Archive for the ‘Air’ Category

Lusty prepares to join Libyan warzone after £40m upgrade

HMS Illustrious is on stand-by to go to war in Libya, The News can reveal.

The Portsmouth-based warship, which only came out of a £40m refit last month, will be sent to relieve HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean in the next six months. [emphasis Murdoc's]

British Army pilots are training to fly AH-64 Apache attack helicopters off of the Illustrious. The ship was refitted to operate helicopters only after the British military retired the last of their Harrier jump jets last year.

Considering that the big rush to get the ship into action will take up to six more months, Murdoc’s thinking the Brits aren’t expecting an end to the action anytime soon.

UPDATE: Here’s a shot of the “Lusty” (pre-refit):

The Royal Navy Invincible-class aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious (R 06), and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69 transit in formation during a multi-ship maneuvering exercise in the Atlantic Ocean. The three carriers are currently participating in Operation Bold Step where more than 15,000 service members from three countries partake in the Joint Task Force Exercise (JTFX). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jay C. Pugh (RELEASED). Photographer's Name: MC2 Jay C. Pugh Date Shot: 7/29/2007

In response to the photo of the Arrested F-16, here are the F-16 Tailhook Procedures

Including some close-up photos of the hook. Murdoc was not aware of this at all.

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft from Misawa Air Base, Japan, is stopped by an aircraft arresting barrier system during annual test of the system at Yokota Air Base, Japan, July 13, 2011. The arresting gear is used in the event of an emergency when an aircraft cannot stop on its own. (DoD photo by Osakabe Yasuo, U.S. Air Force/Released)

So what do planes without tailhooks do? Just catch their front gear on the cable?

Haven’t done a Catblogging entry for a while, so here’s one:

Iranian F-14 Tomcat

Not sure about when this happened. The photo seemsm to be making the rounds.

Lockheed Martin Delivers First F-35 Production Jet for Training to Eglin AFB

The first Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT – News) production model F-35 Lightning II to be assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing arrived here today at 1:18 p.m. CDT after its more than 90-minute ferry flight from Fort Worth, Texas. The aircraft, known as AF-9, will be used for activities in concert with training F-35 pilots and maintainers who begin coursework at the base’s new F-35 Integrated Training Center this fall.

AF-9 is a conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) version of the 5th generation stealth fighter. Overall, the jet is the third production-model F-35 delivered to the U.S. Air Force, with the first two assigned to Edwards AFB, Calif.

Here’s a photo of AF-9:

F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter delivered to Eglin AFB

Meanwhile: Price Goes Up $771 Million on Most Expensive Defense Program

From left to right, U.S. Air Force Capt. Kenneth Cooper, 820th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) airborne flight commander; Tech. Sgt. Joshua Tully , airborne fire protection craftsman; and Capt. Christopher Smith, RED HORSE airborne officer in charge, run away from a Nevada Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter after rigging an 11,000 pound steel training block during airdrop and sling-load training at the Senator Harry Reid Readiness and Training Center in Nevada June 28, 2011. (DoD photo by Senior Airman Brett Clashman, U.S Air Force/Released)

What a crazy coincidence that “Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers” comes out “RED HORSE.”

X-47B UCAS

The U.S. Navy and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) have successfully completed a demonstration of the ship-based software and systems that will allow the X-47B unmanned air vehicle to operate from the deck of an aircraft carrier.

The test, conducted July 2 in the western Atlantic with the Navy carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN-69), culminated with several successful launches and recoveries of a manned surrogate aircraft equipped with X-47B precision navigation control software.

“This manned surrogate test event is a significant and critical step toward landing the X-47B on the carrier deck in 2013,” said Capt. Jaime Engdahl, U.S. Navy, program manager, Navy Unmanned Combat Air System (N-UCAS). “It represents the first end-to-end test of the hardware and software systems that will eventually allow unmanned systems to integrate safely and successfully with all aspects of carrier operations.”

and

First, they used early versions of the software that the X-47B will use to operate at the carrier to simulate command and control, air traffic control and navigation exchanges between the aircraft and the carrier. Then they progressed to more robust simulations that included X-47B avionics and an X-47B mission operator station, all in the NASIF lab.

Next were flight tests of X-47B hardware and software installed on a King Air Beech 300 aircraft. The King Air flew in the vicinity of CVN-69 – both pier-side in Norfolk, Va., and while underway – to test mission management, command and control, communications, air traffic control and navigation functions between the X-47B software and the ship.

In addition to the King Air, the test team used a surrogate F/A-18 aircraft equipped with X-47B software and avionics to evaluate the most challenging areas of launch and recovery operations. Initial testing at Patuxent River focused on verifying that aircraft sensors, navigation, guidance and control systems were ready for shipboard testing.

U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II aircraft with Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 214, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) land aboard the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD-2) during flight operations in the South China Sea June 29, 2011. VMA-214 was conducting an air qualification exercise in order to provide air support to the 31st MEU during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2011. (DoD photo by Lance Cpl Steve Acuff, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)

The US, Spain, and Italy still operate Harriers. The Brits retired the last of theirs in December.

A couple of weeks ago there, was a report that the US government had bought some of the retired British planes for spare parts to keep the Marine Harriers flying until the F-35B arrives, but the Ministry of Defence denied it. Does anyone have any clarification on this story?

Sometimes you post photos just because they’re cool:

An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 81 maneuvers during an air power demonstration over the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Travis K. Mendoza/Released)