SysAdmin, Author at Second Line of Defense

USS Blue Ridge Departs Yokosuka

Posted on February 13, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

02/13/2013

02/13/2013: The USS Blue Ridge is one of two special USN flagships.

As Col. Weisz noted about the Blue Ridge and Mount Whitney:

Both the BLUE RIDGE and MOUNT WHITNEY offer a great capability for enabling and supporting distributed operations.

In fact, I don’t know of any other ship in the US Navy inventory, if it had a Fleet staff, CFMCC staff or JTF staff embarked on it that could do it any better than these two ships.

These ships give you the ability to fuse all that critical information and intelligence and disseminate it to your distributed forces rapidly.

C2 can be easily maintained with all of your distributed forces; remote distances do not hinder you.

https://www.sldinfo.com/shaping-c5isr-for-the-fleet-the-case-of-uss-mount-whitney/

[slidepress gallery=’uss-blue-ridge-departs-yokosuka’]

Credit: USS Blue Ridge:2/11/13

In the first photo, Electronics Technician 3rd Class Michael Dicks uses a radar mount on the bridge of U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge to help plot the ship’s course as it departs its homeport Yokosuka for predeployment sea trials
In the second photo, Operations Specialist Seaman Recruit Jeremy Bamo uses a pair of “Big Eye” binoculars on the starboard-side bridge wing of U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) as the ship departs its homeport Yokosuka for predeployment sea trials.
In the third photo, Ensign Christopher Wehner checks the ship’s location on a navigation map as U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) departs its homeport Yokosuka for predeployment sea trials.
The final photo shows the USS Blue Ridge on an earlier deployment. An SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopter takes off from U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) while transiting in the South China Sea (Defense Imagery Operation Services, May 9, 2012).

F-35A Completes Clean Wing Flutter Testing

Posted on February 11, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

02/11/2013

2013-02-11 According to a Lockheed Martin Press Release:

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Feb 11, 2013

Maj Ryan ‘Gunner’ Reinhardt flight testing the F-35A at Edwards AFB. Credit Photo: Lockheed Martin

An F-35A Lightning II conventional takeoff and landing aircraft, known as AF-1, completed its final test mission for clean wing flutter recently.

Flutter testing was conducted to ensure the jet’s structure could withstand various aerodynamic loads verifying the F-35A’s design.

The mission, flown by Maj. Ryan “Gunner” Reinhardt, marks the conclusion of three years of testing that now allows the F-35A to proceed with tests continuing to expand its flight envelope and validate predictions in real-world scenarios.

The testing demonstrated the F-35 is clear of flutter, at speeds up to 1.6 Mach and 700 knots with weapon bay doors open or closed, critical to performing its combat mission.

Data collected proves the F-35A flight dynamics maintains a large margin between its designed airspeed and airspeeds where possible flutter could occur.

(Lockheed Martin photo by Matt Short.)

The F-35 Global Supply Chain: A Japanese Perspective

Posted on February 6, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

02/06/2013

The F-35 is built to become a global plane.

The defense industrial agreement underlying the program have both that intent and if realized that impact.

In a recent Japanese piece on the F-35 this was underscored.

The fighter jet is being developed by an international consortium led by U.S. aircraft giant Lockheed Martin Corp.

We have written elsewhere about the strategic impact of F-35 logistical hubs in the Pacific on the capabilities of the F-35 as a fleet.

https://www.sldinfo.com/re-shaping-us-forces-for-a-pacific-strategy/

F-35 Lynchpin — The Pacific F-35 Fleet can be sustained through a network of hubs and training ranges. Credit Graphic: Second Line of Defense

According to a recent piece in The Japan Times, Japanese participation in the F-35 can allow Japanese firms to become part of a global supply chain.

And this has been a strategic and practical problem for the efficiency of Japanese defense firms in the past.

As Richard Weitz has highlighted:

But a consensus has yet to emerge on how the Japanese defense industry should best respond to the new circumstances.

Japan’s restrictive export policies deny its defense industry opportunities to achieve economies of scale through the sale of military equipment to foreign countries, considerably increasing the costs of indigenously produced military products.

They also discourage Japanese defense firms from investing in new research and development since the absence of potential foreign customers limits the potential sales of any product, no matter how innovative.

https://www.sldinfo.com/japanese-defense-procurement-at-a-turning-point/

The Weitz piece was entitled “Japanese Defense Prourement at a Turning Point.”

The F-35 program can help Japan turn the corner not only on capability but on defense efficiencies.

According to the Japan Times piece published on February 5, 2013:

The government would allow the export of Japanese-made parts for the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter as an exception to Japan’s long-standing ban on weapons exports, sources said Monday.

Japan intends to acquire F-35s, but domestic defense contractors have yet to commit to join on its production.

Presuming such contractor participation, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is expected to endorse parts exports to third countries in a statement soon to be issued, despite concerns that the use of Japanese parts for them might conflict with the nation’s policy of avoiding any possible aggravation of international conflicts.

Such concerns have been fueled as Israel is on the list of countries expected to acquire F-35. Tensions between the Middle Eastern country and its neighbors are perpetually high.

Suga is expected to say in the statement that Japan’s participation in the international development of the F-35 would contribute to enhancing the country’s national security.

He will also state that the export of fighter jets made with Japanese parts to a third country would not run counter to the national arms export ban, on the grounds that Japan and the United States will strictly control shipments, the sources said.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/02/05/national/parts-for-f-35-would-evade-export-ban/

Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force

Posted on February 3, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

02/03/2013

2013-02-03 by Ed Timperlake

A very powerful story of undaunted courage that made history is captured in the video below.

The first pilot was Leon Frankel. Frankel was a US Navy WWII Pilot who was awarded a Navy Cross.

Leon Frankel was a U.S.Navy pilot during World War II and flew for Israel in 1948.

His heroic efforts during World War II culminated in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser, the Yahagi.

He was a volunteer pilot for the new Israeli Air Force, flying during the War for Independence.

http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=19150

The second pilot discussed is Lou Lenart who was a USMC WWII F-4U Pilot.

“The Man Who Saved Tel Aviv” for his exploits fighting against a superior Egyptian force in May 1948.

“I owe so much to the United States and the Marine Corps, which gave a young Jewish immigrant sanctuary and an opportunity to excel,” he said. “This climax is beyond my wildest fantasies.”

Lenart joined the U.S. Marines in 1940 at the age of 18, and after a year-and-a-half of infantry training he talked his way into flight school. A midair collision nearly cost Lenart his life, but despite doctors predictions he was back in the cockpit.

Lenart flew an F4U Corsair in the battle of Okinawa and took part in numerous attacks on the Japanese mainland.

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/06/27/2739772/ex-marine-israeli-air-force-pioneer-to-get-his-due-in-dc

The F-35 Flight Test Program: 2012

Posted on January 28, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

01/28/2013

2013-01-28 The F-35 flight test program ended a successful year in 2012. We have interviewed many of the participants in the flight test program at Eglin AFB, Fort Worth and Yuma Arizona.

The standup of the first F-35B squadron with the USMC is part of an overall innovation approach being undertaken by the USMC as they deal with the influx of new aviation assets and new thinking about concepts of operations.

https://www.sldinfo.com/the-ace-of-the-future-yuma-and-beyond-2/

We spent a good deal of time with various pilots and maintainers in the program, and discussed the challenges and progress in the program with the pilots.

As Secretary Wynne has put it:

It is noteworthy that to truly exploit the significant discontinuity that the fifth generation affords will require experimentation to determine the most effective operational approaches Such experimentation has already commenced within the US Marine Corps. They see the formation of a very different version of the Army Air Assault force introduced in the Ashau Valley and documented in When We Were Soldiers and Young.

This updates the MEU in a decisive way and portends potentially the era of independent action with an Expeditionary Assault Group. Experimentation can and should as well be with the fleet, and combine fluid command between the ship and the shore with directed indirect ships fire in support of the dynamic air assault.

US Air Force Weapons School Conducts Mission Employment Phase

Posted on January 25, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

01/25/2013

01/25/2013: A U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle departs during the Mission Employment Phase exercise, Dec. 7, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

The exercise incorporates Air Force capabilities in diverse scenarios, which can include aircraft in conjunction with space and cyberspace assets.

[slidepress gallery=’us-air-force-weapons-school-conducts-mission-employment-phase’]

Credit: 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs: 12/7/12

In photo 2, U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Bill Bossinger, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron electrical and environmental systems journeyman, tightens wiring underneath an F-15 Eagle during the Mission Employment Phase exercise Dec. 7, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The exercise is hosted north of Las Vegas on the Nevada Test and Training Range–the U.S. Air Force’s premier military training area with more than 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land.
In the third photo, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Brion Humenay, 926th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics specialist, works on the nose of an F-15 Eagle during the Mission Employment Phase exercise, Dec. 7, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
In the fourth photo, U.S. Air Force Maj. David Anderson, 65th Aggressors Squadron director of operations, conducts pre-flight checks during the Mission Employment Phase exercise, Dec. 7, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
In the final photo, U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jason Kerr and Senior Airman Jeffrey Johnson, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chiefs, conduct pre-flight checks during the Mission Employment Phase exercise, Dec. 7, 2012, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The ME Phase is the capstone, graduation exercise conducted by the U.S. Air Force Weapons School.

Second F-35A Posts 500 Flight Hours

Posted on January 24, 2013 | by SysAdmin | Leave a Comment

01/24/2013

2013-01-23 According to a Lockheed Martin press release:

AF-1, joined the 500 flight hour club recently during its 272nd flight.

It joins AF-2 which passed the milestone June 26, 2012.

The conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) fighter begin flight operations when it made its inaugural flight Nov. 14, 2009.

The F-35A flight test program has completed more than 43 percent of its overall test plan.

Overall, the program’s three variants have achieved nearly 5,900 flight hours by 55 aircraft in the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) and Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) programs.