Free Republic

A large association of battlefield target spotters has written to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to oppose the planned retirement of A-10 Warthog strike jets — a debate that now encompasses the “friendly fire” deaths of five American soldiers in Afghanistan. The A-10 endorsement from the Tactical Air Control Party Association is significant because, outside of the Warthog’s pilots themselves, perhaps no other warriors know its ability to protect ground troops under fire better than the ground controllers who guide it to enemy targets. ... The five fatalities occurred on June 9, when a B-1B strategic bomber — a planned replacement...

It appears that planning for an advanced long-range strike and reconnaissance aircraft will remain rudimentary for a while. Finding the necessary “funding needed to get to a meaningful down-select is still an open question,” says Paul Kaminski, former Pentagon acquisition chief and current chairman of the Defense Science Board. “That’s one of the things I’m looking for in the [new defense] budget. From what I know about the technology so far, I don’t see the supersonic requirement and capability in the early block.” The U.S. Air Force is faced with rationalizing its investment in a new, long-range, bomber-reconnaissance aircraft while...

B-1B Lancer achieved 10,000 flight hours here, June 12. After 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit professionals braved temperatures in excess of 110 degrees Fahrenheit preparing the aircraft for the flight, the aircrew stepped in and performed the milestone mission, despite an 18-hour duty day. "The tremendous amount of man-hours spent maintaining the B-1 and the sacrifices the maintainers endure away from their families, working extremely long hours in austere locations, has facilitated this historic event," said Master Sgt. Mathias Stewart, 34 AMU Airframe Powerplant General B-1 flight chief. "I am an extremely big fan of all maintainers, especially the crew chiefs...

Named after the Celtic god of thunder, this £142.5million prototype was unveiled by the Ministry of Defence. It is the size of a light aircraft, has stealth technology that makes it virt­ually undetectable and has been hailed the pinnacle of British engineering. The craft, which will undergo flight trials next year, has an array of sensors to carry out int­elligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. However, it also has the ability to carry bombs and missiles, giving it a pot­ential long-range strike capability. And it can be controlled from anywhere in the world, via satellite communication. ‘Taranis is a truly trailblazing...

Last week, we wrote that the Air Force Council, the blue suiters board of directors that advises the air chief, was considering deep cuts to force structure to meet aggressive savings targets laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. One option they are reportedly considering is early retirement of all 66 B-1B Lancer bombers, last delivered in the late 1980s. Yesterday, the Lancer fleet got a hearty shout-out from new installed Afghan commander Gen. David Petraeus. “It is a great platform,” he told senators at his confirmation hearing. “It carries a heck of a lot of bombs… and it has...

Two Russian Tu-160 heavy bombers recently completed a record 23 hour long, 18,000 kilometer flight around the periphery of Russia. This required two in-flight refuelings from Il-78 tankers. This feat was nothing new. Last year, a Tu-160 completed a 21 hour flight. Although designed as a heavy bomber, the Tu-160 has largely been used, in the last few years, as a long range reconnaissance aircraft. But even in that role, the Tu-160 can carry cruise missiles and other air-to-ground weapons. Two years ago, Russia received its first new Tu-160 heavy bomber since the early 1990s. Production had been revived four...

Back to the Title 10 side of the house for a moment; the Air Force Council meets today to consider further cuts in aircraft to meet aggressive savings targets laid out by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. One option on the table: early retirement of all 66 B-1B Lancer bombers (the last delivery of which came back in 1988). Force structure cuts might also extend to the air arm’s much cherished but currently under-utilized fighter force. The service already plans to early retire 250 fighters this year, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said last month; gone are 112 F-15s, 134 F-162,...

Hunched over, her eyes fixed downward, Tanya Hart inches across the vast wing of the B-2 stealth bomber one small step at a time, looking for any nicks or hairline scratches in the freshly repainted surface. Even a tiny blemish could make the B-2 as visible on radar screens as a giant flying tin can. Hart, 50, is the last line of defense for what may be the world's most expensive paint job. "This isn't a job where you can afford to mess up," said Hart, a "surface technician" for Northrop Grumman Corp., which built the bombers and is now...

The Boeing Company today announced the start of flight tests for a B-1 Lancer bomber upgraded with new digital avionics for the aft cockpit, including a line-of-sight Link 16 data link. The B-1 Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL) made its first flight test on June 4 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The four-hour flight was conducted by the U.S. Air Force around the local Edwards test ranges. The crew successfully tested the Link 16 data link by sending and receiving text messages and receiving virtual mission assignment data such as target coordinates for a weapon. Link 16 adds line-of-sight...

The B-52 entered into service in 1955 and was referred as one of the most powerful bombers. While that was true when the war plane first hit the skies, nearly 55 years later, it’s still true. Partly due to the testing B-52 Radar Navigator Christopher Rudd does at Edwards Air Force Base. “We’re an independent organization that plans, executes, analyzes, the new systems that’s coming on board for in this case the B-52,” said Rudd. From testing new software to new weaponry, they do it all to make sure despite its age, the B-52 is still top notch. “We are...

The US Air Force is moving forward with a major new upgrade for the half-century-old Boeing B-52H fleet, focused on replacing the bomber's radar, which is roughly 30 years old. The Northrop Grumman APQ-166 strategic radar is nearing the end of its useful life and will be replaced on 76 B-52Hs, the USAF says in a request for information issued to industry. The new system will perform all of the mission functions now performed by the APQ-166 mechanically scanned array, but provide "new and enhanced capabilities", the air force says. Although active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology is now available...

More has emerged on the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Electric Laser on Large Aircraft (ELLA) program and, as anticipated, it's an effort to fit DARPA's Hellads laser into the weapons bay of a B-1B bomber to flight-test a high-power electric laser against tactical targets. General Atomics and Textron Systems are developing rival 150kW lasers under Hellads, with the goal of demonstrating a laser weapon system weighing less than 5kg/kW - substantially smaller and lighter than any previous airborne laser. Lockheed Martin is designing the laser weapon system module (LWSM), including power, cooling and beam director. Answers to bidder questions...

Former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger last week highlighted significant flaws in the new START arms reduction treaty, including the fact that it allows Russia to load up nuclear weapons on its bombers and failed to address Moscow's growing arsenal of tactical nuclear arms. Schlesinger noted in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the treaty’s failure to limit tactical nuclear arms was akin to the Sherlock Holmes’ story “The Dog That Did Not Bark.” “While New START may be acceptable in the narrow context of strategic weapons, it also needs to be considered in a much larger context,” he...

The non-nuclear B-1 Lancer has adapted from a strategic mission to a close-air support role, and will continue to play an effective part in today's fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to leaders here. While the remaining bombers in the Air Force inventory transferred to Air Force Global Strike Command, the B-1 has become the go-to airframe when combatant commanders want a show of force or support for ground troops. "The predominance of what we are doing right now in theater is close-air support; non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and armed overwatch" said Col. Charlie Catoe, 7th Operations Group commander....

Once it has completed work on its own fifth-generation fighter, Russia must proceed with designing a brand-new nuclear-capable strategic bomber, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday. "Certainly, we should not confine ourselves to developing just one new model. After the fifth-generation fighter jet, we must think and get down to work on a next-generation, long-range aviation complex -- our new strategic missile carrier," Putin told a cabinet meeting on Russia's military-industrial complex. After the demise of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited a fleet of the still formidable but fast-aging Tupolev Tu-95MS turbo-prop strategic bombers and missile platforms codenamed "Bears"...