Air Force finally does the right thing

Finally the Air Force has decided to extend the life of 300 late model F-16's. This is a direct result of the total failure to date of the F-35 program which is now 5 plus years late. The interview of Col Mol by Flight International indicated the installation will begin in late 2016 and will add 15 years of life to the aircraft. Below are some of the quotes


The aircraft, which are drawn from the USAF's fleet of Block 40, 42, 50 and 52 machines, will undergo a structural service life extension programme (SLEP) and a combat avionics programmed extension suite (CAPES) upgrade. The modifications will greatly boost the venerable warplane's capabilities.




"It provides a very significant capability to the F-16 platform that puts it on par, I do believe, with some of the other platforms that have AESA [active electronically scanned array radars] today," says Col Mark Mol, programme manager at the USAF's F-16 System Programme Office at Hill AFB, Utah.

The CAPES programme involves both hardware and software modifications, Mol says. The F-16 will receive a new AESA radar, a new Terma ALQ-213 electronic warfare system, an integrated broadcast system (IBS) and a center display unit (CDU). There will also be a new operational flight programme to tie those new systems together with the aircraft's existing avionics. The software will be one of the biggest challenges, Mol says.

Maybe the USAF should look at procuring more new build F-16 and F-15 Silent Eagles instead of flushing additional money which we can't afford down the F-35 wishing well.

Czech Gripen Baltic Airspace Policing

The Czech Air Force last week assumed the QRF function in the Baltics relieving a Polish Mig-29 unit. This on going NATO deployment has seen some unusual jets over the last few years including German F-4's on their last deployment. I believe this a first for the Czech Gripens. Good show!

Pic of the day

Nice shot of an E model during night air refueling.

Photo (USAF)

Time to start again

After a long hiatus I feel the need to start posting again now the the R/R team are now the nominee. It will be an interesting run up to the election. But at the end of the day the choice is simple. Support the current failed administration both economically and foreign policy wise, or hand over the reigns to a business man who had a questionable record as Governor in my opinion.
Almost all politics is local first so I urge everyone to take a look at thier own backyard and throw the bums out if they ar fiscally irresponsable.

BUFF

 U.S. Air Force video by TSgt. Rebecca Zannetti
This is a nice job on flight ops of one my favorite aircraft the BUFF. I can remember watching these bug boys due MITO's from Mather back in the early 80's when I was a firefighter. Back in those days the 325 BW had 4 G model;s and 5 tankers on 24 hour 365 day nuclear alert. They used to do elephant walks all the time day and night to test readiness of the alert team,

Blast from the past

A couple of nice photo's of F-15C's from the 32TFG Soesterberg AB, NL. I was lucky to be stationed there from Nov 87 till Nov 91 and deploy to Incirlik during Desert Storm. The photo's are of 81-0049 which unfortunately was lost off the Norfolk, England  coast after a catastrophic engine failure, the pilot ejected and was OK. This ended the over 70,000 accident free hours that the unit had amassed. The  other is 79-0032 which was the only jet left with the Wolfhound nose art.

Soesterberg was a great assignment it's too bad it was closed when force reductions hit.

Turkish RF-4

I finally found a picture of an F-4 similar to the one that was shot down a few days ago bu Syria. Turkey has called for a meeting of NATO. This whole incident ratchets of all the problems going on in the Middle East. The attack can be considered an act of war since the Turkish AF jet was in international airspace.
The last thing we need is the neo-cons in DC using this incident to get U.S. forces further involved in what is a Syrian internal civil war. Not only do I not care what happens in Syria we in the west in my opinion need to stay away from any more entanglements.

I do believe we should support Israel, if  for nothing more that they are the last democracy in the region. I also believe we should continue to lean on Iran and it's nuclear ambition, not for the threat of nuking Tel Aviv but for the threat of a container ship firring a Scud into the upper atmosphere off the Eastern seaboard. The resulting EMP would be devastating. Check out One Second After, by by William R. Forstchen a chilling fiction book depicting this scenario.

BONE hauling the mail

Here a shot of a B-1 practicing for the Ft Lauderdale airshow, he appears just below the mach.

D-Day

Sixty eight years ago today the brave men of the greatest generation stormed ashore and parachuted into Hitlers fortress Europe. I personally feel that most people today do not truly appreciate the sacrifice made at Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and beyond.

Pic of the day

JDAM city

A nice collection of JDAM strikes. Moral to the story don;t shoot at our troops.

Another F-15E crash. Air Force flight safety problems?

I''m a little bit behind the power curve, the Bold Tigers lost another Strike Eagle last Thursday morning during what apparently was a routine training mission with both crew members ejecting safely. This is the second crash in just a little over a month for this deployed unit. As you may recall at the end of March they lost a jet with the pilot being killed in the crash. To say this is a bit unusual is an understatement, I'm sure that Air Force flight safety will be all over this one but it does raise eyebrows.
This crash, followed on Friday by the loss of an F-16 in Utah, followed by the 60 minute story of the two Raptor pilots who say they will not fly the F-22 until the OBOGS situation is resolved puts in my mind a big question mark on Air Force flight safety practice. I hope what we are seeing is an aberration not a return to the bad 80's when we were losing a squadron plus amount of jets every year due to accidents.

104th Deploys

In what I believe is the first deployment with the F-15 since the conversion from the A-10 The Massachusetts ANG 104th FS deployed last week to Southwest Asia along wit helements of the 159th FS, Florida ANG.

The ANG fighter squadrons form an integral spoke in our national defense. These citizen Airmen preform a vital mission is the defense of the United States and deserve our full support.

Fourth But First

From the Air Force web site, a big day in store for the 4th Fighter Wing today. A great Wing that traces its heritage back to the RAF Eagle Squadrons. The Fourth has fought in every conflict since WWII. I retired out of the 334 FS one of the original Eagle Squadrons.

Members of the 4th Fighter Wing will pay homage to World War II history at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC, Monday, April 16th by launching 70 F-15E Strike Eagles in a training mission to destroy more than 1,000 targets on bombing ranges across North Carolina. They do so to commemorate a pivotal day in history. During World War II on April 16, 1945, the 4th Fighter Group destroyed 105 enemy aircraft as part of an 8th Air Force mission involving 1,252 bombers and 913 fighters. This mission catapulted the 4th Fighter Group to 1,016 enemy aircraft destroyed, more than any group or wing in U.S. Air Force history. On the same day, nearly 70 years later, the 4th Fighter Wing will launch 70 aircraft to achieve this same objective, officials said. In 1945, it took thousands of aircraft to destroy 1,016 targets; the 4th Fighter Wing will achieve the same goal in 2012 with only 70 F-15Es. Col. Patrick Doherty, the 4th Fighter Wing commander, will lead the launch. The 4th Fighter Wing is home to four fighter squadrons, three of which were part of the original Eagle squadrons, American volunteers who flew as part of the Royal Air Force in the early days of the war. "We proudly carry on the legacy of the 4th Fighter Group's victory today with the F-15E Strike Eagle," Doherty said. "Even though today's fight is different, the dedication of our Airmen has not wavered, and we are still 'Fourth but First.'"

Capt. Barry Crawford, Air Force Cross

Cobmat Controller Capt Barry Crawford the USAF latest Air Force Cross award. Here is his medal citation. I'm glad men like this are on our side.

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, U.S.C., awarded the Air Force Cross to Captain Barry F. Crawford, Jr., for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an armed enemy of the United States as Special Tactics Officer near Laghman Province, Afghanistan, on 4 May 2010. On that date, while attached to Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha and their Afghan partner force, Captain Crawford conducted a helicopter assault into [REDACTED]. Upon landing, Captain Crawford received reports that multiple groups of armed enemy were maneuvering into prepared fighting positions in the high ground around the village. As the assault force initiated clearance operations, they began to receive a high volume of accurate machine gun and sniper fire from an enemy force well over 100 fighters. As the assault force was attacked, Captain Crawford took decisive action to save the lives of three wounded Afghan soldiers and evacuate two Afghan soldiers killed in action. Recognizing that the wounded Afghan soldiers would die without evacuation to definitive care, Captain Crawford took decisive action and ran out into the open in an effort to guide the helicopter to the landing zone. Once the pilot had eyes on his position, Captain Crawford remained exposed, despite having one of his radio antennas shot off mere inches form his face, while he vectored in the aircraft. Acting without hesitation, Captain Crawford then bounded across open terrain, engaged enemy positions with his assault rifle and called in AH-64 strafe attacks to defeat the ambush allowing the aid-and-litter teams to move toward the casualties. While the casualties were being moved the team's exposed position once again came under attack from two enemy trucks that had moved into the area and were threatening the medical evacuation landing zone. As one of the aid-and-litter teams was pinned down by enemy fire, and the medical evacuation helicopter took direct hits from small arms fire, it departed with only four casualties leaving one wounded Afghan soldier on the ground. Captain Crawford developed, coordinated, and executed a plan to suppress the enemy, enabling the helicopter to return to the hot landing zone to retrieve the last casualty. While Captain Crawford's element exfiltrated the village, the assault force conducted a two kilometer movement over steep terrain with little to no cover. Captain Crawford again engaged the enemy with his assault rifle while integrating AH-64s and F-15E's in a coordinated air-to-ground attack plan that included strafing runs along with 500 and 2,0000-pound bomb and Hellfire missile strikes. Throughout the course of the ten hour firefight, Captain Crawford braved effective enemy fire and consciously placed himself at grave risk on four occasions while controlling over 33 aircraft and more than 40 airstrikes on a well-trained and well-prepared enemy force. His selfless actions and expert airpower employment neutralized a numerically superior enemy force and enabled friendly elements to exfiltrate the area without massive casualties. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Captain Crawford has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.