US Air Force: Discussion and News

Militarov wrote:I will take Chinese for serious in fighter technology when they figure out how to make own half decent engine.

Or even an original fighter design.

GarryB wrote:Yeah, cause only high tech original designs can kill....

The most amusing thing is who does not copy... some rifles claimed to be the best in their class are just copies, but it is OK when Finland or Israel or South Africa copy AKs... when China did it it was a symptom of something...

You'll never be able to outpace someone if you rely on their technologies and an "original Chinese design" is in the dictionary as an example of an oxymoron.

Nemrod are you for real ? You're the new Vann7 of this forum.

OminousSpudd wrote:
...F-15, F-16 were all excellent aircraft back in the day, and to a lesser extent still are. The F-16 has reached its maximum potential ....

About the F-16, if we rely on west's pov, this aircraft is among the best of best of the world, and thanks to its supposed victories in Israel's wars, and in Iraq. I've seen a long time ago an interesting analysis of Vladimir Iiylin about it. First of all the myth of 100 syrians aircrafts -mostly due to F-16 and F-15, but... - downed against 0 for Israel could not resist to the scrutinity of facts. During Desert Storm, hundreds F-16 were engaged, none downed any iraqi aircraft. Even the A-10 succeeded in downing a, iraqi helicopter. If we know that Iraq managed to send to Iran several dozens of airplanes into Iran, including two Il-76 Adnan iraqi Awacs, as every one know they are super manoeuvrables, then where were the F-16 ? At such point that a high US responsible said in that time that the F-16 is less effective air planne. During the 90's the number of aircrafts downed by F-16 is not higher. But it is enough for the west propaganda to claim that its nag is a stallion effective.

About the F-15. We talked much about the circumstances of War gulf, and how the secret surrounding what's really happened is dark. F-15 were in outnumber at first, and Iraqi high command did not desire to engage a real air battle. Moreover, we had US and its coalition against Iraq. Then we could not say nowadays that the F-15 is super fighter. In a normal situation against fair combat like 2 vs 1 as 2 F-15 against 1 Mig or Sukhoi, the F-15 will be smashed. During cope india 2004 even the Mig-21 Bison took out F-15. I did not mean US pilots are not competents -on contrary-, but the choice imposed by the militaro industrial complex lead to this stalemate.

The last conflicts involving US and its F-15, F-16, F-18 are not enough to assert that these aircrafts are really effective. However, if a conflict occurs now between China and US, and if the F-15 scores 30:0, and F-16 scores 20:0 against the chinese sukhoi I will say US aircrafts are the best of the world. But it is far to be the case. I would say the contrary, the chinese SU-27 will score much against US aircrafts including the F-22, and F-35.

nemrod wrote:

OminousSpudd wrote:
...F-15, F-16 were all excellent aircraft back in the day, and to a lesser extent still are. The F-16 has reached its maximum potential ....

About the F-16, if we rely on west's pov, this aircraft is among  the best of best of the world, and thanks to its supposed victories in Israel's wars, and in Iraq. I've seen a long time ago an interesting analysis of Vladimir Iiylin about it. First of all the myth of 100 syrians aircrafts -mostly due to F-16 and F-15, but... - downed against 0 for Israel could not resist to the scrutinity of facts. During Desert Storm, hundreds F-16 were engaged, none downed any iraqi aircraft. Even the A-10 succeeded in downing a, iraqi helicopter. If we know that Iraq managed to send to Iran several dozens of airplanes into Iran, including two Il-76 Adnan iraqi Awacs, as every one know they are super manoeuvrables, then where were the F-16 ? At such point that a high US responsible said in that time that the F-16 is less effective air planne. During the 90's the number of aircrafts downed by F-16 is not higher. But it is enough for the west propaganda to claim that its nag is a stallion effective.

About the F-15. We talked much about the circumstances of War gulf, and how the secret surrounding what's really happened is dark. F-15 were in outnumber at first, and Iraqi high command did not desire to engage a real air battle. Moreover, we had US and its coalition against Iraq. Then we could not say nowadays that the F-15 is super fighter. In a normal situation against fair combat like 2 vs 1 as 2 F-15 against 1 Mig or Sukhoi, the F-15 will be smashed. During cope india 2004 even the Mig-21 Bison took out F-15. I did not mean US pilots are not competents -on contrary-, but the choice imposed by the militaro industrial complex lead to this stalemate.

The last conflicts involving US and its F-15, F-16, F-18 are not enough to assert that these aircrafts are really effective. However, if a conflict occurs now between China and US, and if the F-15 scores 30:0, and F-16 scores 20:0 against the chinese sukhoi I will say US aircrafts are the best of the world. But it is far to be the case. I would say the contrary, the chinese SU-27 will score much against US aircrafts including the F-22, and F-35.

Of course, it's the same with almost all NATO equipment, they can not be judged by their combat record, as it is to shrouded in propaganda, and they have always fought under absolutely ideal situations with overwhelming superiority in C4I and numbers. I am judging the F-15 etc. by their proven characteristics of being a well equipped and fairly reliable aircraft, with good all round performance. I do not doubt that much of the US' reputation as being a global and invincible air power is 99.9% propaganda, and an interest in setting up this self-proclaimed image was there right from the end of the iron curtain.

OminousSpudd wrote:
Of course, it's the same with almost all NATO equipment, they can not be judged by their combat record, as it is to shrouded in propaganda, and they have always fought under absolutely ideal situations with overwhelming superiority in C4I and numbers.  I am judging the F-15 etc. by their proven characteristics of being a well equipped and fairly reliable aircraft, with good all round performance. I do not doubt that much of the US' reputation as being a global and invincible air power is 99.9% propaganda, and an interest in setting up this self-proclaimed image was there right from the end of the iron curtain.

I do not try to despise, or misjudge US hardware, but the conflicts of Iraq, and in Serbia are not enough to claim that F-15, F-16, F-18 are a successfull aircrafts. Moreover, during Desert Storm, there were nearly 30 F-16 missed -of course I heard about it, but I have no proofs-. Reasons ? Accidents ?...During the decade 80's in Middle east nearly 70 F-16 were lost due to officially accidents. Again this magic world of accident. In my view these F-16 were downed by Migs.
Now what's happened, we have a superpower that owns all medias in the world, they hide all what it is too much embarrassing, and
they claim what they want no matter if it is stupid lies, and it becomes "official facts".  Then, what would you think if one day you learn that 6 Mig-23 ML were indeed downed, but they downed 16 F-16 ? What would you think if you learn that 5 Mig-29 were downed but they successfully downed 10 F-16 and 5 F-15 C ? If we refer to recent exercises done by Indian air force, even the Mig-21 Bison outclass the F-15, and certainly the F-16. No use to tell more about Mig-29 and SU-27.

http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/mishaps-and-accidents/

GarryB wrote:

"original Chinese design" is in the dictionary as an example of an oxymoron.

Hahahahaha... fucking hilarious... you do realise that the printing press was invented in China... a technology that made the very concept of a dictionary possible and accessible to the masses... the printed word... knowledge... something the church of the time kept to itself and shared with no one...

Actually first real half useful printing press was made in Holy Roman Empire by Johannes Gutenberg. Chinese presses were just rows of metal letters that were manually pressed onto papirus via levers, but it was rly not to be compared with European design.

Chinese did develop quite a few important technologies though history, but so did almost every other major nation and state. Egypt, Persia, Vyzantine Empire, Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, India, Phoenicia, Ancient Greece, Carthage...

However it has very little to do with modern Chinese engineering which became simple licence production or reverse eneginering nest, especially till recently.

GarryB wrote:
Hahahahaha... fucking hilarious...  printing press was invented in China... a technology that made the very concept of a dictionary possible and accessible to the masses... the printed word... knowledge... something the church of the time kept to itself and shared with no one...

....

Militarov wrote:
...Chinese engineering which became simple licence production or reverse eneginering nest, ....

Do not despise China, and chineses. Next China will be the centre of all technologies, surpassing Russia, and US.

nemrod wrote:

GarryB wrote:
Hahahahaha... fucking hilarious...  printing press was invented in China... a technology that made the very concept of a dictionary possible and accessible to the masses... the printed word... knowledge... something the church of the time kept to itself and shared with no one...

....

Militarov wrote:
...Chinese engineering which became simple licence production or reverse eneginering nest, ....

Do not despise China, and chineses. Next China will be the centre of all technology, surpassing Russia, and US.

Lol

nemrod wrote:

Do not despise China, and chinese. Next China will be the centre of all technologies, surpassing Russia, and US.

max steel wrote:
   

"Two F-16Cs from the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing crashed after both aircraft collided in mid-air at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Jun. 7 near Jefferson County, Georgia. Both pilots from the 157th Fighter Squadron were able to eject safely, the second was found two hours after the crash.
An initial safety board has been convened as well."

Source: http://alert5.com/2016/06/08/two-f-16s-from-157th-fs-collided-in-mid-air/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

"A US military MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed Tuesday at Nevada Test and Training Range, Air Force officials said.

The Reaper, with a 66-foot-long wingspan, was assigned to the 432nd Wing at Creech, a hub for remotely piloted aircraft operations and training at Indian Springs, 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The crash occurred at 3:40 p.m. Tuesday at an unspecified location on the training range, according to a news release from Nellis Air Force Base.

There were no casualties. An accident investigation board will investigate the accident, Nellis officials said.

A damage estimate wasn’t provided but the unit cost of a Reaper is $64.2 million, which includes four aircraft, sensors and operational equipment, according an Air Force fact sheet that lists the price in 2006 dollars.

Reapers are used to conduct reconnaissance and airstrikes with laser-guided Hellfire missiles and smart bombs. Counter-terrorism missions are routinely conducted in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Often, the aircraft are launched at overseas locations near combat zones and controlled from ground stations at the Creech base and elsewhere in the United States via satellite links.

Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Washington Post found that 20 large Air Force drones were destroyed or sustained $2 million in damage in accidents last year.

The Reaper’s mishap rate, based on crashes per 100,000 hours flown, more than doubled the rate in 2014, according to the Washington Post’s probe, which also found the Pentagon has kept details about most of the crashes secret.

The Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) is one of two military training areas used by the United States Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB and has the “largest contiguous air and ground space available for peacetime military operations in the free world."

Source: http://defence-blog.com/news/us-mq-9-reaper-drone-crashes-at-nevada-test-and-training-range.html

"Boeing has plan to test its new Chinook rotor blades this October. If successful, the heavy-lift helicopter will gain an extra 2,000lb for its maximum take-off weight. The honeycomb composite rotor blades could form part of the CH-47 Block II upgrades the Army is pursuing."

Source: http://alert5.com/2016/06/10/boeing-to-test-new-rotor-blades-on-chinook-in-october/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

What were you saying Nemrod ?

Why China wants U.S. military jet engines

China appears to be going to great lengths to get its hands on high-tech U.S. jet engines to beef up its military capabilities.

On Thursday, a woman named Wenxia Man was convicted in a Florida court of conspiring to evade U.S. export laws by illegally acquiring and sending fighter jet engines and drones to China, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said Man was working with an associate in China to buy and export engines made by Pratt & Whitney and General Electric (GE), which are found in a range of top U.S. military aircraft, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the F-22 and the F-16 fighter jets. She was also found to have tried to export a General Atomics drone, and technical data for the different hardware items.

During the investigation, Man referred to her associate as a spy "who worked on behalf of the Chinese military to copy items obtained from other countries and stated that he was particularly interested in stealth technology," the Department of Justice said.

The conviction of Man is the latest development in an ongoing saga of corporate espionage between the U.S. and China. Experts say spying has played a role in China's strategy to modernize the country in recent decades.

The illicit acquisition of technology has helped China accelerate the process, bypassing problems that would otherwise require years of research and development to resolve, according to analysts.But Beijing has repeatedly denied that it engages in corporate espionage.

Boosting jet engine capabilities has long been a priority for China as it seeks to increase its military clout. The most recent five-year development plan for the country identifies domestic development and production of engines and planes as a major goal.

But it's a difficult area to master, forcing China to rely heavily on importing technology. Over the last four years, engines accounted for 30% of all its imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Even the C919, a commercial airliner that China is developing in the hope of rivaling Boeing, is using engines made by a U.S. and French joint venture.

The Department of Justice statement didn't provide details on Man's background. The Sun Sentinel in Florida reported that she was born in China but is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She will be sentenced in August and could spend up to 20 years in jail.

Hers is the latest in a series of corporate espionage cases in the U.S. that have been linked to China. They have swept across numerous industries from agriculture to aviation. Alleged targets have included a solar panel manufacturer, aluminum and steel producers, and a company that designs nuclear power plants.

In March, a Chinese man pleaded guilty to cyber spying on Boeing and other U.S. firms by hacking into their networks to pilfer sensitive information to send to China.China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't respond to faxed questions Friday, which is a public holiday in the country.

AFSOC favours side-mounted laser for gunship

Air Force Special Operations Command has accepted that it will trade some offensive capability for cost savings and fielding time on its future laser-equipped Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostrider if the laser is mounted on the side of the aircraft.

Although a laser turret mounted on the bottom of the gunship will provide more offensive and defensive capability in the long run, the belly-mounted turret would cost more and take much longer to develop, an Air Force spokesman told FlightGlobal this week. The side configuration would require fewer modifications to the existing aircraft, he added.

A recent Air Force Scientific Advisory Board study examined the laser’s placement in a turret on the aircraft’s belly versus mounting the laser on the side in place of the 30-millimeter gun. The AFSAB found the side-mount position would reduce the area the laser could prosecute since the aircraft itself would block its effective hemisphere. Half of that hemisphere points upward, a direction that’s largely useless against surface-to-air missiles, AFSAB chair Werner Dahm said in a June 24 email to FlightGlobal. The belly-mounted turret would have full range to target SAMs.

“To keep demo costs down they [AFSOC] are considering putting the turret in the existing side hole, where the gun currently sits,” Dahm said. “This will still allow us to learn a lot about how to employ a laser in AFSOC missions, but it is not nearly as useful as having the turret on the bottom in the demo.”

But AFSOC chief Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, who is pursuing an aggressive schedule for the laser gunship and plans to field a testbed by 2020, would make the capability tradeoff in order to field the aircraft faster.

“I believe it’s the easiest thing to do, rather than a turreted system where you're bouncing the laser around it,” he told FlightGlobal following a speech at the June 23 Directed Energy Summit in Washington. “Let’s go simple, let’s shoot it off the left side and eventually it will evolve.”

Heithold argues that while AFSOC would lose offensive capability on the laser gunships, he plans to field the weapon on a very small number of AC-130s. AFSOC would maintain its kinetic capability with Griffin and Hellfire missiles still fielded on the majority of its gunships, but the side-mounted laser would fill a capability gap by delivering the element of surprise.

“I don’t plan to take the 30mm gun off of all my airplanes” he said. “What I plan to do is take it off three or four, and put in there a surprise package there with the laser.”

Both Heithold and the Air Force’s new chief of staff, Gen. David Goldfein, hope future directed energy weapons can deliver what they have coined as “silent sabotage.” During the summit, Heithold appealed to industry to field the laser gunship quickly for hostage rescue missions, but he also outlined his plan to operate a low-observable aircraft for silent sabotage. In a Congressional hearing in June, Goldfein described the Air Force’s plan to complete stealthy, laser attacks.

“Right now when I want to, or when we want to place firepower on the enemy, they and everyone else in the area knows we're there,” Goldfein said. “What we need is a capability to create an effect and not have them know exactly where it came from or who.”

US Air Force Funds Next Advanced Engine Stage

The US Air Force has awarded a set of contracts to progress its Adaptive Engine Transition Program (AETP) forward.

General Electric Aviation and Pratt & Whitney each received a contract following their work on the previous development program. Both companies received contracts worth $1.01 billion, with a period of performance ending in Sept. 2021.

AETP seeks to revolutionize performance in engines used by the Air Force by adding a third stream of air inside the engine. The program’s goal is to “demonstrate 25 percent improved fuel efficiency, 10 percent increased thrust, and significantly improved thermal management,” according to an Air Force release.

It is expected that AETP will help drive requirements and capabilities for the service’s next-generation air dominance platform. It is possible that developments from AETP could pour back into the F135 engine design, produced by Pratt, which powers the F-35 joint strike fighter fleet.

Lockheed Martin Looks To Upgrade 500 In-Service F-16s


Lockheed Martin expects to upgrade 500 in-service F-16s to a new, AESA radar equipped, ‘F-16V’ format within seven years, after bagging orders for over 300 upgrades to date from South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

The upgrade sees the addition of Northrop Grumman’s SABR electronically scanned radar, as well as a new 6 by 8 inch center pedestal display, a Link 16 data link, enhanced data processing and a Sniper advanced targeting pod. The new radar offers functions including multiple target tracking, synthetic aperture, ground moving target indication, and greater reliability than a mechanical radar.

“Three customers are refitting 300 aircraft now and we expect several hundred more in the next few years,” said Randall Howard, head of F-16 Business Development.

A source said the target was 500 aircraft in seven years, with possible future customers including Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Current customers Korea, Taiwan and Singapore have refitted around 130, 130 and 50 jets respectively.

Lockheed Martin expects to upgrade 500 in-service F-16s to a new, AESA radar equipped, ‘F-16V’ format within seven years, after bagging orders for over 300 upgrades to date from South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

The upgrade sees the addition of Northrop Grumman’s SABR electronically scanned radar, as well as a new 6 by 8 inch center pedestal display, a Link 16 data link, enhanced data processing and a Sniper advanced targeting pod. The new radar offers functions including multiple target tracking, synthetic aperture, ground moving target indication, and greater reliability than a mechanical radar.

“Three customers are refitting 300 aircraft now and we expect several hundred more in the next few years,” said Randall Howard, head of F-16 Business Development.

A source said the target was 500 aircraft in seven years, with possible future customers including Greece, Turkey and Egypt. Current customers Korea, Taiwan and Singapore have refitted around 130, 130 and 50 jets respectively.

After Delay, New Air Force Tanker KC-46 Completes Required Flight Tests




The KC-46 Pegasus program completed all flight tests required for the Milestone C production decision July 15 by offloading 1,500 pounds of fuel to an A-10 Thunderbolt II.

The successful A-10 mission was the last of six in-flight refueling demonstrations required before the tanker program can request approval from Frank Kendall, the under-secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to award production Lots 1 and 2, totaling 19 KC-46A aircraft.

“It is great to see the KC-46 boom back in action and the program moving forward to a production decision” said Col. John Newberry, the KC-46 system program manager.

The other five required air refueling demonstrations were with the C-17 Globemaster III and F-16 Fighting Falcon using the air refueling boom, the Navy’s F-18 Hornet and AV-8B Harrier II using the centerline and wing drogue systems, and the KC-46 as a receiver aircraft.

"Today's flight marks the final step we needed to see on the boom fix in order to request production go-ahead,” said Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, the Air Force program executive officer for tankers. “Our joint team's tireless efforts are paying off, preparing us for the next step of this critical need to our warfighter."

This test would not have been possible without contributions from the 412th Test Wing, 23rd Fighter Wing, 355th FW, 124th FW, 896th Test Support Squadron and 40th Flight Test Squadron, which all provided aircraft, manpower and equipment.

The Milestone C decision to begin Low-Rate Initial Production is expected in August.

B-1 Bombers to Patrol Skies from Guam


Pacific Air Forces said it is sending speedy and low-flying B-1B bombers to Guam for the first time in 10 years.

The move comes with China vowing to up its bomber and fighter flights in the contested South China Sea and the United States adding to its own aircraft firepower in the unstable region.

The B-1s, which have a low-radar cross section and can fly at more than 900 mph, "will provide a significant rapid global strike capability that enables our readiness and commitment to deterrence, offers assurance to our allies and strengthens regional security and stability," the Hawaii-based command said.

The undisclosed number of B-1s will deploy to Andersen Air Force Base on Aug. 6 to replace B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota that have been on Guam as part of U.S. Pacific Command's continuous bomber presence mission.

The B-1 bombers will be accompanied by about 300 airmen from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. B-1 units bring "a unique perspective and years of repeated combat and operational experience" from the Middle East to the Pacific, the Air Force said.

While it's not the first time the B-1 has been based in the Pacific, it's been 10 years since the last rotation.

B-52 bombers out of Guam have played a key role maintaining flying rights in international airspace in a rebuke of China's far-reaching sovereignty claims, which are challenged by some neighboring countries.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration recently rejected outright China's territorial claims over much of the South China Sea in a case brought by the Philippines -- a ruling China said it would ignore.

Two of the B-52 long-range bombers were sent into airspace over the East China Sea in late 2013 in defiance of China's declaration of an "air defense identification zone" requiring other nations to get its approval to fly in what the United States considers international airspace. B-52s also have flown over the South China Sea.

Five A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" tank-buster aircraft and four EA-18 Growler electronic attack aircraft were deployed to the Philippines in recent months, and the United States is in talks to base long-range bombers in Australia.

Flash bang fest showing off the Joint Attack Surface Standoff (JASSM) missile



Long write up at : http://sputniknews.com/military/20160828/1044719461/usaf-b52-nuclear-bomber-missile.html