Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

Gen Welsh Orders Air Force Health and Welfare Inspection

Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh ordered his wing commanders to conduct “health and welfare inspections” with the intent of fostering respect and professionalism.  The Air Force announcement was fairly benign:

Commanders across the Air Force will conduct health and welfare inspections…to emphasize an environment of respect, trust and professionalism in the workplace…

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III tasked commanders…to examine their work settings and ensure Airmen at all levels consistently apply standards of professionalism and respect across the service.

The Air Force Times took a more direct approach, saying the target was material that “objectif[ies] women:”

Commanders and supervisors in all corners of the Air Force Read more

X-47B Deploys to Aircraft Carrier

The X-47, an experimental unmanned “combat air system,” has been hoisted onto the USS Truman for “carrier deck handling tests.”  Presumably, these tests do not yet include carrier launches or landings (though a catapult launch on a land-based site has already occurred, complete with PR video).

Current generation unmanned vehicles essentially began their lives as surveillance assets and were modified to carry weapons.  The progeny of the X-47 will be combat attack vehicles by design, and may even have autonomous capabilities.

Observers will be forgiven if their first thought is “Skynet.”

Skittles on the Flight Deck

If you’ve ever seen a movie about an American naval aircraft carrier flight deck, you’ve likely noticed the varied colored shirts/helmets worn by various teams on the deck.  If you’ve ever wondered what they all mean, DoD Live provides a primer:

The yellow shirts are generally worn by the person in charge. Their job consists of aircraft handling officers, catapult and arresting gear officers and plane directors.

The blue shirts [perform] as aircraft handlers, Read more

Soldiers, ACLU Sue for Right to Combat

The ACLU and four female servicemembers have sued the Department of Defense because the DoD officially excludes women from (some) combat roles.  (This is the second such suit to be filed this year, though “ACLU” may get a little more attention than “University of Virginia.”)  The justification is largely similar to that which supported the repeal of DADT and the recent legalization of marijuana in some states: People are doing it anyway, so it might as well be made official. 

In fact, the ACLU almost explicitly borrows the DADT mantra Read more

CSAF General Welsh Ends Air Force Blues Mondays

Prepare to hang up those polyester pants, ladies and gentlemen.

As reported in the Air Force Times, Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Mark Welsh “decided not to renew” the Air Force-wide “blues Mondays” instituted by his predecessor, Gen Schwartz (a widely-panned decision noted even in the infamous Dear Boss letter).  This means the authority for the uniform policy reverts to the MAJCOM, rather than HQ Air Force, level:

Accordingly, both Air Force Space Command and Air Force Special Operations Command have ended Blues Mondays. Other major commands, Read more

QF-16 Drone Arrives at Tyndall AFB

The first QF-16 — an F-16 modified to be used as a target drone — has arrived at Tyndall AFB for testing.

The QF-16 is a supersonic reusable full-scale aerial target drone modified from an F-16 Fighting Falcon. At this time, the 53rd WEG uses QF-4s, made from 1960s F-4 Phantoms, to conduct their full-scale aerial target missions.

If the drone is put into production within a reasonable time, the QF-16 will mark the first time an active US Air Force combat airframe will be able to shoot down itself in training.  Prior target drones — including the current QF-4s — were put into use after their active counterparts were retired.

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