USAF News and Discussion

[ngatimozart]

The USAF is reevaluating how it will position its assets in response to a peer on peer conflict with Russia / China in the asia Pacific. The US Air Force has unconventional plans to win a war in the Asia-Pacific. It's looking at deploying its aircraft in sub units across region with these sub units being dispersed away from main bases to civilian airports and allied and coalition airfields, as well as bare airfields. These dispersed units would be supported by the use of regionally based cluster pre-position kits.

Will be interesting to see how they evolve this.

 

[John Fedup]

The USAF is reevaluating how it will position its assets in response to a peer on peer conflict with Russia / China in the asia Pacific. The US Air Force has unconventional plans to win a war in the Asia-Pacific. It's looking at deploying its aircraft in sub units across region with these sub units being dispersed away from main bases to civilian airports and allied and coalition airfields, as well as bare airfields. These dispersed units would be supported by the use of regionally based cluster pre-position kits.

Will be interesting to see how they evolve this.

Maybe the USAF (and others) should be looking at the F-35B, an asset that can be dispersed better than any other fixed wing aircraft. Airfields will be the first targets for hypersonic missiles.

 

[Valorius]

Since this appears to be the best place to list a USAF question, does anyone know if the USAF GAU-21/A FN M3M .50 cal machine guns have been updated to remove the need for head space and timing reset whenever the barrel is changed, like the Army did with it's M2A1 .50 cal upgrade?

Thanks.

 

[ngatimozart]

A Forbes write up on the Boeing / Saab T-7 Red Hawk. Why Boeing’s T-7 Red Hawk Trainer Is Shaping Up To Be A Breakthrough Success For The U.S. Air Force. It's a quite an interesting concept in that the aircraft will be able to mimic the handling performances of any aircraft in the USAF inventory, which is a great training aid. It's a system of systems training approach.

 

[oldsig127]

A Forbes write up on the Boeing / Saab T-7 Red Hawk. Why Boeing’s T-7 Red Hawk Trainer Is Shaping Up To Be A Breakthrough Success For The U.S. Air Force. It's a quite an interesting concept in that the aircraft will be able to mimic the handling performances of any aircraft in the USAF inventory, which is a great training aid. It's a system of systems training approach.

Author is honest enough to admit that Boeing funds his think tank, and the article certainly gives one something to consider.

Consider this though...the great benefit is that the behavious and performance of the trainer can be changed in software to mimic any aircraft in the US inventory. I wonder if they'll use the same software engineers struggling to get one Boeing commercial aircraft to fly safely? Lucky the software doesn't have to make all of their aircraft fly safely...

oldsig

 

[ngatimozart]

Boeing has revived its T3 - Triple Target Terminator concept missile for the Air Warfare symposium in Florida, USA Boeing Revives T3 Missile Concept For Trade Show Display | Aviation Week Network. The USAF is seeking new advances in AAM so Boeing has taken it's concept model out of storage and placed it in a very prominent position at its trade stand.

Lockheed Martin expected to reach the critical design review for the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) on Thursday Design Milestone Reached For Air-Launched Hypersonic Missile | Aviation Week Network. Apparently the ARRW program is moving quite fast and is different to normal development programs,with the sequencing being different.

 

[Ranger25]

Interesting concept from General Atomics. Art of a new “defender” drone to operate as a loyal wingman and defender to the lumbering USAF assets like tankers, C3I assets etc. Drone would function as an local defender inner anti air screen to protect assists. Given the development of the J20 the DEfender may make some good sense

General Atomics Wants To Give Aerial Tankers Their Own Missile-Laden Loyal Wingmen Drones

The "Defender" concept is a potentially promising way to address the increasing vulnerability of Air Force tankers and other lumbering support planes.

www.thedrive.com

 

[John Fedup]

Very interesting concept and perhaps something Boeing should have been offering as they are renewing both USN and USAF tanker capability but given their current difficulties, I guess it is more than they can handle at the moment.

 

[Ranger25]

I believe this represents a new leap forward in air to air combat initially with manned aircraft operating their own ‘loyal wingman’ drone and as the technology advances and matures drones operating with a ‘man in the loop’ piloting the vehicle similarly to the Reaper fleet and eventually more independent as AI advances.

The concept also will add more nodes to the combat cloud and could provide more persistent anti air screening

the USAF is also advancing work on a low cost attrittable Air to Air drone based on the Kratos aerial target drone called the Valkyrie Program

US Air Force looks to fast track cash to Kratos Defense for more Valkyrie drones

The Air Force is taking a growing interest in "Loyal Wingman"-type unmanned systems that are cheap enough to be discarded when shot down.

www.defensenews.com

 

[ngatimozart]

Boeing are still having problems with the KC-46 boom remote vision system and the fix is now a year behind the fix schedule A fix for the KC-46 is already a year late. The Senate Armed Service Committee are getting stuck into the SECAF and USAFCOS about the continual delays Goldfein to SASC: Boeing KC-46 Still Faces ‘Profound Problems;’ Would Only Fly In War. This is a continual drama and it's now 4 years before the USAF may be able to fully field the capability. not good at all when the KC-135s etc., are very close to, or have reached their use by dates.

 

[John Fedup]

Don’t have the link anymore but Israel is buying KC-46s. Without generous US financial support, I suspect the Israeli airforce would prefer MRTT330s.

 

[ngatimozart]

Don’t have the link anymore but Israel is buying KC-46s. Without generous US financial support, I suspect the Israeli airforce would prefer MRTT330s.

The DSCA notification: Israel – KC-46A Aerial Refueling Aircraft | The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency

Transmittal No: ​

20-12​

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2020 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Israel of up to eight (8) KC-46 aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.4 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.​

The Government of Israel has requested to buy up to eight (8) KC-46 aircraft; up to seventeen (17) PW4062 turbofan engines (16 installed, 1 spare); and up to eighteen (18) MAGR 2K-GPS SAASM receivers (16 installed, 2 spares). Also included are AN/ARC-210 U/VHF radios, APX-119 Identification Friend or Foe transponders, initial spares and repair parts, consumables, support equipment, technical data, engineering change proposals, publications, Field Service Representatives (FSRs), repair and return, depot maintenance, training and training equipment, contractor technical and logistics personnel services, U.S. Government and contractor representative support, Group A and B installation for subsystems, flight test and certification, other related elements of logistics support and training. The total estimated program cost is $2.4 billion.​

The rest of the notification you can read at the link.

You are right, Israel is planning to use US military aid funding to pay for the acquisition US State Department approves $2.4B sale of KC-46 aircraft to Israel. The Defense News story cites Israeli news sources.

 

[John Fedup]

Some additional information on how the XQ-58A Valkyrie could compliment the F-35 and in some instances be a better tool. If the cost numbers are right and it can perform at the ranges stated, it seems to be a very promising system.

F-35 v Valkyrie: range, payload, cost and survivability

Relatively inexpensive unmanned systems have advantages which may put them on the front line when the USA squares up against China in the western Pacific

www.flightglobal.com

 

[John Fedup]

This link discusses a US lawmaker’s idea to put the squeeze on Boeing to perform better on the KC-46 program. I think a better way would be to award Airbus a few MRTT orders! Would be a better replacement for the KC-10 tankers and would be a mega message to Boeing.

Lawmaker floats Boeing squeeze play for troubled KC-46

House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Wittman, R-Va., said the Air Force should pressure Boeing by accepting only the minimum number of tankers.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Ranger25]

Great article and furthers the point as the a future direction of Air warfare can take. Initially man/unmanned pairing and as AI advances fleets of Valkyrie like airframes could overwhelm defenses while keeping pilots out of the fray.

I like the statistics they use



Each F-35 had a projected service life of 8,000h at $44,000 per flight hour in fiscal year 2018, dropping to $34,000 by FY2024. Thus the lifetime cost for purchasing and operating an F-35A is between $352 million (if it meets cost reduction goals) and $432 million. In contrast, Kratos has offered to sell the Valkyrie for $2 million per aircraft in lots of 100. And since it is autonomous, each Valkyrie does not require flight hours every month to keep pilots proficient.

Besides, this does not include the tremendous savings the autonomous Valkyrie gains from eliminating the personnel costs associated with the pilot, much of the maintenance team and the airfield. Nor does it include the personnel training pipeline costs for these specialities – or their retirement and healthcare costs.

The USA could probably buy well over 300 X-58As for the fully loaded cost of one F-35. In short, four Valkyries can deliver the same payload to over twice the range for about one-fortieth of the lifetime costs of an F-35A. And because of their range, Valkyries can strike many targets the F-35 simply cannot reach.


more on low cost Attritable UAVs

5 technologies needed to make attritable UAVs work

Aircraft developers believe these five pieces of technology need to be improved to make attritable aircraft work.

www.flightglobal.com

 

[John Fedup]

Absolutely, this is a game changer if everything is correct. I guess the downstroke is China’s ability to get into this field as well, lots of software developers and engineers working for less money for a government that can pretty much do want they want.

 

[swerve]

Don’t have the link anymore but Israel is buying KC-46s. Without generous US financial support, I suspect the Israeli airforce would prefer MRTT330s.

The Israelis make AAR kit & can convert aircraft to tankers. If they didn't have all that US money they have to spend on US kit, I think they'd probably prefer to buy secondhand 767s or A330s & fit their own booms & hoses. The 767 would be easier, since they've already done a few 767 conversions for Colombia & Brazil, & I suspect the availability & price of suitable airframes for conversion would be taken into account as well as the performance of the aircraft.

Israeli conversions of used 767s seem to be significantly cheaper than new A330 MRTTs from Airbus, & I think that swung the Colombians & Brazilians. Sales of A330 MRTT suggest that unbiased air forces think it's better, but I'm sure either makes a perfectly good tanker. Once the development problems were overcome & they got their KC-767s the Italians & Japanese seemed content with them.

P.S. There were reports a couple of years ago that Boeing was blocking the Israelis from converting 767s for the IAF, presumably because it wanted to sell KC-46. That's another possible factor. It could be that Boeing is happy to see the Israelis sell tankers in ones or twos to countries that might not buy full price KC-46s, but draws the line at a deal the size of the IAF requirement.
Boeing Reportedly Blocks Offer Of Used 767s For Israeli Air Force Tanker Competition

 

[Ranger25]

Details on the IDF KC46 deal here.

Intereating to note they are looking for expedited delivery from Boeing

Sale Of KC-46 Tanker To Israel Approved While New Delays For Key Fixes Revealed

The US Air Force says it won't use the tankers for aerial refueling, except in an emergency, until critical fixes are completed years down the road.

www.thedrive.com

 

[John Fedup]

More bad news on the KC-46. If Senator McCain were still alive, IMO, Boeing management would be soiling their pants. Time to throw some business to the MRTT program.

The Air Force's Troubled Boeing KC-46 Tankers Leak Fuel Excessively

The announcement comes weeks after the Air Force said it would not use the aircraft for aerial refueling missions except in a major emergency.

www.thedrive.com

 

[swerve]

Details on the IDF KC46 deal here.

Intereating to note they are looking for expedited delivery from Boeing

Sale Of KC-46 Tanker To Israel Approved While New Delays For Key Fixes Revealed

The US Air Force says it won't use the tankers for aerial refueling, except in an emergency, until critical fixes are completed years down the road.

www.thedrive.com

Their old 707s are probably on their last legs, so they need tankers NOW, & if the stories I've read are correct they can't do what they've done for Colombia & Brazil & convert some 767s themselves (their preferred option AFAIK, because cheapest & reliable), because Boeing refuses to provide any support for the airframes.