brad Heithold, director of the command’s plans, programs, requirements and assessments office at Hurlburt Field, Fla. There are only 20 Combat Talons and 17 AC-130Us. This small fleet is in heavy demand by special operations forces around the globe. In 2001, the AC-130Us flew just over 5,200 hours. The gunships logged more than 9,000 hours in 2007. It’s comparable, Heithold said, to putting 70,000 miles on a car in a single year instead of a more normal 12,000 miles. At any given time, several of the Combat Talons or AC-130Us could be in the depot being fixed. That means there are fewer available to fly critical missions. Training flights are also curtailed. Heithold called the situation a “manageable crisis,” but said serious problems could emerge if more money isn’t provided for extended improvements and new aircraft over the next few years. “Any time you have a small number of airplanes that the appetite for continually increases, it’s hard to meet the demand,” Heithold said. “If we don’t wrestle with this now, it’s a looming problem out there.”

By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Saturday Feb 16, 2008 7:11:38 EST A month after the Air Force cleared about two-thirds of its F-15 Eagles to resume flying on Jan. 9, 158 of the fighters — all models A through D — remain grounded as Air Force officials decide whether to fix or retire the jets. Cleared to fly are 280 F-15s, scattered at 16 bases in the U.S. and overseas, according to the latest numbers from the Air Force. Of the grounded jets, nine have cracks in support beams called longerons that reinforce the fuselage. The remaining 149 grounded jets have longerons that were not manufactured to the original specifications. The problems include sections that are too thin or have rough surfaces — flaws that may lead to cracking. Unaffected by the grounding are F-15E Strike Eagles, a bomber version of the F-15, several of which are flying sorties in Afghanistan. The E-models’ larger size and different design meant the jets didn’t have the longeron problems of the F-15’s air-to-air combat version. Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, one of the Air Force’s top acquisition officials at the Pentagon, said Thursday that decisions about returning the jets to the sky would likely be made on a plane-by-plane basis. The factors figured into return-to-flight decisions likely include the costs of repairing each fighter, weighed against the jet’s overall condition and where the jet fits into the Air Force’s long-term plans to retire aging aircraft, Hoffman said. The service had been aiming to keep 177 F-15s, dubbed “Golden Eagles,” flying past 2020 and upgrading them with new radars and avionics. A preliminary estimate of the price tag for replacing one longeron is $235,000, Hoffman said. At the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia, a team from the 573rd Manufacturing Squadron is creating 15 longerons, milling aluminum alloy beams to match the original F-15 specifications, a logistics center spokesman said. Other options Besides replacing longerons, there are other options for getting the F-15s airborne. In some cases where the discrepancy between specifications and the plane are minor, the Air Force might allow an F-15 to return to flight without any modifications — what Hoffman called an “engineering solution.” However, the jet would then have to go through more rigorous and regular inspections, such as checking the longerons every 100 fight hours. Air Force officials have also suggested that some longerons that aren’t cracked could be reinforced instead of replaced. The troubled F-15s were built in the 1970s and early 1980s by McDonnell Douglas, a firm that later was bought by Boeing Co. Hoffman said no decision has been made if the Air Force will try to hold Boeing financially responsible for F-15 woes. “We’re still doing our due diligence,” Hoffman said. One problem with sorting out liability is that much of the detailed paperwork for accepting each jet was discarded over the past 25-plus years. The problem jets came off production lines between 1978 and 1985. By percentage, the greatest impact has been with the two-seat B and D models, fighters primarily used for training. All six of the F-15Bs remain grounded, while about 30 of the 41 F-15Ds can’t fly. Air Combat Command boss Gen. John Corley has overall authority over F-15 grounding decisions. The F-15s were grounded on Nov. 3, a day after a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C broke apart as it made a 7.8G right turn at nearly 500 miles per hour. The pilot, Maj. Stephen Stilwell, was able to eject even after the cockpit had snapped away and the tumbling canopy had broken his left arm and shoulder. An accident investigation board report issued Jan. 10 concluded the jet split in two because a right-side longeron supporting the canopy and cockpit cracked apart during the high-G turn. The fracture was a result of the longeron having been built thinner than what specifications called for. The upper side of the longeron should have been 0.1 inch thick. Instead, the longeron varied in thickness from 0.039 to 0.073 inch thick. The crack wasn’t spotted before the crash because the longeron had a predicted life of more than 30,000 flight hours and was never inspected. Stilwell’s jet had logged 5,868 flight hours since it was built in 1980.

February 15, 2008 7:34 p.m. EST Annie Simoy - AHN News Writer Islamabad, Pakistan (AHN) - A Pakistani Air Force (PAF) French-made Mirage fighter jet crashed Friday in eastern Punjab killing its pilot. "Pakistan's Air Force announces with great sorrow and grief that a Mirage fighter aircraft, while on a routine operational training mission, crashed 30 Kilometers South East of Sargodha," the government said. According to the statement, PAF pilot Azhar Ismael was killed when the plane suffered a technical malfunction. Senior Air Force officials have ordered an inquiry to determine the accident's exact cause. Pakistan has the second biggest arsenal of Mirage jets, behind France. Pakistan also contracts the maintenance of the jets out to France.

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/stories_local.php?id=92150

4 Sailors Rescued From Downed Aircraft In Stable Condition An EA6 Navy prowlercrashed in waters about 20 nautical miles north of Ritidian Point and Andersen Air Force Base. Four sailors were rescued and are in stable condition at the Naval Hospital Pacific News Center Staff Reporter 12.FEB.08 7:18 p.m. Guam - Four crew members are in stable condition at the Naval Hospital after they had to eject from their EA6 Navy prowler aircraft at around 4 p.m. Tuesday. According to Navy spokesperson Lt. Donnell Evans, the aircraft was on a routine training mission when it crashed about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Ritidian Point. U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Marcus Hirschberg said all four crew members were pulled from the waters and taken to the Naval Hospital aboard two HSC-25 Navy helicopters. The EA6 prowler aircraft was part of Carrier Air Wing 5 from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. The air wing was reportedly conducting training in the area when the incident occurred. Meanwhile, Guam Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard have small boats at the scene. Parts of the aircraft were reportedly floating on the waters' surface. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Algeria Lays Down Russian Arms 18-02-2008 // $1.286-billion contract under threat For the first time in the history of Russian military cooperation, a foreign customers is returning a military hardware purchase. Last week, an agreement was signed on the return of 15 MiG planes acquired by Algeria in 2006 and 2007. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika begins a visit to Russia today, during which military cooperation will be one of the main topics of talks. Experts say the Algerians actions are not due to objections to the quality of the Russian technology, but because of domestic conditions and problems with third countries. On February 6, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation Mikhail Dmitriev held talks with the Algerian armed forces chief of staff Salah Ahmed Gaid. Kommersant has learned that proposed returning the planes immediately, that is, before the president's visit to Moscow, “on the basis of an oral agreement,” with documentary formalities to be taken care of later. However, according to a source in the United Aviation Construction Corp., the Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation, Rosoboronexport, the MiG Corp. and the Algerian Air Force signed an official agreement on the return of the planes to Russia. The Ministry of Industry and Energy confirmed for Kommersant on Friday that it was aware of “an agreement being reached with Algeria on the MiGs.” The planes will be returned in the coming months. The contract will not be completely renounced, however, according to a UACC source. He said that Algeria was being offered more up-to-date MiG-29M2 or MiG-35 models or nonaviation hardware in exchange. The cost of one MiG-29M2 or MiG-35 is $5-10 million higher than of a MiG-29SMT. A Kommersant source in the aviation industry says that the lot of Su-30MKI(A) models for Algeria may be increased. In March 2006, a contract was signed for the delivery of 28 Su30MKI(A) jet fighters was signed and three of them were delivered last year. The returned MiGs may be sold to the Russian Ministry of Defense or to a third country. A source in the Federal Service for Military-Technological Cooperation said that it is possible that Algeria will take 15 planes back after they are improved. “It hasn't been determined yet how Algeria will compensate the advances and the forfeiture of the contract, all the more so since the repayment of Algeria's foreign debt was counted into the contract,” said the source. The $1.286-billion contract for 28 one-seat MiG-29SMT and six two-seat MiG-29UB fighters was signed by Rosoboronexport in March 2006, during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Algeria. That contract was part of a package of agreements on military-technology cooperation with Algeria worth a total of about $8 billion. Russia agreed to write off Algeria's debt to the former USSR (about $4.7 billion) as the contract as fulfilled. For the first time, the MiG Corp. delivered the planes with a trade-in program. As new planes were delivered, MiG-29SMT/UB models bought by Algeria in the 1990s from Belarus and Ukraine were returned to MiG. The planes were supposed to be delivered between March 2007 and February 2008, but Algeria refused delivery after May 2007 and demanded that the first 15 planes delivered be returned. Algeria pointed to used or low-quality parts found in the planes. In August, the Algerian president sent a letter about that to Putin. Russia has already received a $250-million advance payment. In addition, since October of last year, Algeria has not made payments of $432 million on other military contracts, tying them to the return of the MiGs. As a result, according to the Russian Finance Ministry, on February 1 of this year, the total of payment received from Algeria on military contracts, recorded in a special account against the country's debt, came to only $1.83 billion. Russia long insisted that the claims were ungrounded. “The bodies of the planes were produced in the 1990s, but that was stipulated in the contract, and everything inside them, all the equipment, was new,” a source at MiG said, adding that Rosoboronexport representatives demanded an explanation that could serve as the basis for breaking the contract. “Algerian representatives wrote a receipt in Russia and in Algeria, then they began using those MiGs and only after that they made their claims,” a corporation spokesman said. Experts connect the claims with the situation inside Algeria and France's attempts to advance its Rafale fighter jet in the region. Deliveries of the MiG-29 were become an issue in domestics politics as well. Bouteflika intends to seek a third term. A competing clan is represented in the security forces of that country. They are using the crisis of the Russian planes to weaken the position of Ahmed Gaid Salah, who is loyal to the president. In addition, Center for the Analysis of Strategy and Technology expert Konstantin Makienko notes, “The Russian breakthrough in Algeria in 2006 was accompanied by powerful opposition by France, especially after President Sarkozy came to power.” Relations between Russia and Algeria have become more complex in other spheres as well. In August of last year, the Algerian minister of energy announced the discontinuation of a memorandum of mutual understanding between Gazprom and the Algerian company Sonatrach, removing the legal basis for cooperation in producing hydrocarbons and liquefied natural gas in Algeria. Nonetheless, Gazprom representatives hope they will be able to return eventually to the joint activities outlined in that document. Alexandra Gritskova, Elena Kiseleva, Konstantin Lantratov

DATE:18/02/08 SOURCE:Flight International BAE Systems prepares UK's first production Hawk 128 trainer for flight By Craig Hoyle BAE Systems is on track to deliver the UK's first of 28 Hawk 128 advanced jet trainers in August, and maintains that the type has strong long-term sales potential, despite its recent elimination from a contest in the United Arab Emirates and an orderbook that is on course to run dry next year. The first series production-standard Hawk 128 has had its fifth and final software load introduced and its Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour 951 engine installed, says Mike Corfield, BAE's UK AJT programme director. "We've proven all the hardware and the software now, and are pretty much just going through the final clearances," he adds. BAE expects to achieve the aircraft's "power on" milestone this month, before a first flight in June and its scheduled release to service in August. Two more 128s are awaiting equipment installation, and the UK's final example will enter its assembly jigs in December and be delivered late next year. UK pilots and technicians will start conversion training on the new aircraft at BAE's Warton site in Lancashire in September, ahead of the type's entry into squadron service at Royal Air Force base Valley in north Wales. The company also expects to conclude talks with the Ministry of Defence within the next few months on providing through-life support for the new fleet, with this to build on its existing integrated operational support deal on the UK's current Hawk T1/1A trainers. BAE, also seeking export business for the 128, will display its comparable Hawk new development aircraft at this month's Singapore air show. The aircraft will then remain in the country to support further evaluation by its Defence Science and Technology Agency as part of a three-way AJT contest. Similar work was recently conducted with Alenia Aermacchi's M-346 and the Korea Aerospace Industries/Lockheed Martin T-50. BAE is also eyeing emerging Hawk prospects in Europe, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, says business development executive Steve Wearden, with a possible manufacturing joint venture also being considered with India's Hindustan Aeronautics (Flight International, 8-14 January). The company also hopes to secure a follow-on order to build fuselages for additional US Navy Boeing T-45 Goshawks beyond a current production deal that will conclude in mid-2009. "There is a strategy with the T-45 going forward," says Wearden.

15-02-2008 Ahmedabad: In yet another mishap, a MiG-21 jet fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in marshlands in Kutch near the Indo-Pak border on Friday. But the pilot bailed out safely. The fighter crashed minutes after taking off from the Bhuj airbase, on a routine training sortie. The fighter crashed to the ground just 20 km away from the base, an IAF official said. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant S Agashe, however, managed to bail out and was rescued and brought back to base. The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to probe the incident. This is the first crash of a MiG-21 this year. So far during the last ten years about 90 fighter planes have crashed. The fighters are ageing and are on the verge of being phased out. The IAF has recently completed upgrade of 125 of these fighters with Russian and Israeli know how. © Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved.

Fighter jet training to begin Saturday, February 16, 2008 By TED LaBORDE tlaborde@repub.com WESTFIELD - The new mission of homeland security for the Northeast will not be fully realized for another two to three years, but activity involving the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing will intensify next week when pilots begin daily training with the F-15 Eagle fighter jet. Wing commanders said yesterday F-15 flights out of Barnes Municipal Airport are targeted to begin on Friday. There will be four flights a day, mostly during daylight hours. Pilots and the rest of the unit's estimated 1,300 members continue preparations to assume control of the region's homeland security. Those preparations are being supervised by interim wing commander Brig. Gen. L. Scott Rice, vice commander Lt. Col. James J. Keefe and Lt. Col. Kenneth L. Lambrich, commander of the 104th Operations Group. Lambrich will determine flight training missions of the 20 plus pilots recently transferred to the 104th from the 102nd Fighter Wing in Otis. A seasoned F-15 pilot, Lambrich is one of nine pilots from the 102nd to transfer here and is the first member of that unit to hold a command position with the 104th. Lambrich and Keefe, son of retired Massachusetts Air National Guard commander George Keefe, assumed their positions on Feb. 9. Keefe previously served the 104th as commander of the 131st Fighter Squadron. He and Lambrich are veteran fighter pilots with more than 2,500 flying hours. Both are on leave from their civilian jobs as pilots for United Airlines. Keefe lives in Northampton. Lambrich resides in Sandwich, but plans to relocate to the Westfield area shortly. The 104th has long been considered the best A-10 unit in the Air Force system, and the unit's goal now, Lambrich and Keefe said, is to become the best F-15 unit in the country. The F-15 had been grounded by the Air Force in the final months of 2007 after one began to break apart and crashed on Nov. 2 in Missouri. An inspection for possible structural deficiencies was conducted and the ground order was lifted last month. Lambrich and Keefe said the jets assigned to the 104th are free of structural problems, and, despite the national inspection, F-15s assigned here will undergo inspection by unit maintenance staff. Lambrich and Keefe said they are aware of potential noise concerns from neighbors of the guard base and because of that, flights will be directed to the north, over parts of Southampton, for takeoff. Returning jets to Barnes Municipal Airport will come from the south. "At first, noise levels will be high because of a need to take off with full afterburners during initial flights of each aircraft. But that will decrease as we fly more often," Lambrich said. Keefe said that as training progresses, the base will see an estimated $77 million in construction for support facilities.

The Bucc. (like those other aircraft of roughly the same era Lightning, Vulcan etc.) was a superb & potent design. When it first went to Red Flag it shocked the USAF with it's capability in the hands of it's crews. Even today if it had modern systems there would be few aircraft that would better it in it's intended role. The pilots loved it -as they said "the only replacement for the Buccaneer is another Buccaneer". But like the F-14 (which I feel lucky to have seen fly & display) they all fell foul of age & increasing cost/serviceability.

don't eat beans! look forward to your photos & enjoy your short respite.

February 13, 2008 (by Maj.Paul Kirmis) - The 56th Fighter Wing commander officially announced the future deactivation of one of Luke's eight fighter squadrons Tuesday during a forum. . Gen. Tom Jones formally announced that the 63rd Fighter Squadron 'Panthers' will shut its doors with a closure ceremony tentatively scheduled in spring 2009. The general's decision was based solely on current United States Air Force Historical Heritage Points kept by the Air Force Historian in Washington, D.C. The squadron flag and historical memorabilia will be packaged, shipped and stored at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Base re-alignment and closure actions are ongoing in the U.S. military for more than a decade, and they continue to shape our forces to meet emerging technology and challenges of the future. In 2005, Congress signed the most recent BRAC recommendations into law. From that document Luke was tasked to distribute 37 F-16s, and re-align the 56th FW targeting pod repair facility in order to stand-up a combined intermediate repair facility at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The most recognizable BRAC action with greatest impact on the 56th FW mission is the retirement of 25 F-16 aircraft, loss of a fighter squadron and its associated aircraft maintenance unit, and reduction of some supporting positions throughout the wing. BRAC mandated that Luke would redistribute 37 F-16s; this includes the F-16s redistributed last year during the 302nd Fighter Squadron closure. Through BRAC and future force funding decisions, the 56th FW was left to reduce 25 block 25 aircraft in its inventory. Personnel reductions and unit closures go hand-in-hand with aircraft reduction, but General Jones reassured Luke Airmen during his commander's calls Jan. 28 through Feb. 1 that personnel will still continue to produce sorties until the last aircraft retires. Overall, the 56th FW will lose 425 positions: 364 from the 56th Maintenance Group, 31 from the 56th Operations Group and 30 from the 56th Mission Support Group and 56th FW staff agencies. These reductions in manpower will be realized over the next year and a half through normal permanent change of station cycles where Airmen are expected to PCS through attrition or be absorbed by other squadrons. The 63rd FS currently flies the block 42 F-16 and its jets will transfer to the 61st Fighter Squadron in the spring of 2009. The squadrons flying Block 42s in post-BRAC will be the 61st, 308th and 310th Fighter Squadrons. The 62nd and 309th Fighter Squadrons will continue to fly the Block 25 F-16. Personnel from the 63rd FS will be re-assigned to other flying or support squadrons on base. The 63rd FS operations building will be turned over to the wing facilities board for disposition. The remaining squadron maintenance organizations will perform minor relocations in order to optimize existing base facilities and geographical operations and maintenance efficiencies. In another BRAC decision, the U.S. General Accounting Office estimated that the transition from repairing the 56th FW's low altitude navigation and targeting infrared for night targeting pods locally to a CIRF at Hill AFB will save the Air Force $1.2 million annually. For the 56th Maintenance Group, this action involves the transfer of 25 positions from the 56th Component Maintenance Squadron to Hill AFB, along with all of their LANTIRN test and repair equipment. By May 2008, all 56th FW targeting pods will be transported to Hill AFB for repair, with a replacement pod shipped simultaneously to Luke to keep enough serviceable targeting pods on hand to support the wing's flying mission. The first F-16s are scheduled to depart Luke in November 2008, with a number of F-16s departing every month until the last of the retiring F-16s leave in early August 2009. All 25 of these F-16s are scheduled to be turned over to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group located at Davis-Monthan AFB. Courtesy of 56th Fighter Wing Chief of Plans

brings back memories of Air Experience Flights in the cadets

been to an optician lately? look at those flowing curves, how can you call that ugly (unless you are on the receiving end of her claws)? Hinch, I've been waiting on that Javelin as long as you have been building it ...

13-02-2008 A French Mirage jet crashed into the ocean after its pilot and navigator ejected from the plane when they noticed a technical problem, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The pilot and navigator were unharmed — one was picked up by a fishing boat while the other was taken in by coast guard officials, the ministry said in a statement. The two noticed a technical problem during a training flight Tuesday, and flew out over the Bay of Biscay off southwest France so the jet could crash without harming people or property, the ministry said. The Mirage 2000N was based in Luxeuil in the Burgundy region. The ministry said officials were to open an inquiry into what went wrong. International Herald Tribune

BEAUFORT - The pilot of an AV-8B Harrier jet walked away after his plane crashed due to engine failure, the Marine Corps said Wednesday. One of three Cherry Point-based aircraft on a training flight, the Harrier went down in Open Grounds Farm in eastern Carteret County at about 1 p.m. The pilot of the single-person aircraft ejected before the crash, Marine officials confirmed. "The pilot was safe. He was able to walk away," said Maj. Shawn Haney, director of public affairs at Cherry Point. Haney said the pilot - whom the military has not identified - was returned to the Marine Corps air station Wednesday afternoon. The Harriers were part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and Haney said the other two planes landed safely at Cherry Point. Chris Fore, parts manager at Open Grounds Farm, witnessed the crash and said he was the first to reach the pilot. Fore identified him as Capt. Ian Stevens. "I let him use my cell phone. He called his wife to tell her he was OK," Fore said. "Then he called his captain and said, I'm down, but so is the plane.'' Fore said he saw Harriers flying over and one appeared to be laboring. Fore saw the pilot eject and saw his parachute open. The pilot landed in ground used for a corn field, about a half-mile from the main gate of the farm. Fore said the crash happened at 1:01 p.m. He said the jet struck the ground nose-down before catching fire. An HH-46D Sea Knight rescue helicopter arrived to return the pilot to Cherry Point. Another employee of the 50,000-acre farm, production manager Antonio Cintiluciani, said workers in a corn elevator did not hear the crash, but saw a plume of smoke afterward. "It's a good spot to crash because it was far from everything." He said. "We were lucky that nothing was going on in that place." Marine Corps officials are investigating what caused the plane to lose power, according to a news release from the Camp Lejeune-based II Marine Expeditionary Force. According to the National Weather Service in Newport, stronger storms earlier Wednesday had cleared the area by the time of the crash. Though gusts had reached 45 mph at Beaufort and 48 mph at Cherry Point Wednesday morning, Beaufort reported southwest winds at 20 mph and mostly cloudy conditions at 1 p.m. when the plane crashed. The pilot is attached to the 24th MEU, which is preparing for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. His identity and the name of the Cherry Point unit to which he was assigned have yet to be released by the Marine Corps. The Harrier jet is a light attack aircraft with a maximum speed of 630 mph, according to a U.S. Navy Web site. It is used for close support of ground troops and has the capability to take off and land vertically, similar to a helicopter. Records indicate the last Cherry Point Harrier crash happened in July 2006 when a Harrier assigned to the 24th MEU went down in the Mediterranean Sea during a training mission. The pilot ejected safely. For more information on this developing story, visit the Havelock News Web site at www.havenews.com. Corey Friedman and Ken Buday of the Havelock News contributed to this story, along with Freedom ENC reporters Jannette Pippin and Sue Book.

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 13, 2008 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today completed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification requirements for Japan’s first KC-767 Tanker, receiving the FAA stamp of approval in the form of a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC). "The Japan Air Self-Defense Force asked us to complete passenger and main deck cargo certifications beyond what is normally performed on military aircraft, and we have received our FAA STC for those capabilities," said George Hildebrand, Boeing KC-767 Japan program manager. "Boeing is ready to deliver the first tankers in Japan’s history and the most advanced tanker in the world today." The FAA previously certified the KC-767 for everything except passengers and main deck cargo. Boeing used a combination of Japan and Italy KC-767 Tankers to complete the testing, clearing the way for Japan to receive its first two of four KC-767s with the convertible freighter configuration in the first quarter of 2008 as planned. The completed tests also will help Boeing obtain FAA certification for the Italy KC-767 followed by delivery of the country’s first two tankers later in 2008. In the past few months, the Japan and Italy tankers have completed several significant milestones. Boeing successfully completed all required pre-delivery air refueling tests of Japan’s KC-767 Tanker including night refueling with an F-15E; completed the second Japan KC-767; flight tested on the Italy KC-767 a newly designed pylon that attaches the Wing Air Refueling Pod to each tanker wing; and completed FAA certification for the mission control system. Boeing has built nearly 2,000 tankers in its history, and in addition to flight-testing the KC-767 for international customers, Boeing is offering the KC-767 Advanced Tanker for the U.S. Air Force’s KC-X Tanker competition.

Luckily I was (& the Vulcan/Victor) & they were awesome. It really was a crying shame in the 90s to pass the scrapyard in Elgin where the ones from Lossiemouth were all cut up. Some good clips on Youtube though.

Yes as the last 2 Tornado F3 units, plus the East of Scotland University Air Squadron (Grob Tutors), an Army Air Corps Reserve unit with Gazelles, a Territorial Army Engineer Squadron in the Airfield Damage Repair role & 612 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force (a medical unit). We were due to be getting Typhoons shortly but the Saudi order put that back for a while ...

Happening in the UK too & no doubt elsewhere. XXV squadron goes in April & 43 (F) & 56® will merge shortly.

higher tempo of use. & better reporting ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23166344/

http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html release notes

MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will deliver 12 Su-MKM fighters to Malaysia before the end of 2008, a spokesman for the Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer said on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian country will receive a total of 18 Su-30MKM fighters under a $900-million contract signed in 2003. The first six airplanes were delivered in 2007. The Su-30MKM is a multi-role Flanker version based on the Su-30MKI model and features a customized avionics package built to Malaysian specifications. The airplanes are being manufactured at Sukhoi's Irkutsk aircraft manufacturing plant in Siberia. Malaysia currently operates a mixed fighter fleet with the Russian MiG-29N Fulcrum and the U.S.-made F/A-18D Hornet and F-5 Tiger in service. According to some sources, the Malaysian Royal Air Force is considering a new Su-30MKM contract.