USAF News and Discussion

ngatimozart said:
Yep I know, but I think that something has to be done to break the duopoly of US combat aircraft manufacturing and reducing the time and costs of fielding new designs. He does have a point about them making heaps on the thru life servicing and SLEP.
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Agreed. Ah well I hope the gamble pays off. It will take a better man than I to make it happen :eek:;)
 
The US fighter duopoly will fight just as the commercial jet duopoly does and US pollies will help LM and Boeing unless they see benefit in killing one off. The consolidation of vendors in all sorts of industries is troubling.
 
Is Northrop not a potential player in this space? I would have thought they had relevant experience and capacity. Surely lessons learnt from B2 and B21 could be applied to PCA, for example.
 
NG is a major subcontractor for the JSF so there is no reason they couldn't be considered for future fighters but the B-21 is probably their major priority now. Gruman's last fighter was the Tomcat but most of the talent that produced it are likely long gone.
 
Fair enough. You'd hope they'd have capacity to look at something like PCA too but B21 might be all they can handle for the foreseeable future (?). Would add some important variety to the mix if they could be brought onboard.
 
The USAF have lost an E-11A in Afghanistan. It went down in Taliban controlled territory with no cause being officially announced, although the Taliban have claimed responsibility for shooting it down. Air Force E-11A aircraft goes down in eastern Afghanistan; US military investigating. The US command in Afghanistan have refused to acknowledge that claim. So far nothing is known about the fate of the crew, but from pictures of the wreck posted on social media, it appears that their probability of survival is possible but slim. Bad weather is hampering rescue / recovery / investigation attempts.
 
ngatimozart said:
The USAF have lost an E-11A in Afghanistan. It went down in Taliban controlled territory with no cause being officially announced, although the Taliban have claimed responsibility for shooting it down. Air Force E-11A aircraft goes down in eastern Afghanistan; US military investigating. The US command in Afghanistan have refused to acknowledge that claim. So far nothing is known about the fate of the crew, but from pictures of the wreck posted on social media, it appears that their probability of survival is possible but slim. Bad weather is hampering rescue / recovery / investigation attempts.
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The crew (2) and black box were recovered. Was announced yesterday.
Locals had respectfully secured the remains, and turned them over to the recovery team when they arrived
 
ngatimozart said:
The USAF is developing a VR training program for the C-130 for maintenance mechanics and technicians. This is to reduce the down time of airworthy C-130 aircraft having to be taken off the line for training purposes. Air Force developing virtual reality C-130 maintenance training program
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Sorry, but can't help but believe that training on the actual items is better. A large part of good maintenance is learning how to see & touch things in cramped/limited space
 
FormerDirtDart said:
Sorry, but can't help but believe that training on the actual items is better. A large part of good maintenance is learning how to see & touch things in cramped/limited space
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Or find (and then extricate) things which have been dropped or come loose in confined spaces. There are times when I will have to access and either install or remove components by feel, as there is just no way to actually see the area I am working with.
 
SOCOM Announces Plans to Buy 75 'Armed Overwatch' Planes via Air Force Magazine
Basically, after more than a decade, SOCOM is no longer waiting on the US Air Force
Good lord, all this started back in like 2007 with the Navy/SOCOM Imminent Fury, followed by USAF Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR), then Combat Dragon II, and OA-X/AT-X. Then the October 2019 USAF announcement to only buy 2 or 3each of the Textron AT-6B and Embraer A-29
What a freaking circus
 
FormerDirtDart said:
SOCOM Announces Plans to Buy 75 'Armed Overwatch' Planes via Air Force Magazine
Basically, after more than a decade, SOCOM is no longer waiting on the US Air Force
Good lord, all this started back in like 2007 with the Navy/SOCOM Imminent Fury, followed by USAF Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance (LAAR), then Combat Dragon II, and OA-X/AT-X. Then the October 2019 USAF announcement to only buy 2 or 3each of the Textron AT-6B and Embraer A-29
What a freaking circus
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Yep, I wouldn't bet the farm on it. I get the impression of a fair amount of politiking within the USAF, USAF vs Congress and within Congress.
 
I note that the USAF is requesting information for modifications to the US Navy’s AARGM-ER programme that would make that weapon suitable for its F-35A. The so-called Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) would “heavily leverage” the Northrop Grumman-manufactured AARGM-ER, according to a request for information posted online on 9 Jan 2020.
John Fedup said:
Perhaps this is an approach the Pentagon should apply to a host of other military requirements to better contain exploding costs for kit.

USAF Research Lab builds an ‘open source’ jet engine in 13 months
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Faster and cheaper is the way to go these days — not just for small turbines in UAVs.

The Compass Call replacement program is also faster and cheaper. Modifications to the first G550 have already began in July 2018 and BAE Systems, which has partnered with L3 Technologies to transition capabilities, says it expects the first two EC-37B with Compass Call to be fielded by 2023, with a total of 10 planned — to replace the aging EC-130H aircraft that has been used since 1981.

According to BAE Systems, the EC-37B is a special-mission Gulfstream G550 business jet that is heavily modified to meet US Air Force requirements and will provide a more modern electronic attack platform thanks to reductions in weight and operating costs, as well as the ability to operate at a higher altitude and at longer ranges. The Compass Call system enables the US Air Force to disrupt enemy command-and-control operations. The system also has enhanced stand-off jamming capability and allows the US Air Force to counter communication and radar threats. Based on a projection of the FY19 defense budget, US$147.2 million will be spent on Compass Call technology development through 2028, and US$436 million will be spent on systems procurement.
 
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