The Airborne Laser Test Bed, officially the YAL-1A, was part of a 15-year, multi-billion dollar research program that ultimately shot down a surface-launched missile.
It has now been retired to the Air Force’s Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group near Tucson, Arizona — more commonly known as “the boneyard:” Read more
The Air Force Times notes that in Congressional testimony, Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said the Air Force did not blame Capt Jeff Haney, pilot of the F-22 that crashed in Alaska — despite the public report apparently to the contrary.
Schwartz [said] the Air Force did not blame Capt. Jeff Haney for the…crash in Alaska, despite the service’s own report that said Haney was at fault.
“We did not assign blame to the pilot,” Schwartz said Read more
The much ballyhooed attempt by the US Air Force to provide Afghanistan with a light attack aircraft recently hit another roadblock.
Prior to December, there were two contractors vying for the award — Hawker Beechcraft’s AT-6 and Embraer’s Super Tucano. In December, the Air Force removed Hawker from the competition and awarded the contract to the sole remaining bidder.
Despite ongoing budget issues, the US Air Force intends to develop and field a new bomber colloiqually known as the Long Range Strike Aircraft.
The Air Force has already set aside $292 million in research dollars for the bomber in their fiscal 2013 budget request. The service plans to spend $6.3 billion into the effort over the next five years. Once developed, the new bomber will replace B-1Bs and B-2s. The new plane will be designed to evade advanced aerial defense systems, employ stealth Read more
The US Air Force chose its top fighter squadron, naming the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, as the 2011 Raytheon Trophy winner.
The annual award, originally started by the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1953, is now sponsored by Raytheon Systems Corporation and is given Read more
The Jewish Community Centers (JCC) Association has decided to present its Jewish Military Leadership Award to Rear Admiral Herman Shelanski, commander of USS Harry S Truman strike group. The group said the reasons include RAdm Shelanski’s
consistent concern for the ability of Jews in the Navy to fully express their Jewish identity while they serve their country.
As commander of the carrier USS Harry S Truman, RAdm Shelanski Read more
Ever wonder how they get small, limited-range General Aviation aircraft to the mission field?
They put’em in a box.
Mission Aviation Fellowhip (MAF) has a short write-up on boxing up a Cessna 182 before it is shipped to Mozambique.
Hugh Beck pokes and prods the Cessna 182 like he’s a physician giving his patient a physical. No joint overlooked, no piece misplaced. Meticulousness is required when you’re about to put a plane in a box and ship it 8,000 miles to be reassembled in the jungle…
Update: The military has said enemy action was not involved in the U-28 crash.
A U-28A — an AFSOC version of the Pilatus PC-12 — went down over the weekend during a mission from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti (in the horn of Africa, for those unfamiliar). All four aircrew were killed. The least amount of deployments among the crew was 3 (in 5 years).
Of the three officers, one was from ROTC, one from OTS, and one was a 2009 USAFA graduate. That represents all 3 possible commissioning sources in the Air Force in one loss. While there are often good-natured rivalries among OTS, ROTC, and USAFA, risk and sacrifice know no bias.
Captain Ryan Hall…was a U-28A pilot on his seventh deployment. Read more