Tag Archives: Aircraft

Fighter Pilots: “Joy-Riding Flyboys”

In editorial discussions in Arizona about the future of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, locals parried over the possibility of the F-35 being stationed in the area.  The “discussion” demonstrated the continuing public stereotype of fighter pilots.  Said one letter writer to the Arizona Daily Star:

Basing the F-35 Air Force jet in Tucson is a very bad idea. Tucson is an asset to all of Arizona because it attracts quality, high-tech, tax-positive industry…Tucson is the jewel of Arizona. A deafening noise from joy-riding flyboys will do more economic harm than whatever modest benefit these flyboys will bring to the local bars. (emphasis added)

Interestingly, subsequent writers responded in defense of military fighter pilots, decrying the “generalization” of fighter pilots:  Read more

UAVs by Any Other Name

Reuters notes the tensions between common phrases and those who want to control the semantics.

The US Air Force has made a concerted effort to change the lexicon of Predators, Reapers, and other air vehicles that do not have humans onboard.  While traditionally called “UAVs,” or “Unmanned Air Vehicles,” the Air Force is now attempting to popularize the term “RPV,” or “Remotely Piloted Vehicle.”  (See, for example, this official Air Force article which exclusively uses the term “RPV.”)  The intent is to accurately convey the make up of the weapon system:

The change is significant to the Air Force as it recruits a new generation of pilots who may spend little time inside a jet plane. It wants the world to know that humans have “positive control over these vehicles,” [Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley] said.

Unfortunately, the Air Force might become a victim of its own insistence on correct characterization.  For example, it is true that the Predator Read more

Fighter Pilots Play the Villain

An interesting article at the Air Force Times goes into more detail about a previously discussed “dream job” in the US Air Force: playing the bad guy.  Air Force pilots fly American fighters but train to replicate the threat of potential adversaries.  They then use those skills to “defend their homeland” during major exercises.

(Fighter units frequently use their own assets to simulate an air threat, a technique known as flying “red air.”  However, aggressor units specifically train to precisely replicate foreign tactics for large force scenarios.)

The article indicates, perhaps a little too matter-of-factly, that the US Air Force once had multiple squadrons of Russian-built fighters:

In the days that the U.S. considered the Soviet Union its biggest threat, four squadrons of airmen flew Russian-made MiG-21s or Su-27 fighters to lend authenticity to their job. Read more

Fighter Pilots Fight the Enemy: Boredom, Guilt

Not every fighter pilot gets to “use” their skills.  Like a football player who never goes to the SuperBowl, they train hard and sharpen their skills for the time when they are called upon, but for any of a variety of reasons–whether timing, politics, or just the world environment–they simply “miss” the war.

As noted in Christian Fighter Pilot is not an Oxymoron, no fighter pilot yearns for war, but if war occurs, they desperately want to be there, to do their job, and to do their part to achieve victory.

That said, even in war, there are sometimes slow times.  The Air Force Times notes that November was the second month this year in which zero bombs were dropped in Iraq, even though there were more than 800 close air support missions.  Read more

Fighter Pilot Defends his Manliness

Paul “Skid” Woodford is a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and F-15 fighter pilot.  As recorded on his blog, he recently experienced a questionably “manly” event that reminded him of a story that is, truthfully, still a longstanding urban legend within the fighter community (particularly between the F-15 and F-16 communities, which sometimes have a “friendly” rivalry).  The story he tells is still well-known, despite the fact that Woodford retired more than 10 years ago, and the story he recounts is nearly 30 years old.

The reference to LtCol Woodford’s site does not equate to an endorsement of his views (interesting though they are).  He uses the “warrior vernacular,” so be warned about language on the site.  Woodford is also a self-described atheist and tends to “lean left.”

If nothing else, his site is proof that contrary to popular belief, the US military–and even the fighter pilot community–is not homogenous.  The US military is composed of men and women who represent all kinds of ideologies, as is the American culture from which they come.

Reports: UAV Video Feeds Compromised

While UAVs have the politically palatable aspect of not endangering a pilot, they are not the panacea that some seem to have come to believe they are.  They break, they crash, and sometimes they even have to be shot down by the good guys.

Now the Wall Street Journal reports that UAV video feeds that provide intel to American forces are also available to the targets of those feeds.  US forces reportedly captured laptops with hours of supposedly classified UAV video.

In an era in which people are derided for not securing their passwords or loading anti-virus software on their computer, it seems unconscionable that the US military didn’t take the “simple” step of encrypting the feeds.  This has led to some interesting comments, including “are we really that stupid?” as well as speculation that Read more

NORAD Exercise Reveals Typical Challenges

It is common knowledge that the Air Force and White House were roundly criticized for the Air Force One flyover in New York, a faux paus that ended the political career of the leader of the White House Military Office.  Since then, the military has made a point of announcing significant exercises and events that might attract the attention of the public, particularly those that involve aircraft.

Unfortunately, such announcements risk exposing the unpredictability of scheduling events that involve military aircraft.  For example, Read more

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