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.

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.

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.

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"

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.

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.