General Atomics-BAE Systems Aim to Demonstrate Autonomous EW for CCA - Avionics International

General Atomics-BAE Systems Aim to Demonstrate Autonomous EW for CCA - Avionics International: General Atomics‘ Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) subsidiary and BAE Systems said that they are teaming to demonstrate autonomous electronic warfare (EW) systems that the companies believe could one day go […]*General Atomics (GA),BAE Systems plc (BAESY)

Leonardo’s BriteStorm May Be Future CCA Payload - Avionics International

Leonardo’s BriteStorm May Be Future CCA Payload - Avionics International: The U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program may be a fit for a five and a half pound BriteStorm stand-in jammer that Leonardo said that it is developing to […] Leonardo SpA (XFRA:FMN),Lockheed Martin (LMT)

USAF, Highway landing. F-35A fighters during military exercises in Finland,NATO - YouTube - MIL 3010

This is practise for operating in austere conditions.It simulates high intensity warfighting.Not only can the U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter land on highways-it can also take off from them and be refueled on them.For its part,the Finnish Air Force operates the Boeing F/A-18 C-D Hornet fighter until the F-35A can be phased in.Such drills build confidence between NATO Allies,improving interoperability in the Arctic Region.These f-35As are from RAF Lakenheath,England,where Great Britain is reconstituting its Boeing B61-12 tactical nuclear weapon deterrent facilities in light of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,commercial documents indicate.These drills seem to have taken place in the summer.*Lockheed Martin (LMT),Boeing (BA)

L3Harris and Northrop Grumman Moving Ahead on F-16 Electronic Warfare Suites - Sept. 19 - Avionics International

L3Harris and Northrop Grumman Moving Ahead on F-16 Electronic Warfare Suites - Sept. 19 - Avionics International: NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—L3Harris Technologies said that its site in Clifton, N.J., several weeks ago began the build of 166 AN/ALQ-254(V)1 Viper Shield all-digital electronic warfare (EW) suites for F-16 fighters […]*L3 Harris Technologies Inc (LHX),Northrop Grumman (NOC),Lockheed Martin F-16D Fighting Falcon (LMT)

Pacific Perspective:US Air Force. B-2 Spirit bombers. Joint military exercises in Australia.

The drills are takking place at RAAF Amberley near Ipswich,Queensland.The RAAF operates the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet primarily out of RAAF Amberley.Bomber Task Force missions such as this one are not announced in advance to give potential adversaries pause.Deployed by Air Force Global Strike Command,they emphasise the U.S. Air Force's ability to deter aggression,and,if necessary,defend our Allies and Partners,anytime and anywhere across the globe.The Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit strategic bombers are a frequent participant in Bomber Task Force missions in both the European and Pacific theatres.*Boeing (BA),Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Lockheed Martin Awarded $5.1 Billion in F-35 Contracts - Avionics International

Lockheed Martin Awarded $5.1 Billion in F-35 Contracts - Avionics International: Lockheed Martin is receiving $5.1 billion in three contracts for the F-35 Lightning II fighter, including Block 4 related upgrades, DoD said on Aug. 28. The largest contract–$3.9 billion through […] Lockheed Martin (LMT)

LIVE US AIR FORCE F-15 & F-35 ACTION 48TH FIGHTER WING • RAF LAKENHEATH ENGLAND 21.06.24 - YouTube

The aircraft are the nuclear-capable U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle fighter.The base's nuclear storage mission ws terminated in 2008 in the belief that the Cold War was over.Yet the first Russian invasion of Ukraine with little green men in 2014 and the second full-on war against Ukraine launched in February 2022 has caused NATO to revive the nuclear storage mission.Documents show a large underground surety dormitory for storing the Boeing B61-12 nuclear bomb is under construction,along with ballistic-sheathed shelters for Air Force Security Forces.*Boeing (BA),Lockheed Martin (LMT)*The B61-12 has an adjustable range of missions,from tactical nuclear to thermonuclear kilotonnes.*The UK will neither confirm nor deny the project.

B-1Bs Arrive in Europe,Testing Agile Combat Deployment

On 6 October 2021,the first two of four US Air Force B-1B Lancer strategic bombers,together with their support equipment and some 200 personnelfrom the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Wing out of Dyess AFB,Texas arrived at RAF Fairford,England for a Bomber Task Force mission.The bombers were escorted by Royal Air Force fighter jets as they entered the theatre.The rotational mission will allow the bomber crews to deploy to unfamiliar airfields for integration with coalition Allies and Partners to enhance readiness.According to U.S. Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa Commander,General Jeff Harrigian: BTF missions amplify our coalition reach and project our collective airpower across theaters.By training and integrating with our Allies and Partners,we are expanding our ability to adapt to challenges and counter adversaries in the global security environment.* The bomber crews will fly the warplanes to strategic areas including the Arctic,Baltic Sea and Black Sea Regions,developing their skills to integrate and use the weapon systems to their maximum capacity.This is in the context of Russia's having made the Arctic a more contested region and strengthened its Anti-Access/Area-Denial capabilities in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad;the Baltics;occupied Crimea;and on the Black Sea,posing a heightened threat to NATO's Eastern Flank. The Lancers are being deployed according to the Air Force's agile combat deployment concept.They will use ranges and conduct simulations from the high Arctic to the Horn of Africa,reducing reliance on traditional bases and shifting to dispersed forward operating locations,in accordance with the concept. Our NATO Allies and Partners seek engagement with the B-1Bs to ensure they can counter any adversarial threat within the region.Strategic bomber missions within USAFE-AFAFRICA theatres demonstrate the ability to rapidly deploy with NATO Allies and coalition Partners,providing necessary training to the joint force,U.S. European Command noted.

USS Somerset:Last of 9-11 Tribute Ships Christened-memorial warship will transport U.S. Marines

The USS Somerset(LPD 25),the last of three amphibious transport dock ships named after sites affected by the 9-11 terrorist attacks,was christened on Saturday.Mrs.Mary Jo Myers,wife of General Richard B. Myers,U.S. Air Force retired,former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,performed the naval tradition of breaking a bottle of champagne against the new ship's bow at its official naming.Mrs.Myers' participation suggests the closeness of the Navy and Air Force in this era of the Air-Sea Battle Concept and joint basing.
The ceremony was held at  the Avondale shipyard near New Orleans,which is slated to close once the Somerset's final construction is completed.
Somerset County,Pennsylvania was where the passengers of Flight 93 stormed the cockpit in resistance to the terrorists,bringing the plane down in a field there.Twenty-three family members of those who perished in the Somerset County incident attended the christening.The ship includes steel from a crane bucket that was used to recover the Flight 93 wreckage in its bow stem,or leading edge.
The other 9-11 memorial ships are the USS New York(LPD 21) and the USS Arlington(LPD 24).These San Antonio class vessels are for transporting up to 800 U.S. Marines,their equipment and supplies to war zones,unstable regions and humanitarian disaster areas.They have well decks for landing craft and amphibious vehicles,as well as hangars and flight decks for a wide range of helicopters and the Marines' MV-22 Osprey vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.The ships are armed with 2 Mk31 Mod1 RAM launchers;2 Mk46 30mm guns;and 10 .50 caliber machine guns.
Huntington Ingalls Industries built the three memorial ships.Please visit the photo link below this post.
Huntington Ingalls Industries(HII)

U.S. Augments Forces in Persian Gulf Region

The U.S. has doubled the number of  its minesweepers in the Persian Gulf from four to eight and dispatched a special ops staging platform,the USS Ponce(LPD-15),to the region.At the same time,the U.S. Air Force has added F-15C Eagles and F-22 Raptors,which are its most advanced fighters currently in service,to air bases nearby.The U.S. Army,for its part,is keeping an extra combat brigade's worth of troops on station in Kuwait.These moves are to respond to any Iranian attempt to close the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz,which conveys oil tankers from the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf,carrying much of the world's oil supply,and to increase the capablity to conduct deep strikes within Iran.
A senior Defense Department official warned Iran not to even think about it,according to The New York Times.We'll clear the mines.If you send fast boats to harass U.S. vessels or commercial shipping,we'll put them on the bottom of the Gulf,the official promised.Sanctions against Iranian oil exports have just been ratcheted up to pressure Iran to curtail its nuclear program.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been testing a new ballistic missile system that can strike Israel,Turkey and vessels in the Persian Gulf.As well,legislation has been drafted for the Iranian parliament to close the Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers bound for countries participating in the sanctions against it.
The complex build-up of U.S. forces is also meant to rein in Iran's hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East generally;not just its nuclear program,the unnamed Pentagon official said.The USS Ponce,an older ship,was reconfigured for its new mission at the request of U.S. Central Command.With its room for up to six helicopters and well deck for docking small boats and landing craft,the 1970s era ship is ideally suited for special operations support.

Air Defense Briefing:1st Air Force Facts

CONR-1AF(AFNORTH),or 1st Air Force,is the NORAD Continental U.S. Region command and the designated air component command for U.S. Northern Command,providing air defense in the form of airspace surveillance and airspace control.It is responsible for the land areas of the continental U.S.,Puerto Rico and surrounding seas out to approximately 500 nautical miles.It also responds to natural disasters and coordinates search and rescue throughout the lower 48 states,Mexico and Canada.The command emblem features both a bald eagle and a maple leaf.
Nearly 2300 active duty U.S. Air Force,Air National Guard,Air Force Reservists,civilians and contractors support the missions of CONR-1AF(AFNORTH),operating more than 180 aircraft,including F-15s,F-16s and F-22s.The command is based at Tyndall Air Force Base,Florida.It is divided into two air defense sectors:EADS in Rome,New York;and WADS in McChord AFB,Washington state.
1st Air Force works closely with Canadian Forces.Canadian personnel serve at HQ in Tyndall AFB,Florida,as well as at the two regional air defense sectors in New York and Washington states.By the same token,U.S. personnel serve at 1AF Detachment 1,Winnipeg,Manitoba;and at 722nd Air Defense Squadron,North Bay,Ontario in Canada.
The personnel of 1st Air Force include many veterans of Kosovo,Iraq and Afghanistan.Most of them are Air National Guard members,proudly and ably executing all phases of Operation Noble Eagle,the air sovereignty mission of NORAD Continental U.S. Region.
NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command,a binational U.S.-Canadian military organisation that secures the continental airspace.

Air-Sea Battle Concept Moves Forward

With the establishment of the Air-Sea Battle Office on 12 August 2011,which was subsequently announced on 9 November,the U.S. Navy,Marine Corps and Air Force have begun an era of unprecedented collaboration and integration.In response to a recent Quadrennial Defense Review,the office has been stood up by the Pentagon to integrate air and naval combat capabilities in support of emerging national security requirements.
The Air-Sea Battle concept is being developed to counter anti-access/area denial challenges posed by global proliferation of a range of advanced military technologies,including conventional ballistic missiles;long-range precision cruise missiles;advanced integrated air and missile defense systems;electronic and cyber warfare capabilities;submarines;surface warships;and advanced combat aircraft.
The Air-Sea Battle Office will do this by facilitating interservice coordination;influencing war games;fostering development and integration of air and naval capabilities;and collaborating with the joint forces.Furthermore,the ASBO will foster the integration of acquisition strategies and the conceptual approach to warfare as warfighters counter these emerging A2/AD threats.ASBO will ensure the defense of U.S. and allied interests and sustain stability and freedom throughout the global commons.
The joint forces concept has been developing for many years,but has recently been accelerated by both economic necessity and strategic reality.

President Receives Afghan War Dead

President Barack Obama received the remains of 30 U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan and their 8 Afghan colleagues at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday.Media were barred from the solemn transfer ceremony,which was described by eyewitnesses as deeply moving.The President comforted the bereaved family and military members.
Among the fallen were 22 U.S. Navy SEAL commandos;5 U.S. Army Chinook helicopter crew;and 3 U.S. Air Force personnel.The helicopter was downed by rocket-propelled grenade fire in Wardak Province of East Central Afghanistan.Chinooks are considered the flying bus among the helicopters.In service since 1958,the Boeing choppers are known to be vulnerable during their take-offs and landings,when their guns are of limited use.They are quite respected as high altitude aircraft,however-an important consideration in the mountainous environment of Afghanistan.
The SEALs were coming to the aid of a U.S. Army Ranger unit that was pursuing a Taliban militant leader when it came under heavy fire.
The militants are very familiar with the Chinook helicopters.They lay down a barrage of rpg or .51 caliber machine gun fire to try to bring them down.This time,they succeeded.
The loss of the SEALs is most prominent in their home communities of Coronado,California and Oceana,Virginia.
Wardak Province is considered a high security risk.Militants have been recruiting there and asserting control in recent years,roaming freely at night.It is largely a rural area,with most residents engaged in agriculture to some extent.
Update:On Wednesday,General John Allen,USMC,commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan,said ground forces,acting on local intelligence reports,located 2 Taliban militants in a wooded area,one of them the militant who fired the rpg that downed the Chinook,and called in an F-16 airstrike to prevent their leaving the country.The militants were killed,but the Taliban leader originally sought by U.S. Army Rangers has not been found.

Marines Ready for Search and Rescue

The U.S. Marines have air crew recovery teams in place near Libya.The Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel Teams,or TRAP,are based on amphibious ships such as the USS Kearsarge(LHD 3),which is now on station in the Gulf of Sidra,off the northern coast of Libya in the Mediterranean Sea.
TRAP teams employ both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft to pinpoint and rescue downed aviators.One of the teams rescued Captain Scott O'Grady when his F-16 was shot down by a missile over Bosnia in 1995.On Tuesday,a TRAP team from the Kearsarge immediately picked up one crewman of a U.S. Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle which accidentally crashed in eastern Libya.
The other crewman was welcomed as a hero by Libyan rebels before he too was picked up.Both men had minor injuries.
The Kearsarge is an amphibious assault ship manned by Navy personnel,but with the mission of transporting Marines and their equipment,including aircraft.Its motto is "Proud,Trustworthy,Bold."
Also on Tuesday,a U.S. Navy submarine that had fired cruise missiles at regime targets in Libya withdrew from the area,having completed its mission.
Update:The rescue aircraft dispatched from the Kearsarge was reportedly an MV-22 Osprey,which is a fixed wing aircraft that can tilt its propellers up and fly like a helicopter as well.As it approached the downed crewman,it laid down covering fire to discourage anyone from interfering.Six civilians were slightly wounded in the incident.

Game Show Salutes Military

"Wheel of Fortune" recently completed an Armed Forces Week observance.Military personnel were the contestants for the week.One of them,a U.S. Marine Staff Sargent,won 50,000 dollars in cash and prizes,including a trip to Mexico.The personnel were enthusiastic competitors,but in a brotherly spirit,congratulating each other.You couldn't help but be proud of their comportment.They knew what the stakes were,that they were representing their service and their nation.
In between games on the last show of the week,TV personality Vanna White walked along a Navy pier-presumably San Diego.Ms.White is the assistant of WOF host Pat Sajak.Mr.Sajak said he was a U.S. Army veteran himself.
The WOF tribute was quite a success,bringing the U.S. military into a lot of living rooms that had little knowledge of it.Besides Mr.Sajak,other celebrity veterans are Montel Williams and Ernest Borgnine,U.S. Navy;Alan Alda,U.S. Army Reserves;Chuck Norris,U.S. Air Force;Jack Klugman and Jim Lehrer,U.S. Marine Corps.

Message From Jimmy

I had just received my POW-MIA flag and put it up.Picking up the morning paper,I read that Staff Sergeant James K. Caniford was being interred in Arlington National Cemetery today.He was briefly my neighbor before he joined the Air Force.Jimmy was shot down while on a mission over Laos in 1972.For decades,he was listed as missing in action.Recently,they managed to locate and identify his remains.Was it a coincidence that I flew that flag for the first time on the day of his burial? I think that was a message from Jimmy:"I am home now,but don't forget the many others who aren't."