Fuerza Aérea de EE.UU. (USAF)

[Orel]

Es que para esa "interinidad", cogen de su inventario de F-16 almacenados en estado operativo y punto. Más barato imposible, e igualmente vendibles luego.

[Orel]

Long-range missiles force US Air Force to rethink AWACS technology
14 December 2021

Facing down long-range air-to-air missiles, such as the Chinese air force’s PL-15, the USAF is rethinking its AWACS.
The service believes its E-3 Sentry AWACS is vulnerable to being shot down, but it is unsure how to replace it, secretary of the USAF Frank Kendall said.

The Sentry is slow-moving, easy-to-spot on radar and the radio waves it emits also give away its position. The USAF has 31 examples of the E-3 in its fleet. “One of the problems that those types of platforms have is the increasing reach of standoff weapons to go back and try to attack those aircraft,” says Kendall.

For example, the Chinese air force’s PL-15 is believed to have a range greater than 107 nm (200 km). The Chengdu J-20 can carry four of them in its main weapons bay. It is thought that China would have its J-20 sneak within shooting distance of vulnerable US aircraft and then use the PL-15 missile to attack.

In particular, the USAF’s airborne warning and control aircraft, airborne ground surveillance aircraft and in-flight refuelling tankers are seen as vulnerable. Destroying those aircraft could blind US forces and make it difficult to move aircraft around the battlefield.

General Charles Brown, chief of staff of the USAF, said in September that the service was considering the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail to replace the E-3 AWACS. He added that he hoped the AWACS mission could eventually be accomplished from space.

Kendall says that the Wedgetail is a stopgap, however. “Something like Wedgetail would give us a much more modern capability and it would give us something to fill a gap temporarily while we figured out what to do longer term,” he says.

Despite interest in space-based AWACS, Kendall notes there are technical limitations to the concept. The USAF is working with the US government intelligence community to determine what sort of mix between space and airborne AWACS might get the service what it needs, Kendall says.

https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing ... 16.article

[Truquichan]

Lockheed ofrece el T/A/F-50 para el ATT
https://www.airforcemag.com/lockheed-to ... r-trainer/
Personalmente creo que será el elegido. Corea contenta.

[Truquichan]

The Air Force requires that the ATT have a secure open architecture. Preferred capabilities—desirable but not mandatory—include a zero-zero ejection seat and an automatic ground collision avoidance system as well as a helmet-mounted display system.

Los F16 quedan excluidos. Leonardos, Gripen y este. El italiano estará más sólo.

[J.N.H.]

The Air Force requires that the ATT have a secure open architecture. Preferred capabilities—desirable but not mandatory—include a zero-zero ejection seat and an automatic ground collision avoidance system as well as a helmet-mounted display system.

Los F16 quedan excluidos. Leonardos, Gripen y este. El italiano estará más sólo.

Si no siguen adelante con el T-7 a Saab le pueden dar el típico "susto o muerte". Con la rachita que llevan con el Grippen, que el gobierno sueco prepare dinero a "espuertas" y prácticamente a fondo perdido, por aquello de aguantar la chulería sueca en un quiero y no puedo.

[champi]

Contratos relacionados con comunicaciones, Elint y enlaces de datos (20/12/2021): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/ ... e/2880108/

...
Consortium Management Group Inc., Washington, D.C., has been awarded an estimated $175,783,134 other transaction agreement for the rapid fielding phase of the Airborne High Frequency Radio modernization. This agreement provides for rapid fielding to include production readiness, first article test, operational test support, production deliveries (including limited production), initial contractor support, depot stand-up, training and other tasks required to support fielding. Work will be performed in Washington, D.C.; and Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive white paper selection process with two white paper offers received. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,697,000 will be obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Position, Navigation and Timing Contracting Branch, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8576-22-9-0001).
...
Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has been awarded the option to extend terms of the contract (P00004) in the amount of $18,860,822 for previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract FA8650-21-C-7031 for surveillance processing over the Extreme Radio Frequency (RF) Bandwidths effort. The contract provides for the development of advanced signal processing technologies and techniques for future RF systems. These systems will create an asymmetric advantage for tactical operations in anti-access/area-denial environments by enhancing the operating bandwidth of real-time signal detection and recognition capabilities. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 14, 2024. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $544,500 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Peraton Labs Inc., Basking Ridge, New Jersey, has been awarded the option to extend terms of the contract (P00003) in the amount of $17,946,558 for previously awarded, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract FA8650-20-C-7029 for the System for Integrated, Intelligent, and Versatile Signal Processing effort. The contract provides for the development of advanced signal processing technologies and techniques for future Radio Frequency systems. These systems will create an asymmetric advantage for tactical operations in anti-access/area-denial environments by enhancing the operating bandwidth of real-time signal detection and recognition capabilities. Work will be performed in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 3, 2023. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition. Fiscal 2022 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $544,500 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

Data Link Solutions LLC, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $12,142,153 firm-fixed-price requirements contract for the purchase of Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) and Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) system repairs. This contract provides for materials and services required to return the MIDS and JTRS end items to a serviceable condition and ensure terminal-to-terminal interoperability between the MIDS, JTRS and Link 16 terminal platform variants. Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 19, 2026. No funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8539-22-D-0005).

[Vorlon]

Reestablecido el 53rd Fighter Squadron ,asociado a una unidad de la ANG , los defensores del distrito de Columbia.
https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/u ... stablished
Fue el primer escuadrón de la guerra del golfo en derribos con el F15C....o el segundo

y principio del fin del legendario F15C, se desactiva el curso de instructor de armas en ese avión.

https://www.scramble.nl/military-news/s ... acy-eagles

While the US Air Force is continuing to modernise its future fighter force, a part of that evolution includes the sunset of the McDonnell Douglas F-15C/D legacy Eagle division of Nellis's USAF Fighter Weapons School Weapons Instructor Course.

salud2

[champi]

Contratos para B-52 y B-1B (7/2/2022): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/ ... e/2892786/

...
AIR FORCE

Peraton Inc., Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded an $18,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for sustaining engineering services support for the B-1B Reprogrammable Electronic Warfare Systems test and B-52 Bomber Electronic Attack Systems test facilities and special test equipment. Work will be performed in Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 10, 2027. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $2,158,666 are being obligated at the time of award. This is a sole-source acquisition. Air Force Test Center, Eglin AFB, Florida, is the contracting activity (A2486-22-D-0001).
...

[champi]

Informe del CBO sobre el uso y la disponibilidad de los aviones de la USAF y la US Navy: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-0 ... rcraft.pdf

[Orel]

Informe del CBO sobre el uso y la disponibilidad de los aviones de la USAF y la US Navy: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-0 ... rcraft.pdf

Interesante. un resumen escrito con algún añadido, por si algún día se caen las imágenes:

US budget office sees fall in US Air Force, Navy aircraft availability
11 January 2022

The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that both availability rates and flying hours have declined for the US Air Force (USAF) and Department of the Navy (DoN) over the last two decades.

From 2000-2020, availability rates for all aircraft across both the USAF and DoN (which includes the US Navy and US Marine Corps) fell from around 60% to the 40-50% range, says the CBO. The decline in DoN availability rates was more pronounced, hitting just 40% in 2019.

Flying hours per aircraft have also fallen over the last two decades, with a sharper decline during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. DoN flying hours declined from around 350h per aircraft per year to around 300h, while USAF flying hours fell from just under 300h annually to 250h.

“The trends for fighters and attack aircraft in each service mirror the trends observed for the services’ fleets as a whole,” says the CBO. “Of particular note is the steep decline in the availability rate for DoN fighters and attack aircraft, which drives the decline in the availability rate of the total fleet.”

For the DoN, the CBO looked at fighter types such as the AV-8B, EA-6B, EA-18G and F/A-18 and the F-14. USAF types included the A-10, F-15, F-16 and F-22. The F-35 was not analysed because the data sets the CBO used did not accurately reflect the type’s availability.

“Since 2012, the availability rates of DoN fighters and attack aircraft have fallen well below the air force’s rates,” says the CBO.

“The rates for both services have been lower than they were in the early 2000s. DoN fighters and attack aircraft have consistently flown more hours per aircraft than have the air force’s fighters and attack aircraft. Both services have experienced declines in flying hours per aircraft.”

The DoN’s numbers were particularly affected by the F/A-18 C/D, a type retired by the Navy, but still in service with the Marines. Delays in high flight-hour inspections, which also include actions to extend the type’s operating life, affected its availability over the survey period.

“Both the air force and DoN operate helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft,” adds the CBO. “However, helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft make up a much larger fraction of DoN’s fleet, representing 34% of its total fleet compared with just 3% of the air force’s fleet. The trends for those aircraft are consistent with fleetwide trends in both services.”

The CBO adds that it used a somewhat stricter measure to assess “availability” than that used by the US Department of Defense (DoD). The CBO’s measure looks at all aircraft, including those in storage or receiving depot level maintenance, while the DoD measures only the availability of aircraft with operating units.

In 2019, for example, the DoD deemed its availability rate for the F-15C at 67%, while the CBO set it at 40%.

https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/us ... 68.article

[Atticus]

Resumiendo el resumen resumido. Que se anda por el cincuenta por ciento, mas o menos y a trazos muy gruesos.

[Truquichan]

Se retira el piloto más veterano de la reserva, un día antes de su 60 cumpleaños.

Entró en el 1988 primero haciendo Brrrrrt y desde el 94 no ha soltado (o no lo han podido sacar, cual lapa) del F16. Ha estado en todos los fregados desde Dessert Storm.

https://www.homestead.afrc.af.mil/News/ ... undefined/

P**o amo.

[Atticus]

Se retira el piloto más veterano de la reserva, un día antes de su 60 cumpleaños.

Entró en el 1988 primero haciendo Brrrrrt y desde el 94 no ha soltado (o no lo han podido sacar, cual lapa) del F16. Ha estado en todos los fregados desde Dessert Storm.

https://www.homestead.afrc.af.mil/News/ ... undefined/

P**o amo.

¿Un piloto de caza que no se baja de la burra hasta los sesenta años? Iba a decir que ahi habia pelicula, pero creo que ya la han hecho: Top Gun II. Que a ver si la estrenan ya.

[champi]

Contrato para el mantenimiento de los motores del C-130 durante cinco meses adicionales (21/1/2022): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/ ... e/2907867/

...
AIR FORCE

The Rolls Royce Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana, has been awarded a $96,270,179 indefinite-delivery vehicle requirements contract modification (P00025) to previously awarded contract FA8504-17-D-0002 for C-130 aircraft fleet engine sustainment support. This contract modification incorporates an additional five-month option period to maintain continuity of services for the C-130 engine repairs. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2022. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $1,655,270,179. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.
...

[champi]

Contrato relacionado con los sistemas de contramedidas del B-2 (25/1/2022): https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/ ... e/2911544/

...
Lockheed Martin Corp., Owego, New York, has been awarded a maximum $9,744,112, firm-fixed-price contract with progress payments for the manufacture of B-2 countermeasure receivers. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are New York and Florida, with a Nov. 1, 2024, delivery completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (SPRTA1-22-C-0004).
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