Tag: US Air Force

US Air Force Takes Delivery of First MH-139A Test Helicopter

Aviation International News reported that Leonardo and The Boeing Company “have delivered the first of four MH-139A Grey Wolf test helicopters to the U.S. Air Force as the service looks to replace its aging fleet of UH-1N Hueys.” The MH-139A Grey Wolf’s primary mission “will be to protect intercontinental ballistic missile bases and transport U.S. government officials and security forces.”
Full Story (Aviation International News)
 
 
 

 

 Video

First MH-139A Grey Wolf Flight, 25 August 2022.
(NC Military; YouTube)

US Air Force May Replace E-3G Sentry by 2023

Air Force Times reports that the US Air Force “said this week a contract to buy a replacement for the aging E-3G Sentry…could come in fiscal 2023.” The US Air Force released a RFI Tuesday, asking “how a potential contractor would deliver at least two prototype aircraft to replace the AWACS, including ground support and training systems, within five years of an expected 2023 award.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)

F-15EX Fires Missile for the First Time in Test

Air Force Times reports that the F-15EX Eagle II on Friday successfully fired “an AIM-120D missile at a BQM-167 target drone over the Gulf of Mexico.” The F-15EX, “which was taking part in an air-to-air weapons system evaluation program known as Combat Archer, found the drone with its sensors, tracked it and fired the missile at it.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)

US Air Force Shifts Focus from ARRW to Scramjets

Aviation Week reports that a “secret test of a hypersonic cruise missile demonstrator and a budget setback for a troubled boost-glide missile prototyping program highlights a growing divergence in the U.S. Air Force’s plans for a future class of missiles that can maneuver at speeds faster than Mach 5.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

U.S. Air Force Begins Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation of MH-139 Grey Wolf

Flying Magazine reports, “The U.S. Air Force recently launched initial operational testing and evaluation (IOT&E) of the MH-139 Grey Wolf, the helicopter set to replace the service’s aging fleet of Bell UH-1N Hueys that perform nuclear security missions. During the week of January 27, three MH-139 flights operated by the 550th Helicopter Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, demonstrated its capabilities, the Air Force said.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine)