United States Air Force - Articles - Zimbio

Boeing Selects BAE Systems to Provide Digital Electronic Warfare Suite for International F-15s

Wed, 30 Oct 2008 07:03:00 GMT

posted by Kobus
The Boeing Company has selected BAE Systems' Electronics, Intelligence & Support (EI&S;) division to provide the next-generation Digital Electronic Warfare Suite (DEWS) for future international versions of the F-15 multirole fighter aircraft.

Boeing's selection of BAE Systems is the result of a rigorous source-selection competition.

"BAE Systems' Digital Electronic Warfare Suite will greatly improve the F-15's aircrew situational awareness, self-protection and electronic countermeasures capabilities," said Mark Bass, Boeing F-15 Program vice president and program manager.

"The F-15, with its state-of-the-art electronic warfare capabilities, will continue its multirole supremacy for decades."

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Laser raygun plane gets $30m ‘extended evaluation’

Tue, 15 Oct 2008 11:06:36 GMT

posted by photonicphred

US arms goliath Boeing is pleased to announce it has been awarded an extra $30m by the US Air Force to keep its Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) raygun aeroplane in operation, following the original “technology demonstration” deal under which it was built. However, the technology appears yet to be demonstrated, as no inflight lasing has taken place.

The ATL consists of a 20-tonne weapons system installed in a C-130 medium cargo plane. It shouldn’t be confused with Boeing’s other, even more enormous laser-cannon aircraft, the jumbo-jet-based ICBM-toasting Airborne Laser (ABL). Boeing announced that the ATL had been completed last year, and said the first ground blasts had been fired in May - promising airborne zappings “this year”. Every significant ATL milestone, in fact, has been publicly broadcast so far.

Nonetheless, before revealing any airborne rayings, Boeing now says that it has already been given cash to keep the ATL available so that military customers can try it out for a while and see what it might be good for.

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DoD spends less than lawmakers want on F-22s

Wed, 13 Nov 2008 08:46:00 GMT

posted by Kobus
Under mounting pressure from Congress to spend $140 million to buy parts for 20 more F-22 jet fighters, the Defense Department agreed Wednesday to spend $50 million on parts for just four of the stealthy planes.

Reaction from Capitol Hill was mixed.

"It’s sort of a [screw]-you answer," an aide to a senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said of the $50 million spending plan.

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New Fighter Jet: Controversial Future of the U.S. Fleet

Fri, 8 Nov 2008 12:02:00 GMT

posted by Kobus
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is slated to become the backbone of the U.S. tactical aviation fleet.

This ambitious program aims to replace the combined U.S. Defense Department arsenal of F-16 Fighting Falcons, F/A-18 Hornets, A-10 Thunderbolts, and the AV-8B Harrier combat aircraft with a single platform capable of being adapted to the divergent needs of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps.

The new fighter will not only replace those rapidly aging aircraft in the colossal American inventory, but the jet is also expected to become the mainstay of Allied air forces in Great Britain, Australia, and a host of other nations.

The massive undertaking is not without its critics however.

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Vandenberg officials launch Minuteman III missile

Thu, 7 Nov 2008 08:37:00 GMT

posted by Kobus
Vandenberg Air Force Base officials launched a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration test assembly at 1 a.m. PST Nov. 5 here.

The launch was an operational test to determine the weapon system's reliability and accuracy.

The missile's single unarmed re-entry vehicle traveled approximately 4,190 miles to the predetermined target near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

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