Half of U.S. Army’s Apache fleet in South Korea is leaving

Stars and Stripes:

The 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, currently stationed at Camp Eagle in Wonju, will move to Ft. Carson, Colo., in March, according to a press release from U.S. Forces Korea.

The relocation will allow the regiment to prepare for an upcoming deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to USFK spokesman Dave Palmer.

That deployment is scheduled for fall of 2009, Palmer wrote Sunday in response to questions.

12 A-10s will replace the 24 AH-64 Apache Longbows.

Last week I pointed out that close air support missions in Afghanistan were up 31% over last year. Here are a couple of primary culprits:

An F-15E Strike eagle conducts a mission over Afghanistan on Oct. 7. The F-15E Strike Eagle is a dual-role fighter designed to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. An array of avionics and electronics systems gives the F-15E the capability to fight at low altitude, day or night, and in all weather. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon)

And, of course, everyone’s favorite:

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USA Today: Airstrikes in Afghanistan increase 31%

An F-16 Fighting Falcon launches electronic countermeasure flares following an aerial refueling mission over Iraq.

Air missions to back U.S. troops on the ground have increased by 31% in Afghanistan this year, as fighting in the country spreads.

The growing reliance on air power raises the risk of injuring civilians and their property and reflects a shortage of ground forces needed to protect civilians and root out insurgents, ground commanders and military experts say.

“If we got more boots on the ground, we would not have to rely as much on” airstrikes, said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Tucker, deputy commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Ground commanders in Afghanistan have asked for an additional three combat brigades and an array of support forces, which could amount to about 20,000 more troops.

The air missions, called close air support, are airstrikes requested by ground forces engaged with the enemy.

This report makes it sound like the primary job of CAS is to help troops when there aren’t enough of them. CAS certainly performs that duty, of course, but it’s hardly the only time, or even the primary time, that it’s employed.

CAS will be employed heavily whenever possible wherever US troops are engaged. If we boosted troop numbers in Afghanistan, they’d be in combat more often and CAS missions would be even more numerous. Any slight reductions due to more plentiful troops would be more than offset by more engagements.

(This would be the best course of action, in Murdoc’s humble opinion.)

The higher CAS numbers reflect more combat due to a more-active enemy and more offensive missions by US and allied troops. This is what we saw in Iraq when the “surge” troops began arriving and the offensive-oriented and active patrol operations picked back up.

I couldn’t quickly find a list of CAS missions in Iraq by month to support my claim, but here are two stories from the summer of 2007 noting the increase in Air Force combat missions in Iraq.

USA Today: Under the radar: Air Force ramps up in Iraq (July 07)
NPR: U.S. Air Force Missions Increase in Iraq (September 07)

The timing coincides with the “surge” swinging into full gear. More combat = more CAS.

Sure, we could use more troops in Afghanistan. But the elevated CAS numbers will go up if and when they arrive, not down.

Lawmakers Pressure Pentagon to Release Funds for Controversial F-22 Fighter Jet

Senior House lawmakers are ratcheting up pressure on Defense Department officials to release congressionally approved funding for an Air Force fighter that has been the subject of a running battle between Pentagon and Air Force leaders.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has said he wants the F-22 Raptor’s fate decided by the next presidential administration, senior House Armed Services Committee lawmakers demanded an explanation for why $140 million already set aside for the plane’s suppliers is being held up.

Production is coming to an end, and if it stops completely it will be even more expensive to re-start later. Meaning that it won’t re-start later.

Are 183 F-22 Raptors enough? Would it make more sense to put that money toward more F-35s?

UPDATE: The C-17 is facing the same production line and supply chain issues.

In Unique Aircraft Wearing Out :

Fourteen C-130s are being transferred from transportation units for conversion to ten MC-130 all-weather transports, and four AC-130U gunships. Both of these aircraft are equipped to operate at night and in any weather, as well as at very low altitudes. AFSOC has 37 MC-130s that are wearing out, so more new, or rebuilt, C-130s will be arriving in the next three years. AFSOC is also experimenting with a two engine gunship (based on the C-27J), the AC-27J.

On a related note, I don’t think I ever noted the fact that the Air Force reversed course on the plan to replace the 40mm Bofors cannon and the 25mm gatling gun with 30mm Bushmaster cannons on the AC-130Us.

AFSOC leadership noted problems with the 30 mm’s accuracy as the reason for AFSOC putting the plan on the shelf. The installment of the (2) Bushmaster 30 mm cannons on each gunship in the AC-130U fleet would have replaced the 25 mm Gatling guns and 40 mm Bofors cannons. The plan was visioned as providing a way for the CAS aircraft to act more as a airborne sniper with what AFSOC officials call a “two shot”, where the gun can be automatically corrected for accuracy after it fires off its first shot on a target. Unfortunately, the test program never produced sufficient results to keep it alive any longer.

That L/60 Bofors gun just keeps on ticking.

Italy Gives Up Test Role on JSF

Italy has given up the chance of taking part in a pending initial evaluation stage within the Joint Strike Fighter program, the apparent consequence of budget cuts.

While it remains a program partner, intending to buy up to 131 aircraft, and has invested in the development phase, Italy will no longer exercise an option to buy two low-rate production fighters which it would have used in the early testing and evaluation phase of the aircraft.

Britain and the Netherlands are the only partners taking place in the evaluation.

Via Trimble.

Airborne Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Minefield Detection System (ASTAMIDS)

Northrop Grumman Tests Airborne Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Minefield Detection System On New Unmanned Helicopter

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) flew its new Airborne Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Minefield Detection System (ASTAMIDS) for the first time aboard an unmanned air vehicle. ASTAMIDS, which is in development for the U.S. Army, flew on Northrop Grumman’s new, company-owned MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Unmanned Air System helicopter, designated as “P6.”

The gimbaled multisensor that is the visible component of Northrop Grumman's new Airborne Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Minefield Detection System (ASTAMIDS) as mounted below the nose of Northrop Grumman's MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Unmanned Air System helicopter. ASTAMIDS is being developed for the Army under its Countermeasures and Explosive Ordnance Devices and Command and Control Systems program offices.