133rd Air Expo 2011

To celebrate the 90th annivesary of the Minnesota Air National Guard, the 133rd Airlift Wing held an open house at MSP.  The show was light on combat aircraft, featuring only an A-10 and MSP's old F-16 block 15 museum display.  It would have been great to see Duluth bring down some of their latest block 50 F-16s.  The show was loaded with heavy aircraft, however, displaying all of the Air Force's lift capability with the C-130, C-17, C-5, KC-10, KC-135 and C-21. The only aerial performance was a SOCOM jump team, but the event did allow time for venturing through the cockpits, cargo holds, and refueling stations of those large aircraft.

Libya and the F-22

Now that the situation is Libya has fully unfolded, it seems to operating on a much larger scale than I originally anticipated.  Now that the AC-130s, B-1Bs and A-10s have moved in, the range of hardware spans the entire arsenal, and is even more impressive given the lack of a Carrier Battle Group.  The NFZ enforcement is quite an array of F-16s, Tornadoes, Typhoons, Mirages and Rafales. Finally the UAE's Block 60 F-16s have joined in. The DOD has claimed about 200 US aircraft are involved.  Most of these are probably just support - tankers, electronic warfare, etc, but it is a number much higher than the 50 originally envisioned and the 15 USAF planes used on the first day.  Of course the only thing missing is the F-22.  As others have argued, I see this as the best opportunity to combat test the Raptor.  There are plenty of targets in a combat rich environment, but not a serious threat.  It would at least present the chance to show any flaws in the F-22 systems and a chance to test the JDAM capabilities.  Obviously the 5th gen capability is not needed in this situation, but there will be few times where it is needed beyond pure defense.  Given the wear from airtime on the 4th gen aircraft, it may be worthwhile for a Raptor deployment to absorb some of the stress, and it can fly with less worry about ground threats.  There have been ridiculous articles [1] about the B-2 flying without F-22 escorts, although this is pure fantasy, there has never been any such design in battle plans. Now they are blaming stateside basing, although the conflict is several weeks old and there was several weeks of delay before that where an F-22 detachment could have been prepped to deploy to Aviano.  In all fairness, the one unit I thought would go in first, the 493rd, has not joined in the fight but I don't see any articles complaining about the lack of F-15Cs in the coalition force.  There just doesn't seem to be any need for an air-superiority only fighter, and given that the F-22 has slightly better (than none) ground attack capability, it seems more usable than the Albino Eagle.  I can only hope that the Raptor is eventually deployed to enforce a continuing NFZ.

Some deployment discussions:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056194800&page=3
http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?p=1722742


[1]  The article, by Fox News wasted an opportunity to present the politics involved in military decision making (and a chance to attack Obama, although I think it would have been a bigger attack on Gates).  Instead their poorly written article only supports the Obama/Gates propaganda.

In other news, The Blue Angles have finally released their 2012 schedule, several weeks late.  Interestingly, they have passed over Duluth (ending their every-fourth-year rotation).  They have also, less surprisingly, passed over the St Cloud airshow (as well as the traditional Eau Claire show) and are appearing at Mankato MN.  The biggest problem with Mankato is its small runway forcing remote shows (as the Thunderbirds did at the last shopw in 2003).  The Blues can operate from the runway, but I would imagine the Air Force will not allow any ACC demos, resulting in a small show.  Here's hoping that the Thunderbirds pick up the St Cloud slot, allowing Minnesota to get all three North American teams in one year.

Well, the continuing F-35 saga continues to spiral downward, with the F-35B on "probation". This program continues to go in the opposite direction from where it should.  I have commented before about cancelling the F-35, and what I have really had in mind is the F-35A.  The Air Force already has a great fifth generation aircraft and doesn't really need another one.  The Navy and Marines are the ones that need fifth generation capability.  So, I would argue that the program should accelerate the F-35B and F-35C variants and sacrifice the F-35A to save hundreds of billions of dollars.  Its clear that the military will not be immune to the devastating effects of the Great Recession, and it seems clear with the retirement of the British Harriers, that the Marines need an AV-8B replacement. Upgrading the existing F-16 fleet as well as new build would bring the force to a generation 4.5 standard and allow funding for better support of the F-22 which will soon find its exclusive status encroached by the T-50 and the J-20.

Fighter Gap

The F-35 situation doesn't seem to be getting any better. If they ever do reach production, we have now pledged 20 free ones for Isreal, a brilliant move for a country that can't afford it's own military. Last year the Pentagon threw out over 200 tactical aircraft, airframes that we can't afford to lose and we can't afford to replace.  Rumor is that someone now realized that was a mistake and some might be returning to service.  The good news is that there is now more talk about buying fourth generation fighters. One plan is to buy new block 50 F-16s. Another rumor is that we might start looking at buying block 60s and  hopefully that will happen, as it would help hold us over for a few decades.

Aviation Nation 2010

Aviation Nation 2010, Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada 2010.11.13-14

As usual, November brings with it one of the best air shows of the year. This time, Aviation Nation was a bit scaled back - there was only two tactical demo teams, but the level of energy managed to stay high.

Performers:
Thunderbirds (F-16)
F-22 (Zeke's final demo)
F/A-18C

F-16 Aggressor fly-by
Nellis fly-by: F-16C, A-10, F-15C (Aggressor)
F-4
T-33
CSAR (modern): F-16C, A-10, C-130, HH-60
CSAR (Vietnam): F-4, A-1, O-2, UH-1

Notable statics:
Nellis Line-up: F-16C, A-10, F-22, F-15C, F-15E, F-15C Aggressor, F-16C Aggressor
F/A-18C,F/A-18C(NASA), F-5E(N)
A-10, Typhoon (British), T-38
E-2C, EA-6B
B-52, E-6, RC-135
C-5, C-17, C-130, MV-22

 Photo Album

Thanks to the members of the 64th AS and the 65th AS, they were great to talk to, especially the 64th commander, Shaggy. There was some info on upcoming aggressor paint schemes. As the 64th receives aircraft from the Duluth MN ANG during its conversion to the block 25, two of the aircraft will get the arctic scheme. There is also a proposed new blue flanker scheme. As for the 65th, the F-15 will be getting a splinter scheme.

+: Aggressor fly-by, CSAR demo

-:No extra TAC or foreign demo, no C-17 demo, No B-1B static. Bus fubar on Saturday caused attendees to miss the first hour of the show, most importantly the aggressor fly-by. Aggressor squadron T-shirts were sold out.

Great Minnesota Air Show 2010.06.26-27

After the precipitous disasters of the 2008 season, I began to wonder when St Cloud may be large enough to consider having an air show.  My answer came on December 7th 2009, with the release of the jet team schedules.

The main attraction was of course the Blue Angels, but the real star of the show was the F-22, not only because of its fifth generation advancements, and its unprecedented maneuverability.  More important is its rarity, with only 18 global appearances this year (up from roughly 12 last year ).  This marked the first Raptor trip to Minnesota, for any F-22. Military statics were sparse, 2 EA-6Bs, NASA's F-18A and an MV-22, along with a last minute surprise of a VFC-111 F-5E.

During my five day adventure, I was able to complete my checklist, viewing all the arrivals and practices, getting close to the Raptor (briefly) and meeting the legendary, yet elusive Zeke.  The only glitch, besides the weather making photography problematic, was missing part of the Raptor practice, as I was coming back fom lunch, but I did get the experience of having my car buzzed by Zeke.

Thanks to the Great Minnesota Air Show team for making that a possibility, let's hope for a continued tradition in the future.  Also, thanks to Zeke, Gap, Gabe, Zeke's family and the rest of the Raptor team.


Full Photo Album

New Chinese fighter jet expected by 2018: U.S. intelligence | Reuters

New Chinese fighter jet expected by 2018: U.S. intelligence | Reuters: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Carter Confirms JSF Unit Price Nearly Doubled | AVIATION WEEK

Carter Confirms JSF Unit Price Nearly Doubled | AVIATION WEEK

Putin: We’ll Overwhelm U.S. Missile Shield. (But Thanks for the Concessions, Barack!) | Danger Room | Wired.com

Putin: We’ll Overwhelm U.S. Missile Shield. (But Thanks for the Concessions, Barack!) | Danger Room | Wired.com

Duluth gets Block 50 F-16s

The 148th will start getting F-16C-50s in April to replace the F-16C-25s they've had since 2003.  This means that Duluth should be able to keep its vipers for the next 15+ years, and there might be something new to look at for this year's airshow.

F-22 or F-35: The Plane Truth

The F-35: The cracks are already beginning to show

The F-35 and the Trainwreck

The December 2009 issue of Airforces Monthly  contained an article about the future of the Air National Guard and it's "crisis".

Regarding the ANG's fighter force, the future is not looking well [1].  They will receive only one F-22 unit and only one F-35 unit, despite the fact the ANG operates 16 out of 18 bases providing alert intercept aircraft for the protection of the U.S.  The heart of the problem, as the article notes, is Gates and his "all or nothing" approach in regard to the F-35.  In order to privde funding for the F-35 production line, he is retiring 254 fighters, "perfectly good F-15s and F-16s."  Over recent years, it has become apparent that there will not be enough airframes to fulfill current roles.  This has led some, including General Wyatt to suggest procuring new fourth generation aircraft.  The DOD has responded by "discouraging" requests for new build aircraft and also dismissing the idea the Air Force could use new F/A-18s in that role.


Now, the Navy is finding its own problems with the F-35.  Among them, the final cost to procure the F-35B will be $704.  Also, the F-35 will cost $31,000 to maintain for every hour of flight time, compared to the current cost of $5,000 for the F-18.



So, let be clear if I haven't said this before.  The F-35 should be canceled.  Period.  We should keep acquiring fourth generation equipment,  the F-15, F-16, and F-18 can all be updated to new standards and can continue to be effective in their roles while still holding their technological superiority, all at a lower cost. 

The F-22 should continue in production as well, although being clearly expensive. The F-35's cost is climbing and nearing the F-22s while producing only a some of it's capabilities.  The UK has already cut their order in half.  If the Navy cuts its order, the cost will go immensely, probably surpassing the F-22. 

As has been noted by others every argument that has been used against the F-22- cost, narrow capability, irrelevant, etc, and has succeeded to kill the program is now being targeted against the F-35.  If Gates is wrong about his all or nothing project, he may be making the worst mistake in the history of military procurement and will cost taxpayers over a trillions dollars in waste.

[1] The article also points out problems with the ANG's cargo aircraft and  the problem, which has become very heated, political, and public, finding a new replacement for the 50+ year old tanker aircraft.

Blue Angels

For the first time, St Cloud will be hosting a real air show featuring the Blue Angels, June 26th-27th, 2010.

RQ-170

So, now we know what the 30th Reconnaisance Squadron has been doing out at Tonopah - the RQ-170

Aviation Nation 2009

Nellis AFB 14-15.11.09

Nellis AFB, being probably the most active and largest base in the Air Force, as well as the home of the Thunderbirds, is now the site of the Air Force's premier air show.

Performers:
Besides the Thunderbirds:

Nellis flyby (F-15C, F-16C, A-10C, F-22A)
A-10C demo, and QF-4E heritage flight
C-17A demo
F/A-18F demo from VFA-122
Royal Netherlands F-16B demo

Static Displays included:
F-22A, F-15E,  F-16C, A-10
 (Nellis 57th Fighter Wing)
F-15C and F-16C aggressors
  (57th Fighter Wing)
B-1B from the 28th Bomb Squadron
B-52H from the 340th Weapons Squadron
F-16C from the Ohio ANG
F/A-18C from VFA-22
F/A-18F from VFA
C-17A
HC-130
C-5A
T-38C
RC-135, E-3