A military news article recounts an Army spin on a long standing aviation tradition. Helicopter pilots fly with American flags into combat and later give them to support organizations, friends, and family:
A nation’s flag can be a powerful symbol of pride for people, but a flag that comes with a story behind it can mean so much more… Read more
The Air Force and the Air Force Times have published articles releasing information on the crash of an F-15E Strike Eagle in Afghanistan in July. The crash claimed the lives of the both the fighter pilot, Capt Mark McDowell, and the WSO, Capt Thomas Granith.
The investigation determined that the two-man crew was executing a simulated attack for training on their way back to base. The planned attack was a high-angle night strafe against a ground target. After their flight lead aborted a simulated attack Read more
The military times magazines note that the US Navy has approved full-rate production of the EA-18G Growler. The EA-18G is a highly modified variant of the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet designed for electronic attack rather than conventional air-to-air or air-to-ground roles. The Growler will primarily be used to jam enemy radars and perform other similar electronic missions rather than perform strike or air defense sorties. However, the aircraft will retain some offensive weapons capabilities.
The Growler name was a combination of the aircraft the EA-18 was designed to replace (the EA-6B Prowler), the fact that this was the “G” variant, and a large dose of fighter pilot humor that amazingly slipped by the censors (likely because it was a Navy, rather than Air Force, program–the Air Force still calls the F-16 a Fighting Falcon, while pilots call it the Viper). Admittedly, the Navy also named a submarine the USS Growler, which was supposedly named after a black bass.
The Navy Times reports that the US Navy has disciplined 13 sailors for cheating during a written nuclear propulsion test on board the carrier USS Harry S Truman. The reports do not explain what the sailors did, except to say they were using notes; it is possible that the notes were test gouge, especially since the Navy subsequently made all the sailors re-take the test.
Retired Capt. Jim Colgary, a former submarine commander, said:
Trust is the fundamental bedrock of going to sea on these ships. If an individual is dishonest enough to cheat on an exam, you can’t trust them to stand watch or take logs on systems associated with nuclear reactors.
Colgary’s analysis applies well beyond the nuke test. The trust bestowed upon the US military by the American public is a sacred one, Read more
The Air Force has continued its practice of paying bonuses (officially known as Aviator Continuation Pay, or ACP) to aviators.
After graduating from training, Air Force aviators (pilots and navigators) incur a commitment to serve; currently, the pilot commitment is 10 years. When the pilot’s commitment is over, Read more
Boeing, which has been emphasizing advanced technologies and weapon systems, recently announced that it had shot down small UAVs with vehicle-mounted lasers. (Boeing was also responsible for the airborne tactical laser that recently fired at ground targets.)
The system was under test by the US Air Force at the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, CA.
The system experimentation serves two purposes: Read more
The culture of the Air Force is in many ways like high school. Fighter pilots are the jocks, the cool kids who rule the campus. And drone pilots? They’re the AV club.
As has been frequently said here (and as described in the book), the stereotype is that Air Force fighter pilots are the glorious rulers of the Air Force. A Stars and Stripes article says that the Air Force cultural dominance of the fighter pilot may be at an end, just as the dominance of strategic nuclear bombers passed on to fighters decades ago.
While the dominance of the fighter pilot may be fading in some people’s estimation, the cultural stereotype lives on: Read more
The first test version of the F-35B, the STOVL version for the Marines, arrived at the US Navy flight test facility at Patuxent River this weekend. The aircraft is built with the lift fans that will allow vertical flight, but it is not production representative; it was built specifically for the test program and includes equipment and sensors that will not be in the operational version of the JSF. Lockheed has yet to deliver any F-35A or C versions, for the Air Force and Navy, respectively, though one AF version flew for the first time last Saturday.
USMC Photo
Unfortunately, a second report simultaneously came out Read more