US Air Force

[TT-1 Pinto]

Gli Stati Uniti saranno presenti all'ormai prossimo Salone di Parigi ..... ma solo a terra .....

 

The US will be back in force at the Paris Air Show with a large number of combat aircraft on display.

It'll be a strong turnabout from 2013, when concerns over Washington's budget sequestration forced a low US profile.

With about 250 exhibitors, the US will be second only to the French in bookings, with a large number of small- and medium-size US companies, Emeric d'Arcimoles, director of the air show, said May 21 at a press conference.

There will also be delegations from US states, but US aircraft will not perform in the daily flying display -- a decision announced some months ago.

 

Fonte ..... "US Returns to Paris Airshow With Large Ground Displays" ..... http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2015/05/23/paris-airshow-us-returns/27717061/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Occhi puntati sull'estremo nord .....

 

High Northern Watch .....

(5/27/2015)

NORAD is projecting air defense fighters to remote forward operating locations in the far north and High Arctic this week for Exercise Amalgam Dart, Canadian defense officials announced.

"Amalgam Dart challenges our forces to deploy and operate in the most challenging environment our continent has to offer," NORAD regional commander Royal Canadian Air Force Maj. Gen. David Wheeler said in a May 25 release .....

http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/article-template-standard.page?doc=canadian-norad-region-to-lead-bi-national-exercise-in-the-north-and-high-arctic/i9se1oa3

"This year will have the unique component of pushing our personnel to perform their mission in the most northern limits of our area of responsibility," he added.

A total of 300 Air Force and RCAF personnel and 15 jets will deploy May 25 to June 1 to remote bases in Alaska and Canada to practice coordinating and responding to air threats.

F-15s are deployed to FOL Yellowknife and RCAF F-18s to FOL Inuvik in Canada's northwest, while a mobile radar station was set up in the High Arctic, according to the release.

In Alaska, F-22s stage from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, and Air Force KC-135 and RCAF CC-150 tankers stage from Eielson AFB, Alaska.

Map of RCAF bases ..... http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/assets/AIRFORCE_Internet/images/map-carte-eng-2013-hr.jpg

 

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

Modificato 27 Maggio 2015 da TT-1 Pinto

[TT-1 Pinto]

A quattro stelle .....

 

Pawlikowski Promoted to General .....

(6/2/2015)

Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski ..... http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/104867/lieutenant-general-ellen-m-pawlikowski.aspx ..... on Monday received her fourth star for her forthcoming assignment leading Air Force Materiel Command.

“It was an honor to pin on your fourth star,” wrote Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James on Monday in a Twitter post ..... https://twitter.com/SecAF23/status/605425320557199360 ..... congratulating the general after the promotion ceremony.

Pawlikowski is scheduled to take charge of AFMC on June 8, according to a release ..... http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123449472

She will succeed Gen. Janet Wolfenbarger, who has led the command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, since June 2012 and is retiring from the Air Force, effective July 1 ..... http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/107934/general-janet-c-wolfenbarger.aspx

Pawlikowski has been the military deputy in the Air Force Secretariat’s acquisition office for the past year.

The Senate back in March approved her promotion.

 

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Un nuovo 'capo scienziato' per l' USAF .....

 

"USAF names new chief scientist" ..... http://www.janes.com/article/52045/usaf-names-new-chief-scientist

 

"Air Force hires new chief scientist" ..... http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/05/26/air-force-hires-35th-chief-scientist/27962147/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Le Bourget ..... Deborah Lee James .....

 

 

..... parla di F-35 e dei prossimi grandi programmi dell' Air Force .....

 

"U.S. Made ‘Judgment Call’ To Withhold F-35 at Paris Air Show" ..... http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2015-06-17/us-made-judgment-call-withhold-f-35-paris-air-show

 

 

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

L'​ Air Combat Command guarda al futuro .....

 

 

 

ACC Strategic Plan 2015 Unveiled .....

Marc V. Schanz (08/12/2015)

​Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle unveiled ACC's newest command strategy Aug. 10, entitled "Securing the High Ground," which lays out how ACC will modernize and transform the US Air Force combat forces to better meet 21st Century threats and challenges ..... http://www.acc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123455523

The document outlines Carlisle's priorities for his tenu​re as ACC commander, he said in statement marking the release, and will provide a "roadmap to ensure the Combat Air Force can provide unmatched air dominance for our nation now and into the foreseeable future."

As it prepares the force for future fights, it must invest and continue to refine practices such as live, virtual and constructive training, which joins up live-fly events with computer simulations, and to invest in science and technology research which could generate leap-forward capabilities and concepts, the strategy states.

ACC must also focus on linking up its modernized Fifth Generation aircraft with its older fleet of legacy fighters via improved data links and better air-to-air weapons in the mid-term, to meet growing challenges in the air superiority mission, and must work to improve a balanced domain approach to USAF's global command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance network.

Full PDF file ..... http://www.airforcemag.com/DocumentFile/Documents/2015/AFD-150810-026.pdf

 

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Fuoco sul deserto .....

 

‘Hammer’ Time in Utah Desert .....

Jennifer Hlad (08/13/2015)

​Seven Air Force units are dropping bombs and firing air-to-air missiles this month in combat training exercises at the Utah Test and Training Range at Hill AFB, Utah, and the White Sands Missile Range, N.M., through Aug. 21 as part of two combat training and weapons evaluation training events.

The exercises, Combat Hammer and Combat Archer, are designed to mimic combat to help USAF evaluate how precision guided air-to-ground munitions, air-to-air missiles, other advanced weapons, aircraft, and airmen perform under fire, according to an 75th Air Base Wing news release ..... http://www.hill.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123455603

As part of the Combat Hammer exercise, the 37th Bomb Squadron dropped two Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles from B-1B bombers—the first time the squadron had fired JASSM​s in almost a decade.

The exercise was also the first time some airmen were able to drop the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb or fire an AGM-114 Hellfire missile, according to an exercise weapons officer ..... http://www.acc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123455565

The 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron from Eglin AFB, Fla., organized the exercises, with support from the 388th Fighter Wing and 75th Air Base Wing at Hill.

F-16s from Hill, Eglin, and Spangdahlem AB, Germany; F-15Es from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., and A-10s from Moody AFB, Ga., along with B-1Bs from Dyess AFB, Texas, and MQ-1s and MQ-9s from Creech AFB, Nev., are participating in the exercises.

 

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Red Flag-Alaska 15-3 ..... con Giapponesi, Sudcoreani nonché ..... US Navy .....

 

Red Flag 15-3 Roars Over Eielson .....

 

Brian Everstine (08/17/2015)

 

​One of Pacific Air Forces' premier combat training events recently kicked off at Eielson AFB, Ala., with dozens of aircraft scheduled to take part in two weeks of realistic air and air-to-ground combat training as part of Red Flag Alaska 15-3.

Red Flag-Alaska 15-3 includes aircraft and airmen from South Korea and Japan, along with Navy EA-18G Growlers from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.

Air Force participants include Aggressor F-16s from Eielson, along with A-10s and F-16s deployed from Osan AB, South Korea; F-16s from the Minnesota Air National Guard and KC-135s from McConnell AFB, Kansas, according to Eielson officials.

The exercise focuses on "red air" training with partner and allied nations in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, along with air support training.

This iteration will feature paratroopers from JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Ala., and one scenario will see some 600 paratroopers jump into a drop zone during RF-A, simulate an airfield seizure, and prepare the field to receive incoming mobility and combat assets.

More than 1,000 personnel and up to 60 aircraft typically participate in the training, according to Eielson officials.

The exercise concludes on Aug. 21.

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15J taxis out to the Eielson AFB, Ala., flightline on Aug. 10, 2015 during Red Flag-Alaska 15-3.

Air Force photo by SrA. Ashley Nicole Taylor.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

Inoltre ..... "RED FLAG-Alaska 15-3 officially begins at Eielson" ..... http://www.eielson.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123455704

[TT-1 Pinto]

L'USAF celebra il 45° anniversario dell'operatività del Minuteman III .....

 

Vandenberg Test Launches Minuteman III .....

(08/20/2015)

Officials launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile early in the morning on Aug. 19.

The test launch at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., came exactly 45 years after the Air Force put the first Minuteman III missiles on alert, according to Air Force Global Strike Command .....

http://www.afgsc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123456255

The missile was randomly selected from Minot AFB, N.D., and airmen from the 91st Missile Wing at Minot worked with members of the 576th Flight Test Squadron and the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg for the test.

The missile was launched at 3:03 a.m. Pacific time and impacted in the planned test area about 4,200 miles away, in the Pacific Ocean near the Kwajalein Atoll.

The Air Force schedules a few launches each year to test the reliability and accuracy of the weapons.

Gen. Robin Rand, the new AFGSC commander, traveled to California for the launch, and said the test sends a message to America’s allies and adversaries.

“I’m truly impressed by the knowledge, the skills, and the teamwork that our airmen demonstrated during this test launch,” he said.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Deterrenza nello spazio ..... ovvero ..... far capire loro che non è il caso .....

 

Deterring Adversaries in Space .....

Arie Church (09/17/2015)

China is continuing to test anti-satellite capabilities and Air Force Space Command is taking both classified and unclassified measures to survive, deter, and respond to attacks against space assets.

“You just have to go back to 2007 to see the Chinese ASAT, they continue to test that - we have many demonstrated occurrences of testing that we know about,” AFSPC boss Gen. John Hyten said at ASC15 on Wednesday .....

http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/108115/general-john-e-hyten.aspx

“We’re worried about those kinds of activities and we’re also worried about a number of other activities,” conducted by both China and Russia, “that aren’t visible to the general public,” he said.

“I never want to see a war in space, ever. But the best way to avoid a war is to be prepared for it,” Hyten stressed.

“We’re going down that path to make certain we build resilience into our constellation and build the ability to respond to a threat effectively,” he said.

“A lot of things we’re doing are in the classified world, but there will be a lot of things that our potential adversaries will see, that we believe will convince them that action in space is not in their interest,” Hyten added.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

Modificato 17 Settembre 2015 da TT-1 Pinto

[TT-1 Pinto]

Il Senatore McCain alle prese coi numeri e ..... col presidente Obama .....

 

NDAA Sets Aircraft Minimums .....

Jennifer Hlad (10/01/2015)

The proposed defense authorization bill would require the Air Force to have a minimum of 1,900 total and 1,100 combat-coded aircraft, and it would prevent plans to retire the A-10 and restrict the retirement of the EC-130H Compass Call, KC-10 tanker, E-8 JSTARS, and E-3 AWACS.

“A quarter-century of near-continuous deployments, frequent aircraft divestments, and a decades-long procurement holiday has left us with the oldest and smallest Air Force in history,” according to a statement from the office of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee .....

http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=2b94b4b3-d360-44fd-b4da-e0055feefe4a

Establishing the aircraft minimums is an attempt to emphasize the need “to retain sufficient combat airpower capacity,” according to the statement.

The NDAA would authorize a 1.3-percent pay raise for all service members O-6 and below, create a new retirement plan, and impose restrictions on the use of Russian-made rocket engines.

The White House has said President Barack Obama will veto the bill, which McCain called “shameful.”

​“If the President vetoes the NDAA, at this time of mounting global threats, he will be prioritizing politics and process over the security of our nation and the well-being of our armed forces,” he said in a written statement .....

http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=afda2bc2-9ef7-4488-8043-9a8b9b80271b

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Parola d'ordine ..... MODERNIZZARE .....

 

The military head of the US Air Force has warned that the cost of not modernising front-line combat aviation forces “will be measured in terms of lives lost of friendly forces”.

Speaking at a press event during a trilateral air combat exercise with French and British forces at Langley AFB in Virginia, Gen Mark Welsh says the last 15 year of air warfare in the Middle East have not been sufficiently challenging to drive military modernisation politically and monetarily, but meanwhile advanced, overlapping counter-air systems continue to proliferate globally.

 

Fonte ..... "Welsh: Modernise USAF or risk more lives in future conflict" ..... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/welsh-modernise-usaf-or-risk-more-lives-in-future-c-420139/

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

L'USAF è a corto di bombe .....

Cita
Yes, There Is Bomb Shortage .....

John A. Tirpak (1/5/2016)

​
A dozen 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions sit inside a warehouse at Al Udeid AB, Qatar, Dec. 17, 2015.
The bombs were built by hand by airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Munitions Flight. The unit has built nearly 4,000 bombs since July.
(Air Force photo by TSgt. James Hodgman)
​
The Air Force is indeed experiencing a “shortfall” in “all categories” of munitions, due to the air campaign against ISIS over the last 15 months, but so far is “managing” its global stockpiles such that there’s no impact on operations yet, an Air Force spokeswoman told Air Force Magazine Monday.
However, reloading will take up to four years, she said.
Expanding on comments from USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh in early December that USAF is expending munitions “faster than we can replenish them,” the spokeswoman said that while USAF can “sustain” anti-ISIS operations for now, “we need funding in place and the ability to forecast for production to be ready for the long fight.”
While the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act included a big add for munitions replacement, overseas contingency operations funding rules and processes create “large delays, up to four years, in recovering the munitions inventory expended in combat.
Weapons which were budgeted for last year will not replenish our inventories until three years from now,” she explained.
While she declined to provide “specific numbers of the global stockpile” due to operational rules, the shortages affect “a range of munitions” that include “smart, gravity, and small-and large-diameter munitions.”
The shortage also affects “air-to-air, direct attack, and standoff” weapons stocks.

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Una donna a capo dello US Northern Command ..... forse .....

 

 

Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson is the Obama administration's likely choice as the next head of US Northern Command, sources say, a move which would make her the first woman to lead a combatant command.

Rumors have circulated inside the Pentagon for weeks that Robinson is being considered for the role, including a Wall Street Journal report which named her as the likely nominee.

Two sources today confirmed the rumors to Defense News, although both warned that with nominations, nothing is locked in until a final decision has been made.

 

Fonte ..... "USAF General Robinson Likely as Next NORTHCOM Head" ..... http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/leaders/2016/01/08/lori-robinson-next-northcom-head-hyten-mcdew-carlisle/78507984/

[TT-1 Pinto]

USAF ..... 25 anni in guerra .....

 

http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Magazine%20Documents/2016/January%202016/0116scrapbook.pdf

 

Fonte ..... il 'Daily Report' dell' AFA .....

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Alle prese con le spese .....

 

In 1986 during the so-called Reagan Build-up, $12 billion delivered 387 new combat aircraft to the US military.

Today, that amount buys fewer than 80.

As the secretary of the air force has put it many times, the US military is on the losing side of the cost curve – with few aircraft coming in, and cuts, cuts and more cuts just to pay the bills.

In terms of aircraft, USAF is smaller today than at any point since it split from the army in 1947.

 

Fonte ..... "USAF faces cost conundrum with F-35, KC-46 and LRS-B" ..... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-faces-cost-conundrum-with-f-35-kc-46-and-lrs-b-420997/

 

 

[Flaggy]

Primo contratto a Boeing per il nuovo l'Air Force One.

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-receives-first-contract-of-air-force-one-reca-421423/

[TT-1 Pinto]

Bilancio Difesa USA 2017 ..... spunta un 'aereo arsenale' .....

 

A couple of decades ago, the Navy had an idea for an "arsenal ship" that went nowhere, but Defense Secretary Ashton Carter did the service one better Tuesday with his surprise proposal for an "arsenal plane."

Nobody knows yet what an arsenal plane would look like, or what its potential missions would be, other than that it would fashioned from an existing large aircraft platform - maybe a B-52 bomber - and it would be crammed with all manner of munitions.

It might be manned or unmanned.

Fonte ..... " 'Micro' Drones, 'Arsenal' Plane, Railguns Funded in New Defense Budget " ..... http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/02/02/micro-drones-arsenal-plane-railguns-funded-new-defense-budget.html

Altre fonti .....

"Pentagon Budget Pursues 'Arsenal Plane,' Swarming Drones" ..... http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-02-02/pentagon-budget-pursues-arsenal-plane-swarming-drones

"DOD reveals ‘arsenal plane’ and microdrones in budget speech" ..... https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dod-reveals-arsenal-plane-and-microdrones-in-budge-421516/

"Carter Unveils Budget Details; Pentagon Requests $582.7 Billion" ..... http://www.defensenews.com/story/breaking-news/2016/02/02/carter-unveils-budget-details-pentagon-requests-5827b-funding/79686138/

Modificato 3 Febbraio 2016 da TT-1 Pinto

[Umberto]

Un nuovo B-1R?

[fabio-22raptor]

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/defense/air-space/2016/02/20/air-force-future-lasers-fighter-jets-planes-think/80515698/

 

L'USAF guarda al futuro con armi laser sui caccia.

[Flaggy]

LM storicamente non è nuova al reinventarsi gli aerei, però il collage dei sistemi di U-2 e Global Hawk su una struttura di un terzo aereo a bassa osservabilitá magari è un po'ardita.

 

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/lockheeds-30-aircraft-tr-x-plan-priced-at-38-bill-423190/

[Flaggy]

In vista un documento che riassuma i requisiti che dovrà avere la macchina, ma al momento c'è ancora molta confusione intorno al velivolo CAS per rimpiazzare gli A-10 in ambiente "permissivo".

Si spazia dai turboelica agli F-35 (con flyoff tra Lightning e Warthog nel 2018-2019), passando per Scorpion, M-346, T-50.

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-firming-a-x-requirements-for-a-10-warthog-alt-423999/

Modificato 7 Aprile 2016 da Flaggy

[Flaggy]

Dell'arsenal plane continua a sapersi poco e il concetto è ancora raffigurato con un improbabile ibrido tra un C-130 e un B-52.

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/dod-still-mum-on-arsenal-plane-selection-429204/

 

Ho qualche dubbio sul fatto che si possa concretizzare un velivolo del genere e comunque un mix tra due dinosauri dell'aeronautica non è certo un modo molto credibile di proporre questo concetto innovativo. Sintetizza però il ventaglio di soluzioni preso in considerazione per ottenere il velivolo prendendo come base un adattamento (magari meno...fantasioso) di C-130, C-17, B-52, B-1.

La soluzione più logica (?) per concretizzare un'idea del genere forse è un normale B-1B (di cui volendo esistono alcuni esemplari in deposito) con le stive adattate a contenere un rilevante numero di SDB.

Se non altro avrebbe i pregi di essere un vero bombardiere, di essere relativamente recente, di avere tanto volume interno in stiva e di essere disponibile in qualche esemplare supplementare (però utilizzato come fonte di pezzi di ricambio).

Ha il "solo" il leggerissimo difetto di costare comunque un botto per un'idea che in linea di principio dovrebbe essere a basso impatto...

 

Modificato 10 Settembre 2016 da Flaggy

[Flaggy]

Visto che il KC-46 non si propone di rinnovare l'intera linea da rifornimento in volo si pensa a quel che verrà tra vent'anni.

Tra blended wing, lifting body, bassa osservabilità e configurazione drone è possibile che non abbia molto a che fare con un derivato di un velivolo commerciale che comunque, quanto a costi, ormai non è nemmeno quello regalato.

Cambierebbero però le modalità di impiego e le tattiche operative, con il tanker che potrebbe seguire i velivoli da rifornire.

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-commander-wants-technological-leap-to-kc-z-ta-429534/

[Flaggy]

C’è un po’ di confusione (da anni a guardar bene...) anche per la sostituzione degli altri (costosissimi) moltiplicatori di forze, per i quali non si sa ancora se sfruttare da una piattaforma comune anche, perchè le tempistiche di sostituzione non saranno le stesse e i programmi al momento sono diversi lasciando la possibilità di scegliere piattaforme diverse.

 

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-general-considers-common-command-and-control-pl-429540/