Archive for June, 2009
Officials explain growth in fighter gap totals
It’s taking longer than expected to inspect Hornets and clear them for more hours, and fewer are passing than planned. In short, the Navy is effed.
Russia Will Protect Interests in Arctic: Official
Three-way saber rattling over the Arctic continues.
Gas Discovery Changes Israel’s Energy Picture
A huge natural gas discovery 50 miles off the Israeli coast at Haifa could potentially meet Israel’s energy needs for 20 years.
Training the Top Guns of drone aircraft
U.S. Air Force Weapons School for advanced Predator and Reaper training.
The plan for smaller, faster, deadlier UAVs
But still saying “no” to a unmanned nuclear bomber.
Cops are experts at applying force to gain coercion, they aren’t legal experts.
I’m often surprised at how often cops don’t seem to know the laws, particularly those involving guns.
Fisherman hooks live missile in Gulf of Mexico
It was a Sidewinder. He WANTED TO KEEP IT. The local AFB said no.
AR15 Fix by Adams Arms
My article at GunsAndHunting.com about this retrofit piston system for ARs.
Read the rest of this entry »
At one point I thought this had all been put to bed. But now I suspect that, eventually, we’re going to be exporting Raptors.
If the laws prohibiting foreign military sales of the F-22 were lifted, the service could begin the standard process of creating a version of the fighter that would not jeopardize U.S. military secrets, an Air Force acquisition official told a Senate panel Tuesday.
“We would go into the process dealing with the State Department policy crowd and the using normal foreign military sales processes,” said Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, military deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition.
Four U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor aircraft taxi down the flight line during their arrival at Andersen Air Force Base (AFB), Guam, May 13, 2009. The F-22s, assigned to the 90th Fighter Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, are deployed here as part of the 525th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron supporting Pacific Command's Theatre Support Package. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher Bush/Released)
The first MC-12 Liberty aircraft in-theater lands here at approximately 6:20 p.m. local time June 10 after its first combat sortie. The Air Force's newest ISR platform, the MC-12 is a medium-altitude manned special-mission turbo prop aircraft designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The aircraft will operate from here in direct support of coalition and joint ground forces. Photo by Senior Airman Tiffany Trojca
A technician straps legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield into the cockpit of the X-15 rocket plane before an early test flight. The X-15's maiden flight occurred on June 8, 1959, during which Crossfield was carried aloft in his sleek, black rocket plane beneath the wing of a B-52 from NASA's Flight Research Center (now NASA Dryden). This was the beginning of nearly a decade of flight research that probed the hypersonic speed realm and altitudes at the edge of space. Image Credit: NASA/North American Aviation
USAF Project Liberty Slide
Manned spy plane flies 1st combat sortie
The Air Force’s newest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform flew its first combat sortie Wednesday, about seven months after the contract for the plane was first awarded.
An MC-12W Liberty took off from Joint Base Balad, Iraq, at 2:30 p.m. for a four-hour mission, according to an Air Force news release.
The manned ISR aircraft has been on a fast track to the war zones since the $461 million program was launched in July by a Pentagon task force. The Air Force plans to deploy 37 MC-12s to supplement the MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers already flying orbits around the clock.
MC-12Ws are twin-propeller Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350 airplanes outfitted with high-tech ISR sensors; unlike Predators and Reapers, they do not carry weapons.
You’ve gotta admit that getting the first one into the combat zone only eleven months after deciding to go ahead with the program is a job well done. Despite this, follow-up planes are lagging. Instead of 13 deployed by August, the number is probably going to be only 6. They are being counted on to provide additional support during the troop build-up in Afghanistan while UAV construction struggles to keep up with demand.
The first seven planes were bought used, while planes 8 through 31 will be new builds with extended range.
Also see Stephen Trimble’s The US Air Force’s MC-12W goes to war
06/08/2009 - USS Mount Whitney (LCC/JCC 20) leads a formation of ships from 12 different countries through the Baltic Sea June 8, 2009, during the exercise Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2009. BALTOPS is an annual exercise hosted by the United States and is intended to improve interoperability with partner nations by conducting realistic training at sea. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Rumbach, U.S. Navy/Released)
Abdulhakim Muhammad
Ark. suspect says he is unaware of new attacks
The Muslim convert accused of killing a soldier outside an Army recruiting center said Wednesday he is not aware of any similar attacks planned against the military on American soil.
Abdulhakim Muhammad told The Associated Press that FBI agents visited him in jail and asked if other attacks were planned. Muhammad said he told the agents that he wasn’t aware of any specific plans.
However, he warned of danger ahead.
“I don’t know anything that’s in the works,” Muhammad said in a collect telephone call from the jail. “We’re not going to turn the other cheek. It’s definitely not the end of it.”
(Emphasis Murdoc’s.) “WE’RE”? Doesn’t sound like some guy that “just snapped.”
He says the killing was justified because of US military action in the Middle East.
Funny that this isn’t getting a lot more press.
UPDATE: Contrast the decided lack of coverage of Muhammad’s background or claimed motivations (motivations he has flat out admitted) with this about a shooting this afternoon:
James Von Brunn
A “white supremacist” and “known racist” and it isn’t even time for the evening news yet.
See? The media can find things out and get out the word when it wants. “When it wants” being the key concern here.
DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for May 2009
Active Component.
Recruiting. All four active services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for May.
- Army – 4,044 accessions with a goal of 3,900; 104 percent
- Navy – 2,542 accessions with a goal of 2,542; 100 percent
- Marine Corps – 2,146 accessions with a goal of 1,516; 142 percent
- Air Force – 2,289 accessions with a goal of 2,279; 100 percent
Retention. Retention continues to be very strong as all four active component services met or exceeded their May retention goals. The Marine Corps has met its year-end first and subsequent goals and Army has met its year-end initial, mid-career and career goals.
Army National Guard, which is usually the tail-end Charlie in recruiting numbers, was only at 83%. The Marine Corps Reserves, meanwhile, had 212% of their goal.
The long-awaited return of the weekly battleship fix.
Lots of scans from old ONI recognition manuals. Very much worth a look. Here’s part of the USS West Virginia (BB 48):
The WEST VIRGINIA, originally built as a unit of the COLORADO Class, is now patterened after the TENNESSEE, differing principally in the main battery. Serious damage to the CALIFORNIA and slight damage to the TENNESSEE at Pearl Harbor resulted in condsiderable wartime alterations to both units and the modernization of their armament. An additional hull has been built around the original, providing greater beam, underwater protection and stability. This class now bears close resemblance to the SOUTH DAKOTA Class. A somewhat more prominent stack and four instead of three turrets are the main differences between this group and the SOUTH DAKOTAs.
I hadn’t realized that an entirely new outer hull had been added to the West Virginia.
