Texas and other Gulf States Officials Oppose C-130 Transfer

The governors of Texas and other Gulf states like Louisiana, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi have written to the White House imploring to block the move of C-130 fleet from their states. The US Air Force are planning to move the entire fleet of C-130 transport aircraft of the Texas National Guard to Montana.

The Air Force along with the rest of the military units is making a lot of changes due to budget cuts. Part of this change is to move units of aircraft to different bases. One such move will see the Texas C-130 fleet transferred to Montana, which will lose its F-15 fighters. The Texas National Guard will gain MC-12 Liberty plane, these aircraft gather intelligence.

Gulf states are prone to experience major weather disturbances like hurricanes and the C-130 are very useful in during these emergencies. When the Hurricane Katrina and Rita in 2005 as well as with Hurricane Ike and Gustav in 2008 hit the Gulf region, the C-130s had been instrumental in evacuating people and transporting supplies during the calamity.

A part of the governors’ letter to the President reads:

“Texas and the Gulf Coast are under constant threat of hurricanes, wildfires and floods. These C-130s have answered the call to support Gulf Coast States to counter these threats at a moment’s notice. … Mr. President, it makes no sense to move the assets of a perfectly functioning and experienced unit that has supported us well to establish the exact same capability in a state with none of this experience or any ties to the states that traditionally require these assets for emergency response.”

Since the C-130 belongs to the Air National Gurad, Texas Governor Rick Perry can easily call it up when a disaster strikes any gulf state and it will be ready to respond within hours. If the transport aircraft moved, there will be no C-130 withing the vicinity that can respond during disasters. Gulf state governors will have to rely on the Defense Department to call up federal military forces to see action during a calamity – a process that can take-up several days.

Gulf state governors are not alone in their pursuit. Gulf states senators and congress representatives are questioning military officials about the merit of the C-130 transfer. During the budget committee hearing, representatives from the gulf states have bombarded Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz with questions and demands of explanation on how the Air Force can benefit financially in moving the C-130s. Unfortunately, the military officials have yet to come up with an answer.

“The hearing today was for the budget of the Air Force,” Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth said in a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “We asked questions about their plan, and they can’t provide reasonable explanations as to why they made their decisions. That makes me angry.”

source: http://www.star-telegram.com

Canadian DND figures shows little wiggle room in replacing CF-18s with stealth fighters

Ottawa, CANADA – There’s little wiggle room to prolong the life of Canada’s CF-18 jet fighters beyond 2020 and they may have to be flown gently if there are further delays in the F-35 program.

A Defence Department chart that tracks maintenance on all 77 aircraft shows the CF-18s had used up about 73 per cent of their airframe life prior to last year’s Libya bombing campaign.

National Defence has acknowledged there is no back-up plan if the multi-national F-35 stealth fighter program encounters more problems or postponements.

The retirement date for all but three of the CF-18s is set at 2020, according to the spreadsheet tabled in Parliament last year in response to written questions by Opposition parties.

On average, each aircraft is expected to end its service life with just over 7,000 hours in the air; most had already surpassed an average 5,151 hours at the time the snapshot was taken in late 2010.

The aging fighters have gone through a decade-long $1.8-billion upgrade to their weapons systems and sensors, and senior defence officials say they’ll “easily be effective” for another eight years.

All of the jets were purchased between 1984 and 1989. Aircraft No. 925 is expected to clock out with the airtime at 8,637 hours, according to the documents.

The first of the problem-plagued F-35s is supposed to be delivered in 2016, with the bulk of the planned 65 aircraft arriving in 2020.

The New Democrats say it’s foolish that the Harper government has not prepared a solid back-up plan, even if that contingency is simply investing in some sort of airframe life-extension.

“The way they are proceeding simply confounds me,” said NDP critic Matthew Kellway. “I don’t know how they could have painted themselves into this corner without a back up, and if they have one they refuse to tell us what it might be.”

But for the Harper government, the figures underscore the need to replace the aging fighters.

“Canada’s CF-18s are nearing the end of their usable lives,” said Chris McCluskey, a spokesman for Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino.

“We have set a budget for replacement aircraft and we have been clear that we will operate within that budget. We will make sure that the Air Force has aircraft necessary to do the job we ask of them.”

Other nations, notably the United States, have invested in programs to keep their F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15 Eagles flying because of delays in the US $328-billion stealth fighter, which is the most costly weapons program in American history.

In fact, Lockheed Martin, which manufactures both the F-35 and the F-16, announced last week that it would offer upgrade kits to keep older Falcons in the air and might even build new ones.

Industry observers see it as a hedge against more possible delays.

The current Defence Department plan in Ottawa sees the first F-35s arrive in 2016 and enter service in the 2018 time frame, at which point the oldest of the current fighters would be retired. But development setbacks and delayed orders from other allied nations have cast doubt on that.

Defence experts have been pushing the government since last fall to consider a further upgrade to the CF-18s.

Retired air force lieutenant-colonel Dean Black has said it’s something that should be considered rather than going down the road of Australia buying new Super Hornets, the beefed up version of the F-18.

 

-whistlerquestion.com

F-15 and Sentinel R1 in near collision over Lincoln

A Sentinel spy plane was on a “collision course” with two F15 jets in the skies over Lincoln, a report has revealed.

The Sentinel R1, based at RAF Waddington and used for covert surveillance, was on a training flight from the base when it found itself on a collision course with the two jets. The report said all three aircraft were forced to take action to avoid each other. It also suggested in the report that air traffic controllers’ high workload meant they were perhaps not as alert to the danger as they should have been as it unfolded over 30 seconds.

The report added that “Given the time gap, best controlling practice suggests that the opportunity existed for a more timely warning to be given. It is possible that this missed opportunity may be grounded in reduced levels of psycho-physiological alertness caused by workload history, however, it is not possible to sustain this hypothesis.”

The F15s eventually passed 1,600ft overhead after the Sentinel pilot dropped his altitude and both jets began to climb.

The report told how the lead F15 pilot first spotted the risk.

“He realised that they were on a collision course and saw that the traffic was continuing to climb up towards their formation,” the report said. “He saw that the Sentinel was not stopping its climb and he directed the pair to climb to avoid it.”

“Class G airspace is effectively ‘free’ airspace where anyone, civilian or military, can operate and where ‘see and avoid’ is the primary means of collision avoidance with or without a radar service”, said MoD spokesman.

Source: Lincolnshire

F-22s at Mountain Home for a month of training

F-22 Raptors and their elite pilots are up for training at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. This is the first time that Raptors are training with Mountain Home’s F-15s. About a dozen are up from Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, testing the mountains of Idaho.

The 43rd Fighter Squadron and more than 100 airmen are arrived for a month of training from Tyndall Air Force Base in southern Florida, where they only get to train at sea level.

“It’s the number one air dominance fighter in the world.  It’s the newest fighter in the world,” said Lt. Col. Bradley Bird, commander of the 43rd Fighter Squadron.

“Water is a flat terrain where you don’t have to worry about obstacles at all. Out here in the mountainous terrain it requires a lot more attention to detail,” Bird added.

The Air Force calls it operation global gem.

Their mission is to take down the enemy — undetected — as fast as possible.

“We go up there as the ‘blue air,’ the good guys, and we’re going to run our tactics,” said Lt. Dustin Hardwick.

Playing the role of the bad guys is Mountain Home’s own F-15.

“We provide a target for them to shoot down,” said Cpt. Mike Hefferly of the 389th Fighter Squadron. ”They’ve done a really go job thus far.”

“They did exactly as advertised with the fifth generation fighter. You can’t really see them until it’s too late and you’re already dead,” said Cpt. Jessica Hietpas, also of the 389th.

The training will help the Air Force avoid enemy detection, a skill becoming more difficult, and more important with each war.

-         fox12idaho.com

F-22 Arrival Ceremony

F-22 Raptors arrived at JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM

The arrival ceremony for the first two aircraft of a squadron that will eventually include 20 F-22 Raptors was held Saturday, at JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii.

The ceremony marked the beginning of the partnership between the Hawaii Air National Guard and the active duty Air Force flying the “fifth generation” fighter at Hickam.

“The arrival of the F-22s begins a new chapter in the already close relationship between the Guard and the active duty in Hawaii,” said Army Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee.

The F-22 Raptors will be flown by pilots from the 199th Fighter Squadron of the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Wing and active duty Air Force pilots from the 19th Fighter Squadron of the 15th Wing. The aircraft will also be maintained by a combination of Hawaii Air National Guardsmen and active duty Airmen.

“The U.S. Air Force is the dominate air and space power in the world,” said Air Force Col. Sam Barrett, the 15th Wing commander. “Our strength in that domain ensures freedom and prosperity in the Pacific and beyond. The arrival of the F-22 will ensure that strength endures for many years to come.”

The F-22 Raptors will replace the F-15 Eagles that the 199th Fighter Squadron has flown since 1987. The F-22 is designed to counter lethal threats posed by advanced surface-to-air missile systems and next-generation fighters equipped with launch-and-leave missile capability.

The wing will grow larger throughout the summer months with the arrival of two new weapon systems. Barrett said earlier this year that he looks forward to partnership of the 15th Wing and the 154th Wing as the F-22 and the KC-135 missions are added to the arsenal of C-17s at Hickam.

The 15th Wing will activate an active duty F-22 squadron and KC-135 squadron. These two new weapons systems will be employed and maintained under a total force partnership with the Hawaii Air National Guard, similar to the C-17 weapons system. The main difference is the state of Hawaii will own the F-22s and the active duty force will add four KC-135s to complement the Hawaii Air Guard’s current fleet of KC-135 aircraft.

Watch video here.
- http://www.ng.mil
- Youtube.com

Pilot Error Blamed for Fatal F-15 Collision

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Two inexperienced F-15C Eagle pilots made errors that caused a fatal mid-air collision during a combat training mission over the Gulf of Mexico, Air Force investigators concluded in a report released Monday.

Both pilots misjudged how close they were to each other and had less than two seconds to react before Capt. Tucker Hamilton’s wing sliced into 1^st Lt. Ali Jivanjee’s cockpit in the Feb. 20 accident, investigators said.

“The cause of this mishap was pilot error. Both men failed to clear their flight paths and did not recognize their impending high-aspect, mid-air collision,” said Brig. Gen. Joseph Reynes, the head of the seven-member Air Force Accident Investigation Board.

Jivanjee, 26, of San Dimas, California died instantly. Hamilton, who is now assigned to a non-flying position in Germany, ejected with minor injuries. The single-seat fighter planes were destroyed – an $ 83 million loss for the Air Force.

The report said both pilots did not have enough time flying the F-15 to be experienced in the aircraft. Jivanjee had fewer than 120 hours of flight time in the aircraft and Hamilton had flown it just under the required 500 hours, the report said.

Investigators said they found no mechanical or structural problems in the two, nearly 30-year-old fighter jets, which were part of the Air Force’s aging and problem-plagued F-15 fleet. The 1979 and 1981 F-15s flown by the two Eglin Air Force Base pilots were in good condition, Reynes said.

The Air Force largely grounded its F-15 fleet from Nov. 3, 2007, to Jan. 10 after an F-15 broke apart in mid-air over Missouri. An investigation found that 160 of the Air Force’s nearly 700 F-15s had defects. Last month, another F-15 crashed and killed one pilot during a training mission over the Nevada desert.

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