Current Events in the Americas

Extra Red Flag week allows for more missions Find the Air Force Times article here. By Erik Holmes - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jan 19, 2009 5:49:29 EST In the most significant change in its more than 30-year history, the Red Flag aerial combat exercise held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., will expand from two to three weeks for the exercise that begins in late February and will include a greater emphasis on close-air support missions. The changes will allow Red Flag to more closely represent how a modern war likely would unfold, said Lt. Col. Paul Johnson, deputy commander of Nellis’ 414th Combat Training Squadron, which runs Red Flag. “Red Flag ha…

From Air Force Times [The beginning of the end for the "Wobbly Goblin" ... ] October 25, 2006 F-117 pilot school closes Staff report The F-117 Nighthawk pilot school has closed its canopy. The last class of F-117 pilots graduated from the school on Oct. 13, according to 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The closure of the formal training unit was the latest sign that the F-117 is being phased out at Holloman and will eventually be replaced by the F-22A Raptor. The school was overseen by the 7th Fighter Squadron, which will be deactivated in December. Once the 7th closes, a sister unit, the 8th Fighter Squadron, will handle many of remain…

From Flight Global DATE: 12/04/10 SOURCE: Flight International USAF may convert some F-15Cs to radar jammers By Stephen Trimble The US Air National Guard may convert some Boeing F-15C Eagles into electronic warfare platforms, possibly adding an entirely new role for the classic air superiority fighter. Adding a jamming pod on the F-15C's currently empty centreline weapon station becomes possible after a subset of the fleet is upgraded with the Raytheon APG-63(V)3 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, says Maj Todd Giggy, chief of weapons and tactics for the 159th Fighter Sqd. "We're actively looking right now at an electronic warfare capa…

From Flight International DATE: 30/11/07 SOURCE: Flightglobal.com USAF: F-15s risk catastrophic design weakness By Stephen Trimble The US Air Force Boeing F15A-D Eagle fleet is grounded after preliminary findings of a crash investigation show signs of a design weakness. Air Combat Command (ACC) ordered the stand-down until the airframes can be inspected. An inspection checklist is being prepared by the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center, an ACC spokesman says. An ongoing investigation of a 2 November crash is focusing on potential failure of the F-15’s upper longerons near the canopy seal. Recent inspections found cracks in this same area on two o…

Pics of the F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle taken at the recent Skyfest 2008 air show at Fairchild AFB, near Spokane, WA. Check out the weapons bay shots.

From Defense Aerospace F-22A Crash Claims Life of Edwards Pilot (Source: US Air Force; issued March 25, 2009) EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --- An Air Force F-22A crash March 25 near here claimed the life of an Air Force veteran and Lockheed Martin test pilot. David Cooley, 49, of Palmdale, Calif., died when the F-22A he was piloting crashed northeast of the base here. Mr. Cooley worked as a test pilot with Lockheed Martin, and was employed at the 411th Flight Test Squadron, 412th Test Wing, on Edwards. Mr. Cooley joined Lockheed Martin in 2003 and was a 21-year veteran of the Air Force. He worked at the F-22 Combined Test Force, where a team of Lockheed…

From DefenseNews [excerpt]

From Air Force Times F-22 near perfect in combat exercises By Seamus O’Connor - Staff writer Posted : Monday Jul 30, 2007 11:47:18 EDT The F-22 Raptor is the world’s most advanced fighter, but is it invincible? Internet rumors have swirled for months over whether any F-22s had been taken down in simulated combat exercises. Discussion forums are rife with Navy pilots touting a controversial photo appearing to show an F/A-18F Super Hornet gunning down a Raptor. The F-22’s debut combat exercise was at Northern Edge in June 2006. According to Air Force data, the dozen F-22s in attendance racked up an unprecedented kill record of 144-0 the first week alone an…

From Aviation Week Raptor Scores in Alaskan Exercise By David A. Fulghum and Michael J. Fabey 01/07/2007 09:51:16 PM As the F-22 begins its operational life, interest has turned to assessing just how well suited the stealthy Raptor is to its role as the premier air-to-air fighter, while taking a peek at some of the surprises for pilots and maintenance crews as they explore what the aircraft can do. As part of the research for this series of articles on the F-22, Michael Fabey flew in the back seat of an F-15D while the Eagle and Raptor pilots demonstrated their aircraft's capabilities in the air-to-air ranges at Tyndall AFB, Fla. (For additional details of the R…

If you don't love the F-22 Raptor, here are all of Dr Kopp's reasons why you should ... Why America Needs More F-22 Raptors (I do not necessarily endorse all of the conclusions, but post it for your information just the same).

From Defense Industry Daily F-22 Squadron Shot Down by the International Date Line Posted 01-Mar-2007 05:35 Aircraft software can be serious business. DID's F-22A Raptor FOCUS Article mentioned recent flight software problems that delayed the aircraft's first foreign deployment from Hickam AFB in Hawaii to Kadena AFB, Japan. What we didn't mention at the time is how serious the problem was, and how dependent on computers modern aircraft - including military aircraft - have become. What follows are relevant excerpts from a CNN transcript on February 24, 2007 that covered a number of unrelated issues. We've cut that out, and left only the F-22 related section..…

From Flight Global's DEW Line blog [excerpt]

F-22 Raptors need helmet-mounted cueing system to take full advantage of AIM-9X (Flight Global)

Bloomberg.com December 14, 2005 Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor Ready for Combat, Air Force Says By Tony Capaccio Lockheed Martin Corp's F-22A Raptor stealth fighter, the most expensive fighter plane ever built, is ready for wartime operations, the Air Force's top combat commander said today. “If we go to war tomorrow, the Raptor will be with us,” Air Combat Command General Ronald Keys wrote of a plane that's weathered congressional and public debate on its relevance post-Cold War. The Air Force says it needs at least 381 Raptors but the Pentagon plans to buy only about 180 though 2010. Lockheed already has delivered 56. Boeing Co. is the top subcontractor.…

An alternative for Canada ... from CASR [excerpt]

Marine Corps TV - JSF Update Bah, link apparently crapped out. If you want to view, go to usmc.mil, then "News", then "MarinesTV"

F-35 Navy Version Undergoes Successful Design Review, Readies for Production FORT WORTH, Texas --- The U.S. Navy's F-35C Lightning II carrier variant has completed its Air System Critical Design Review (CDR), a significant development milestone that verifies the design maturity of the aircraft and its associated systems. The review was conducted June 18-22 at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, and involved officials from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office, the F-35 international-participant nations and the F-35 contractor team. Completion of the CDR is a prerequisite for the F-35C to move into Low Rate Initial Production. …

F-35 Selected Acquisition Report (SAR), 31 December 2010

From DefenseNews [excerpt] CV32: For the folks who decry the Hornet as a 'dog' in the turning and burning department, this is not going to come as happy news.