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Citation :: USAF to issue contract to Sikorsky for rescue helicopter

The US Air Force's combat rescue helicopter programme is moving forward.

The service announces on 4 March that it intends to issue a contract by the end of June to Sikorsky for the 14-year, $7 billion programme, which calls for up to 112 aircraft.

Sikorsky, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, was the only company to bid on the project with its proposed CRH-60, a modified version of its UH-60M Black Hawk.

Rendering of Sikorsky's CRH-60 combat rescue helicopter. Sikorsky.

The USAF says it will move $430 million from other programmes to the CRH programme though fiscal year 2019 due to "the criticality" of the combat rescue mission.

The project also received an injection of more than $300 million in the fiscal year 2014 budget.

The service warns, however, that the programme may need to be "reevaluated" should additional defense budget cuts take effect in fiscal year 2016.

"The competitive price and the funding provided by Congress will allow us to award the CRH contract, but we could still face significant challenges to keeping this effort on track," says USAF secretary Deborah Lee James in a statement. "We will need to work with Congress throughout 2015 budget deliberations."

The CRH is intended to replace the USAF's aging HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters, which are also a Sikorsky product.

"Sikorsky and our teammate Lockheed Martin thank the USAF for enabling us to build a modern and affordable combat rescue helicopter that will replace the service’s rapidly aging HH-60G Pave Hawk fleet," says Sikorsky in a statement. "We look forward to working with the USAF to deliver CRH-60 aircraft in the prescribed timeframe."

http://www.flightglobal.com

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Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres US Air Force - USAF - Page 17 Star3

Citation :: 05/06/2016

Premier vol du T-50A en concours pour l’USAF !

Lockheed-Martin et Korean Aerospace Industries ont organisé le premier vol de la version mise à jour du T-50 formateur qui va prochainement concourir pour le contrat T-X de l’US Air Force.

Les modifications du T-50 :

Le T-50A biplace monomoteur a été modifié pour le concours T-X avec un réceptacle de la colonne vertébrale compatible avec le système de ravitaillement en service au sein de l’USAF. D’autres modifications moins importantes concernent le cockpit et les logiciels de formation intégrés et un système de mission à architecture ouverte.

Le KAI T-50 «Golden Eagle» :

Le KAI T-50 «Golden Eagle» est un appareil école non armé, alors que le modèle TA-50 dispose d’un radar de tir israélien Elta EL/M2032, mais fabriqué sous licence en Corée du Sud par Lignex. Le T-50 «Golden Eagle» est largement dérivé du Lockheed-Martin F-16 «Fighting Falcon» et dispose de nombreuses similitudes. Les ingénieurs de KAI (Korean Aerospace Industries) se sont largement inspirés de la production sous licence des F-16 pour la ROKAF. La gamme T-50 dispose, par contre, d’une avionique entièrement coréenne, mais couplée à un certain nombre d’équipements américains, comme le GPS fournit par Honeywell.

Le plafond pratique est de 14.600 mètres (48.000ft) et la cellule est prévue pour une durée de 8’000 heures de vol. Question motorisation les deux versions sont dotées d’un General Electric F404-102 à double flux-produit sous licence par Samsung Techwin. Le T-50 atteint la vitesse maximale de Mach 1,4.

A ce jour, quatre pays ont commandés le T-50, L’Indonésie (16) et plus récemment les Philippines (12). La Corée dispose de 10 T-50B (patrouille acrobatique Black Eagle), 50T-50 et 22TA-50 et la Thaïlande avec 4 exemplaires.

Programme T-X :

Le programme T-X prévoit en effet, de remplacer la flotte vieille de 45 ans, soit près de 350 appareils écoles de type T-38 « Talon ». Les avionneurs en compétitions sont : Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) associé avec Lockheed-Martin sur le T-50, Boeing et Saab avec un nouvel appareil, le M-346 d’Alenia Aermacchi avec Raytheon et Northrop-Grumman avec un T-38 nouvelle génération.

http://psk.blog.24heures.ch/archive/2016/06/05/premier-vol-du-t-50a-en-concours-pour-l-usaf-861550.html

Citation :: A-10 Thunderbolt II made an emergency landing in Kansas
Jun 5, 2016161
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The aircraft, a Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog), exercised a precautionary landing at Topeka Regional/Forbes Field Airport (KFOE), Topeka, Kansas.

The airplane was not damaged and the sole pilot onboard was not injured during the incident.

A military aircraft safely made an emergency landing Saturday afternoon (June 4) at Forbes Field after suffering an unknown mechanical fault, according to cjonline.com.

The Public Affairs Office of the 190th Air Refueling Wing, based at Forbes, said in a phone interview the aircraft, an A-10 type, landed without incident as a precaution following notice to the crew of a mechanical problem. The emergency didn’t cause any injuries, the office said.

Air National Guard personnel moved the aircraft to a civilian hanger operated by Million Air Topeka for an inspection to determine the cause of the fault, the public information office said.

http://defence-blog.com/news/a-10-thunderbolt-ii-made-an-emergency-landing-in-kansas.html

Citation :: Etats-Unis: Un avion de l'US Air Force s'écrase après avoir survolé Barack Obama
ETATS-UNIS Un autre accident aérien a fait un mort peu après...

Série noire pour l'aviation américaine. Un appareil F/A 18 Hornet des Blue Angels, la patrouille acrobatique de l'aéronavale, s'est écrasé au décollage jeudi sur l'aéroport de Smyrna dans le Tennessee (centre), son pilote trouvant la mort dans l'accident. L'appareil allait «commencer un entraînement» en milieu d'après-midi lorsque l'accident est survenu, a déclaré un porte-parole du commandement de l'aéronavale américaine de San Diego, le lieutenant Clinton Beard.
Un peu plus tôt, un avion de la patrouille acrobatique de l'US Air Force, les Thunderbirds, s'est écrasé dans le Colorado peu après avoir survolé une cérémonie à laquelle participait le président Obama, a indiqué un responsable de l'armée de l'air américaine. Le pilote s'est éjecté et est sain et sauf, selon la même source.
Après l'accident, le président a rencontré le pilote sur une base de l'armée de l'air, Peterson, où Barack Obama s'apprêtait à remonter dans son avion Air Force One pour repartir à Washington. Le président a exprimé son soulagement de voir que le pilote n'était pas blessé, selon les journalistes qui l'accompagnaient.
Dans son discours face aux jeunes élèves officiers, le président américain a défendu son approche controversée du conflit syrien, mettant en garde contre le risque pour les Etats-Unis de se laisser entraîner dans une nouvelle guerre civile au Moyen-Orient.

http://www.20minutes.fr/monde/1858167-20160603-etats-unis-avion-us-air-force-ecrase-apres-avoir-survole-barack-obama

Citation :: US MQ-9 Reaper drone crashes at Nevada Test and Training Range

Jun 9, 2016

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the 174th Fighter Wing prepares to take off from
Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield at Fort Drum, N.Y. in this October 18, 2011 USAF handout photo obtained by Reuters
February 6, 2013. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Ricky Best/Handout

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.

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

Citation :: Air Force IG's 'system of record' corrupted
Michael Hardy, C4ISR & Networks 5:23 p.m. EDT June 10, 2016

Data in the Air Force's Inspector General Automated Case Tracking System database has been corrupted.

The Air Force was notified of the data corruption on June 6, by the contractor that administers the system, according to an Air Force statement issued June 10. “The Air Force launched an immediate investigation to determine the cause and is aggressively leveraging vendor and DoD capabilities to attempt to recover the lost data and determine the severity of the loss,” the statement reads.

As the Air Force assesses the immediate impact of the loss, it is “experiencing significant delays” in handing IG and congressional inquiries, according to the statement.

The system is the IG’s system of record, housing all records related to IG complaints, investigations, appeals and Freedom Of Information Act requests.

The Air Force provided no information about the cause of the data corruption. However, it isn't the first system recently that has experienced significant difficulty. The Air Force online portal for submitting requests was down for about four days in early May.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/military-tech/it/2016/06/10/air-force-igs-system-record-corrupted/85714640/

Citation :: L-3 Awarded U.S. Air Force KC-10 Contractor Logistics Support Contract
(Source: L-3 Communications; issued June 9, 2016)
NEW YORK--- L-3 Communications announced today that its Vertex Aerospace division was awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to provide full contractor logistics support (CLS) for the KC-10 aircraft.

The total approximate value of this indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract is up to $1.9 billion over a nine-year performance period that begins with a July 2016 six-month phase-in.

“L-3’s renewed focus on growth and delivering excellent program performance at Vertex Aerospace is yielding meaningful results and reinforcing our strong commitment to the Air Force,” said Michael T. Strianese, L-3’s chairman and chief executive officer. “By engineering innovative, targeted and affordable customer solutions, L-3 Vertex Aerospace remains the preferred provider of state-of-the-art contractor logistics support in the industry.”

Under the contract, L-3 will provide Contractor Operated and Maintained Base Supply (COMBS), Field Service Representative (FSR) and depot maintenance support for 59 USAF KC-10 aircraft, as well as COMBS and FSR support for the Aerial Refueling System for two Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) KDC-10 aircraft.

The contract includes all parts, materials and repairs to sustain the fleet; depot heavy maintenance; other depot and field activities; and overhaul of major components. Key teammates include HAECO Americas Airframe Services, Cobham Mission Equipment, The Triumph Group and Hawker Pacific Aerospace.

“This competitive win speaks to L-3 Vertex’s technical expertise and broad experience in supporting aircraft fleets throughout the world,” said Mark Von Schwarz, president of L-3’s Aerospace Systems business segment, which includes L-3 Vertex Aerospace. “The important role that the KC-10 refueling aircraft serves in protecting the security of our nation and its allies is very well understood by every member of our team.”

“We are proud that we have been entrusted by the U.S. Air Force to provide maintenance and logistics support for its KC-10 aircraft fleet,” added Ed Boyington, president of L-3 Vertex Aerospace. “This award demonstrates the confidence the Air Force has in our ability to provide innovative maintenance and logistics solutions for mission-critical aircraft.”

L-3 Vertex Aerospace is an aerospace and defense support services contractor specializing in the delivery of integrated contractor logistics support for aircraft, ground vehicles and other defense systems. L-3 Vertex Aerospace is headquartered in Madison, Mississippi.

Headquartered in New York City, L-3 employs approximately 38,000 people worldwide and is a leading provider of a broad range of communication and electronic systems and products used on military and commercial platforms. L-3 is also a prime contractor in aerospace systems. The company reported 2015 sales of $10.5 billion.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/174592/l_3-details-%241.9bn-kc_10-logistics-support-contract.html

Citation :: US Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh Pessimistic About Defense Budget Outlook
Valerie Insinna, Defense News 7:20 p.m. EDT June 14, 2016

WASHINGTON — The outgoing Air Force chief of staff is bracing for a continuing resolution this year, and is generally pessimistic that the Pentagon will be able to keep its modernization programs going forward without budget stability.

In an exclusive interview with Defense News on June 13, Gen. Mark Welsh said he was “not confident” about the current budget environment, citing potential complications that include the upcoming election, a new presidential administration and a return to mandatory spending caps in fiscal year 2018.

If spending returns to Budget Control Act levels, the Air Force is unlikely to be able to keep its modernization programs on track, with Welsh highlighting the T-X trainer and Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System recapitalization efforts as two programs that are particularly vulnerable.

“We go back to a sequester budget, everything is going to be affected,” he said. “Assuming we stay on the trend we have now with budgets, assuming we continue to get something at the current projected levels of funding [or] the vicinity of that between now and 2024, the T-X will stay on time.”

The same is true of the JSTARS recapitalization program, he added.

“If the funding stays where it is right now, we have it funded in the budget,” he said.

The service plans to release a request for proposals for the JSTARS recap by the end of the year. The legacy JSTARS, built by Northrop Grumman around a militarized variant of Boeing’s 700-300 aircraft, has provided ground surveillance since 1991 and is nearing the end of its service life. However, a contract for the engineering, manufacturing and development of its replacement has been delayed to the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. Initial operational capability has slipped by two years, from fiscal 2022 to 2024.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/air-force/2016/06/14/welsh-pessimistic-defense-budget-outlook/85884804/

Citation :: 16.06.2016

Plastron air: le marché de Draken avec l'USAF prolongé et augmenté

L'USAF vient de prolonger d'un an le marché passé avec Draken International, la firme créée par le millionnaire Jared Isaacman, pour des prestations AAS (adversary air support) sur la base aérienne de Nellis où est basée la 57e Wing (photo Frank Crebas). Le montant annuel a été augmenté et est passé à 28 millions de dollars.

Ce marché s'inscrit dans les suites de la dissolution du 65th Aggressor Squadron, ce qui fait qu'il ne reste plus qu'un Aggressor Squadron, le 64th, à AFB Nellis.

L'avis du Pentagone:
"Draken International, Lakeland, Florida, has been awarded a $28,000,000 modification (P00005) to previously awarded contract FA4861-15-D-C003 for adversary air support services including fuel and flight hours increase. Work will be performed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2017. Fiscal 2016 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,400,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The 99th Contracting Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, is the contracting activity."

Draken travaille aussi au profit de la Navy et de l'Air National Guard. La société est candidate au marché CATS canadien.

http://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2016/06/16/le-marche-de-draken-avec-l-usaf-prolonge-et-augmente-16356.html

Citation :: US Air Force Temporarily Loses Its 12-Year Investigation Records Database

The US Air Force (USAF) temporarily lost all its data on their investigations into fraud, abuse, and everything else down to office disputes, collected since 2004, due to a computer glitch; its recent statement however says that it was able to restore access to the data “through extensive data recovery efforts over the weekend and this week.”

“The US Air Force has lost records concerning 100,000 investigations into everything from workplace disputes to fraud,” the Defense One website reported earlier this week.

“A database that hosts files from the Air Force’s inspector general and legislative liaison divisions became corrupted last month, destroying data created between 2004 and now,” the website quoted some service officials as saying.
“Neither the Air Force nor Lockheed Martin, the defense firm that runs the database, could say why it became corrupted or whether they’ll be able to recover the information.”
The Air Force has begun asking for assistance from cybersecurity professionals at the Pentagon as well as from private contractors.
“We’ve kind of exhausted everything we can to recover within [the Air Force] and now we’re going to outside experts to see if they can help,” the website quotes Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokeswoman at the Pentagon, as saying.
Apparently Lockheed Martin spent two weeks trying to fix the problem before informing the Air Force, but had to report on their failure when the issue proved insurmountable.
The Automated Case Tracking System, which kept the records of investigations into possible sexual assaults, IG complaints, investigations, appeals and Freedom Of Information Act requests has been unreachable.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/us/20160617/1041521650/usaf-database-loss.html#ixzz4Bqv9E4Ze

Citation :: Degraded radio signals, nosewheel issues, caused two drone crashes
Phillip Swarts, Air Force Times 12:10 p.m. EDT June 18, 2016

Degraded radio signals and a malfunctioning nosewheel caused the crash of two remotely piloted aircraft in separate events last year, Air Force investigations boards found.

The service released abbreviated accident reports June 10 for the April 2015 crash of an MQ-1 Predator operating in the Central Command area; and the May 2015 crash of an MQ-9 Reaper in the Africa Command area. Neither aircraft was brought down due to enemy action, the Air Force said.

The Predator crashed because the pilot didn’t switch controls from the default frequency to the assigned operating frequency after takeoff, investigators said. With other transmitters sending out signals in the area, the “cluttered frequency environment” caused controllers to lose contact with the RPA.

The aircraft was operated by personnel from the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The accident report did not state whether any disciplinary action was taken against the pilot or sensor operator. While the crash did not cause any injuries or damage to personal property on the ground, the damage to the Predator was estimated at $4.66 million, the report said.

Meanwhile the Reaper crashed after a malfunctioning nosewheel servo driver caused the aircraft to lose control upon landing. A servo drive is a special electronic amplifier used to power electric servomechanisms. It monitors the feedback signal from the servomechanism and adjusts for deviation from expected behavior.The breakdown of the nosewheel,which was locked at 12 degrees left of center, affected steering, and the pilot was unable to control the craft via the rudder once it touched down. Again there were no injuries or damage to civilian property, but the “extensive damage” done to the out of control Reaper was estimated at $6.70 million.

The craft was operated by personnel from the 33rd Expeditionary Special Operations Squadron, 435th Air Ground Operations Wing, 17th Expeditionary Air Force, the report said.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/military/2016/06/18/degraded-radio-signals-nosewheel-issues-caused-two-drone-crashes/85938662/

Citation :: Exclusive: USAF Weighing Replacement F-35 Ejection Seat
Aaron Mehta, Defense News 4:51 p.m. EDT June 24, 2016

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force is looking into the possibility of replacing the Martin-Baker ejection seat on the F-35 joint strike fighter with the United Technologies ACES 5 model, Defense News has learned.

While still in the earliest stages, such a move could have have massive repercussions for the F-35 supply chain, impacting the workshare strategy that forms the backbone for the international fleet of the Lockheed Martin-designed fighter.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, the service's top uniformed acquisition official, confirmed the service's interest in the ACES 5 design in response to an inquiry from Defense News, but stressed that the Air Force had only just sent a letter to the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in order to gather information on potential costs and challenges for switching the seat.

"We believe it is prudent to look at what it would take to qualify the ACES 5 seat as a potential risk mitigation step if additional things happen as we go through the testing of the Martin-Baker seat," Bunch said Friday. "We believe it's prudent to determine what it would cost, how much [impact on] the schedule, what the timeline would be, if something else happened and we wanted to go a different way."

At the core of the Air Force's move is concern over pilot safety following the discovery that F-35 pilots under 136 pounds were at increased, potentially fatal, risk of neck damage when ejecting from the plane aboard the Martin-Baker US16E design. The service has also acknowledged an “elevated level of risk” for pilots between 136 and 165 pounds.

Defense News first broke the news of that issue in October. As a result of the issue, pilots under 136 pounds are prohibited from operating the fifth-generation fighter, which went operational for the Marines in 2015 and is expected to be operational for the Air Force by the end of this year.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/air-force/2016/06/24/sources-usaf-weighing-replacing-f35-ejection-seat/86257576/

Citation :: US Air Force Declares Nunn-McCurdy Breach for OCX
Aaron Mehta, Defense News 7:36 p.m. EDT June 30, 2016

WASHINGTON — The US Air Force has declared a Nunn-McCurdy breach for its next-generation GPS control system.

The breach comes after the Air Force concluded the Operational Control Segment (OCX) program, developed by Raytheon, would exceed the 25 percent cost overrun threshold that triggers a Nunn-McCurdy alert.

“Factors that led to the critical Nunn-McCurdy breach include inadequate systems engineering at program inception, Block 0 software with high defect rates and Block 1 designs requiring significant rework,” a Thursday night statement from the Air Force said. “Additionally, the complexity of cybersecurity requirements on OCX and impact of those requirements on the development caused multiple delays. The corrective actions to resolve these problems took much longer than anticipated to implement.”

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/space/2016/06/30/air-force-declares-nunn-mccurdy-breach-ocx-raytheon/86576822/

Citation :: US Air Force Funds Next Advanced Engine Stage
Aaron Mehta, Defense News 12:20 p.m. EDT July 1, 2016

WASHINGTON — 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.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/support/2016/07/01/aetp-air-force-funds-next-advanced-engine-stage/86595466/

Citation :: Air Force Faces Rocky Road Ahead For Replacing the A-10
Valerie Insinna, Defense News 12:34 a.m. EDT July 11, 2016

WASHINGTON — Two years after the Air Force tried to force its aging A-10 Warthog fleet into retirement, officials are exploring whether to procure a potential replacement for the aircraft famed for its powerful defense of troops on the ground.

But whether the service chooses a clean-sheet design or tries to modify a currently available jet, experts say the service will face an uphill battle in terms of getting funding during a tight fiscal climate where it may have to battle other modernization programs for money – despite hopes that foreign customers may be interested in such an aircraft.

The Air Force in recent years has had a complicated relationship with the Warthog, the common name given to the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. The service attempted to retire the plane in fiscal 2015 and 2016 due to the spending constraints caused by mandatory budget cuts, and was rebuffed by Congress both years. Finally, in its fiscal year 2017 budget request, it opted to retain the aircraft until 2022 in part due to the platform’s utility in the fight against the Islamic State.

Both the outgoing and incoming Air Force chiefs of staff have been banging the drum for a follow-on close air support (CAS) aircraft in recent weeks, describing one that would be cheaper to operate and incorporate modern technologies. That would require an expansion of the service’s budget, former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told reporters days before his June retirement.

“I'd like to build a new CAS airplane right now while we still have the A-10, transition the A-10 community to the new CAS airplane, but we just don't have the money to do it, and we don't have the people to fly the A-10 and build a new airplane and bed it down,” he said.

Starting a new program is never easy, but the service doesn’t necessarily have to spend huge amounts of time and money to develop a new platform, he told Defense News in an exclusive interview earlier in June.

“I think you can do it much quicker than people think you can,” he said. “We don’t have to come up with sensors and weapons that are cosmic. That’s not what we need. We’re talking about something that can do the bulk of the low threat, maybe a little bit of medium threat work in rugged environments all over the world.”

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/farnborough/2016/07/11/air-force-a10-warthog-replacement-export/86519518/

Citation :: 11.07.2016

L'ETAP n'est pas la seule: Fort Bragg est aussi à court d'avions pour ses parachutistes

Encore un pépin dans la formation des paras! On connaissait les malheurs de l'ETAP et ceux des régiments et écoles dans l'impossibilité de faire breveter leurs soldats ou de maintenir leur entraînement au niveau voulu... Voici que les soldats du 18th Airborne Corps et ceux de la 82nd Airborne Division sont aussi cloués au sol par manque d'avions.

Un sénateur US, Thom Tillis, avait prévenu; désormais, l'élu de Caroline du Nord a les chiffres pour démontrer que ses craintes étaient fondées.

Selon des responsables à Fort Bragg, les besoins mensuels pour les deux grandes unités sont de 10 000 sauts, avec un minimum de 8 000 pour conserver un niveau satisfaisant. Or, depuis février, ce niveau de 10 000 n'a plus été atteint; il est en chute libre.

Un article paru dans Military.com (en fait il a été repris du The Fayetteville Observer) précise que le nombre de sauts n'a été que 4 800 en mai, suite à la dissolution en cours de la 440th Airlift Wing dont les 12 appareils C-130H larguaient des milliers de soldats.

1 250 sauts ont été réalisés à partir d'hélicoptères et d'un vénérable Transall C-160 allemand!

http://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2016/07/11/l-etap-n-est-pas-la-seule-fort-bragg-est-aussi-a-court-d-avi-16531.html

Citation :: Raytheon Eyes Additional Missions for Air Force Trainer Jet
Tom Kington, Defense News 12:50 p.m. EDT July 12, 2016

The US Air Force is reportedly mulling the idea of using its new T-X jet trainer as an aggressor aircraft and even as a replacement for its A-10 Warthog aircraft, it emerged at the Farnborough air show Tuesday.

Speaking at a briefing to present Raytheon’s offer in the competition, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Daniel Darnell said the Air Force might yet look to extend the use of its new aircraft beyond just training pilots.

“They made it clear to industry that it would be nice if there was some accommodation for refueling, and the aircraft could be used as an aggressor and/or a replacement for the A-10,” he said. “It is not a requirement.”

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/farnborough/2016/07/12/air-force-tx-trainer-warthog-a10/86987810/

Citation :: Cybersecurity Found Lacking in US Air Force's Troubled OCX Program
Valerie Insinna, Defense News 12:38 p.m. EDT July 12, 2016

FARNBOROUGH, England — During the eight years Raytheon developed a new GPS control station, the company fell prey to one of the pitfalls that have plagued many acquisition programs throughout history, a key Air Force official said Tuesday.

It simply didn’t understand the requirements, or at least how to execute them as cybersecurity challenges evolved, Winston Beauchamp, deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space, said at Farnborough International Airshow.

The Defense Department is now deliberating whether to restructure the Operational Control Segment (OCX) program or cancel it altogether. But Raytheon’s performance problems embody the wider challenge of how to develop hardened space technologies in a rapidly evolving cyber landscape, he said.

For example, a requirement to detect and refuse access to all potential intrusions "might have been four things eight years ago, but it's 4,000 things right now,” he said.

“The distribution of exploits and hackers, it evolved considerably, to the point where we're much more sophisticated now than we were before."

The Pentagon declared a Nunn-McCurdy breach for OCX on June 30 after it found the company would exceed its planned cost by at least 20 percent. The department plans to announce by October whether the Air Force will rework the program and apply a new cost baseline or to terminate it, Defense Department acquisition chief Frank Kendall said earlier this week.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/farnborough/2016/07/12/ocx-cost-overrun-farnborough-nunn-mccurdy/86985852/

Citation :: 16/07/2016

Le nouvel Air Force One prêt pour 2023 !

Boeing a reçu un nouveau contrat en vue de la préparation de l’intérieur du futur avion présidentiel « Air Force One ». Ce contrat d’une valeur de 127,300 millions de dollars a été décerné par l'US Air Force.

L'an dernier, l'US Air Force a annoncé la sélection du B747-800 pour remplacer la flotte de deux VC-25s (B747-200) qui sont communément connus sous le nom "Air Force One" lorsque le président américain vole à bord. Les deux B747-200 auront 32 ans, lorsque le premiers Boeing B47-800 entrera en service.

Après une série de revers en matière d'acquisition coûteux dans d'autres programmes, l'USAF adopte aujourd’hui une approche prudente en matière de risque dans les programmes de grande envergure, y compris le programme présidentiel de recapitalisation des aéronefs (PAR).

Il y a sept mois, l'USAF a remis Boeing un contrat de 25,8 millions de dollars pour commencer à définir "les exigences détaillées et la conception " du futur « Air Force One ». Par ailleurs, l’avionneur Boeing et l’US Air Force ont confirmé l’entrée en service du premier B747-800 présidentiel pour 2023.

Rappel :

La désignation de l'US Air Force pour les «747» réaménagés pour le président est Boeing VC-25A. Les deux appareils actuels sont différenciés par leur codes d'empennage soit : « 28 000 » et « 29 000 ». Même si Air Force One se réfère au seul avion de l'US Air Force à bord duquel se trouve le président des États-Unis, ce terme est désormais communément employé pour désigner l'un ou l'autre de ces «747» présidentiels.

Les «747» VC-25A présentent une superficie de 370 m², reconfigurée pour pouvoir répondre aux besoins présidentiels. Le plus bas des trois niveaux est principalement aménagé en soute à bagages et pour le stockage de la subsistance à bord. L'avion peut emporter plus de 2’000 repas de manière à rester autonome toute la durée du voyage présidentiel. Ce niveau possède aussi, à l'avant et à l'arrière, deux portes passagers annexes à l'appareil, utilisées pour le service, lesquelles permettent aussi de monter et descendre sans passerelle aéroportuaire. Le deuxième niveau est occupé par le président et sa proche équipe et le troisième comprend le cockpit, un petit espace de repos pour l'équipage avec quatre sièges et tables d'un côté et deux couchettes de l'autre et à l'arrière un centre où quatre personnes gèrent les communications et la protection de l'appareil. Ce centre permet ainsi à l'avion de disposer de 87 lignes de téléphone, dont des communications sécurisées, d'Internet et de recevoir les chaines de télévision par satellites.

Photos : Images de synthèse des futurs B747-800I aux couleurs d’Air Force One@ Boeing

http://psk.blog.24heures.ch/archive/2016/07/16/le-nouvel-air-force-one-pret-pour-2023-861781.html

Citation :: Friday, 15 July 2016

US Navy Awards Raytheon Contract for Production of AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II Missiles

The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Company a $291 million contract award for production of the AIM-9X Sidewinder® missile, one of the most advanced infrared-tracking, short-range, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles in the world. The contract is for All Up Round Tactical Full Rate Production Lot 16 of the Block II missiles for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army and the governments of Japan, Norway and Taiwan.

http://worlddefencenews.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-07-15T18:30:00-07:00&max-results=10

Citation :: 19/07/2016

Fin des soucis pour le KC-46A !

Boeing et l'US Air Force ont testé avec succès une solution matérielle pour résoudre les problèmes rencontrés lors du ravitaillement avec un C-17 « Globemaster III ». La résolution de ce problème était une condition préalable à la décision prévue de l’US Air Force d'approuver la production initiale à taux faible de (LRIP) en août prochain,

De nouveaux essais en vol de ravitaille avec un C-17 « Globemaster III » et un F-16 ont permis de validé la solution technique. Cette solution consiste dans l'installation de soupapes de décharge de pression hydraulique dans la perche de ravitaillement. Ces deux vannes de dérivation ont pour but de soulager la pression de chargement du combustible dans la perche fixe.

Ravitaillement d’un A-10 :

Le 15 juillet dernier, un KC-46A a ravitaillé avec succès un avion de combat de type Fairchild A-10. Ce dernier a reçu 680kg de kérosène à une altitude de 15'000 pieds. Avec ce dernier essais l’ensemble de la flotte de l’US Air Force et de la Navy ont pu être testé compatible avec le nouveau ravitailleur.

Un soulagement pour Boeing :

L’avionneur américain est sous pression pour livrer à temps 18 KC-46A à partir du mois d’août 2017. Avec ces essais réussis, l’avionneur devrait donc obtenir la capacité opérationnelle initiale dans les délais prévus.

Le KC-46A «New Generation Tanker»:

Le KC-46A «New Gen Tanker» est un gros porteur multi-mission, basé sur la cellule du B767 commercial. Pour ce faire, l’avion reprend les dernières innovations en matières d’écrans multifonctions en test actuellement sur le B787 «Dreamliner». Un nouveau système de ravitaillement permettra une augmentation du rythme de transfert de carburant, de plus, les charges et les opérations en sont simplifiées. Selon Boeing les risques d’industrialisations sont faibles, car l’avion s’appuie sur des moyens existants. Le «New Gen Tanker» se caractérise par une conception du contrôle de vol qui place l‘équipage aux commandes de l’ensemble de l’appareil, au lieu de permettre aux logiciels de limiter la manœuvrabilité au combat. Le «New Gen Tanker» met à la disposition des pilotes de l’USAF un poste de pilotage numérique avancé équipé des affichages électroniques du Boeing B787 «Dreamliner». Le «New Gen Tanker» dispose d’une technologie de ravitaillement en vol éprouvée et d’une perche KC-10 « NewGen » modernisée avec des capacités de ravitaillement étendues, un débit accru pour le transfert du carburant et un système à commandes de vol électrique (Fly by Wire).

Photos : 1 Ravitaillement réussi d’un C-17 2 Ravitaillement d’un A-10 @ Boeing

http://psk.blog.24heures.ch/archive/2016/07/19/fin-des-soucis-pour-le-kc-46a-861796.html

Citation :: US Air Force Officer Dies From Non-Combat Injury in Iraq - Pentagon
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22:11 19.07.2016
A US Air Force officer who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq died from an injury not sustained in combat, the US Department of Defense announced in a press release on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Tobar was assigned to the 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in the US state of North Carolina.
"[A]nais A. Tobar, 25, of Miami, Florida, died July 18 in Southwest Asia from a non-combat-related injury," the release stated.
Operation Inherent Resolve is a US led action against the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, involving 19 countries.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160719/1043303106/iraq-us-air-force.html#ixzz4Esw0rdWM

Citation :: USAF deploys A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in Slovakia to support Operation Atlantic Resolve

The US Air Force 122nd Fighter Wing has deployed eight A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and about 140 Airmen in Slovakia for a month-long combined training event in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. The Airmen will conduct training and familiarization events alongside Slovak Armed Forces, a NATO ally.

http://worlddefencenews.blogspot.com/

Citation :: Boeing Racks Up Another $393M In Cost Overruns On KC-46 Program
Valerie Insinna, Defense News 7:16 p.m. EDT July 21, 2016

WASHINGTON — Boeing will take a $393 million hit on the KC-46 tanker program, in part due to an issue with the refueling boom that caused the delay of a major program milestone, the company said Thursday.

The charge was expected but bad news for a company that has already racked up $1.5 billion in cost overruns. The $393 million after-tax-charge, which will be formally announced July 27 during an earnings call, will bring the total value of penalties to almost $1.9 billion.

Under the current fixed-price contract, Boeing is responsible for eating any expenses above the $4.9 billion allotted by the Air Force to develop the aircraft.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/air-force/2016/07/21/boeing-kc46-cost-overrun-penalty-air-force-boom/87409004/

Citation :: Air Force to Certify Scorpion Jet, Broadening Its International Appeal
Valerie Insinna, Defense News 11:22 a.m. EDT July 21, 2016

WASHINGTON — For the first time, the Air Force will test the airworthiness of an aircraft that is currently not planned to be in its inventory, a move that could increase the plane’s chance of success in the international market.

The Air Force announced on Wednesday that it had signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Textron AirLand, under which the service will conduct an airworthiness assessment of Textron’s Scorpion aircraft. The certification could open the door for future direct commercial sales of the jet to foreign militaries or quicken the pace of a domestic purchase, should the Air Force decide to procure it in the future.

“This is the first of its kind, we have not done a CRADA like this before and we have never had a partnership with industry to assess aircraft that are not under a USAF acquisition contract” Jorge Gonzalez, the Air Force’s technical airworthiness authority, said in a statement.

Textron rolled out the Scorpion jet in 2013, marketing it to both US military and international customers as an affordable way to conduct a broad array of missions such as ISR, counter insurgency, close air support and border and maritime security. The plane, which was designed and developed entirely with internal funds, costs only $20 million to acquire and $3,000 per flight hour.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/air-space/2016/07/21/air-force-scorpion-textron-foreign-military-commerical-sales-international-airworthiness-certify/87382706/

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