Johnson making a ‘pivot’ from full-time INDYCAR driver - American Legion

Johnson making a ‘pivot’ from full-time INDYCAR driver: After showing vast improvement during 2022 season, Jimmie Johnson wants to create a ‘bucket list’ of races that include INDYCAR in 2023.

Game-Changer:B-21 Raider To Break New Ground in Deep Strike

The US Air Force intends to develop a sixth generation,long-range fighter jet to escort the new B-21 Raider strategic nuclear-capable bomber deep into enemy territory.The fighter is called "Penetrating Counter-Air" and is to assist the B-21 in supression of enemy air defences.* The B-21,which has a flying wing design similar to the B-2 Spirit bomber,is a subsonic aircraft,that is,flying slower than the speed of sound (Mach 1 is the point that is just beyond the speed of sound).The speed of sound varies depending on air temperature and other atmospheric conditions.The Raider is subsonic because of its large payload capacity of a mix of nuclear and conventional ordnance.It can deliver both the B61-12 tactical nuclear weapon as well as the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear cruise missile.With its advanced stealth design features and NextGen radar-absorbent coatings,lead contractor Northrop Grumman considers it the most advanced military aircraft ever built.So it will be capable of penetrating the toughest defences to deliver precision strikes in Anti-Access/Area Denial zones.* Six B-21s are currently in various stages of production in Palmdale,California.One of them is scheduled for unveiling to an invited audience in early December 2022,with first flight in early 2023.The Air Force Global Strike Command plans to acquire at least 100 B-21s,though the number may eventually reach about 200.Initial Operating Capability should come in the mid-2020s.Ellsworth Air Force Base,South Dakota is the preferred basing location for the first B-21 main operating base and formal training unit,with Dyess AFB,Texas as an alternate.The Air Force plans to retire the B-2 Spirit and B-1B Lancer bombers first as the B-21 comes online,with the B-52H Stratofortress remaining in service alongside the B-21 till mid-century.* Advanced software development techniques called DevStar will enable the upgrading of the Raider at the speed of relevance,incrementally adding warfighting capablities as opposed to the current massive Block approach.The B-21 will be able to rapidly field capability enhancements to both hardware and software,with enough processing power to quickly process information from onboard sensors and external sources for threat detection.Digital design and engineering make it possible to incrementally improve B-21 characteristics on a continuous basis.Suffice it to say,it is like nothing else ever seen before on the flight line. For example,the Raider will have minimum aircraft signatures in multiple frequency bands.* Subcontractors of the B-21 include Pratt and Whitney (Raytheon Technologies subsidiary);BAE Systems;Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies subsidiary) and Spirit AeroSystems.* BAE Systems ADR (OTC:BAESY),Northrop Grumman (NOC),Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX),Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc (SPR)

Decision Expected This Year on Future Path for F-35 Engine - Avionics International

Decision Expected This Year on Future Path for F-35 Engine - Avionics International: A Pentagon decision on the future path for the F-35 engine may come this year, with the F-35 program office seeking improved electrical power and cooling.

Northrop Grumman and U.S. Air Force Plan B-21 Unveiling in the First Week of December

Northrop Grumman and U.S. Air Force Plan B-21 Unveiling in the First Week of December: Northrop Grumman [NOC] said on Sept. 20 that it will unveil its B-21 Raider stealth bomber for the U.S. Air Force the first week of December at the company’s Palmdale, Calif., plant–a timeline confirmed the same day by Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter during his appearance at a media roundtable at the Air & […]

Operation NOBLE DEFENDER:Defending North America's Approaches - intercepting cruise missiles

From 12-14 September 2022,Operation NOBLE DEFENDER (OND) was executed by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Alaska and the Northwest Territories.Mainly carried out over sparsely populated Arctic and Pacific areas at high altitude,there was little chance of the public noticing the drills.Areas traversed include Inuvik,Yellowknife,St.Lawrence Island,King Salmon,Ketchikan and west of Vancouver.OND was intended to validate NORAD'S ability to defend Canada and the US from every avenue of approach,demonstrating the capability to integrate with defence and security partners for a holistic,360-degree defence of the continent.* OND,a recurring series of drills,tested the ability to rapidly deploy military assets and carry out tactics,techniques and procedures in the designated areas.It demonstrated NORAD'S ability to quickly deter,defend and,if necessary,defeat adversaries of North America such as Russia,China and North Korea.Defensive manoeuvres were practised along the Northern and Western approaches to North America by all three NORAD Regions:Alaska NORAD Region (ANR);Canadian NORAD Region (CANR);and Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR).OND drew on military personnel and equipment support from Portland,Oregon;Cold Lake,Alberta;Colorado Springs,Colorado;Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base,Alaska.* On 14 September,US Air Force F-15C Eagle fighters from the Oregon Air National Guard's 142d Wing took off from Portland ANG Base.There the operation exhibited the ability to launch at short notice from dispersed air and maritime locations to defend Northern approaches in multiple regions across all domains,displaying resiliance in the face of multiple and complex threats.During the drills,CONR also coordinated and conducted joint operations with the US Navy while concurrently launching jets from various locations across the US Gulf Coast and Puerto Rico.This phase of OND featured manoeuvres for defending the Southern approach to the US from simulated cruise missile threats.F-15C Eagles took off from Muniz ANG Base in Carolina,Puerto Rico.The OND addressed both current and evolving threats to North American defence and security.* An F-15E Strike Eagle can actually launch a cruise missile,the AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER),from a center pylon.This type of launch was simulated over the highly strategic Baltic Sea Region in 2021.* To shoot down a cruise missile,you have to know the missile's course and speed so you can intercept and destroy it.A heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile can destroy a cruise missile.So can an aircraft's cannon.As long as an aircraft has look-down-shoot-down capability,it can destroy a cruise missile,but it is very difficult to execute such a mission against the terrain-following,low-IR emission cruise missiles.

Boeing Opens New Advanced Composite Fabrication Center For Future Combat Aircraft Work - Avionics International

Boeing Opens New Advanced Composite Fabrication Center For Future Combat Aircraft Work - Avionics International: Boeing on Monday opened a new $150 million facility in Mesa, Arizona for producing advanced composite components for future combat aircraft programs.

NATO Land Forces:Saber Junction 22 Tests Combined Operations

More than 4400 troops are currently participating in land warfare drills at the US Army Hohenfels Training Area,Germany.Allied and Partner nations partcipating include Albania,Belgium,Bulgaria,Georgia,Hungary,Italy,Kosovo,Lithuania,North Macedonia,Romania,Slovakia,Turkey,the UK and the US. Bulgarian Soldiers are acting as members of the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade.More than 100 members of Bulgaria's Headquarters,2nd Mechanised Battalion;the self-propelled artillery battalion of 61st Stryama Mechanised Brigade with 15 units of equipment;and members of the Intelligence,Surveillance and Reconnaisance Battalion (STAR) are improving their skills through the exercise.The annual drills are to assess the preparedness of US Army units to execute unified land operations in a joint,combined environment while enhancing interoperability with Allied and Partner nations.* The exercise runs from 29 August to 20 September 2022.It trains leaders,staff,units and multinational partners to dominate in unified land operations worldwide.For example,on Airborne Operations Day 1,immediately being dropped,a US Army paratrooper checked his automatic rifle out before doing anything else.Another US Army paratrooper strode across the meadow with his machine gun at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels on 7 September.The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the US Army's rapidly deployable Contingency Response Force in Europe.They are forward deployed across Italy and Germany.*

Boeing Simulates Virtual MQ-25 Open Architecture Manned-Unmannned Teaming - Avionics International

Boeing Simulates Virtual MQ-25 Open Architecture Manned-Unmannned Teaming - Avionics International: Boeing recently conducted a digital simulation of an open autonomy architecture to have manned Navy aircraft control MQ-25A Stingray unmanned carrier-based tankers, the company said on Tuesday. In this event, the company virtually demonstrated how a Northrop Grumman [NOC] E-2D Advanced Hawkeye command and control aircraft, Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, and …

Advanced Air Mobility Center in Ohio Will Enable Collaboration between USAF, NASA, Academia, and Industry - Aviation Today

Advanced Air Mobility Center in Ohio Will Enable Collaboration between USAF, NASA, Academia, and Industry - Aviation Today: Construction of a facility for advanced air mobility projects began last month in Springfield, Ohio. The center is funded by $9.35M in investments.

UK,US and Irish Defence Forces Track Russian Warships

A Russian Navy task group has been traversing the North Atlantic Ocean near Ireland recently,drawing the scrutiny of Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster (F229),a US Navy P8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft and an Irish Air Corps surveillance plane-and possibly an Irish Sea Service vessel.The USN aircraft departed Iceland on the morning of 30 August 2022 and headed toward the West Coast of Ireland where the Russian warships were located.Indeed,the Russian task group have reportedly been loitering for several weeks in the North Atlantic.The task group includes the Russian naval tanker Vyazma;the cruise missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov;and the destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov.Initially,they sailed north toward the Irish Sea,but strangely turned around and made for the southwest.The task group has been in the same general area off the West Coast of Ireland for at least two weeks.*Typically such a task group is accompanied by a Russian hunter killer submarine.The area is in international waters,but also solidly within the Republic of Ireland's exclusive economic zone.The Irish Defence Forces do not comment on operational deployments.British experts,however,observed that the Russian task group was exhibiting aggressive posturing behaviour reminiscent of the Cold War.The warships are believed to ultimately be headed back to their homeport in Russia's Kola Peninsula,having first supported Russia's brutal Ukraine war.It is possible that,on their way home,they will reconnoiter around HM Naval Base Clyde in Faslane,Scotland,home of the UK'S ballistic missile submarine nuclear deterrent force.Additionally,a number of US Navy vessels have been making a series of port calls at HMNB Clyde for at least the past few months-mostly USN submarines,but also recently including the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51).The aim of the visits is to assure strategic cooperation with the Royal Navy.* There has been concern within NATO that such Russian Navy task groups may be practising sabotage against the critical undersea telecommunications cables linking Europe to North America.These cables are essential for Internet traffic.There are dozens of the North Atlantic cables.European data is largely stored in data centers in the US.So these and other undersea cables have been referred to as the world's information system highway,conveying more than 95% of international data.They enable cost-effective,reliable communications supportive of global business.The cables provide high band width connections supporting financial transactions and scientific cooperation.They also support national security,as the US military uses these private assets to conduct its own operations.Even Russian surface warships could deploy submersibles to sabotage or tap into the undersea cables,let alone what their hunter killer submarines could do.The Russian Navy may be simulating attacks on the North Atlantic information highway.It may be possible for such adversaries as Russia and China to disrupt the NATO Alliance's network management systems.*

NASA chief talks latest Artemis 1 launch scrub, possible VAB roll back

Newly elected national commander: ‘We all need to ‘Be the One’”

Newly elected national commander: ‘We all need to ‘Be the One’”: New York Legionnaire Vincent ‘Jim’ Troiola will make suicide prevention initiative a priority in upcoming year.

Lockheed Martin Notes High Mission Capable Rates for Forward F-35s, While Training Aircraft Lag - Aviation Today

Lockheed Martin Notes High Mission Capable Rates for Forward F-35s, While Training Aircraft Lag - Aviation Today: While the overall mission capable (MC) rate of the Lockheed Martin F-35 is around 60%, forward military detachments have seen MC rates of over 80%.