US Air Force F 35A and F 16s Fighters Formation Flight

Boeing Flies Production Configuration AH-6i Light Helicopter for the 1st Time

Photo: Boeing

Boeing's AH-6i light attack/reconnaissance helicopter has flown for the first time in its production configuration, moving the program another step closer to full-scale production while continuing to prove the helicopter's close air support and attack capabilities. Boeing pilots flew the aircraft for less than 20-minutes at low speeds in forward, rearward and sideward flight at low elevations during a recent test. Future tests will expand the flight envelope over the next several months.

"This first AH-6 flight in the production configuration takes us closer to delivering an advanced light attack and reconnaissance helicopter that meets the needs of defense forces around the world," said Boeing AH-6 Program Director Scott Rudy.The AH-6i is a single-turbine helicopter that is based on the combat-proven OH-6A Cayuse. It is an advanced variant of the AH-6M helicopter operated by the U.S. Army Special Operations Forces. It incorporates advanced technologies from the Boeing AH-64E Apache multirole attack helicopter that give it superior performance over other aircraft in its class.
The helicopter is intended to provide close-air support for land-based forces and serve as an attack platform for destroying tanks, armored vehicles and fortifications.


http://boeing.mediaroom.com/Boeing-Flies-Production-Configuration-AH-6i-Light-Helicopter-for-the-1st-Time

Contractors Continue Flying CEASAR SIGINT Aircraft in Afghanistan

A US Army-operated C-12 CEASAR aircraft. Three such platforms will continue to operate over Afghanistan through to at least April 2015. Source: US Army

The US Army has awarded Dynamic Aviation Group Inc a USD22.4 million contract in support of the Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance And Reconnaissance (CEASAR) programme, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced in late April.

The contract covers the continued operations, sustainment, and integration of three Beechcraft King Air A200CT communications electronic attack (EA), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, currently deployed in support of Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ in Afghanistan.

The CEASAR system mounted in these contractor-owned and government-operated (COGO) aircraft is based on the Raytheon AN/ALQ-227 EA system as fitted to the US Navy’s (USN’s) Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic warfare (EW) aircraft. It is designed to provide both a communications jamming and an intercept/monitoring capability, and is capable of accommodating new signals intelligence receivers to meet emerging requirements. It is suitable for both manned and unmanned aerial vehicle applications. While the CEASAR aircraft were known to have an EA capability, they were not previously known to be fielded for ISR duties.

According to the DoD, the contract is set to run through to 30 April 2015. Although international combat operations in Afghanistan are set to conclude at the end of 2014, the DoD has identified four key high-end capability gaps for the country’s national security forces that will need to be bridged after the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission ends on 30 December. These are air support; intelligence enterprise; special operations; and Afghan security ministry capacity. “International funding and coalition force assistance will be critical to sustaining the [Afghan security] force going forward,” the DoD said in a statement released on 30 April. The CEASAR programme would appear to be one of those capabilities that will continue.

Based out of Virginia, Dynamic Aviation Group Inc is a provider of a range of ISR solutions for the DoD. The company’s fleet comprises King Airs and Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft. Although the CEASAR aircraft are owned by Dynamic Avlease Inc (a member of Dynamic Aviation Group Inc), as COGO assets they are operated by the US Army under the general C-12 Huron designation.

The war in Afghanistan has seen a proliferation of special mission King Air aircraft, known colloquially as ‘funnies’, and there are now believed to be approximately 25 different versions of such funnies flying today. These include the Beechcraft C-12 Highlighter (full-motion video), C-12 Horned Owl (electro-optical and ground-penetrating radar), C-12R Aerial Reconnaissance Multi-Sensor (ARMS), King Air 350ER TACOP-LIDAR (tactical operations-laser imaging detecting and ranging), King Air 200T Desert Owl (ground-penetrating radar), and the King Air 350 Constant Hawk-Afghanistan (persistent wide-area surveillance for counter-IED operations).

IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly

Predator UAV Assembly and missions

U.S. F-15Cs performing Baltics Air Policing were scrambled on Monday to intercept a Russian Il-20.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

According to the Latvia’s Military, the U.S. Air Force F-15C deployed to Šiauliai, Lithuania, to provide Air Policing in the Baltics region, intercepted an Il-20 spyplane.Russian Air Force missions in the area often requires NATO jet fighters to perform Alert Scrambles, to intercept Il-20 spyplanes, Tu-22M Backfire bombers and Su-27 fighter jets. Such close encounters have become a bit more frequent since Russian invasion of Crimea and subsequent international crisis over Ukraine.

On Feb. 24, two F-15Cs taking part to a flyby in Estonia were diverted to intercept a Russian plane before overflying the city of Pärnu.On Apr. 25, two Tu-95H bombers were intercepted by RAF Typhoons, Dutch and Danish F-16s during a long range patrol around UK.

US drone crashes in Kunar

A US pilotless craft had crashed in eastern Kunar province, where the Taliban claimed their fighters had shot down the drone which destroyed into pieces, an official said Saturday.

The unmanned air-vehicle crashed in Shigal district of the province, where Chief Abdul Zahir said it had divided into pieces after crashing.A Hezb-e-Islami Hekmatyar (HIH) party spokesman, Zubair Seddiqi had claimed that their armed men had shot the aircraft down.
But, an eyewitness and area resident, Ruhollah said the drone had crashed in a remote area of the district, with the motive behind still unclear.

24 U.S. Apache attack helicopters perform drills in South Korea

Warning to Kim Jong Un.

Northrop Grumman Completes Preliminary Design Review for B-2 Bomber Software Upgrade

Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully completed a major U.S. Air Force review of a new software upgrade for the B-2 stealth bomber.The upgrade is part of the Air Force's Flexible Strike Phase 1 program. It is the first step in a process that will help increase the jet's mission capabilities and reduce its maintenance costs.

Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the B-2, the flagship of the nation's long range strike arsenal and one of the most survivable aircraft in the world."We're simplifying the software used by the B-2 to manage its weapons," explained Dave Mazur, vice president and B-2 program manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Today we have several standalone programs that each manage a specific type of mission. We're replacing that software with a single program that can manage all of those mission types."

The result, Mazur added, will be a more reliable, more affordable way to maintain the bomber's mission readiness.The preliminary design review (PDR) is the company's opportunity to show the Air Force that it understands the required interactions between the aircraft and its weapon systems, and that the new software will manage those interactions correctly. PDR was conducted Feb. 26-27 at Northrop Grumman's B-2 facility in Oklahoma City.

For the Flexible Strike Phase 1 program, the company plans to replace multiple operational flight programs (OFP) – embedded software that allows the B-2 to communicate accurately with the equipment that holds and dispenses its weapons – with a single OFP. The upgrade is expected to improve B-2 mission effectiveness.

The Flexible Strike program is the first B-2 modernization effort to take advantage of the enhanced communications infrastructure Northrop Grumman created for the first increment of the B-2 EHF satellite communications program. Those improvements included faster processors, a fiber optic network and increased onboard data storage, all of which help the bomber manage more information at higher speeds.

The B-2 is the only long-range, large-payload U.S. aircraft that can penetrate deeply into access-denied airspace, and the only combat-proven stealth platform in the current U.S. inventory. It can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling, giving it the ability to reach any point on the globe within hours.

US Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron Participates in Exercise Max Thunder

The U.S. Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 “Scorpions” participated in Exercise Max Thunder, a bilateral aerial training exercise for U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) military aircrews and maintainers April 23 at Gwangju Air Base.

Exercise Max Thunder is conducted annually to enhance bilateral air-combat capabilities that increase operational readiness and strengthen the U.S. and ROK alliance. The inaugural addition of the EA-18G Growler from VAQ-132 represented a historic first for Max Thunder, an exercise conducted primarily with U.S. and ROK Air Force assets.

Aircrews from VAQ-132 flew 60 sorties during Max Thunder, operating with their U.S. and ROK Air Force counterparts. Exercise missions were comprised of flight formations, air warfare drills and tactical maneuvers.VAQ-132 is currently on a routine deployment in support of U.S. Seventh Fleet operations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The squadron is homeported at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Wash. Exercise Max Thunder is part of a continuous exercise program to enhance interoperability between U.S. and ROK forces and is not tied to any real-world or specific threats. These exercises highlight the longstanding military partnership, commitment, and enduring friendship between the two nations, help ensure peace and security on the Korean peninsula, and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to stability in Asia.

US Airforce C 130J Hercules

Photo http://www.af.mil/

First-of-its-kind U.S Secret - National Reconnaissance Office - Spy Satellite Ready for Launch

Read more on the story:

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2014/04/10/atlas-v-secret-satellite-poised-launch/7535037/

U.S. Air Force is testing Google Glass & building apps for battlefield use

Above: Airforce test dummy wearing Google Glass

Image Credit: U.S. Airforce

The U.S. Air Force’s “BATMAN” research team at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is beta-testing Google Glass for possible use on the battlefield.And so far, it likes what it sees.

The positive attributes “are its low power, its low footprint, it sits totally above the eyes, and doesn’t block images or hinder vision,” said 2nd Lt. Anthony Eastin, a behavioral scientist on the BATMAN team testing the glasses.The BATMAN evaluation group is part of the U.S. Air Force’s 711th Human Performance Wing and is one of the military’s most distinguished research and development groups. It comprises both military and civilian behavioral and technology scientists. The BATMAN acronym stands for Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided (K)nowledge.


Read more:
http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/08/u-s-air-force-is-testing-google-glass-building-apps-for-battlefield-use-exclusive/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

F-15 Alert Scramble - Šiauliai Lithuania

Courtesy Video NATO Channel Produced by Luca Fazzuoli

NATO Channel films US F-15C pilots "scrambling" for action at the Baltic Regional Training Event held at Šiauliai, Lithuania, on 1 April. This exercise tests NATO and partner nations' interoperability in the air. Footage includes US pilots based in Šiauliai, Lithuania.



US pilots based in Šiauliai, Lithuania provide Air Policing in the Baltics region, where Russian Air Force strategic bombers presence often requires NATO jet fighters to perform Alert Scrambles, to intercept Il-20 spyplanes, Tu-22M Backfire bombers and Su-27 fighter jets.

Northrop Grumman Flies First Production Smart Node Pod

Smartnode Pod on Firebird UAV

Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed a series of flight tests demonstrating the first production Smart Node Pod for the U.S. Air Force.

Smart Node Pod is an aircraft-mounted airborne communications system that allows real-time information to be exchanged among many disparate military and commercial radios and different datalinks, extends the network to the forward edge of the battlefield and relays full-motion video.

Northrop Grumman conducted five flights to certify performance characteristics in February in Virginia Beach, Va. During the flights, the Smart Node Pod demonstrated the ability to transmit full-motion video, imagery, voice and digital messages between warfighters both in the air and on the ground via various waveforms and datalinks and its interoperability with the proprietary and open source forward tactical handheld devices.

The company is under contract to produce Smart Node Pod systems for the Air Force, with deliveries scheduled through mid-summer of this year. Two different pod designs – a single-pod and a multipod architecture – are in production."This proven, reliable technology gives an extremely capable but lightweight communications, situational awareness, and command and control capability that can be readily mounted on many different military aircraft and controlled by the deployed commander," said Jeannie Hilger, vice president, Network Communication Systems, Northrop Grumman Information Systems.

Hilger said the pod can connect to the high-altitude Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) platforms, ground operational centers or other pods for beyond-line-of sight connectivity and provides access to high level intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data and command and control information. "In this manner, Smart Node Pod has the capability to augment BACN in its anchor role as the persistent high altitude gateway of the Joint Aerial Layer Network (JALN) by providing connectivity at the lower tier. Working in unison, Smart Node Pod and BACN have the potential to expand warfighter benefits by building out a multitiered JALN architecture and providing network connectivity across the battlespace."

Smart Node Pod is based on BACN technology Northrop Grumman developed for the Air Force.

Pentagon to Test Hypersonic Missile in August

Lt. Gen. David L. Mann, commander, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command announced that US will conduct the second test of one of its hypersonic missiles in August.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AWH) is part of the U.S. military’s conventional prompt global strike (CPGS) program, which aims to give Washington the ability to strike any target on earth with a conventional warhead with a speed of Mach 5 or about 3,600 mph within an hour’s time.

The AWH was first tested back in November 2011. It was launched at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii and traveled about 2,500 miles in about a half hour before reaching its target at the Reagan Test Site, U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

At the time of the test back in 2011, the Pentagon said: “A three-stage booster system launched the AHW glide vehicle and successfully deployed it on the desired flight trajectory. The vehicle flew a non-ballistic glide trajectory at hypersonic speed to the planned impact location at the Reagan Test Site. Space, air, sea, and ground platforms collected vehicle performance data during all phases of flight.”

The AWH missile would be an integral part of the U.S. military’s efforts to overcome China’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy, given its ability to operate at far distances, penetrate contested environments and strike with precision. However, the U.S. also has to contend with Chinese and Russian programs to develop hypersonic missiles.

NATO and Swedish Fighter Jets train together over the Baltic Sea

Two U.S. fighter jets under NATO command were scrambled from the Siauliai air base in Lithuania Tuesday (1 April 2014) to exercise with two Swedish Gripen fighter aircraft over the Baltic Sea, in a training event designed to improve coordination and emergency procedures.

The Baltic Regional Training event is conducted several times a year. The exercises bring fighter jets from NATO countries together with the air forces of Sweden and Finland, which are longstanding partners of the Alliance.  Search & Rescue and air combat training are included in the two-day event, which is designed to enhance the ability of fighter jets from NATO countries and regional partners to operate with each other effectively.

For the past ten years, air forces across NATO member states have patrolled the skies over the Baltic Allies - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - on a rotational basis, as the three Allies do not have fighter aircraft of their own. NATO’s air-policing mission protects the safety and integrity of Alliance airspace on a 24/7 basis.
The United States is currently responsible for policing Baltic airspace, from January to April 2014. For US Air Force Captain Tyler Clark, the chance to work with the Swedish air force is an important part of his mission.  “Today’s scramble had us training with the Swedish Air Force to assist an aircraft which was simulating a loss of all communications, this kind of training is invaluable,” he said.  “NATO’s airspace borders that of Sweden and Finland and we have to work together to ensure safety of all our airways.”

NATO normally has four to six fighter jets deployed for the air-policing rotations. In light of the current crisis in Ukraine, the United States has reinforced the air-policing mission with additional aircraft. Many European Allies have also offered additional planes to the mission.

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_108492.htm

Space plane X-37B sets new endurance record

The X-37B, a secretive space plane developed by the defense Department, has shattered the space flight endurance record for these vehicle designs.

The Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) mission is the third long-endurance trip to space. The launch, payload, and data collected by the space plane are highly-classified.

An X-37B was launched on 11 December 2012, and remains in space. On 26 March, the craft surpassed the endurance record of 469 days, set by the same model of space plane on a previous mission.

Read more:
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/4931/20140330/space-plane-x-37b-breaks-endurance-record.htm

USAF’s third AEHF satellite begins transmitting

he US Air Force (USAF) has successfully shipped the third advanced extremely high frequency (AEHF) communication satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, US.
Delivered in collaboration with AEHF prime contractor Lockheed Martin aboard a C-5 Galaxy aircraft, the satellite will now undergo final launch preparations, including encapsulation in the rocket's payload fairing, and transport to CCAFS's Launch Complex 41 for integration with the launch vehicle in the next several months.

The satellite is scheduled to be launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle in September 2013.
A follow-on to USAF's Milstar system, AEHF is the next generation of protected military satellite communications system designed to provide enhanced global, survivable, protected communications for the US warfighters and its allied militaries, including the UK, Canada and Netherlands.

apable of operating at 44GHz uplink and 20GHz downlink, the satellites can transmit communications to and from users using an array of narrow spot beams directed towards the Earth, and feature phased array antennas that can block out potential jamming sources.
Besides a contract for production and delivery of four AEHF satellites along with mission control segment, Lockheed also secured a $1.9bn contract for the development and delivery of the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites in January this year.

The initial two AEHF satellites were successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US, in August 2010 and May 2012 respectively.

Led by Lockheed, the AEHF team includes the US Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate, which is a part of the USAFs Space and Missile Systems Center, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems as satellites' communications payloads provider.

DARPA taps Boeing to build satellite-launching aircraft

Many satellites may no longer require expensive booster rockets in order to be launched into space if the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is successful in its plan to launch satellites from aircraft.

DARPA recently awarded a contract potentially worth $104 million to Boeing to build and demonstrate a low-cost airborne launching system for small satellites in support of the Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (ALASA) program. The announcement was made in a posting on the Federal Business Opportunities website.

The goal of the ALASA program is to develop a significantly cheaper alternative for the routine launching of small satellites, and is aimed at reducing the cost to a third of a conventional satellite launch. A single small satellite payload can cost upwards of $30,000 per pound to launch into space, and often takes up payload space in multi-payload launchers.

The program centers on the use of aircraft-based launches to improve performance, reduce range costs and allow more frequent missions. By using aircraft, satellite launches would no longer require wait times for launch windows, and would also be resilient to hazards associated with fixed launch sites. Additionally, satellites could be launched from any commercial, international runway, reducing preparation times and providing launch point offset – that is, launch direction limits imposed by geography at fixed-base launch facilities would no longer be an issue.

The program seeks to launch 100-pound satellites for less than $1 million total, under the assumption of a total of 36 launches. Boeing will eventually have to demonstrate 12 independent launches of 100 pound payloads into low-Earth-orbit.

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/TTO/Programs/Airborne_Launch_Assist_Space_Access_%28ALASA%29.aspx

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=82f80a28949a88bbbd04dd18717b4ca9&tab=core&_cview=1

Global Hawk to deploy to Japan for first time

USAF plans to remove sensors from U-2 spy planes and fit them on Global Hawks to meet Budget sequestration.

Wikipedia


Two Global Hawks, currently stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, will deploy to Misawa Air Base, Japan, from May to October, along with about 40 personnel, according to Pacific Air Forces.The Global Hawk already has experience flying over Japan. It was used to assist Japan in disaster relief and recovery following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The aircraft also assisted in the humanitarian response to last year’s tsunami in the Philippines.

Japanese ships in the past few years have encountered Russian and Chinese air and naval forces in international waters in the South China Sea. The deployment comes as the Air Force has switched its position from pushing to retire the Global Hawk fleet to now retiring the U-2. The Air Force said recent budget numbers have shown that the Global Hawk has dropped its price per flying hour to the point that it would be a better investment to keep the drone flying.