A New Bomber For The Air Force And Progress On The F-35 Mark The Year

The U. S. Department of Defense has finally selected a contractor for the next Long Range Strike-Bomber aircraft that will replace the long-serving B-52, and the KC-46A took its first flight during the year. And while there was progress with the F-35, the airplane had a couple of setbacks as well. Here are some of the top stories in military aviation from 2015.

January

One of the most distressing events of 2014 may have been found in our observations of the US Navy's investigation and judgement of someone who had once been one of that service's most lauded flyers and commanding officers... until a quasi-secretive proceeding was brought against him that was condemned by hundreds of Naval aviators and other personnel who had served with him.

The Tuskegee Airmen were recognized for their courage and valor in combat, as they helped pave the way for racial integration in the armed services, by receiving the 2014 Omar N. Bradley "Spirit of Independence Award" in a ceremony held at the 2014 Duck Commander Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. Representing the Tuskegee Airmen at the ceremony were Homer Hogues and Calvin Spann.

The U.S. Navy is providing support to Indonesia in the search and recovery of AirAsia Flight QZ8501. The Navy has pushed its newest and most capable platforms forward in support of this important effort. USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) arrived in the search area Jan. 3 and has commenced search efforts for Air Asia flight QZ8501 at the request of the Indonesian government.

The CAF Redtail Squadron got some bad news when its P-51C Mustang Tuskegee Airmen went in for some routine maintenance. The squadron reports on its blog that the airplane is in need of some major work that will ground the airplane until is it repaired.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Aurora Flight Sciences a $6.0M contract for Phase 1 of the Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

A skydiving accident in Florida during a training exercise fatally injured a Navy SEAL based in Virginia Beach, VA. Petty Officer First Class William “Blake” Marston, 31, was participating in a training exercise when something apparently went wrong with his parachute.

The outgoing Secretary of Defense says that the U.S. needs to move now on development of a replacement to the B-2 stealth bomber, which first flew 25 years ago.

In a memo dated January 5, 2015, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus,Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford announced that the Navy is set to acquire four V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to replace the aging C-2A Greyhound aircraft that carry mail, cargo and passengers to aircraft carriers at sea.

The Department of Defense (DOD) did not conduct a series of tests on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in order to have a better chance of delivering an operational system on time, according to the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E)

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, in coordination with the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall, determined the Boeing 747-8 will serve as the next presidential aircraft, commonly known as Air Force One.

February

Embraer has successfully performed the first flight of the new military transport and aerial refueling jet, the KC-390. Test pilots Mozart Louzada and Marcos Salgado de Oliveira Lima and flight test engineers Raphael Lima and Roberto Becker flew the aircraft for 1 hour and 25 minutes, conducting an evaluation of flying qualities and performance.

A video released by Islamic State militants appears to show a Jordanian pilot who had been captured after his plane went down in Syria in December being burned alive in a cage. While it could not be confirmed that the man in the cage being set on fire was Mouath al-Kasaesbeh, the reaction from Jordanian authorities made it clear that they felt it was genuine.

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened the accident docket as part of the ongoing investigation into the April 29, 2013 crash of a National Airlines Boeing 747 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The cargo flight went down on takeoff on its way from Bagram to Dubai.

The budget for the U.S. Air Force for fiscal year 2016 (FY16) includes money for both the U-2 Spy Plane and the Global Hawk unmanned system, but places the A-10 Warthog back on the chopping block.

Bladed ground testing, a major milestone, for theS-97 Raider program, is underway, according to Sikorsky. The Raider is an armed reconnaissance rotorcraft designed to significantly outmatch conventional military helicopters in maneuverability, payload, speed, range and high/hot environmental conditions.

An Air Force Investigation Board report indicates errors on the parts of two pilots involved in a training mission last October caused their F-16s to collide in mid air. One aircraft went down and was destroyed, but the other was able to return and land with a portion of its right wing missing. Both pilots survived the accident.

Twenty-four of Civil Air Patrol’s outstanding cadets gathered in Washington, D.C. for the Civic Leadership Academy, part of a real-world, hands-on experience long recognized as one of America’s premier civic education activities.

March

Greece has confirmed that its F-16C solo jet demonstration team Zeus would make its UK debut at this summer's Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded an $8 million contract for Phase 1 of the Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program to Sikorsky.

Eleven service members, including seven Marines and four soldiers, are presumed dead after the Black Hawk Helicopter they were aboard went down off the coast of the Florida panhandle.

In the latest step in a decades-long process through which automation has taken on increasing responsibilities in the cockpit—allowing pilots to focus on flight tasks demanding their unique capabilities—DARPA awarded three contracts for its Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

A T-59 trainer belonging to Nevada-based Air USA went down at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, resulting in the fatal injury of one Marine on the ground.

Air Mobility Command released the results of its accident investigation board (AIB) regarding a Dec. 1, 2014, mid-air collision near Pope Army Airfield and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Seventy-three years ago, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. These men, led by Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, came to be known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.

The U.S. Army has taken delivery of the first UH-72A Lakota helicopter to come off the Airbus Helicopters Inc. production line configured for the Lakota's latest mission, as the service's initial-entry training helicopter.
 

April

The 56th Fighter Wing flew its 1,000th F-35A Lightning II training sortie March 31, making it the fastest F-35 wing to reach the 1,000-sortie milestone in the Defense Department.

In the future, the Air Force’s core missions will probably not change, but the way they are carried out will, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III on April 8.

Members of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal collectively during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

Despite its numerous setbacks, the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program is on the right track to meet aircraft delivery deadlines, the program’s executive officer told a House Armed Services Committee (HASC) panel Wednesday.

Some Congressional leaders say the Pentagon is taking too cautious an approach in developing unmanned aircraft technology that can provide long-range ISR and other capabilities.

Air Force officials announced April 14 that Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina; Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts; and Grissom ARB, Indiana are candidate bases for the first Air Force Reserve-led KC-46A Pegasus location.

 
The U.S. sent an Air Force aircraft to Nepal to deliver personnel and cargo in support of disaster-relief operations, according to Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren.
 

May

In 1980, the remains of a Spitfire Mk. 1 that had been shot down on May 24, 1940 during the battle of Dunkirk emerged from the sand on Calais Beach.

The U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, announced the commanding officer for the 2016-17 seasons during a press conference at the National Naval Aviation Museum on board Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, May 4.

The Department of Defense welcomed its first female F-35 Lightning II pilot at Florida's Eglin AFB May 5.

A new Tuskegee Airmen exhibit officially opened to the public May 4 during a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Airman Heritage Museum.

Wreckage of a Marine UH-1Y was located on the slopes of a mountain east of Kathmandu, according to media reports including CNN.

Airbus Defense and Space sent an Alert Operator Transmission (AOT) to all operators of the A400M informing them about specific checks to be performed on the fleet.

The Congressional Gold Medal was presented to the American Fighter Aces collectively during a ceremony in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

An initial analysis of the Flight Data Recorder from the Airbus A400M which went down in Spain May 9 resulting in the fatal injury of four people shows there were no mechanical or structural issues with the aircraft.

A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft was challenged by a Chinese military dispatcher while on patrol over waters that are recognized to be international.
 

June

United States Air Force Colonel, select, Nicole Malachowski was been named as the new Executive Director of Joining Forces, a White House initiative that "works hand in hand with the public and private sectors to ensure that service members, veterans, and their families have the tools they need to succeed throughout their lives," according to its website.

Airbus Defense and Space sent an Accident Information Transmission (AIT) Tuesday as an update to the Alert Operator Transmission (AOT) to all operators of the A400M. This AIT informs that the DFDR (digital flight data recorder) and CVR (cockpit voice recorder) readouts have been successfully completed and that preliminary analysis has been conducted by CITAAM with representatives from Airbus Defence and Space providing technical advice.

The transport aircraft that led the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France more than 70 years ago has been rediscovered in an aircraft boneyard in Wisconsin. Believed lost to history, the airplane was slated to be cut apart and remanufactured as a modern turbo-prop. Now, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) is launching a Kickstarter funding campaign to save and restore the plane to flying condition.

An accident March 10th in which an Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter went down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, FL was caused by pilot error, according to the Army's official report.

U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component Command for Space (JFCC Space) initiated a six-month pilot program incorporating commercial operators into its Joint Space Operations Center June 1.

Airbus Defence and Space is about to restart deliveries of Airbus A400M aircraft following the lifting of all remaining flight restrictions on new production aircraft by Spanish regulator DGAM late last week.

The F35B Lightning II successfully completed another major milestone as the fifth generation stealth fighter was launched into the skies from a ski-jump, Friday June 19.

July

An Indonesian Air Force C-130 Hercules went down in Medan, the third largest city in Indonesia, resulting in the fatal injury of at least 86 people onboard the aircraft and on the ground.

The Ogden Air Logistics Complex completed an F-35B Lightning II functional check flight at Utah's Hill AFB  June 18, after the first depot-level short take off and vertical landing modifications were completed on two F-35Bs for the Marine Corps.

Airbus Group  has appointed Jean-Pierre Talamoni, 58, as Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales for Airbus Defense and Space. In this position, he will become a Member of the Executive Committee of Airbus Defense and Space and report to Bernhard Gerwert, the Division’s Chief Executive Officer.

During the 7th International Maritime Defence Show (IMDS 2015), which was being held in St. Petersburg from July 1 to 5, Russian Helicopters (part of State Corporation Rostec) announced potential plans for the renewed production of the unique amphibious Mi-14 helicopter. The multirole helicopter can land and taxi on water, and also take off from water.

The U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, announced the officers selected for the 2016 team, July 10.

The head of Air Force Reserve Command discussed the Reserve’s future role in F-35 Lightning II maintenance manning, along with other initiatives July 7. Lt. Gen. James F. Jackson spoke at the Air Force Association’s monthly breakfast at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.

The Australian Navy has reportedly canceled plans to acquire a dozen F-35B aircraft, saying that the modifications needed to the ships on which they would be based are too extensive.

This year the National WASP WWII Museum joins EAA AirVenture as a first-time exhibitor to raise awareness for their efforts to add to the historic WASP base. The museum is at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII trained in 1943 and 1944 to ferry aircraft from factories to air bases around the United States.

August

If you’re on the attack in any aircraft that is less than 100 percent stealth, avoiding being targeted by the enemy is, to say the least, a high priority. Destroying the enemy’s defense capabilities before you get there is a great idea but, when that’s not possible, an alternative is to confuse the enemy’s targeting capabilities. This is where the U.S. Air Force's Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) comes into play.

The U.S. Marine Corps' F-35B Lightning II aircraft reached initial operational capability July 31, 2015 with a squadron of 10 F-35Bs ready for world-wide deployment.

Two Special Operations Airmen assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing were fatally injured during a freefall accident during training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The first woman to become a pilot in fixed-wing military aircraft in Afghanistan has had to give up that dream in the face of death threats and family opposition.

A Hawker Hunter military jet taking part in the Shoreham Air Show in Sussex, England went down on a busy highway resulting in the fatal injury of seven people. Several others on the ground were also injured by the accident.

U.S. Ambassador to France, Jane D. Hartley, recognized Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone for his actions in saving countless lives during a terrorist attack aboard a train headed toward Paris Aug. 21.

The Air Force is set to retire the iconic U-2 surveillance airplane, which first flew in 1955, in 2019, but the mission for the aircraft will likely continue.

September

The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team pulled out of an international skydiving competition while they look into an accident last month which fatally injured a team member.

A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter belonging to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing experienced a hard landing while conducting training at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., resulting in one fatality and 11 injured U.S. Marines, the Marine Corps said Thursday in a news release.

The Hawker Hunter jet when went down during the Shoreham Air Show last month appears to have been operating normally prior to the accident which fatally injured 11 people on the ground.

The first two F-35A Lightning IIs assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing were officially delivered to the base Wednesday. The two F-35A Conventional Takeoff and Landing variants, known as AF-77 and AF-78, are the first of 72 F-35As scheduled for delivery to the base.

Italy's first F-35A Lightning II, known as AL-1 and assembled at the Cameri Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility, flew for the first time Monday, marking the program's first-ever F-35 flight outside the United States.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a contract valued at $6.2 million to CPI Aerostructures, Inc. (CPI Aero) for the delivery of structural modification kits for the T-38C aircraft. This is the second purchase order received against a $49 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract which CPI Aero won in February 2015 from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

The first Boeing 767 configured as a KC-46A tanker flew for the first time, taking off from Boeing's Paine Field at 1:24 p.m. (PST) Friday and landing four hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle.

October

The India Ministry of Defence finalized its order with Boeing for production, training and support of Apache and Chinook helicopters that will greatly enhance India’s capabilities across a range of military and humanitarian missions.

The Pentagon has restricted pilots weighing less than 136 pounds from flying the F-35 because of an issue with the ejection seat. Tests have shown that below that weight, the seat would rotate too far forward during a low-speed ejection, possibly causing neck and back injuries.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg cautioned Russia about two recent incursions into Turkish airspace that Moscow says were accidental.

Pipistrel was selected by the government of India to equip the Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy (IN) and National Cadet Corps (NCC) with its modern, carbon-fiber Microlight aircraft Virus SW 80 "Garud", as a result of "Request for Technical and Commercial Proposal (RFP) for Microlight Aircraft".

Lockheed Martin successfully completed the maiden flight of the F-16V, the latest and most advanced variant of the F-16. The October 16 flight marks the first time an F-16 has flown with Northrop Grumman’s advanced APG-83 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), which will deliver a quantum leap in capability for the venerable F-16.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh had called on the Air Force Inspector General to look into a case of several pilots grounded after sending text messages that their commanding officer said were evidence of drug use.

Northrop Grumman beat out a Boeing/Lockheed Martin team and won the contract to build the Long Range Strike Bomber.

November

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina,was chosen as the preferred alternative for the first Reserve-led KC-46A Pegasus main operating base, Air Force officials announced Oct. 29. The KC-46As are expected to begin arriving in 2019.

When a JLENS aerostat came loose from its mooring and drifted north from Aberdeen proving ground last week, it brought renewed criticism of an expensive program that detractors say has not lived up to its potential.

In a move that was not entirely unexpected, Boeing and Lockheed Martin filed a formal protest asking the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the decision to award the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B) contract to Northrop Grumman.

Lockheed Martin completed more than 27,000 hours of simulated flight time on an F-16C Block 50 aircraft and is now analyzing the data to determine the durability of the aircraft beyond its original design service life of 8,000 hours.

The full hot-life capability of Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine, which is used in the F-35 Lightning II, was successfully demonstrated during accelerated mission testing at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex.

The United States Army exercised $65.8 million in contract options for 12 additional UH-72A Lakota helicopters and associated mission equipment packages. The UH-72A is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters Inc. at its final assembly plant in Columbus, MS, which has already produced and delivered almost 350 Lakotas to date.

Tensions between Russia and Turkey, and by extension NATO, escalated Tuesday when a Russian Su-24 was shot down by Turkey after reportedly warning the pilot repeatedly about violating Turkish airspace.

An Air Force Research Laboratory-sponsored X-56A unmanned air vehicle went down on Rogers Dry Lakebed test range at Edwards AFB, CA. The mishap occurred shortly after takeoff.

One of only a handful of female fighter pilots flying for Pakistan was fatally injured in a training accident when her plane experienced an "in-flight emergency" earlier this week. Marium Mukhtiar and her co-pilot ejected from the stricken airplane, but the BBC reports that she later died from her injuries sustained during the ejection in a hospital.

December

The U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol turned 74 with its 58,000 members celebrating their rich heritage of volunteer service.

New targeting technologies that greatly enhance aircrew safety and effectiveness through the rapid integration and distribution of target information across multiple aircraft have been recently demonstrated by the U.S. Navy and Boeing.

NOAA and University of Hawaii archaeologists have released rare images of a U.S. Navy airplane sunk during the opening minutes of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Oahu on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.

Aviators on active duty at 11 Army bases nationwide completed a safety stand-down following three accidents involving fatalities in the past two weeks.

The U.S. Navy has asked Boeing to develop plans for converting its newest F/A-18E Super Hornets to a configuration that would be appropriate for the Navy's Blue Angels.

The U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team beat its own world record in 8-way during the World Air Games in Dubai.

Lockheed Martin delivered the 2,500th C-130 Hercules from its Marietta, GA production facility. This landmark Hercules is an HC-130J Combat King II personnel recovery aircraft assigned to the U.S. Air Force’s 71st Rescue Squadron, which is part of the 347th Rescue Group. A U.S. Air Force crew ferried the HC-130J to its new home at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia.

Highly skilled Civil Air Patrol cadets from across America gather in Alabama at year’s end for the 2015 National Cadet Competition, renewing a prestigious CAP inspection and drill event that originated nearly 70 years ago.

Boeing has filed a 133-page brief in response to the Air Force’s filing in the company’s protest of the Air Force’s selection of the Nation's next-generation Long Range Strike Bomber.

A Cessna 172 belonging to the Civil Air Patrol was flown into the side of a building in an apparent suicide.

FMI: www.aero-news.net