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

Seguleh I a écrit:

Merci Rap pour ces photos (il est sublime cet avion)

tout le palaisir est pour moi.

Viper a écrit:

Non aucun... d'ailleurs c'est étrange que boeing ne le propose pas à l'export ....

c'est dommage, mnt qu'on aura une bonne capacité SEAD/DEAD je pense que l'A-10 a ça place dans les FRA pour faire du CAS intensif sans grand risque pour l'avion.

Request FY2010,moins ambitieux,entre autre moins de C-27J(38 au lieu de 78 ),et 250 avions de moins(F-15/16 et A-10),pas de chance pour le E-2D Hawkeye

le grand Degressage chez l´USAF devient plus concret.

le plus interessant(pour nous bien sûr),Spangdahlem,base du 52 FighterWing va perdre des 18 F-16CJ

Lakenheath(UK) va perdre 6 F-15..

le tou en tout: 112 F-15s + 134 F-16s + 3 A-10s

Citation :

USAF proposal aims to eliminate 250 fighter jets

May 20, 2009 (by Kent Harris) - Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany would lose 18 F-16s and possibly one of its three fighter squadrons in a plan the Air Force announced Tuesday to eliminate about 250 fighter jets from its inventory.

The move, tied to the service’s desire to free up more money for next-generation aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle operations, would save $355 million in fiscal 2010 and $3.5 billion over the next five years, according to an Air Force news release.

"We have a strategic window of opportunity to do some important things with fighter aircraft restructuring," Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley was quoted as stating in the release. "By accepting some short-term risk, we can convert our inventory of legacy fighters and F-22s into a smaller, more flexible and lethal bridge to fifth-generation fighters like the F-35."

The service would retire 112 F-15s, 134 F-16s and three A-10s under the Combat Air Forces proposal. Five additional fighter aircraft already had been designated to go out of service in the next fiscal year, which begins in October.

The Air Force has three bases with fighter squadrons in Europe: Spangdahlem, Aviano in Italy and RAF Lakenheath in England. Aviano was not listed among bases that would lose aircraft under the proposal, but Lakenheath would have six fewer F-15s.

The 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem currently has about 42 F-16CJs, according to information provided in the release. The 81st Fighter Squadron flies A-10 Thunderbolt IIs. The F-16s are flown by the 22nd Fighter Squadron and 23rd Fighter Squadron. A loss of 43 percent of the jets might indicate the loss of one of the squadrons. But 2nd Lt. Kathleen Polesnak, chief of public affairs for the wing, said that’s speculation.

"At this point, we really don’t know [what the picture] will be like," she said, noting that there are a number of variables that could come into play if the proposal becomes reality.

Lakenheath has three fighter squadrons: the 492nd, 493rd and 494th. The 493rd flies F-15Cs and the other two F-15Es. The 493rd would lose six of its F-15Cs under the proposal, and retain 18 jets. The other two squadrons would not be affected.

"We would not lose a squadron," said Capt. Alysia Harvey, a 48th Fighter Wing spokeswoman.

Spangdahlem wouldn’t be taking the biggest hit around the globe under the proposal. Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida would lose 48 F-15s — about two-thirds of its force. Hill Air Force Base in Utah and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska would lose two dozen aircraft as well. Elmendorf is in line to receive 36 F-22s, though, and Hill is seen as a candidate for the other next-generation fighter, the F-35.

In total, the moves could free up 4,000 personnel slots that the service could shift to operations such as unmanned aerial vehicles and nuclear deterrence, according to the release. The Air Force would also establish a fourth active-duty B-52 squadron and invest in upgraded systems and munitions for its remaining fleets.


Published on May 20th, 2009 in the European edition of Stars and Stripes.
Used with permission from Stars and Stripes, a DoD publication.
2009 Stars and Stripes.

http://www.f-16.net/news_article3477.html


USAF Spangdahlem based F-16C block 50s in formation


USAF F-16D block 50 #90-0843 from the 22nd FS starts a mission from Spangdahlem AB on April 30th, 2008


USAF F-16C block 50 #96-0080 from the 23rd FS at Spangdahlem AB is seen taxiing out for another mission with other F-16s at Konya AB during Exercise Anatolian Eagle 05/4 on November 15th, 2005

tu penses qu'il y aura un down-grade s'ils les vendent ?

ca dépend à qui ils vont les vendre si ils vont le faire biensur: si c'est par exemple la jordanie ou l'egypte c'est sur, pour le cas du Maroc je crois pas, car ils ont deja vendu au Maroc la perle de la technologie F-16.

j'espere bien que l'etat major sera interesse par une disaine de F-15

je pense que le maroc a de fortes chances de d'acquérir des F-16 ex USAF, sur les 25 pays qui utilisent le F-16 bcp de pays feront la transition vers F-35 ou/et équivalent (turquie, singapoure, israel, pays bas, danemark, norvège), et donc le cercle des pays condidats à l'achats des F-16 ex USAF est limité.

encore une base candidate au degressage,Hill AFB,qui pourra perdre 24 F-16...mode speculation

Citation :

Hill AFB may lose some F-16s

May 20, 2009 (by Asif Shamim) - Hill AFB could loose one-third of its F-16s after the air force announced it plans to remove 250 aircraft from its fleet in a accelerated retirement program according to the Standard Examiner.


Hill is regarded as the home for worldwide engineering, logistics management and depot maintenance for the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The base itself house 72 F-16s with the 388th Fighter Wing. Under the new proposal it would see that number cut to 48.

Bernadette Dozier, 388th Fighter Wing spokeswoman, said it's too early to speculate how the cuts would affect the base.

"We just received the info fairly recently," Dozier said. "We don't have any details on implementation yet, so we will stand by for guidance and continue to focus on our mission as we have been."

By restructuring the Air Force will net the Department of Defense a cost savings of $355 million in Fiscal Year 2010 and $3.5 billion over the next five fiscal years, which would be invested mostly in advanced capability modifications to remaining fighters and bombers according to officials.

Hill is also regarded as a candidate for the future placement of the F-35, which will eventually replace the F-16.

Ogden Air Logistics Centre also based at Hill, is also a prime candidate to perform the maintenance workload for the Predator and the Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. A decision on the location of workload centres will be made later this year.

F-16.net

USAF F-16C block 40s #90-0725 & #88-0537 both from 4th FS at Hill AFB, head out to the Nevada Test and Training Ranges during a training mission during Red Flag 08-3 on August 1st, 2008. [USAF photo by MSgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald]


16 Hill Vipers in a B-52 hangar - avoiding tornados

Le futur de l´USAF sera composé de UAS+F-35+F-22

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, assigned to the 80th Fighter Squadron, takes off from Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on May 21, 2009. The squadron is participating in the 7th Air Force's missile shoot exercise.

imaginer pouvoir faire un hold up la dedans: 16 bijoux n'attendant que vous

je l'ai deja imaginer comme operation pour amoindrir les capacité d'un ennemi et retourner ses armes contre lui c tentant

Yakuza a écrit:

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, assigned to the 80th Fighter Squadron, takes off from Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, on May 21, 2009. The squadron is participating in the 7th Air Force's missile shoot exercise.

6 amraam et pas de aim-9, le pilote préfère s'éjecter au lieu de combattre en dogfight

Luke aussi perdera "des plumes"

Citation :

Proposed realignment plan to affect Luke AFB

July 9, 2009 (by Capt. Gerardo Gonzales & Deborah Silliman Wolfe) - The Air Force announced June 25 a proposed force structure realignment plan for fiscal 2010 and it includes a summary of military and civilian personnel changes and reassignment of aircraft at Air Force bases, including Luke Air Force Base.


According to the proposed plan, Luke will retire 28 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and lose the 549 active-duty and five civilian positions that support those aircraft.

"Plans for phasing out the F-16 fleet have been in the works for some time," said Brig. Gen. Kurt Neubauer, 56th Fighter Wing commander. "This proposal is in response to a Defense Department request for the Air Force to speed up the retirement of legacy aircraft that have exceeded their expected lifespan. It's the right thing to do because the Air Force has to posture itself for the security challenges of the future."

General Neubauer also said that reducing the quantity of legacy aircraft, such as the older F-16s, enables the Air Force to modernize a smaller but more flexible, capable and lethal fighter force and redistribute personnel to priority missions.

"The proposed reduction in force for both aircraft and personnel has not yet been finalized or approved," said Rusty Mitchell, 56th FW Community Initiatives Team director.

"Once the final numbers are approved, the thought is that most of the personnel reductions will be accomplished through attrition, meaning that people that permanently change stations out of Luke will not be replaced."

Mr. Mitchell said that there has been a lot of concern around base that these moves will happen soon and all at once, but that is not the planned methodology. Attrition is the preferred way and the majority of the moves will be handled that way.

"We have known about the aircraft draw down for some time, that's not a surprise," Mr. Mitchell said of the proposed cuts. "The personnel numbers were a bit higher than we expected but when you look at all the back-shop support that goes along with the number of aircraft to be drawn down, it is really not out of line as far as numbers are concerned."

Under the proposal five current civilian positions will be lost but eight more civilian positions will be added to support other functions on base.

In April, the Secretary of Defense announced the Air Force's retirement of approximately 250 legacy fighters, including a number of F-16s. Affected bases remain viable as there are no plans to close installations as a result of this Combat Air Forces restructuring, according to the realignment plan.

"The force structure announcement reflects our best effort to meet the expanding Air Force mission areas and growing joint demands," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff.

Courtesy of 56th Fighter Wing public affairs

RIP.

Citation :

Crash d'un F-15E en Afghanistan , deux pilotes tués

18.07.09

Les deux pilotes du chasseur F-15E de l'aviation américaine qui s'est écrasé samedi dans l'est de l'Afghanistan ont trouvé la mort dans ce crash, a annoncé le Centre des opérations aériennes de l'armée américaine à Doha.

"Les deux officiers de l'armée de l'air américaine ont trouvé la mort ce matin (samedi) dans le crash d'un F-15E", dans l'est de l'Afghanistan, indique le communiqué transmis à l'AFP par le "Combined Air and Space Operations Center" (CAOC), basé à Doha.

Le texte ne donne pas le nom des pilotes, dont la mort devrait être notifiée au préalable à leurs familles.

"Le crash n'est pas dû à des tirs hostiles", précise en revanche le communiqué.

A Kaboul, l'armée américaine avait annoncé que le F-15E s'était écrasé samedi vers 03H15 (22H45 GMT vendredi) dans l'est de l'Afghanistan, sans préciser le sort des deux pilotes.

Aucun tir ennemi n'est impliqué dans l'accident qui a eu lieu très tôt samedi dans les montagnes de l'est du pays, avait-elle déjà affirmé.

Par AFP

Raptor a écrit:

c'est normal que le "5" soit à l'endroit alors que l'avion est à l'envers??

T'as raison, c'est bizarre Moro, le 5 est bien a l'envers...

moro a écrit:

c'est normal que le "5" soit à l'endroit alors que l'avion est à l'envers??

je pense que c'est fait exprès, c'est claire que la photo n'est pas spontannée, et donc tout a été préparé, entrainement, emplacement du photographe... jsuqu'au dernier détail.

il nous faut là l'avis d'un expert en toshop pour en avoir le coeur net.