With last week’s announcement that Boeing has won the latest round of the KC-X tanker contract – the Air Force may finally be on its way to replacing the aging and overworked KC-135 fleet.

This contract has been up for debate for almost 10 years, when Boeing originally proposed to lease new 767-based tankers to the Air Force at what would be a dramatic markup over buying the aircraft outright. When the Congressional outrage and indictments died down, the Air Force had to start over, and the competition was between Boeing (US) and Airbus (Europe).

The original contract was awarded to a partnership of Northrup-Grumman and Airbus in 2008, but Boeing challenged that award and the GAO forced the bidding to be restarted in 2009.

Airbus said all of the right things. Their plan was to build their existing A330 Multi Role Tanker at a new plant outside of Mobile, AL. They were already building this same aircraft for Australia (even though there have been some hiccups in the testing – notably part of the refueling boom falling off during testing in Europe). But when the decision was announced, it turned out that Boeing had beat Airbus’ price by 10%. Which in today’s tough economic times, may have been the only thing considered.

The Air Force – in an attempt to derail any possible challenges to this latest ruling, spent an extra day debriefing Airbus on why the decision went the way it did. And so on Saturday, the word has come out that EADS (Airbus parent company) will not challenge the latest result in this contract battle.

[It should be noted, that the Boeing offering changed from what had originally been proposed back in 2001/2002, so the prototype that Boeing modified - dubbed the Frankentanker - will not be resurrected for use under the latest contract award]

It is always fun to see what stories are published on a slow summer Friday – that fly completely under the radar.

Take for example this story published by The Times on Saturday – that claims the Israeli’s have Saudi permission to overfly Saudi airspace on the way to attack Iran.

The fact that the story appears no where else – makes you wonder if it was just an early ‘test leak’ to gauge public opinion, or else just put pressure on the Iranian government to comply w/ UN Arms control directives.

As fewer and fewer World War 2 era airplanes are still flying – it is good to see that some ‘newer’ planes are being restored and flown on a regular basis (more than just at airshows).

This Mig is owned by a pilot in the Tucson (AZ) area and was leaving an area airport (where the Collings Foundation was visiting w/ their B-17, B-24 and P-51) under full afterburner.

(to see the other pictures of its departure – click here)

I quickly walked through the hangers and around the grounds, keeping half an eye on the air over Davis-Monthan across the street (so I wouldn’t miss too much of the Heritage flights.

If it was something that had changed since January 2009, the new picture appears on the left – and the old picture on the right. If it was something brand new, there will only be a single picture on the left. Click on any picture to go to my Flickr account for more detail on these and other pictures of these aircraft. The Lockheed YO-3 Quiet Star has moved out of Restoration and is now hanging from the ceiling near the Blackbird. It seems to be naturally camouflaged against the ceiling.

It was almost ready to go on display when I last saw it in Restoration. And also the Snow cropduster is done – parked out on the grounds w/ the cockpit sealed up. NEW – A German Kreigsmarine (Naval Strike) Tornado IDS has been put out on display;   NEW – The Restoration area has seen some new arrivals as well. A Mig-23 Flogger is waiting outside to be reassembled and put on display;   NEW – As well as a MH-53 Pave Low (combat rescue helicopter).   I have to get down to Tucson more often. Maybe this fall once work eases off. ]]> http://www.threataxis.us/2010/04/11/quick-pima-update/feed/ 0 http://www.threataxis.us/2010/03/30/us-navy-leap-frogs-parachute-demo-team/ http://www.threataxis.us/2010/03/30/us-navy-leap-frogs-parachute-demo-team/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:30:16 +0000 Threat Watcher http://www.threataxis.us/2010/03/30/us-navy-leap-frogs-parachute-demo-team/

Leap-Frogs-6432

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

While the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels are two of the best known Military demonstration teams, there are others teams that travel the country and show off their skills as well.

During this past weekend – the US Navy Leap Frogs parachute demonstration team jumped into selected Major League Baseball Spring Training games in the Phoenix Metro area.

The Leap Frogs are made up of SEAL’s and other Naval Special Warfare operators, and this is just another assignment/normal tour of duty.

Click here to view selected pictures from their demonstration at the Cleveland Indians game in Goodyear, AZ.

Douglas AIR-2 Genie

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

a. Douglas AIR-2 Genie (its an unguided rocket, not a missile)
b. Air to Air, designed to shoot down incoming bomber formations
c. 1.5 kiloton nuclear warhead (how else were you expecting one rocket to take out multiple bombers)

The blue body denotes an inert/training body.

Early each Spring – the US Air Force demo teams gather at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ to plan out how the flights will be flown, then rehearsal their routines and to actually practice the Heritage Flight formations. Heritage Flights are where front line Air Force fighters (F-15, F-16, F-22 and A-10′s) will fly formation with historic aircraft (P-51 Mustangs, P-40 Warhawk, A-1 Skyraider, F-4 Phantom).

The advantage to being at this event – is you get to see more than just one Heritage Flight formation.  I saw a P-51 Mustang, flying with two F-4 Phantom’s, and a F-16 Viper.  And then later on – it was a P-51, a F-4, a F-16 and a F-22 Raptor.

All of the pictures are available through the link to the Slideshow below.

I love wandering the aircraft museum’s to see where some curator has stashed a hidden gem. Walking along the rows of fighters on Saturday morning – I came across this one sitting on its trailer – already to be mounted to an aircraft.

Can you tell me;

a) Name/Designation?
b) What was it used for?
c) What was its payload/warhead?

I *think* I saw one of these yesterday afternoon.

I was waiting to board my return flight to Phoenix at Orlando (MCO), and I thought I saw one of these parked on the cargo ramp (the satcom hump on the top of the fuselage is the giveaway). Since boarding was about to start – and it was a full flight – I didn’t stop and get my camera out to snap even a crappy picture of it.

I actually had a window seat – so once I got seated I got my camera out and waiting for the plane to push back. Once we did – and I got a view of the cargo ramp – it was gone.

Let me explain a little about the E-6 Mercury. This is considered a strategic asset – in that it is responsible for relaying orders to the US Ballistic Missile Submarine fleet. Even though it is Boeing 707 airframe – it has a modern glass cockpit from the 737 next generation, and was only delivered to the Navy between 1989 and 1992.

There are 16 of these aircraft total – and at least one (and more likely two) are airborne at any time. So if you happen to see one of these outside of Offutt Air Force Base (in NE), stop what you are doing and take a picture of it.

In the video below, a timecode that could be used to evaluate how long the laser was on target before its destruction – is noticeably missing.

The Airborne Laser is a chemically charged laser mounted in a modified Boeing 747-400 Freighter. This was originally planned to go into Operational use, but due to cost and schedule overruns, (Defense) Secretary Gates decided last year to downgrade the project to a R&D project. Whether this successful test will change the Pentagon’s plans for this system – has yet to be seen.

It is unknown how long this test has been planned, but what is interesting is that the results of this test were publicized, while another successful test earlier this month was not (last sentence in press release). It is possible that publicizing this test was meant to show an uncooperative Middle East state that continued nuclear enrichment is not a good idea.

I have been trying for it seems weeks to write a post to do this picture (and the Blackbird) justice, but I just haven’t had the time.

The picture dates from 1990 just after the Air Force had decided to retire the Blackbird from active service.

The current Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine included this same picture in their article about Lockheed’s famed designer Kelly Johnson where they also discussed the development of the Blackbird (but if you are a fan of the Blackbird, then you know that lots of books have already been written about its development and past glories).

Northrup B-2 Stealth Bomber

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

I came across two articles on-line from the week before last this morning. Both were written by a British journalist who got permission to visit Whiteman AFB – the home of the B-2 ‘Spirit’ Stealth Bomber.

Here is the article that got published – Daily Mail [http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1241116/Britains-new-bomber-command-The-2bn-aircraft-aiming-world-peace.html] and the overflow material that was published in the journalist’s blog [http://www.angusbatey.com/index.html?id=578&category=blog].

Both articles are worth reading. One of the highlights of the Daily Mail article was the too small picture of the cockpit (which basically looks like the glass cockpit in any modern airliner). The 2nd story was a closer look at the people who are involved with the B-2, including two RAF exchange pilots (one who is just joining the squadron, and one about to rotate out – and the justification for allowing a British journalist to come onto the base).

Northrup Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

Several interesting stories have been published in the last week about UAV’s (Unmanned Air Vehicles).

MSN/New York Times – Military is deluged in intelligence from drones Duh – I think the NSA has suffered from this for years.

AviationWeek/Ares – Caught on Film: UCAS Taxi Test (UCAS is Northrup-Grumman’s X-47 which is being designed to work from the Navy’s Carrier’s)

Combat Aircraft/MilitaryPhotos.net – RQ-170 Clear Daylight Photo (the RQ-170 is the UAV that was nicknamed ‘the Beast of Khandhar’)

If all of this doesn’t show that we are inevitably moving towards the an unmanned air force – I don’t know what will.

We were allowed access to the LSO shack area – right on the edge of the runway (not your normal distant airport vantage point).

The slideshow link below goes to the highlights of the trip. Mainly F/A-18 Hornets (from the East and West Coast Fleet Replacement squadron’s) practicing air to ground on the ranges, but also some T-45 Goshawk’s practicing their landings.

[There were no incidents (i.e. we didn't do anything we shouldn't) so maybe they will let us go back again in the future]

IDFAF F15-I Ra’am in interception mode.

Originally uploaded by NGPhoto.biz

A little over two years ago – Israeli jets destroyed a suspicious complex in eastern Syria, that was thought to have ties to a possible nuclear weapons program.

With all of the attention on Iran’s nuclear program – the details of this raid are still few and far between (unlike the Israeli 1981 raid on Iraq’s nuclear reactor).

The German magazine “Der Spiegel” published an article earlier this week attempting to pull together more of the details on the raid, as well as the aftermath. At first glance – it appears to be worth the time to read it.

Wing Commander’s F-16 Falcon

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

Big news out of Washington at the end of last week – at least as far as Arizona is concerned. Luke AFB made the first cut – and is still in the running to be considered as the primary training base for the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter).

Bases listed in the announcement;

Training bases

• Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, AZ
• Tucson Intl Airport Air Guard Station, Tucson, AZ
• Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, ID
• Eglin Air Force Base, FL
• Holloman Air Force Base, NM

Operational bases

• Mountain Home Air Force Base, ID
• Hill Air Force Base, UT
• Burlington Intl Airport Air Guard Station, VT
• Jacksonville Intl Airport Air Guard Station, FL
• Shaw Air Force Base, SC
• McEntire Air Guard Base, SC

Why does this matter so much to Arizona? Well – Luke is dedicated to the US Air Force’s F-16 training program, and the F-16 will start phasing out of the inventory when the F-35 starts coming in. The presence of Luke has been estimated to inject TWO BILLION dollars into the Arizona economy and is considered recession proof.

While most of the local Arizona governments are supporting getting the F-35 training role assigned to Luke, one West Valley city is still sitting on the fence. The City of El Mirage has asked that an environmental impact study to be conducted – including flying actual aircraft in and out of the base to see how much noise the planes will generate (since early studies have shown that the F-35 will be noisier than the F-16′s).

Time will tell.

General Atomics MQ-1 Predator

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

According to the BBC – the Somali Islamist’s have shot down a US drone of the Somali coast.

And this is exactly why a drone is supposed to go into area’s that would normally be questionable for a manned aircraft. Without a crew being killled or captured – there is little chance for a politically minded escalation.

[this story might not make CNN - because no one in the US seems to care about Somalia any more. Which will just about guarantee that this is the next global hotspot.]

The Western powers have standardized on the US Boeing E-3 Sentry (based on the Boeing 707 airliner), while the Russian’s based their AWACS on the Ilyusin IL-76 transport, refered to as the Beriev A-50 ‘Mainstay’.

[As technology has advanced and electronics have shrunk - Air Forces have no longer needed the size and capacity of a four engined aircraft. Newer AWACS-type aircraft are based on smaller aircraft - like the Boeing 737 pictured above undergoing shakedown tests before being delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force.]

One of the side affects of the Gulf War (I and II) was that the world saw the effect of a quality command and control system (and what happens when you don’t have one), so many countries have tried to add this capability to their own armed forces.

One of the most watched countries in the world – Iran – had recently upgraded its sole large AWACS aircraft. It was a hand me down IL-76 that originally came from Iraq (before the first Gulf War kicked off several Iraqi Air Force aircraft were ‘evacuated’ to Iran, rather than being shot down by Coalition forces), and was upgraded by the Russian’s last year.

On September 22nd – during a military parade to commemorate the start of the Iran-Iraq war
(1980-1988), the Il-76 AWACS collided in mid-air with one of its escorting F-5 fighters. The collision damaged the right wing & engines on the Il-76, and when the plane tried to make an emergency landing – the radome on top of the fuselage came loose and collided with the plane’s tail causing a catastrophic crash that killed the crew.

You have to wonder how much of Iran’s current bluster (missile tests and disclosure of the 2nd enrichment plant)  is due to the fact that their air defenese – with the loss of this aircraft – is severely compromised.

But – taking all of this into account – if this plane is so valuable – why then when one  is damaged in a ‘hard landing’ here in the US – the only place you can find any mention  of the incident – is on Aviation related web sites [here] and [here] and nothing in the mainstream press.

E-3 Sentry sitting on the runway after a hard landing and fire

If your mail client has trouble displaying the links and pictures above – please visit ThreatAxis and read the entire article on-line – http://www.threataxis.us/2009/10/05/awacs-key-to-t…modern-air-war/

General Atomics MQ-1 Predator

Originally uploaded by rob-the-org

According to reports over on Ares (Aviation Week’s blog site) – the US Air Force had to shoot down one of their own Reaper’s – after communication/control over the UAV was lost and it was about to leave Afghan airspace.

I wonder whose airspace it was about to violate – when they took it out?