RAPTORS INTERCEPT RUSSIAN FIGHTERS OVER SYRIA
TWO US AIR Force F-22A Raptors
were involved in an intercept of
Russian strike and fighter aircraft
over Syria on December 13. The
Russian jets were intercepted after
they had passed over the EuphratesRiver and crossed the ‘de-confliction
line’ into coalition airspace.
During the event — which lasted
around 40 minutes — the Raptors
conducted multiple maneuvers,
fired chaff and flares in closeproximity to the Russian aircraft,
and attempted to make contact
via an emergency channel in an
attempt to ward them off. Although
the initial intercept involved Su-
‘Frogfoot’ close air support aircraft,B-52 ENGINE UPGRADE GATHERS PACE
ALTHOUGH THE USAF intends to
retain the B-52H Stratofortress in
service until at least 2040, it says the
bomber’s engines are ‘not sustainable
past 2030’. The service is moving closer
to long-held plans to replace the
type’s Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-
turbofans, and modification of the first
two test aircraft could begin by fiscal
year 2022.
The USAF’s aims are for a one-
for-one replacement of each of the
Stratofortress’s eight TF-33s with new
fuel-efficient engines. Its goals includeincreased reliability, a 20-40 per cent
improvement in fuel burn and a
greater power-generation capacity
that will support the demands of
next-generation weapons, plus a
new fire-control radar, and other
electrical systems. The new engines
are expected to improve the aircraft’s
ability to climb to its cruising altitude
and improve endurance.
Although the aircraft will likely
require new wing spar stiffeners, new
engine nacelles, struts and attachment
fittings, as well as modifications to
the cockpit and electrical and fuel
systems, the USAF wants to minimizethe impact to the airframe and
other systems.
The service’s requirements include
nuclear-hardening for the engines
and electronics. The weight of the
powerplants must be about the same
as the TF33. It wants to maintain the
bomber’s current center of gravity and
its 488,000lb (221,353kg) maximum
take-off weight.
A December industry event
held at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana,
was attended by several engine
manufacturers including General
Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce
and Safran USA as well as Boeing,United Technologies Corporation’s
Rohr unit, Northrop Grumman,
L3 Technologies, Omega Air, D-J
Engineering, Honeywell, Spirit
Aerosystems, and McGill Aircraft Parts.
Initial funding for the program
has been included in the service’s
Fiscal 2018 budget. Under current
plans the USAF hopes to select
one contractor for the engine and
another for aircraft integration by
mid-2020. Modifications for the
first 10 operational aircraft could
start in fiscal 2026, once testing
of the first two modified aircraft is
completed. Full-rate production for
the remaining 64 aircraft will follow
from fiscal 2028-34.ALSO
THIS
MONTH...
New aggressors
TacAir and Draken reveal new
fleets. See US News
Australia scales back ops
Super Hornets withdrawn from
Middle East. See World Newsat least one Su-35 ‘Flanker’ was
also involved.
The F-22s were providing air
cover for partner ground forces
conducting operations against
so-called Islamic State forces at
the time. The initial intercept
was conducted after the Su-25s
‘flew into co-ordinated coalition
airspace on the east side of the
Euphrates River near Abu Kamal,
Syria’, according to Air Force Central
Command (AFCENT). Coalition
personnel in the Combined Air
Operations Center (CAOC) in Al
Udeid, Qatar, contacted Russian
staff on the ‘deconfliction hotline’
to ‘de-escalate the situation and
avert a strategic miscalculation,’
officials said.
Under a verbal pact reached
in November 2017, the Russian
forces agreed to remain west of the
Euphrates, while the coalition forces
would operate to the east. Since
they agreed to this arrangement,
AFCENT says, ‘the Russians have
flown into our airspace on the east
side of the river six to eight times
per day’. Tom KaminskiThe USAF looks set to finally press ahead
with plans to re-engine its B-52H fleet.
USAF/SSgt Benjamin GonsierAn F-22A takes on fuel from
a KC-135R Stratotanker over
Syria in December. Raptors
came into close contact with
Russian jets that month.
USAF/SSgt Paul LabbeHEADLINES [NEWS]
http://www.combataircraft.net // March 2018 07
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