combat aircraft

Boeing has previously offered the

USAF new Eagles and it’s unclear

how much appetite there is for

F-15X. Boeing

EDWARDS EVALUATES CONTRACTOR

OPERATED CHASE AIRCRAFT

THE AIR FORCE Test Center’s 412th

Test Wing/Operations Group

recently began evaluating the use

of contractor-operated aircraft

in the chase role at Edwards AFB,

California. A pair of Dassault/Dornier

Alpha Jet trainers are augmenting

the test center’s  eet of F-16Ds

that typically serve as the center’s

primary test support aircraft. The

aircraft are operated by Gauntlet

Aerospace under a contract with

Modern Technology Solutions Inc,

and are supporting speci c test

sorties as an experiment.

According to the technical

director of the 412th OG, the Alpha

Jets are well-suited to handling

shorter-length test support missions

executed at around 30,000ft

(9,144m) and speeds less than Mach

0.8. They have already supported

test missions with F-16s, F-15s,

F-22s, B-1s and F-35s. Data will be

analyzed to determine if the Alpha

Jets can be used on future tests.

Alpha Jet A N572AJ operated by Gauntlet Aerospace operates near

Edwards AFB during a test mission. USAF/Ethan Wagner

NEW EAGLES FOR USAF?

BOEING DEVELOPS F-15X CONCEPT FOR DOMESTIC CAMPAIGN

I

N A MOVE that closely

resembles its Block III Super

Hornet approach with the US

Navy, Boeing is reportedly

again o ering the US Air Force

an updated version of the F-

Eagle. Referred to as the F-15X, the

 ghter would feature updated avionics

and radar and would be capable

of carrying more than 20 air-to-air

missiles or a combination of missiles

and air-ground stores. It is intended

as a replacement for the F-15Cs that

serve in the air defense role. The new-

production aircraft would be based

on the advanced F-15QA Strike Eagle

variant in production for Qatar.

The F-15X would likely be a single-

seat aircraft featuring  y-by-wire

controls,  at-panel digital displays

and the digital Joint Helmet Mounted

Cueing System (JHMCS II) as well as

FINAL SUPER GALAXY DELIVERED

LOCKHEED MARTIN DELIVERED

the last of 52 upgraded C-5M

airlifters to the USAF on August

2. Serial 87-0039 will be operated
   by Air Force Reserve Command’s
   439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air
   Reserve Base, Massachusetts. It
   will be delivered to the Chicopee
   base in September after internal
   paint refurbishment is completed
   by the 105th Airlift Wing at
   Stewart Air National Guard Base,
   New York. The unit received
   the  rst of eight C-5Ms in June


3. The contractor delivered
   the  rst operational C-5M to the
   436th Airlift Wing at Dover AFB,
   Delaware in 2009. The aircraft
   were modi ed at Lockheed
   Martin’s Marietta, Georgia facility.

As part of the modernization

program, Lockheed Martin

replaced the Galaxy’s four

General Electric TF39 engines

with more advanced General

Electric F138 turbofans that

deliver 22 per cent more thrust,

reducing the aircraft’s take-o roll

by 30 per cent while increasing

its rate of climb by 58 per cent.

Additionally, the engines are

more reliable and quieter and

increase the airlifter’s range

by 900nm (1,667km) to more

than 5,250nm (9,723km). As

part of the program Lockheed

Martin’s Marietta, Georgia, facility

upgraded 49 C-5Bs, two C-5Cs

and a single C-5A to the new

con guration.

C-5M serial 87-0043 departs Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, en

route to Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York on

August 2. The Super Galaxy was the last of 52 C-5s to be upgraded by

Lockheed Martin under the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining

Program (RERP). Lockheed Martin/Andrew McMurtrie

ALASKA C-17AS TRANSFERRED

PERSONNEL ASSIGNED TO the

176th Wing’s 249th Airlift Squadron

were reassigned to the 144th Airlift

Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-

Richardson, Alaska, on August 4,

when the former unit was inactivated.

Whereas the 249th was the youngest

 ying squadron within the Alaska Air

National Guard, the 144th was the

oldest. It had  own C-130Hs prior

to the last of those aircraft being

transferred to other units in March

2017. As a result of the transition,
      the 144th is now responsible for the
      wing’s eight C-17As, which are also
       own and maintained by active-duty
      personnel with the 3rd Wing’s 517th
      Airlift Squadron. The 249th had been
      activated in 2009 to operate the C-17A
      as an associate unit alongside the
      517th Airlift Squadron and later took
      ownership of the Globemaster IIIs.

[NEWS] UNITED STATES

08 October 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net