USAF: New COIN aircraft around the services

NAVY Version

An Embrauer EMB-314 Super Tucano used by the Navy for trials as part of the classified "Imminent Fury" program to develop tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform to support Special Operations personnel

USAF Version

Earlier this week, Hawker Beechcraft tested a beefed up version of its venerable T-6 Trainer single prop it plans to compete in the LAAR fly-off expected this summer. Designated the AT-6, the two-seater features a new 1600 horse power Pratt & Whitney engine that will give the aircraft a larger weapons and electronic surveillance load out. Read more here...

USAF: Cyber journalism, 30 Days in Afghanistan

Two Airmen traveled Afghanistan for 30 days and video blogged the trip, day by day. For what is really going on, go here...

USAF: Air Force to launch robotic winged space plane

LOS ANGELES – After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.

The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral,FL. More Here....

USAF: Above All

USAF: Jump

As seen through a night-vision device, a U.S. Air Force airman prepares students during a jump mission as part of exercise Emerald Warrior near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., March 16, 2010. U.S. Special Operations Command personnel are conducting the 19-day training exercise, which provides troops with an opportunity to participate in realistic urban-warfare training scenarios at multiple sites along Florida's Gulf Coast. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Clay Lancaster. Hat tip Blackfive.net.

USAF: WASP

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz greets Betty Hall Stohfus of Faribault, Minn., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 10, 2010, before she and other members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke) (Lauren Victoria Burke, AP / March 10, 2010)

WASHINGTON (AP) — They flew planes during World War II but weren't considered real military pilots. No flags were draped over their coffins when they died on duty. And when their service ended, they had to pay their own bus fare home.

These aviators — all women — got long-overdue recognition on Wednesday. They received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress, in a ceremony on Capitol Hill.

About 200 women who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, were on hand to receive the award. Now mostly in their late 80s and early 90s, some came in wheelchairs, many sported dark blue uniforms, and one, June Bent of Westboro, Mass., clutched a framed photograph of a comrade who had died.

As a military band played "The Star-Spangled Banner," one of the women who had been sitting in a wheelchair stood up and saluted through the entire song as a relative gently supported her back.

"Women Airforce Service Pilots, we are all your daughters; you taught us how to fly," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She said the pilots went unrecognized for too long, even though their service blazed a trail for other women in the U.S. military.

More here....

USAF: Aviation Camp Packets Due

U.S. Air Force Youth Aviation Camp packets must be turned in by March 12. Youth will be required to submit their packets and schedule a interview date the week of March 16-18.
For more information and packets contact the Hill AFB, Utah, Youth Center.
The Air Force Teen Aviation Camp is a residential six-day program which provides youth a glimpse of what cadets attending the U.S. Air Force Academy experience. Activities include a stay in prep school dorms, high/low ropes course, a tour of the academy, flight simulators, and a Cessna flight.
An applicant must be:
- A dependent of active duty military assigned to or living on an Air Force installation, Air Force retired military, Air Force civilian employee, Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve who have been activated within the last 12 months.
- A high school student entering their sophomore or junior year in the fall of 2010 who is interested in aviation, leadership, or the U.S. Air Force Academy.
- Must not have participated in the 2009 camp held last year.
- Must demonstrate an application of leadership abilities and social maturity through involvement in school and community activities.
- Must demonstrate skills and achievements outside of the realm of science and academic pursuits, and,
- Must demonstrate a curiosity and an eagerness to explore many and varied topics. Per NOTF.

Careers: Cyber Warfare and the USAF

The below is extracted from the AFA Blog. This type of new program represents a real opportunity to attract additional youth to CAP, especially in the fields of engineering, computer and data design. Now, we just need a program and motivated teachers to front new flights. This is in all practicality a very critical, exciting and youth oriented career path - the cadets could, should lead the way.

Cyber Warfare
AFA members, Congressional staffers, Civic Leaders, DOCA members, a piece from the Atlantic caught my attention this week (thank you Jack for bringing it to my attention). It is by James Fallows. It starts out with an analysis of the Chinese military (with which I do not necessarily agree) – but most of the piece is about the cyber threat facing our nation. I think Mr. Fallows does a great job of summarizing this very difficult area.

From the piece: "When will China emerge as a military threat to the U.S.? In most respects the answer is: not anytime soon—China doesn’t even contemplate a time it might challenge America directly. But one significant threat already exists: cyberwar. Attacks—not just from China but from Russia and elsewhere—on America’s electronic networks cost millions of dollars and could in the extreme cause the collapse of financial life, the halt of most manufacturing systems, and the evaporation of all the data and knowledge stored on the Internet."

You can find a link to the piece at: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201003/china-cyber-war Secondly, as most of you know, AF Space Command is the command responsible for both space and cyberspace. Recently, AFSPACECOM published 10 principles for Cyber. The lead for the piece is the rise of the Cyber Wingman … and the first bullet states: “Every time we log onto the network, we are entering a contested domain where the threats and vulnerabilities are real.” Not only does the piece make you think, but it has the added value of being concise. You can find the piece on our website at: http://www.afa.org/EdOp/2010/edop_21210.asp.

Finally, it is clear the US military has to focus more on this domain. The AF has established a Cyber numbered Air Force. DOD has announced the stand-up of a Joint Cyber Command. The cyber domain affects almost everything we do. It is for this reason that AFA has begun a high school cyber competition. We have the finals of this competition in Orlando this week.

We are especially proud of this event – it is a project that is already having significant positive impact and helping to solve a critical national security problem. In a little over a year, CyberPatriot has grown from a concept to a national competition involving nearly 200 teams in 41 states (even a DoDDS high school in Japan). We believe it to be the largest such competition ever conducted, and next year it will double or triple in size. You can watch a short video describing the competition at: http://www.youtube.com/user/AirForceAssocHQ#p/a/u/0/bqfSLVGYTY8.

For your consideration.
Mike-AFA

USAF: Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Speaks

Chief master sergeant of the Air Force shares vision for enlisted Airmen

2/18/2010 - ORLANDO, Fla. (AFNS) -- The chief master sergeant of the Air Force discussed the outlook for enlisted Airmen during the Air Force Association's Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition Feb. 18 here.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy spoke to several hundred Airmen and civilians about preserving and enhancing the all-volunteer force, one of the four priority objectives in the Quadrennial Defense Review.

"First and foremost we need to manage the operational tempo," Chief Roy said. "Specifically of those chronic critical (Air Force specialties) out there that are always tasked. Many would say, 'Chief that's kind of easy to point out. That's your (pararescuemen and joint terminal attack controller) kind of folks. But also on that list, and would surprise many folks, are contracting and civil engineering. More here....

USAF: Flying the C-130J to BAF

Michael Yon flys a C-130J to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Great photos and more here...

Kandahar, Afghanistan08 February 2010

American troops are spread widely across Afghanistan. Some are remote and accessibility is difficult. In 2008, I was with six soldiers in Zabul Province who didn’t even get mail for three months. They had no email. They were on the moon. Six courageous men, in the middle of nowhere, and their nearest backup was a small Special Forces team about five hours away. Resupply to these small outposts is crucial, difficult, and would require major effort by ground. Enter the United States Air Force.

Tonight’s mission was to fly from Kandahar Airfield (KAF) to Bagram Airfield (BAF), pick up specially rigged bundles of fuel and ammunition and parachute those to American forces up near the border of Turkmenistan...

USAF: SPECTRE OPS BREAKOUT

And then again...

Giving the DoD’s latest Quadrennial Defense Review a close look, it seems as if the Pentagon poobahs hashed out a juxtaposed message for the Boys in (sky) Blue.

On page 10 of the executive summary of the 2010 QDR, it says that the US air force will be able to take advantage of F-22s and JSFs for air dominance and still buzz around in retro planes like the Super Tucano or Air Tractor when “training” counterinsurgency forces.

U.S. air forces will become more survivable as large numbers of fifth-generation fighters join the force. Land-based and carrier-based aircraft will need greater average range, flexibility, and multimission versatility in order to deter and defeat adversaries that are fielding more potent anti-access capabilities. We will also enhance our air forces’ contributions to security force assistance operations by fielding within our broader inventory aircraft that are well-suited to training and advising partner air forces.

That seems like a big victory for the COIN Air Force Wing advocates, but we’ll see what the details are when the services give their breakouts today.

The QDR lays out more COIN-related aviation moves, including fielding two new Navy helicopter squadrons dedicated solely for special operations missions. One has to wonder whether those aviation assets will help answer the mail for those worried about a lack of dedicated aviation elements for MarSOF troops. And the fearsom Spectre will get a makeover as well, with the Air Force buying converting 16 C-130Js and phasing out older AC-130s for a net of 35 aircraft from 25.

USAF: Coin Aircraft

Photo: Laos COIN OPs.

The Air Force looks as if it has punted the establishment of a COIN Wing (though we’ll see when the authorization process starts) based on its budget submission yesterday.

Air Force budget officials said the so-called “light attack aircraft” would not have any significant funding until the 2012 submission, where the service will allot $172 million for the so-called COIN plane.

The Air Force did, however, take a step toward a COIN wing by ordering up 15 Light Mobility Aircraft to the tune of nearly $66 million. According to a submission to FedBizOpps, the LiMA must be able to carry a minimum of six pax and crew, operate from “austere landing surfaces” and carry a minimum of 1800 pounds with crew. The plane needs a loading door that can take litters and a 36 inch warehouse skid and have two pilot stations but be able to be flown by one pilot.

The Air Force is budgeting for these planes in FY 2011 only. And part of the idea behind the plane is to help train other air forces during counterinsurgency operations.

The Light Mobility Aircraft (LiMA) program will acquire Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) aircraft to satisfy the USAF light mobility mission requirement. These aircraft will be suitable for building partner capacity (BPC) especially in lesser developed partner nations (PN). This program supports irregular warfare efforts that help prepare PN to defend and govern themselves by demonstrating an airlift capability that is consistent with their needs for supporting infrastructure, performance, anticipated methods of employment, acquisition and sustainment costs, and multi-role/multi-mission capability.

USAF: Moving fast

The USAF is working under a requirement to land, unload, re-load and get out in 2 hours or less.

By Paul F. Bove, Air Force Public Affairs Agency
U.S. Air Force Colonel John Romero, chief of Air Mobility Division for the 612th Air Operations Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, A.Z.; Lieutenant Colonel Brad Graff, 601st Air Operations Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Major Dave Smith, U.S. Air Force were on the DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable on 21 January to discuss how Airmen are managing the flow of aircraft into Haiti. With the recent boom of humanitarian flights going into and out of the Port au Prince Airport, missions have increased to approximately 140 per day (at an airport capable of handling approximately 50 per day). More here at the Air force's blog Air Force Live.

USAF: NORAD Santa Update

Follow Santa here...

USAF: A little more on the MC-12 or L3 Spy Plane

First New U.S. L-3 Spy Plane Due in Afghanistan by Christmas

Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Air Force as soon as Christmas Day will deliver to Afghanistan the first of 24 new Hawker Beechcraft Corp. planes modified by L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. to support ground troops with video, still images and eavesdropping.
The four-man, twin-propeller plane “should arrive on or shortly after Dec. 25th,” about one month ahead of schedule, Lieutenant General David Deptula, who oversees Air Force intelligence and reconnaissance, said in an e-mail today.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered the service in April 2008 to dramatically increase the number of manned and unmanned aircraft providing intelligence to ground troops. The planes will help support the 30,000 additional troops President Barack Obama ordered to Afghanistan. Six of the new spy planes already are flying missions in Iraq.
The Air Force is setting up stations at its air bases at Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, and Bagram, near Kabul, the capital, to receive and process data and then send it along to ground troops.
The planes also can beam images and video directly to ground troops, who will be equipped with L-3 Communications ‘‘Rovers” -- laptop devices that allow soldiers to see the same images as airborne operators. Almost 5,000 Rovers have been delivered to the U.S. military by L-3 Communications.
Hand-Held Rovers
The Air Force also will give the Army about 50 of the latest-generation Rovers -- hand-held versions that allow soldiers via satellite link both to receive images and to tell pilots where to direct the plane’s cameras, Deptula said.
The new planes provide “full-motion video and specialized signals intelligence” and all 24 should be in Afghanistan by September, Deptula said.
The aircraft will augment round-the-clock surveillance now provided by unmanned Predator drones.
The modified planes are equipped with both high-resolution and heat-sensing cameras produced by New York City-based L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. and with radios from Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon Co. and Melbourne, Florida-based Harris Corp.
The planes also are equipped with sensors that can monitor insurgents’ conversations and help pinpoint their location, said Jeffrey Richelson, author of the “U.S. Intelligence Community,” a detailed compendium now in its fifth edition.
The sensors are provided by the National Security Agency, which manages U.S. eavesdropping satellites.
“It’s a lot of intelligence and dissemination capability in a small package,” Richelson said. The planes, with self- protective equipment, are “also clearly designed for a combat environment,” he said.
Congress this year approved $950 million to buy as many as 37 aircraft from Wichita, Kansas-based Hawker Beechcraft Corp. The planes can fly as high as 35,000 feet and orbit for as long as five hours. They are modified at L-3 Communication’s Greenville, Texas, facility.

USAF: Operation Christmas Drop

Guam - Today kicked off Operation Christmas Drop, an annual project where the men and women of the United States Air Force fly over the outer islands of Micronesia and play Santa from the sky. "We'll have an opportunity to bring much needed supplies and hope to people in the Micronesian islands," said Colonel Mark Hicks.

It's a long-lasting tradition ongoing for the last fifty-eight years. During Tuesday's push ceremony at Andersen Air Force Base, Brigadier General Phil Rhulman announced that the Air Force plans to make fifty-one drops to over fifty islands, bringing with them over 25,000 pounds of food and supplies. Said, Rhulman "In the spirit of Christmas is obviously behind what we do.

USAF: T Birds 2010 Local Schedule

June
5 and 6: Ocean City, Md.
26 and 27: North Kingstown, R.I.

August
21 and 22: Westfield, Mass.
25: Atlantic City, N.J.
28 and 29: Brooklyn (Coney Island), N.Y.

USAF: 1st Stealth jet in country

US Air Force spokesmen confirmed this week that the hitherto secret unmanned, high-altitude stealth jet, the "Beast of Kandahar," was present at the big US air base of Bagram, in Afghanistan. Photos of the Beast on the Bagram tarmac - outside its regular base at Kandahar near the Iranian and Pakistani borders - appeared in various Internet sites this week.

Designated RQ-170 Sentinel, it is the first jet drone ever developed for military use. More here...

USAF: The manned replacement for the Predator?

The Iron Beechcraft
December 5, 2009: The US Air Force has been testing its new "manned UAV replacement" in Iraq, and has found that the twin engine aircraft is durable and reliable. Five months ago, a squadron of the new MC-12s were sent to Iraq, and since then, those dozen aircraft have flown over a thousand sorties. That's about four sorties per week per aircraft.

The MC-12 is a modified version of the earlier RC-12 electronic reconnaissance aircraft. The MC-12 will provide the same service as a UAV (full motion video) in addition to electronic monitoring (radio, cell phone, etc.). The air force is converting some existing King Air 350s, as well as buying new ones, to obtain 37 MC-12s for this duty as, in effect, a Predator UAV replacement. The UAVs cannot be manufactured fast enough to supply battlefield needs, so the manned MC-12s will help fill the gap. The MC-12 is a militarized version of the Beech King Air. The army began using the Beech aircraft as the RC-12 in the 1970s, and has been seeking a replacement for the last few years. But it was realized that the RC-12 was suitable for use as a Predator substitute.

The King Air 350 is a 5.6 ton, twin engine aircraft that, as a UAV replacement, carries a crew of four. Some of the sensors are operated from the ground. This MC-12 can stay in the air for about eight hours per sortie. Not quite what the Predator can do (about twice the time per sortie), but good enough to help fill the demand. The MC-12 has advantages over UAVs. It can carry over a ton of sensors, several times what a Predator can haul. The MC-12 can fly higher (35,000 feet) and is faster (over 500 kilometers an hour, versus 215 for the Predator.) The MC-12s cost about $20 million each, more than twice what a Predator goes for. The MC-12s crew consists of two pilots and two equipment operators.

USAF: Air Force chaplains reflect on milestones, emphasize warrior care

12/4/2009 - ORLANDO, Fla. (AFNS) -- More than 100 chaplains and chaplain assistants from throughout the Air Force attended the Chaplain Corps Summit here recently, in part to celebrate 60th anniversary of the Air Force Chaplain Corps and the 100th anniversary of the chaplain assistant career field.

The summit began with an interfaith worship service, included a review of Chaplain Corps history and concluded with a Heritage Banquet.

"We reminisced over years of service and fellowship in our past and looked ahead to the role of the Chaplain Corps in meeting current and future mission needs," said Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Cecil R. Richardson, chief of chaplains.

Chaplain Richardson related the Chaplain Corps' rich and storied history. Chaplain Charles I. Carpenter, the Army Air Corps' "Air Chaplain," emphasized the need for pastoral identity of chaplains with the people they served. After successfully persuading senior leaders that the Air Force should have its own chaplaincy, Chaplain Carpenter helped ensure the drafting of the transfer order on May 10, 1949.

Predating the Air Force Chaplain Corps, the "chaplain assistant" position was established forty years earlier on Dec. 28, 1909. Paragraph 1 of the General Order by the War Department stated, "One enlisted man will be detailed on special duty, by the commanding officer of any organization to which a chaplain is assigned for duty, for the purpose of assisting the chaplain in the performance of his official duties."

"Air Force chaplains and chaplain assistants continue to support our Airmen in today's fight as we walk where they walk and go where they go," Chaplain Richardson said.