Category Archives: Fighter Pilot

Future US Air Force to Have Fewer Fighter Pilots

Stars and Stripes says the US Air Force is looking at a new paradigm in demographics for the coming years:  fewer fighter pilots.  The reduction is attributable to several causes:

U.S. Air Force officials say the number of fighter pilots is likely to decline in coming years, due in part to fewer aircraft and training opportunities, fighter pilots increasingly assigned to non-flying jobs and the lure of lucrative jobs in commercial aviation.

Ultimately, however, it boils down to a reduction in fighter aircraft, which naturally means few fighter pilots (at least in fighter cockpits):  Read more

Naval Aviators Chafe at New Flight Suit Rules

The Navy Times notes US Naval aviators (not pilots; pilots are the guys that drive the boats) are “chafing” at fairly new rules on the wear of their flight suits.

The January policy required black T-shirts be worn with green suits and brown T-shirts be worn with tan suits. It also relegated graduate-level aircrew training patches to the right shoulder and required garrison caps to be stuffed into either leg pocket with the zipper open and cap exposed.

One aviator summarized this as all of the bad parts of the Air Force rules (which also recently changed) and none of the good:  Read more

AT-6C Drops Laser Guided Bombs in Arizona

The AT-6C, a modified version of the T-6 currently used to train US Air Force and Navy pilots, has reportedly been used to deliver LGBs out of Tucson, Arizona.  The Air Force Reserve Command Test Center has been testing the AT-6C, which is explicitly not an in-development weapons acquisition program.

Though light attack is not an Air Force procurement program, AATC’s task is to report its findings to senior leaders early next year to help refine requirements…

As if to prove the point, the aircraft has a civilian N-number, rather than a military designation:

There aren’t too many civilian aircraft in the world equipped to Read more

F-35B Makes First Vertical Landing at Sea

The US Marine Corps’ STOVL variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35B Lightning II, has made its first vertical landing aboard the USS Wasp while it was underway, flown by US Marine Corps Test Pilot LtCol Fred Schenk.  (The Wasp is a straight-deck amphibious assault ship, not an aircraft carrier.)  Interestingly, they didn’t mention the subsequent takeoff, which would likely have also been a first.

The DoD has posted a short video of the landing — which was likely a much longer event than shown — on YouTube.

 

US Navy Electromagnetically Launches E-2

The US Navy used its in-development Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) to launch an E-2D Hawkeye last week.

The upcoming Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers will be the first that abandons the steam catapult for the EMALS, marking a significant change in naval aviation.  To date, the EMALS has also launched F/A-18E Super Hornets, T-45 Goshawks, and the C-2A Greyhound.

The Navy posted videos of the launch, in which the traditional steam is noticeably absent, on YouTube.

Iraq Makes First Payment on New F-16 Fleet

According to various (and official) sources, the Iraqi government has begun the process of purchasing F-16s to stand up a new capability in its fledgling Air Force.

Iraq has signed an estimated $3 billion deal to buy 18 fighter jets from the United States, officials said Tuesday, in a measure aimed at protecting its air space alone after years of relying on help from American pilots.

Though the planes won’t arrive in country for some time, Iraqi pilots are reportedly already being trained in the US:  Read more

A-10 Crashes in Georgia

An A-10C Warthog crashed in Georgia Monday afternoon.  The pilot ejected and was being evaluated at Moody Air Force Base’s medical facilities.

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — An Air Force A-10C pilot assigned to the 23rd Wing ejected from an aircraft during a routine mission at approximately 2:45 p.m. today in a non-residential area northeast of Berlin, Ga., in Cook County.

Update: The pilot was released with minor injuries.  Public Affairs has posted pictures of the crash site.

US Declines to Sell New F-16s to Taiwan, Will Upgrade

According to the New York Times, the Obama administration has decided against allowing Taiwan to purchase new F-16C/Ds, but it will allow them to purchase the material to upgrade their existing fleet of F-16A/Bs.  Some have called this “buckling to pressure from China,” which generally criticizes military support for what it considers a breakaway state.

“If the reports are true,” Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, said in a written statement on Friday, “today’s capitulation to Communist Read more

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