US Air Force - USAF

Rappel du premier message :

l´USAF plane de retirer +300 jets,dont:

-137 F-15
-177 F-16
-9 A-10s

11 ans avant leur date,pour epargner 3,4B$ et accelerer ainsi les F-22/35

mais ca doit dabord passer le congress et le futur president doit signer!

Citation :

US Air Force eyes fighter cuts to boost modernization
Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:51pm EDT



WASHINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force is seeking to retire early more than 300 fighter aircraft next year to save $3.4 billion in the hope of funding advanced Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fighters and other modernization efforts, a published report said on Wednesday, citing internal Pentagon documents.

The plan would retire 137 F-15 and 177 F-16 fighters plus nine A-10 close air support attack aircraft as much as 11 years before the end of their scheduled useful lives, InsideDefense.com, an online news service, reported.

"Without accelerating these retirements, we are left with a larger, less-capable force unable to penetrate anti-access environments," the Air Force was quoted as telling John Young, the Pentagon's top arms buyer, in defense of a fiscal 2010 spending plan it submitted in August.

"Anti-access" is Pentagon jargon for spots defended by advanced surface-to-air missiles and state-of-the-art fighters such as those used or planned by Russia and China.

A key Air Force concern is what it calls a potential fighter gap until Lockheed's radar-evading F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is produced in large numbers.

An Air Force spokesman said it would be inappropriate to discuss an internal working document that will continue to change until it is incorporated into the next president's fiscal 2010 budget submission.

The document was quoted as saying an Air Force analysis showed a "smaller but modernized fighter force, when coupled with a robust bomber fleet, can effectively bridge the gap until the F-35 can be produced in required numbers (ramping to 110) and the F-22 can be modified to a common configuration."

Air Force officials have said they plan to increase F-35 production over the next five years to address the fighter gap, InsideDefense.com said.

Two F-35s have entered flight test, two are in ground test and 17 are in various stages of assembly, including the first two production-model jets scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in 2010, Lockheed said last month.

The president of the Air Force Association, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Dunn, said it remained to be seen if Congress would let the Air Force get rid of so many aircraft so early and if Pentagon leaders would grab the savings to fund competing priorities within other armed services.

"There will have to be a lot of dialogue inside the Pentagon between the Air Force and the office of the secretary of defense, probably the secretary himself, before a decision is made," Dunn, a former president of the Pentagon's National Defense University, said in a telephone interview.

Old warplanes typically involve high maintenance costs and may require big outlays for structural upgrades. Still, lawmakers often have blocked Air Force attempts to retire aging warplanes early, partly to preserve jobs -- in their voting districts -- at bases from which they are flown.

In the fiscal 2010 budget request being readied at the Pentagon for the next president, the Defense Department is seeking ways to continue production of Lockheed Martin's F-22, the top U.S. dog fighter, while boosting F-35 output to capture economies of scale quickly, Pentagon officials have said.

The final say on whether to go on building the F-22 is being left to the next president, who is to be elected Nov. 4 and take office Jan. 20 -- only weeks before the administration's budget request normally is sent to Congress.

The proposed early retirements represent accelerations of seven years in the case of the F-15, six years for the F-16 and 11 years for the A-10, according to the document cited by InsideDefense.com.

The savings would fuel a push to modernize the Air Force's bombers, late-date fighters and go toward a new "nuclear-specific" B-52 bomber rotational squadron and Northrop Grumman Corp'a (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial system expansion, the document was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Jim Wolf; editing by Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill)

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1531730620081015?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

Citation :

Flock of Hercules



Posted 10/26/2010
A group of C-130 Hercules takes off from the flightline at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., Oct. 18, 2010, to participate in a Joint Readiness Training Center exercise. In the exercise with the Army, 26 C-130s will fly to Alexandria, La., to pick up approximately 1,700 Army paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Gul Crockett)

Citation :

USAF F-22 Raptor 4168 Heads To Its New Home




MARIETTA, Ga., October 28th, 2010 — Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-22 Raptor 4168 ascends over C-130H aircraft belonging to the 94th Airlift Wing at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., shortly after taking off from the company’s Marietta facility on its delivery flight to Langley AFB, Va., Tuesday. Raptor 4168 is the 15th F-22 delivered to the U.S. Air Force this year, the 168th overall. Lockheed Martin has delivered 88 consecutive F-22s on or ahead of schedule.

Source and photo: Lockheed Martin

Citation :

Pararescue Jump



Posted 10/30/2010
A pararescuemen from the 920th Rescue Wing jumps from an HC-130P/N King while performing a freefall rescue demonstration Oct. 27, 2010, at Cocoa Beach, Fla. As part of the demonstration for Air Force Week Cocoa Beach, the Airman will swim to shore. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Rob Grande)

Citation :

Raytheon to Upgrade U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard F-16 Displays

INDIANAPOLIS | Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has won a contract to upgrade the Center Display Unit (CDU) of U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard F-16 aircraft. The initial contract value is $3.1 million for system integration and pre-production units. The contract includes options for production of up to 120 systems per year for five years.

The Raytheon CDU will replace multiple analog flight instrument displays currently used in the F-16 cockpit with a single large-LCD color display. Advanced technology will provide pilots with new capabilities, including the ability to overlay data from both onboard and remote sensors on a digital moving map, video processing, and two-way data-link situational awareness messaging.

Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC (RTSC) will perform engineering and low rate initial production on the system at its site in Indianapolis under the initial contract. The contract includes five optional years of full rate production.

"The CDU will be a significant advance in providing information F-16 pilots need to conduct their missions," said RTSC Customized Engineering and Depot Support Vice President Wayne Iurillo. "Giving them the data they need, when they need it, will help ensure their effectiveness in the battle zone, their ability to protect and support ground forces, and their safety while performing their duties. And that's the ultimate goal."

defpro

Citation :

Lockheed to Provide IT Support to Air Force AMC


Lockheed Martin has received a $65m task order to provide information technology support to the US Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) directorate of logistics.
Under the contract, Lockheed will provide IT infrastructure services and sustainment, programme management, as well as software and database development including management to the AMC.
The company will also provide programming and subject matter expertise for IT related issues.
The contract consists of one base year and four option years and is a task order under the GSA Alliant indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity vehicle.
Lockheed staff are located across 17 AMC bases to provide IT support to aircraft maintenance groups, as well as desktop and network support to AMC headquarters.

airforce-technology

Citation :

Korea Proposes T-50 Jets Sale to US


South Korea is proposing the sale of approximately 500 supersonic trainer jets to the US, whose air force is considering replacing its aging fleet of trainer aircraft.
The US Air Force is expected to make a decision by 2012 on whether to upgrade its T-38 trainer jets or to replace them with new ones.
A team of US inspectors visited Seoul to check the performance of the South Korean-built T-50 trainer jets.
The USAF, which is studying the T-50, Italy's M-346 and the UK's Hawk 128, could buy 300 to 500 aircraft to replace its T-38s.
South Korea launched its T-50 Golden Eagle, jointly developed by Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin, in 2005, at a cost of $20m each.

airforce-technology

Citation :

Pilot for a Day



Posted 11/4/2010
Ryder Lum, 11, flies a C-17 Globemaster III simulator during his visit to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Oct. 29, 2010. Ryder was part of the 535th Airlift Squadron's quarterly Pilot for a Day program, which allows children with catastrophic disorders or illnesses to experience a day in the life of an Air Force pilot. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Carolyn Viss

Citation :

USAF Engineers testing eight-blade prop for C-130H3 Hercules


November 5, 2010 by Rob Vogelaar · Leave a Comment


11/4/2010 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) – Engineers with the 418th Flight Test Squadron are currently testing a C-130H3 cargo plane equipped with Hamilton Sundstrand NP 2000 propellers.
The new eight-bladed composite propellers are shaped to provide additional thrust in the takeoff and low airspeed range while using the current C-130 engines.
Regular C-130 “legacy” planes use four-blade propellers. With eight blades, the NP 2000 props are designed to perform with more power and efficiency.
“A major limitation propellers have is the wave drag generated by shockwaves when the propeller tips go supersonic,” said Dustin Marschik, a 418th FTS performance and flying qualities engineer. “Newer propeller designs aim to reduce this wave drag, which improves efficiency and performance. The NP 2000 blade design incorporates a more efficient airfoil design, which theoretically will lead to improved performance in the takeoff and climb out phases of flight.
“The eight-bladed props are much more efficiently designed and utilize modern design and manufacturing methods which aim to optimize twist and blade sweep to improve performance,” Mr. Marschik said.
Computer simulation and the composite materials that make up the blades help engineers optimize the blade angle and twists to make the propeller faster and better.
“It is designed specifically for the LC-130 mission in Antarctica,” said Maj. C.B. Cain, a C-130 flight commander. “Right now, they use these jet-assisted takeoff bottles to help them takeoff to get to about a 60-knot takeoff range. If this propeller does what it is supposed to do, then it would produce additional thrust and reduce the need for those JATO bottles, or eliminate them completely.”
Engineers have been conducting performance testing since May on the NP 2000 propeller to characterize how the propeller performs to produce a flight manual for the LC-130, or any other C-130 that may be outfitted with the new prop.
The 418th engineers just wrapped up flight tests involving velocity minimum control airspeed Oct. 28, with Edward AFB’s only C-130H3.
“This is where we shut down an engine on purpose and slow down to find the point where we have neutral directional control,” Major Cain said. “It involves the pilot putting 180-pounds of rudder force in and then slowing, putting it in a five-degree bank angle, and seeing where the directional control switches back the other way.”
“If you lose an engine, this is the slowest you ever want to get. Any slower and you wouldn’t have positive control of the heading of the aircraft.”
In the previous week, squadron testers completed takeoff tests to see how the cargo plane and its propellers perform on maximum-power takeoffs as well as landing tests, which included free-roll landings to see how the plane stops without using its brakes and using reverse thrust.
Major Cain said test data still needs to be analyzed, but preliminary testing has shown that the eight-bladed NP 2000 propeller provides noticeable drag on the free-roll landing tests and the C-130H3 seems to fly smoother.
He said with less vibration, there is less wear and tear on the propeller, which can also be an added benefit.
“Instead of four similar airfoil blades pounding around up there, you have these eight highly tuned blades that make it smoother with less vibration,” Major Cain said. “From a maintainability standpoint, you can change one blade at a time. On the legacy four-blade C-130, you have to change out the whole prop.”
This flight testing is a continuation of a process to improve the capability of the Air Force’s workhorse C-130 fleet. The C-130J “Super” Hercules already employs a six-bladed composite propeller.
“The NP 2000 has been optimized more and represents the next step in propeller technology,” said Major Cain.
In the coming months, the NP 2000 propellers will be replaced on the C-130H3 with legacy four-blade propellers to conduct flight tests to directly compare the performance differences between new and old.
Additional testing will involve taking off with a maximum combat-load weight and conducting takeoffs on three engines and malfunction simulations.
Major Cain said flight tests for the NP 2000 C-130H3 will likely go through January 2011.
Once all the data is assessed, and if Air Force officials see a solid benefit of the NP 2000, certain C-130s may get a new and improved upgrade in the future.
Source and photo: USAF

Citation :

Bombs Away



Posted 11/5/2010
An F-16 Fighting Falcon drops two 500-pound bombs on a target during the Falcon Air Meet 2010 Nov. 1, 2010, at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq, Jordan. The F-16 is with the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Eric Harris)

Citation :

USAF Squadron tests newest F-22s, live-firing of missiles


November 5, 2010 by Rob Vogelaar · Leave a Comment


11/5/2010 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AFNS) – F-22s Raptor crews from the 90th Fighter Squadron here deployed to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 30, to participate in exercise Combat Archer, the air-to-air evaluation portion of the Air Force’s Weapons Systems Evaluation Program.
90th FS members are training and being evaluated with the maintainers of the 90th Aircraft Maintenance Unit and their Reserve counterparts from the 302nd Fighter Squadron.
During this three-week deployment, pilots and maintainers are working together to validate the air-to-air combat capability of the newest F-22s in the Air Force inventory.
The 90th FS jets have never fired live air-to-air missiles before, and this deployment will ensure the squadron is ready for any contingency operation, leaders said.
Combat Archer provides a unique opportunity for our fighter pilots to experience firing a live air-to-air missile prior to combat, said Lt. Col. Joseph Kunkel, the 90th FS commander.
“Particularly, because these jets are brand new, this program allows first-time jets and pilots to experience what it feels like to fire a missile while in flight,” Colonel Kunkel said.
WSEP creates an opportunity for pilot-maintainer interaction, he said. The full mission includes loading missiles, flying with and firing missiles and hitting targets.
This means pilots, crew chiefs, armament systems specialists and avionics specialists are all working together to complete the mission, Colonel Kunkel said.
The Airmen will be flying more than 10 sorties per day; shooting air-to-air missiles, 20mm Vulcan cannon rounds, and dropping GBU-32 GPS-guided bombs during the deployment, Colonel Kunkel said.
All of the weapons evaluations will be conducted over water in the warning areas of the Gulf of Mexico range complex, he added.
To prepare for this deployment, 90th FS members conducted a number of simulator programs as well as academic programs.
“Being one of the pilots in this training mission, the experience is what I gain,” Colonel Kunkel said. “When it comes time to fight in flight, I will be comfortable using this aircraft for what it was made for.”
Source and photo: USAF

Citation :

Goodrich Wins Additional C-5M Super Galaxy Contract


Goodrich Corporation has received a contract from Lockheed Martin to supply 160 pylons for the US Air Force C-5 Galaxy strategic airlifter reliability enhancement and re-engining programme (RERP).
The pylons, which will attach the propulsion system to the aircraft's wing, are to be delivered from the beginning of 2011 to the end of 2015.
Each C-5M Super Galaxy will be powered by four GE CF6-80C2 engines, which requires a nacelle system and pylon.
The C-5M Super Galaxy is the only aircraft capable of carrying 100% of certified air-transportable cargo.
Goodrich previously received a contract from Lockheed to provide pylons and nacelles for three test aircraft as well as nine airplanes in the initial phases of the RERP.

airforce-technology

Citation :

First production C-5M Super Galaxy arrives at Dover AFB


DOVER AFB, Del. | The first production C-5M Super Galaxy arrived for duty at Dover Air Force Base Nov. 5. Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr., commander of Air Mobility Command, flew the Super Galaxy from Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y., to its operational home at Dover AFB.
"The creativity and hard work demonstrated here have set conditions for success of next generation of mobility Airmen," General Johns said during a ceremony at Stewart ANGB marking the occasion.
The first production C-5M arrived at Stewart ANGB Oct. 4 and underwent the final stages of its modernization.
Maintainers at the 105th Airlift Wing worked around the clock transforming the C-5M interior and giving the aircraft a new look in just 26 calendar days. Not only did they recondition and refurbish the first production C-5M, they also redefined how active duty, Reserve, Air Guard and industry partners go about solving Air Force-wide, large-scale complex problems. The end result is a more effective warfighting machine at a significant cost savings, officials said.
The total force team developed and delivered an unprecedented standardized interior that will be applied to the entire C-5M fleet.
"While the C-5 has been supporting the warfighter for decades, you've made it even more capable," General Johns said.
The C-5 heavy-transport aircraft has been part of the Air Force inventory for four decades. With the new Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program, or RERP, the aircraft is forecast to be in service another 40 years. RERP outfits the aircraft with new, quieter, more powerful and fuel-efficient engines and 70 other enhancements.
RERP is the second part of a two-phase upgrade that also includes the Avionics Modernization Program. AMP upgrades improve 1960s and 1970s technology to meet global commercial airspace standards and ensure safe and unrestricted access to global air traffic routes.
The C-5 aircraft that undergo both the AMP and RERP upgrades are designated C-5M, also known as the "Super Galaxy." AMC officials began an aggressive program to modernize all remaining C-5Bs and C-5Cs and many of the C-5As in the AMC inventory. The C-5 modernization began in 1998 and officials plan to upgrade 52 Galaxies to "super" status by the end of 2016.
Compared to older C-5 Galaxies, the C-5M has greatly improved reliability, efficiency, maintainability and availability, reducing total ownership and operating costs of the heavy strategic lift aircraft for the U.S. Air Force.
The C-5M strategic airlifter, a national asset, has re-set records for distance, time, speed, cargo capacity and improved reliability with reduced fuel consumption.
C-5 modernization ensures this critical national strategic airlift resource will be available to the warfighter and combatant commander's in today's fight and far into the future, officials said.

defpro

Citation :

Raytheon Installs AESA Radar on F-15C Aircraft

Raytheon has completed the installation and acceptance testing of APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar on ten US Air Force F-15C aircraft.
Raytheon F-15 programme director and general manager Steve Schwarzkopf said the advanced radar technology upgrade would bring a robust and affordable high-performance AESA to the F-15C air-to-air variant.
The APG-63(V)3 gives the US Air Force's F-15 variant an affordable, high-performance AESA radar system that combines elements of APG-63(V)2 and APG-79 AESA radar technology.
The APG-63(V)3 is an all-weather, multimode radar that delivers superior situational awareness.

airforce-technology

Citation :

Harris Wins US Air Force IT Services Contract

Harris Corporation has received a contract from the US Air Force for its headquarters air force information management enterprise business solutions software development services support programme.
The programme is part of the five-year $9bn network-centric solutions (NETCENTS) contract vehicle.
Under the contract, the Harris team will deliver technical services to the software development support project.
The services will include programme requirements management, process engineering, and systems administration, and will be based on proven IT methodologies and frameworks.
The Harris team will include Avande, ATS Corporation, Capability Plus Solutions and IndigoIT.
The NETCENTS contract aims to deliver interoperability and the constant evolution of advanced technology and solutions to the air force, Department of Defense and other federal agencies

airforce-technology

USAF spots “apparent” F-22 wreckage, pilot still missing

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Aircraft wreckage spotted by a US Air Force search team is believed to be a Lockheed Martin F-22 that disappeared at 7:40pm on 16 November, the USAF says.

The search for the USAF F-22 pilot is continuing nearly 18 hours after air traffic control at the Elemendorf-Richardson joint base in Alaska lost radar contact with the F-22.

The apparent crash site is located about 100 miles north of Anchorage, the USAF says. The pilot, who is not being identified while the rescue effort continues, was flying what the USAF described as a "routine", nighttime, training mission.

"Finding the missing pilot is our top priority," 3rd Wing commander Col Jack McMullen said in a statement.

If the F-22 crash site is confirmed, it will be the third F-22 destroyed since Lockheed advanced past the prototype stage in the early 1990s.

The loss also shrinks the USAF's future F-22 fleet to 185 fighters. Lockheed is currently building the final batch of 20 F-22s scheduled for delivery before March 2012.

To preserve its dwindling fighter inventory, the USAF plans to upgrade all three fly-by-wire types - F-22, F-35 and F-16 - with an automatic ground collision avoidance system (auto-GCAS). The system is designed to take control of the aircraft if the pilot approaches a non-recoverable condition.

It is possible such a system could have spared the most recent F-22 crash, when Lockheed test pilot David Cooley briefly lost situational awareness during a 9g manoeuvre. As he regained awareness, the F-22 was already diving through 14,000ft at M1.6. Cooley ejected a moment before the F-22 crashed, but the aerodynamic forces at M1.4 killed him.

Another F-22 was destroyed on 20 December 2004 on takeoff from Nellis AFB, Nevada. A maintenance procedure triggered a programming glitch that wiped out the F-22 flight control system, and the pilot ejected with minor injuries.

Flight International

Citation :

Raptor pilot confirmed killed in Alaska crash


The U.S. Air Force confirmed on Friday that the F-22 Raptor pilot that crashed in Alaska earlier this week during a night time training mission perished in the accident.


Air Force officials initially had held out hope that the pilot, Captain Jeffrey Haney, might have ejected from the plane and survived Tuesday night's crash.
"Based on evidence recovered from the crash site, and after two days of extensive aerial and ground search efforts, we know that Captain Haney did not eject from the aircraft prior to impact," Colonel Jack McMullen, commander of the Air Force 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, said in a statement.
Search teams at the wreckage site, about 100 miles north of Anchorage, found part of Haney's ejection seat and several items the pilot wore during the flight, McMullen said.
"Sadly, we can no longer consider this a search and rescue operation but must now focus on recovery operations," he said.
Haney was married with two children. He joined the Air Force in 2003 and has been at the Anchorage base for 4 1/2 years.
The F-22 took off Tuesday from the joint Air Force and Army base for a training run.
The jet and a second F-22 practised "intercepts" and were nearing completion of the exercise when one aircraft disappeared from ground radar tracking and from communications with the other F-22 at 19:40h local Tuesday.
An air search had been ongoing, with searchers looking for any sign of a parachute or a fire the pilot might have started had he been able to eject from the plane

f-16.net

Citation :

Maximum Climb



Posted 11/20/2010
An F-22 Raptor performs a maximum climb takeoff during the 2010 air show at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Nov. 12, 2010. The open house is an opportunity for the Las Vegas community to view aerial demonstrations and static displays of various aircraft from the military. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald)

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F-16 jettisons fuel tanks, inert missile near Aviano



An F-16 based at Aviano dropped two external fuel tanks and an inert missile on an empty field Tuesday night after the pilot declared an in-flight emergency shortly after take-off, according to a 31st Fighter Wing press release.

The jet returned safely to base. The debris fell on fields near Dandolo about six miles east of the base. No one was hurt and property was not damaged, according to the release. Wing officials did not release information on the nature of the in-flight emergency.
Italian news agency Adnkronos reported that Italian police and fire-fighters and U.S. military personnel went to the scene Wednesday morning and recovered the fuel tank and missile debris. Officials were inspecting the site for possible contamination, according to the report, but initial indications were that rain and impact had diluted most of the spilled fuel

f-16.net

Crash d'un RQ-4 Global Hawk.

Citation :

Lockheed Martins JAGM Hits Target From 6 Kilometers


November 22, 2010 by Rob Vogelaar · Leave a Comment

ORLANDO, FL, November 22nd, 2010 — Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] scored a hit on a main battle tank at six kilometers in a company-funded, multiple-mission firing of its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM). The complex flight test, at White Sands Missile Range, NM, demonstrated the ability of the imaging infrared (I²R) sensor in the missile’s cooled tri-mode seeker to lock on before launch at extended range.
The test also demonstrated the ability of the millimeter wave (MMW) radar sensor to simultaneously track a nearby moving tank, as well as the ability of the two sensors to discriminate targets and to hit the target of choice. Other test objectives included characterization of the launch shock environment, free-flight environment characterization and verification of design maturity, including demonstrating the success of corrective actions following minor anomalies in earlier tests.
“This test was an extremely challenging first-time event, considerably more complex than any of the three contract-funded tests,” said Frank St. John, vice president of Tactical Missiles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “In addition to confirming the ability of our cooled tri-mode seeker to detect and lock onto threats from safe standoff range, we also demonstrated multi-sensor correlation and high-fidelity target discrimination.”
Propelled by the single multi-platform rocket motor the company has designed for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the program, the tactically configured JAGM was fired from a static Lockheed Martin HELLFIRE M299 launcher. The cooled I²R sensor acquired and locked on to a stationary main battle tank prior to launch from six kilometers. Following launch, the I²R sensor guided the missile to a lethal hit. Concurrently, the MMW sensor detected and tracked a nearby secondary target, a moving main battle tank.
“The test also verified the success of corrective actions we implemented to resolve anomalies from two earlier flight tests,” St. John said. “This multiple-engagement flight experienced no anomalies and sensor performance was optimal, increasing confidence in the maturity of our design going into EMD.”
Coupled with an August 2 target hit at 16 kilometers in a contract-funded test of the semi-active laser (SAL) seeker, this latest shot completed the process of demonstrating the performance of Lockheed Martin’s tri-mode seeker.
The August 2 test was a static launch against a target board 16 kilometers downrange to assess performance of the SAL seeker in a lock-on-after-launch profile. The target was illuminated by a ground-based laser designator 1.1 kilometers from the target at a 20-degree offset angle. Following launch and activation of the laser designator, the SAL seeker acquired the laser spot and successfully guided the missile to the target, scoring a hit.
Of the three JAGM sensor modes, the I²R is passive; it picks up the threat’s heat signature without radiating detectable energy that makes the launch platform vulnerable to counter-fire. The other two sensor modes, SAL for precision strike and MMW to penetrate adverse weather and battlefield obscurants, defeat countermeasures and more accurately acquire moving targets, are both active.
“In establishing the flight profile for the company-funded shot, we moved the range for the I²R engagement from four to six kilometers because passive target detection from safe standoff range is critical to platform and aircrew survivability,” said Hady Mourad, JAGM program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “The cooled I²R also provides clear target discrimination, which reduces collateral damage. This is especially critical when rules of engagement demand confirmation of target track prior to launch.”
“Flawless sensor correlation in the cooled tri-mode seeker is what allows JAGM to fill the eight identified capability gaps,” said St. John. “We demonstrated this in earlier contract-funded tests in which the cooled tri-mode seeker penetrated battlefield obscurants and defeated all threat countermeasures. As in all our tests, we used a tactical configuration, thereby significantly reducing risk going into EMD.”
Threshold aviation platforms for JAGM include the U.S. Army’s AH-64D Apache attack helicopter, MQ-1C Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) unmanned aerial system (UAS) and OH-58D CASUP Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopter; the U.S. Marine Corps’ AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter; and the U.S. Navy’s MH-60R Seahawk armed reconnaissance helicopter and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jet fighter.
Initial operational capability (IOC) of JAGM on the AH-64D, AH-1Z and F/A-18E/F is scheduled for 2016; IOC for the MH-60R, OH-58 CASUP and MQ-1C is 2017.
Numerous additional platforms are under consideration, including the Tri-Service Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 being developed by Lockheed Martin with an anticipated initial fielding in 2011.
Source and photo: Lockheed Martin

Citation :

Lancement du nouveau satellite de reconnaissance américain NROL-32

MOSCOU, 22 novembre - RIA Novosti
Le lanceur Delta IV, transportant le nouveau satellite de reconnaissance américain NROL-32, a quitté dimanche Cap Canaveral (Floride) à 17h58 (heure locale), lit-on sur le site Web Space.com.
Le lancement du "plus gros satellite du monde", selon le directeur du National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Bruce Carlson, avait pourtant été précédé d'une série d'échecs. Initialement prévu pour le 19 novembre, le lancement a été reporté en raison d'une panne de senseur de température.
M. Carlson a indiqué que les nouveaux satellites de reconnaissance doivent remplacer les anciens pendant que ces derniers sont encore en exploitation. Toutefois, le but du lancement du satellite de renseignement NROL-32, est gardé en secret.
"Cette mission manifeste que le NRO continue à apporter sa contribution dans notre défense nationale", a pour sa part déclaré Ed Wilson, général des brigades de l'U.S. Air Force.

http://fr.rian.ru/science/20101122/187926458.html

KC-X competition delayed as evaluation process roiled by politics, USAF errors

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The US Air Force has acknowledged extending the evaluation process on the KC-X tanker competition into early next year amid new upheavals caused by political changes and a major procedural gaffe.

The Republican Party's takeover of the House of Representatives in the 2 November election changes the political context of the highly charged competition to replace the Boeing KC-135 tanker fleet with either a Boeing KC-767 or an Airbus A330-200 derivative offered by EADS North America.

Represenative Norm Dicks, a Washington-based Democrat and staunch Boeing partisan, loses chairmanship of the powerful defence appropriations committee, becoming the minority leader. Meanwhile, Representative Todd Tiahrt, another key Boeing ally from Kansas, lost his seat in the House after a failed bid for a Senate seat.

EADS North America chief executive Sean O'Keefe, who publicly discussed KC-X on 22 November for the first time since surviving an aircraft crash in Alaska four months ago, says the Republican takeover of the House is a positive signal for the Airbus tanker bid.

Meanwhile, O'Keefe declines to rule out the possibility of filing a protest before the contract award is even decided.

USAF officials acknowledge committing an embarrassing - and possibly disruptive - error by sending packages with proprietary information to the wrong bidders. The mistake was realised and corrected before either company gained access to their competitors' secrets, according to the USAF.

But the damage in some ways had already been done, leaving both bidders to wonder if they can trust the USAF's judgement after such a blunder.

Asked whether EADS has any concern that Boeing obtained proprietary data during the exchange, O'Keefe says: "I suspect probably no more or no less so than they're concerned about any disclosure we may have received."

O'Keefe, however, notes that USAF officials had established a record of fair dealings during the latest round of the KC-X competition before committing the latest mistake. "The benefit of the doubt will always be extended by virtue of their past performance record," he says.

Boeing declines to comment about the incident, but one of the company's strong supporters has raised concerns about the USAF's procedural mishap.

"The additional delays combined with careless handling of sensitive data cannot be tolerated," says Tiahrt, who will remain in Congress until late January. "We have thousands of American workers standing by who are ready to build the next generation air refuelling tankers, but the air force continues to act without a sense of urgency."

Flight International

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This weeks briefings

F-22 CRASH LEAVES USAF WITH 185 OF TYPE

The crash this month in Alaska of a Lockheed Martin F-22 reduced the US Air Force's fleet of the stealth fighter to 185 fighters, including the final batch of 20 being built by Lockheed for delivery before March 2012. To preserve its dwindling fighter inventory, the USAF plans to upgrade all three fly-by-wire types - F-22, F-35 and F-16 - with automatic ground collision avoidance systems designed to take control of the aircraft if a pilot approaches a non-recoverable condition. That system might have prevented one of the other two F-22 crashes.

Flight International

Citation :

US Air Force to Receive Additional F-35 Fighters

Lockheed Martin will supply ten F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variants for the US Air Force under a $3.5bn contract from the US Department of Defense, which also includes the manufacture of 31 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters.
The US-based security and information technology company will also produce 16 F-35B short take-off and vertical landing variants for the US Marine Corps in the fourth lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP).
The company will also manufacture four F-35C carrier variants for the US Navy and one F-35B for the UK.
The contract will also fund manufacturing-support equipment, flight test instrumentation and ancillary mission equipment.
A supersonic, multirole, fifth-generation stealth fighter, the F-35 is developed by Lockheed and its principal industrial partners, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.

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