Posted on 03/15/2013 10:57:37 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
3/13/2013 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The U.S. Air Force and its prime contractor, Boeing have completed a successful first flight of the new F-15SA advanced fighter aircraft for the Royal Saudi Air Force.
The F-15SA's maiden voyage took place on Feb. 20 at the Boeing facilities in St. Louis, Mo. The flight went as planned, meeting all test objectives to support the aircraft's on-schedule development.
"The successful first flight of the F-15SA is a tremendous milestone for the program and a testament to the relationship between the USAF, Boeing, and our RSAF partners," said Lt. Gen. C. D. Moore II, commander Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. "The F-15SA will add critical capability to the RSAF and enhance the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
The new aircraft is the centerpiece of the Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 Fleet Modernization Program, a wide-ranging $29.4 billion effort that stands as the largest foreign military sale in U.S. history.
The F-15SA brings improved performance, enhanced situational awareness and increased survivability at a lower total life-cycle cost. Avionics advancements include a Digital Electronic Warfare Suite, Fly-By-Wire flight control system, an Infrared Search and Track system and Active Electronically Scanned Array radar. Forward and aft cockpits feature advanced displays and Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems. Two additional weapon stations provide increased payload capacity.
Col. Robert Stambaugh, the USAF Security Assistance Program Manager for the F-15SA program at Robins AFB, Ga., highlighted the joint efforts of the USAF program office at Wright-Patterson AFB and the Boeing team.
"Col. Rob Strasser and his program team at Wright-Patt were instrumental in overcoming the hurdles encountered in the march to first flight. Completing this major milestone in less than one year after program implementation was truly remarkable."
The F-15SA flight test program will include three instrumented F-15SAs operating from Boeing facilities at St. Louis and Palmdale, Calif. F-15SA new aircraft deliveries to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are scheduled to begin in 2015 and conclude by 2019.
An F-15SA makes its first flight over St. Louis Feb. 20, 2013. The advanced fighter features a Fly-By-Wire flight control system and is being built by Boeing for the Royal Saudi Air Force. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, oversees program management for the foreign military sale, the largest in U.S. history. (Boeing photo/Kevin Flynn)
I wish we had airplanes that good and that new.
Naw, we’ve got Abortions, Obama Phones (just saw a commercial about getting one of those), Food Stamps (oops, another Taxpayer funded commercial), Obamacare, Obama’s Vacations, Pat Leahy’s Depends and a whole lot of other stuff to pay for.
Why would the greatest Superpower on the face of the Earth need silly stuff like cutting edge Jet Fighters?
I wish we had airplanes that good and that new.
My thoughts, exactly.
The platform’s first flight was 41 years ago. The F 15, F 16, C 130 and A 10 were good ideas.
But selling planes to the Saudis, not such a good idea.
We don’t?
I really wish “they” would stop using “situational awareness”. The correct term is “situation awareness” One is aware of the situation, not the situational, whatever that is.
You think we do? Other than the too few F-22 and the troublesome and unproven F-35 why?
I honestly don’t know; that’s why I’m asking. Why are we selling higher-tech hardware to other countries, than what we have and are using?
Because we are spending 2/3 of the budget on entitlements mostly to buy votes for people like o’stoner to take more of your money to buy more votes to provide him more power to take more of your money. See a pattern here?
We are also borrowing about 46% of all the money we spend from you and can’t pay it back.
You don’t know? Start here for one place. http://defense.aol.com/2013/01/10/sec-donley-on-readiness-air-force-must-shrink-or-go-hollow/?icid=nextArticle
Wish I could find the force strength assessment of a couple of years ago by the chairman of the Air Force Association. It is just sobering.
A quick rundown, just off the top of my head. Others will be able to provide more detail. The USAF is smaller now than it was on 9/11 and has been making do with less now for a long time. Airframe programs have been either cut or reduced over and over... e.g. B-1, C-17, F-22
F-22, great plane, too few in number to be material in conflict, order reduced to buy F-35 at higher profit to Lockheed, jigs and fixtures to build more ordered destroyed by o’stoner.
F-35, new kid, fraught with problems, huge cost overruns, dubious capability in my view but others argue how great it is with great enthusiasm
F/A-18, great airframe, newest airplanes for the Navy but how long can you upgrade?
F-15 fighters, fatigued and were supposed to be replaced by the F-22 in kind but budget cuts significantly reduced the number of F-22 airframes.
F-16 dated design, getting awfully old, phasing out airframes due to age, we have flown the hell out of them protecting the world. F-35 was to have replaced but it is so slow in coming and numbers will be reduced because of high costs and budget reductions.
F-15E New in 1990, these have been worked to death, they are the Swiss Army knife of the force
A-10 fit for purpose and some upgrades of engines scheduled but will this be done?
B-1 and B-2, fine airplanes, few in number. B-2 more like a collectors item that can’t be replaced. Neither can the B-1
B-52 older than grandfathers of some kids who fly it. Great airplane but also like a collector’s item with few in number.
Tanker fleet has been flown into the ground. Replacements coming but threatened all the time. Of course, if you don’t have many airplanes to fuel why do you need tankers?
Airlift / transport fleet flown into the ground protecting the world. C-17 is a fine airplane but worked to death
Thanks; that’s way, way, way beyond sobering. I had no idea.
Thanks for the Donley op-eds. After reading, I’ve passed them all on to my USAF and PANG friends.
A statement not based in fact.
that statement is based on the last I read back in about 2009. It was reversed last year, I am shocked and pleased to see.
Still, 186 of these airplanes is only a good start.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheed-to-preserve-f-22-tooling-for-future-use-345519/
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