The past year in military aviation was seemingly
dominated by three letters: KC-X, the troubled and contentious US
Air Force program to procure a new aerial tanker. Also making
headlines was the ongoing battle over continued funding for the
advanced, but costly, F-22 Raptor fighter... continued tensions
between the US and a newly-resurgent Russia... and sadly, the
December downing of an F/A-18 in a San Diego neighborhood.
Russia announces the second successful test-firing of its new RS-24 intercontinental ballistic
missile, the latest display of that country's
resurgent military strength, fueled by oil revenues
A cracked turbine blade in the Pratt & Whitney F135
turbofan destined for installation in the second F-35 joint strike
fighter test aircraft raises new concerns about the JSF program,
though the manufacturer maintains a fix is in the works.
The commander of Air Force Materiel Command, responsible for
delivering war-winning capabilities to the rest of the Air Force,
says Air Force officials must develop and buy new
aircraft or risk the service becoming irrelevant.
The Washington Post reports Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland
are in jeopardy of losing the US101 helicopter contract, which
calls for delivery of 28 highly advanced VH-71 helicopters, to
replace the current fleet of Sikorsky VH-3D and VH-60N
helicopters.
The Missouri Air National Guard pilot who suffered severe
injuries when his F-15C broke apart inflight during a November 2007
training mission sues Boeing, claiming the company "should have
known" the aging aircraft was "defective and unreasonably
dangerous."
Northrop Grumman puts its best spin on the
fact the GAO denied its motion, and one filed by the
US Air Force, asking for a partial dismissal of a protest filed by
Boeing regarding the KC-X decision process... noting Boeing was
forced to remove much of what both parties had objected to from its
original bid
Washington Congressman Norm Dicks threatens to pull funding
from the KC-X program unless the contract goes to rebid, triggering
a harsh rebuke from the Pentagon
With his rotorcraft license still warm, Britain's Prince Harry
shows off his newly-acquired skills by landing
his RAF Chinook in his girlfriend's backyard
Investigators try to figure out how three jet fighter cockpits
got diverted from their normal demilitarization process, and wound up in a New Jersey scrap
yard
NATO is accused by the chief of Russia's air force for violation of safety rules
while escorting Russian bombers on patrol flights over neutral
waters
Vandalism. That is the assessment by officials
with the Department of Defense of damage found on two H-47 Chinook
helicopters on the production line at Boeing's plant in Ridley
Park, PA
Boeing announces the $1 billion "Wedgetail" surveillance
aircraft program won't see its first planes delivered to Australia
until 2010, due to continued "systems integration"
issues
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announces the US Air Force will once again reopen bidding on
a stalled multibillion-dollar contract to replace its aging fleet
of KC-135 aerial tankers with modern aircraft.
A US Air Force B-52H bomber slated to perform a flyover during
Guam's Liberation Day parade crashes off the island territory's coast, claiming all
six crewmembers onboard
Michael B. Donley, acting secretary of the Air Force, tells the
Senate Armed Services Committee he'll work to re-establish national confidence in the Air
Force, in the wake of missteps in the handling of
nuclear materials that led to the resignations of the service's top
military and civilian leaders
"The Swoose" -- the oldest surviving B-17 Flying Fortress known to
historians, and the last remaining "D" model
--is moved from its former home at the Smithsonian's National Air
and Space Museum, to the National Museum of the US Air Force in
Dayton, OH
Hoping to build momentum for the proposal ahead of a new
presidential administration, President Bush's nominee for Chief of
Staff of the US Air Force, General Norton Schwartz, surprises lawmakers with the
announcement he had been given approval to plan for more purchases
of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet between 2010 and 2015
A Russian general says Poland's agreement to allow US missile
defense batteries to be placed in the formerly communist country may expose Poland to just such an
attack
Citing the length of time needed for the company to develop a
competitive entrant for the Pentagon's revised KC-X contract bid
for a new US Air Force tanker, Boeing says it will likely opt-out rebidding for the $40
billion deal -- ceding the competition to rival
Northrop Grumman, and that company's partners at EADS
A 'Hail Mary' proposal from Boeing in hopes of gaining new
orders for its C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft may not be needed, according
to the four-star general in charge of procuring new cargo planes
for the US Air Force
Lockheed Martin disputes claims made by industry watchers, claiming "the F-35 is a dog"
when compared against Saab's Gripen, the Dassault Rafale, MiG-35
and Sukhoi Su-35, and the Eurofighter Typhoon
Officials confirm the plane forced down in late September by
Iranian jets was a Hungarian civilian business jet, carrying
officials from a military delegation... and was not a US aircraft, as Iran had claimed
earlier
The Boeing helicopter assembly facility in Ridley Park, PA
shuts down its production lines after a misplaced plastic cap was
found in a fuel line in a V-22 Osprey fuselage... the second suspicious incident at the
plant this year
US Air Force officials release Amendment 7 to the Request for Proposals for
the oft-delayed Combat Search and Rescue helicopter program
contract... which may finally be awarded sometime in 2009, for the
second time.
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