F-15s to be Sold To Saudi Arabia + A Little Something About the F-35

The US has sealed a deal of $30 billion to sell 84 F-15s to Saudi Arabia, and upgrade 70 more. Boeing is making the F-15s, and is saying that this will not only open up more jobs in the US, but also in Saudi Arabia.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203899504577128674022827702.html

A F-15

Japan has decided that it will replace it's older F-4s with new F-35 Lightning IIs.
http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/933/?SID=76839e08c242a35214ca8cdd71fe5812

A Japanese F-4

A F-35 Lightning II

I am sorry, but this will be my last post about the news, but if you want to me to continue, please comment about it.

Good Bye F-22s, We'll Miss You

The final F-22 Raptor rolled off the production line on December 13th. The tail number is 4195, and it is the 187th Raptor. The F-22 was conceived at the end of the Cold War as an air superiority fighter, that included stealth. The F-35 is going to replace it, as it will almost all other fighters including the F-16, F-18, and other fighters.

Here is a video of the final F-22 by Lockheed Martin:

More Info On X-47B

Here are more links with more info on the X-47B:

http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/nucasx47b/assets/X-47B_Navy_UCAS_FactSheet.pdf
http://www.as.northropgrumman.com/products/nucasx47b/assets/UCAS-D_DataSheet_final.pdf

F-35, See You 2018

The F-35, which was originally supposed to be ready by 2016, has been moved to 2018. Budget cuts and additional testing have pushed production back to that date. Due to this, the military is asking for money to upgrade their already operational F-16 fleet.

X-47 Takes Flight

On Tuesday, the actual X-47B took flight. It was conducted at Edwards Air Force Base, and helped validate the hardware and programming to land on a moving deck. Northrop Grumman is hoping to have the first carrier based take off in 2013, and air-to-air refueling. Check out my other story here.

Boeing Wins $11.7 billion Deal

The Department of Defense gave boeing a contract of $11.7 billion to service and for maintenance of their C-17 aircraft. On Sept. 28 the DOD gave a contract of $469 million for similar service for C-17s in the Indian Air Force.

Drone Kills 6

A us drone killed 6 civilians in Somalia. It is said that the drone's target was an al-Shabab base in the nearby area. Instead, 6 civilians died, with 20 wounded.

Model Planes = Weapon?

People always have fun fly model planes. But a man was recently arrested flying a model plane near the pentagon. The FBI said that Rezwan Ferdaus was going to attack the Pentagon and Capital building using F-4 and F-86 replicas loaded with 5 lbs. of plastic explosives. People say that it would be possible, but extremely hard to inflict a lot of damage.

Japan's Next Gen Fighters

Japan has made the official proposal for new fighter aircraft.They are getting offers from Lockheed Martin, with the F-35 Lightning II, Boeing, with the F/A-18 Super Hornet, and from Europe, with the Eurofighter Typhoon. They are hoping to get 40 aircraft to replace the older McDonald Douglas F-4 Phantoms. They are looking for these qualities in the aircraft: stealth and information-processing capabilities, maintenance and other costs involved, level of involvement of Japanese firms, and support systems after purchase.

Iraq Buys F-16s

Iraq has recently bought 18 F-16, to build up it's post-war air force. They have not yet received the aircraft, or made an official announcement, but they have paid $1.5 billion to the US. The planes are made by Lockheed Martin. In other Iraq related news, we are hoping to bring the 45,000 remaining  troops out by Dec. 31.

Quote of the Week

Fighting spirit one must have. Even if a man lacks some of the other qualifications, he can often make up for it in fighting spirit.

— Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF

quote from skygod.com

Quote of the Week

Anybody who doesn't have fear is an idiot. It's just that you must make the fear work for you. Hell when somebody shot at me, it made me madder than hell, and all I wanted to do was shoot back.

— Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Quote from skygod.com

Boeing and Brazil

Boeing has promised Brazil F-18 fighters if they buy them from Boeing, and if Boeing wins a $5 billion fighter bid. President Obama has already assured Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Brazil is also looking at the Swedish Saab AB Gripen NG fighter, and the French Dassault Rafale. The order for 36 Super Hornets has been delayed due to budget cuts.

US Drone Crashes into Cargo Plane

A US Drone (UAV) crashed into a military cargo plane. No one was hurt but if you look at the video links below, you can see the damage. This event has raised concerns about UAVs.

http://www.ktnv.com/multimedia/videos/?bctid=1121116842001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il_aj46bQ8o

Taiwan Buys F-16s

Taiwan has said that they will follow up on the deal for 66 F-16s, despite the fear of angering the china mainland.Delayed before, when a US scout plane was flying over Chinese airspace, the answer was clear. Read a longer story here.

Quote of the Week

In blossom today, then scattered:
Life is so like a delicate flower.
How can one expect the fragrance
To last forever?

— Vice Admiral Ohnishi, Kamikaze Special Attack Force

quote from skygod.com

2nd Atomic Bomb

Yesterday, in 1945, the 2nd atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

Puzzles For Fighters

Click here.

Quote of the Week

A good fighter pilot, like a good boxer, should have a knockout punch . . . You will find one attack you prefer to all others. Work on it till you can do it to perfection . . . then use it whenever possible.

— Captain Reade Tilley, USAAF.

quote from skygod.com

In 1945...

In 1945, over the city of Hiroshima, B-29s flew and dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

F-35

The first F-35 JSF landed at Eglin Air Force Base, become the first F-35 in the USAAF's inventory. Lt. Col. Eric Smith is USAAF's first qualified F-35 pilot, and he said "It was a smooth ride in. The jet behaved awesomely. I'm just so glad to home to Eglin"

X-47B Video

Battle of Britain

In 1940 today, the Battle of Britain began. Here are some planes that were flown (allied):

     

Northrop Grumman X-47B

Northrop Grumman is developing the X-47B, a tailless strike fighter-sized system that is unmanned. It is also the first unmanned fighter to be able land and take off from an aircraft carrier. An F/A-18 using the avionics made many landings and touch and goes. Northrop Grumman says in the year 2013, it will be used to demonstrate the first carrier launches and recoveries by a low observable unmanned aircraft. It will also be a foundation for future unmanned, carrier based aircraft. The X-47B Developed from X-47A. Check out the full story here.

69 Years Ago Yesterday

69 years ago yesterday, the AVG (American Volunteer Group, or Flying Tigers) became a part of the US Air Force. Claire Chennault is called back and takes command of China Air Task Force. Here are pictures of P-40s they flew:

Claire Chennault

Quote of the Week

The air battle is not necessarily won at the time of the battle. The winner may have been determined by the amount of time, energy, thought and training an individual has previously accomplished in an effort to increase his ability as a fighter pilot.

— Colonel Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington, USMC, 26 victories, W.W. II

quote frome skygod.com

F6F

In 1942 today, the prototype of the first Hellcat had its first flight.

Quote of the Week

I hate to shoot a Hun down without him seeing me, for although this method is in accordance with my doctrine, it is against what little sporting instincts I have left.

— James McCudden, VC, RFC, 1917.

quote from skygod.com

Quote of the Week

A top World War II ace once said that fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to kill and those who, secretly, desperately, know they are going to get killed—the hunters and the hunted.

— General Nathan F. Twinning, USAF

from skygod.com

Quote of the Week

I'm going to start posting a quote every week (I will try.) Here is the first one:

The wingman is absolutely indispensable. I look after the wingman. The wingman looks after me. It's another set of eyes protecting you. That the defensive part. Offensively, it gives you a lot more firepower. We work together. We fight together. The wingman knows what his responsibilities are, and knows what mine are. Wars are not won by individuals. They're won by teams.

— Lt. Col. Francis S. "Gabby" Gabreski, USAF, 28 victories in WWII and 6.5 MiGs over Korea.

quote from skygod.com

69 Years Ago

69 years ago today, Doolittle led the B-25 raid on Tokyo. Here are some pics of the plane & raid:

      

 

Wings of War

There is a game that I found out about called Wings of War. There are miniatures to go along with the game.

San Luis Obispo Plane Crash

Two days ago, a Aeronca O-58/L-3 Grasshopper crashed, and injured 2 people.

The crash site

O-58/L-3 Grasshopper

Check out the whole story here.

Parkzone Videos

I just wanted to add on to the older post about RC planes. Here are some videos of the planes:

20 Years Ago Today

20 years ago today, what is considered the first digital war, the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), took place. Here are pics from that war:

A-10 Thunderbolt 2 (Warthog)

      

F-117 Nighthawk

F-14 Tomcat