Tag: US Air Force

T-7A Red Hawk Trainer Wraps Up Extreme Temperature Testing

Flying Magazine reports that the U.S. Air Force’s new Boeing T-7A Red Hawk advanced trainer has finished extreme temperature testing to evaluate “its endurance from hot deserts to deep-freeze conditions.” The monthlong trial, conducted at the McKinley Climatic Lab at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, included testing the aircraft’s electronics and instrumentation “in temperatures ranging from 110 degrees to minus-25 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

First MH-139A Grey Wolf Delivered to US Air Force

Defense News reports, “Boeing announced on Monday it has delivered the first production MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopter to the U.S. Air Force.” Boeing’s MH-139A Grey Wolf is slated to conduct security patrols at nuclear missile fields, but plans to slash the fleet have triggered cost overruns. “The helicopter will be stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, Boeing said.”
Full Story (Defense News)

Will the Air Force Proceed with a Next-Gen Fighter Jet?

Defense One reports, “Delays in Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program and Boeing’s lackluster performance on its own defense efforts could be driving recent—and unexpected—comments from Air Force leaders that it might not build a next-gen fighter jet. Aviation observers were thrown for a loop last week when service chief Gen. David Allvin declined to commit to building the future Next Generation Air Dominance aircraft…”
Full Story (Defense One)

B-21 Raider Flies Test Sortie from Edwards Air Force Base

Aviation Week reports that a “Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider flew a test sortie from Edwards AFB, California, on Jan. 17, notching the second acknowledged flight of the second-generation stealth bomber.” Defense News reports US Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said, “Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 combined test force to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies and partners.” According to Defense News, “Northrop Grumman has built or is in the process of building at least six test B-21s, including this first bomber. The B-21 program is now in the engineering and manufacturing development phase, and the test aircraft are production-representative platforms, meaning they are being built on the same line with the same tools, technicians and processes as production bombers. Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota is to be the first base to receive a Raider, scheduled for delivery in the mid-2020s.”
Full Story (Defense News); More Info (Defense News)

Leonardo, Textron Pitch M-346 as Best Option for Navy’s Next Jet Trainer

Janes reports, “Leonardo has teamed with Textron Aviation Defense to offer its M-346 jet trainer for the US Navy’s (USN’s) Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) program. The service’s current jet trainer, the T-45 Goshawk, entered service in 1991 and has experienced numerous technical issues in recent years.”
Full Story (Janes – Subscription Publication)

Air Force Says B-21 Flight Testing and Production ‘Continues to Make Progress’

Flying Magazine reports, “The B-21 Raider ‘continues to make progress’ in flight testing and production, the U.S. Air Force said Wednesday. The stealth strike bomber was unveiled in December 2022 and officially moved into low-rate production earlier this year. In January, Northrop Grumman said six B-21 bombers are in various stages of final assembly and testing at its facility in Palmdale, California.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)

B-21 Raider Undergoing Flight Testing

Defense News reported that the “B-21 Raider took to the air for the first time in November, nearly a year after its public debut in California. In 2024, the U.S. Air Force’s next stealth bomber could take even greater steps.” The first B-21 Raider “flew to Edwards Air Force Base on Nov. 10. It is now undergoing flight testing, which also includes ground tests and taxiing.” The USAF has “confirmed at least six B-21s are in various stages of construction by Northrop Grumman or are undergoing tests. The program is now in the engineering and manufacturing development phase, the service said in November, and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota is expected to receive its first Raider in the mid-2020s. The service plans to buy at least 100 B-21s, an advanced stealth bomber, to replace the aging B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers. It will provide the service with new abilities to conduct penetrating deep-strike missions, and the aircraft will be able to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons.”
Full Story (Defense News)

US Air Force Pilots Test Fly Alia eVTOL

Aviation Week reports that two US Air Force pilots “have become the first to conduct crewed test flights of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft under the service’s Agility Prime program.” The two pilots flew “Beta Technologies’ Alia prototype on March 9 from Plattsburgh International Airport, New York.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

Test Pilots Say B-21’s Odd Windows Not a Problem

Air Force Times reported, “The test pilots who will be the first to fly the B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s next stealth bomber, are now working with Air Force and Northrop Grumman officials to draw up a game plan for its first flights next year.” However, “one thing that’s not weighing on their minds, the pilots stressed to reporters before the bomber’s Dec. 2 rollout at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California: The shape of the B-21′s windows and the field of view they will allow pilots.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)

B-21 Bomber to Debut

Reuters reports that Northrop Grumman “is set to roll out the first plane in a new fleet of long-range stealth nuclear bombers for the United States Air Force at a ceremony in Palmdale, California[,] on Friday.” Similar in shape to the B-2, a “flying wing” design already “in the Air Force’s inventory, the B-21 ‘Raider’ will also be able to deliver nuclear weapons around the world because of long-range and mid-air refueling capabilities.” Each B-21, which can “deliver both conventional and nuclear bombs, was projected to cost approximately $550 million each in 2010 dollars, or about $750 million in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars.” The Air Force “planned to buy at least 100 of the planes and…replace B-1 and B-2 bombers.” Northrop beat out a team composed of The Boeing Company “and Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) when it won the 2015 contract to make the bomber alongside suppliers including engine maker Pratt & Whitney (RTX.N), Collins Aerospace, GKN Aerospace, BAE Systems (BAES.L) and Spirit Aerosystems (SPR.N).”
Learn More (Reuters)

US Air Force Surveying Industry for Next Tranche of Refueling Tankers

Reuters reports that the US Air Force “said on Wednesday it is surveying the aircraft industry to learn if another manufacturer has the capacity or interest to make the next tranche of midair refueling tankers similar to the recently purchased KC-46.” The sources sought document “is the first step in the process of buying the next batch of refueling tankers.” The Air Force “said the tranche of 140 to 160 jets would follow The Boeing Company’s current contract to produce 179 KC-46’s as the Pentagon replaces hundreds of Eisenhower-era KC-135’s still in service.” The KC-46 has “been plagued by performance challenges including defects with an on-board video system and the boom that connects the tanker to aircraft seeking refueling.” Despite those challenges, acting Secretary of the Air Force John Roth said Wednesday, “At this point we don’t see the economic or business sense of recompeting the contract.”
Full Story (Reuters)

Boeing to Provide Up to 144 F-15EX Jets to Support Air Force’s F-15 Fleet

ExecutiveGov reports that The Boeing Company “will provide a maximum of 144 F-15EX Eagle II jets to support the Air Force’s efforts to increase the F-15 fleet’s readiness capacity and replace the F-15C/D variants, the service said Wednesday.” The jet was unveiled Wednesday by Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, military deputy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. The “first formal training unit for F-15EX will operate under the 173rd Fighter Wing at the Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Oregon by 2024.”
Full Story (ExecutiveGov)

US Air Force Officially Accepts First Boeing F-15EX

FlightGlobal reports that on Wednesday, the US Air Force officially accepted the first F-15EX fighter at The Boeing Company’s St. Louis production facility. The Air Force’s “choice to acquire the F-15EX is controversial as the fourth-generation fighter lacks the low radar cross-section of the service’s former favourite jet, the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter.” The Air Force “justified its decision by pointing to the F-15EX’s lower operating costs and the ease with which units flying the F-15C/D can transition into the upgraded variant.” The service “also says it intends to field large, long-range hypersonic missiles on the jet.” The service “plans to acquire 144 examples of the combat aircraft to replace its aging fleet of McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D models, which it says on average are 37 years old and reaching the end of useful life.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

US Air Force Could Be Flying Air Taxis by 2023

Aviation Today reports that AFWERX Director Col. Nathan Diller said that the US Air Force’s Agility Prime program has been investing in electric air taxis and could have them in use by 2023. The vertical takeoff and landing capable air taxis potentially could be used to evacuate downed aircrew.
Full Story (Aviation Today)

U.S. Air Force to Order More Autonomous Fighter Prototypes

Aviation Week reports, “The U.S. Air Force plans to add more orders for the first batch of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) prototypes to equip a newly established experimental operations unit, acquisition chief Andrew Hunter said on Nov. 13. The additional orders come after the Air Force selected Anduril and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) for CCA Increment 1 prototypes in April.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

U.S. Air Force Shares Video of B-21 Raider Taking Off and Landing

Flying Magazine reports, “The U.S. Air Force released footage of the B-21 Raider stealth bomber undergoing flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Wednesday’s video marks the service’s first reveal of the aircraft’s flight operations. ‘A B-21 Raider conducts flight testing, which includes ground testing, taxiing, and flying operations in California,’ the Air Force said in a statement accompanying the video.”
Ful Story (Flying Magazine)