The V-22 Osprey has been grounded yet again, this time for engine fires. It appears that a problem in the engine air particle separator (EAPS) leads to hydraulic leaks (a constant problem with the aircraft) into the engine exhaust.
All things considered, the idea of going with ultra-high pressure hydraulics to save weight in the V-22 was a bad idea.
First, we have a USAF analysis and bomb damage assesment (paid subscription required) which basically comes down to the following: Don’t let an Air Force General be the chief or your general staff, as General Dan Halutz was. The pertinent quote:
Israel broke new ground when it became the only other country besides the U.S. to conduct a sustained, round-the-clock, modern air campaign in responding to rocket and missile attacks by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon, says Arkin. But in doing so, Israel also followed a discredited airpower model by failing to connect air and ground attacks to its overall political and military objectives and communicate what it was doing.
This basically translates to following Curtis LeMay’s strategic bombing doctrine. It is another argument against having an air force as an independent branch of the military service.
The Israeli assesment of the war (paid subscription required), is similar, though I think a more complete analysis. Some pertinent quotes:
Specifically faulted is the decision to begin operations before military objectives and political goals had been identified.
…
“Hezbollah is not the problem; leadership is,” says one of Israel’s renowned generals, now retired. That lack of leadership failed to improve a longtime mis-prioritization of effort, intelligence, training and decision-making that led to a muddled military campaign, he says.
…
Additionally, one finds problems in coordination between services:
Early in the conflict, the Israeli air force (IAF) was not in the same network as the army, according to aerospace industry officials; however, after several days of combat, that connection was made and data exchange was improved.
….
“The air force did a good job in taking out the medium- and long-range missiles,” the retired general says. “Northern Command was the problem. The air force could attack only [in short-range missile launch areas] if it got permission. Katyushas and other short-range missiles were the responsibility of the artillery and Northern Command.”
Additionally, it appears that the IDF was going through a shift similar to Rumsfeld’s transformation, with similarly dismal results.
Government officials had not anticipated a war, and Halutz (a technocrat) had been brought in to the top position to shave defense spending, streamline acquisition and change the force to a less armor-heavy mix. Air Force pilots of the rank of colonel and brigadier general, asked about the Army’s antipathy toward Halutz, say the former chief of staff would be the last to blame anyone in the army, but they agree there was a good deal of resentment from regular army commanders who saw opportunities for senior positions slipping away from them as the military changed.
Part of the lesson is a round the clock air presence above the the battle space, and part is the fact that there really was no plan on what to do if the army had to move in a full scale invasion:
If the army had been better prepared, some Israeli officials contend, a strong move toward Beirut would have pulled the Hezbollah fighters out of their bunker positions and forced the Lebanese government to get involved earlier. But with the transformation unfinished, an attack into Hezbollah’s most heavily fortified positions turned into a war of attrition and a political trap.
….
“You can only get rid of the Katyushas with a land force,” says the retired general. But by the time the ground force was heavily involved, the conflict had gone on for a month and Hezbollah was in its long-prepared positions. “The attack was strategically incorrect,” he says. “Instead of going into Hezbollah land, they should have gone to Beirut. They lost [military and political advantage] every day after the first four. You have to go for the limited war, otherwise the advantage is with the irregulars, and the focus shifts from the battlefield leaders to guys in offices.”
Basically, Israel bought into the “Networked war” model that the US has been pushing for some time, and it did not work against irregular forces (It did against Saddam’s army, then failed utterly against the insurgency).
I think that there is going to be a much greater role for armed drones in the future too:
Discussing UAV armament is taboo, but Elbit-built Hermes 450s were armed with missiles and used heavily as strike aircraft during the Lebanon fighting. Late in the war, no Hezbollah short-range missile was fired without immediate counter-fire from a UAV or manned aircraft, say a number of Israeli officials. To ensure there was always a UAV available on short notice, they were operated in stacks positioned over several parts of the battlefield. A UAV would enter the stack upon arrival, circle until needed and then return to base after completing its mission. The aircraft operated at an altitude where they could not be heard and, often, not seen. The Hermes 450s generated 16,000 flying hours, three months in a row with a 92% mission completion rate, the officials say.
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Despite hard flying by the UAV unit, management of the conflict limited their contribution and exposed their limitations.
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My guess is that we will first see this in the skies above Gaza, where the opportunity for immediate response to Kassam launchers being set up will be the primary mission.
This is the new Russian cruise missile, the Kh-101/102. 
According to Aviation Week (paid subscription required) this is to have a roughly 5000km (3000 mi) range and a small radar cross section.
This compares favorably to the current Kh-55, a non stealthy design with a shorter range (2550 km) and smaller size (6m vs 8m).
On the bottom, about halfway down, appears to be a chin mounted air intake, though this might be some sort of EO sensor, as the -101 version is conventionally armed, and hence needs more precise targeting.
It can be carried internally on the Tu-160 Blackjack, and externally on the TU-95 Bear.
Some background:
Somaliland was a British colony, and handed off to Somalia, an Italian one, when they were both granted independence in 1960.
Follow the collapse of the Somali government, they declared independence, and they have created a relatively stable government.
There are no nations which have recognized them, largely because the African Union refuses to, because they have a policy of recognizing only former colonial political boundaries*.
While Somaliland was a separate colony, the AU members, concerned about their own borders, does not want a separate nation state to be founded out of Somalia.
Well, the Pentagon is concerned about instability in this region, and is now lobbying to have Somaliland recognized.
I tend to agree for a number of reasons:
*Causing untold amounts of strife and misery, as the colonial boundaries cut across ethnic and sectarian lines in a completely arbitrary manner.
I was already aware that that flight testing had been suspended after a power system glitch, but was under the impression that this was a temporary flaw that did not effect flying characteristics, though it did lead to an emergency landing, as any major system dropout, no matter how short, should during testing.
After a series of 7 quite successful flights, the test flight program stops in February 2007 to fix some minor problems in the JSF flight control software. This is not unusual in the early stages of a test flight program. In March 2007, the JSF returns to flight status and takes off for the first supersonic flight. At the end of April the JSF prototype AA-1 takes off several times a week. But then, destiny strikes. On May 3, 2007 with the second test pilot Jeff Knowles at the stick, a serious malfunction hits the JSF. At 38,000 feet (12 km) level flight and at a speed of some 800 km/hour, the plane executed a planned, 360-degree roll but experienced power loss in the electrical system about halfway through the manoeuvre.
In an emergency procedure, power is restored and Jeff Knowles regains control of the plane. The pilot cuts short this 19th test flight and makes an emergency landing in Fort Worth, TX. Due to control problems with right wing flaperons, the JSF has to make that landing at an exceptional high speed of 220 knots (350 km/hr). The plane’s undercarriage, brakes and tires are damaged. The plane is stopped, surrounded by emergency vehicles, and towed away, but several eyewitnesses take pictures of the emergency landing.
This is not a glitch that does not affect flying characteristics. This a dangerous landing and the risk of loss of airframe and pilot.
Additionally, the power supply for the aircraft is about only 65% of necessary power, which, given that the F-35 has a power by wire setup on its control surface actuators means much more than just the radar or displays dropping out, it means potential loss of control.
Additionally, to save money, they want to cancel two of the test aircraft, and eliminate about 15% of the test flights. The excuse is that simulation will handle it, but more reasonably, this is budget games, because if problems are discovered on a fielded system, Congress is over a barrel to protect pilots already flying the aircraft.
Saab, manufacturer of the Gripen, which should be available with a similar sensor suite shortly, though not the same stealth or apyload/range performance is saying that its operating costs will be about 2/3 of the JSF (believable, considering that it is about 1/2 the size), so it becomes a compelling alternative…A MirageIII/V of this generation, if you will.
Considering that the Typhoon, Rafale, and Gripen are all fielded, it is unlikely that they will experience significant price increases (Gripen excepted if they do a growth version), and in the long run will likely be much cheaper.
This is a stupid idea.
I understand the idea, that this will allow even longer ranger sniping, but this technology already exists in antitank guided missiles, out to at least 5000 meters.
If you replace the missile warhead with an inert one, it eliminates the collateral damage problem, and a 500 km/h 10 kilo missile hitting someone will make them even deader than a .50 cal round. It’s something like dropping a safe from a second story window on them.
This is just another hole in which the military dumps money so that generals can get cushy jobs after retirement.
About 18 months ago, there was a minor scandal when the Pentagon eschewed the already tested and ready for deployment Israeli Trophy active protection system in favor of the Raytheon APS system.
Given what was happening in Iraq, it was concluded that someone was to close to US contractors, and too distant from troop needs.
The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, has declared the system Technology Readiness Level 9, which means that it is ready for immediate deployment, and ordered a set.
The French are looking at ultra-heavy lift capability, so they had some crews operating the Halo for a few weeks to see the potential tactical applications.
If they were smart, the would buy Russian, either the Mi-26, or the successor that the Russians purportedly have in the works, because both solutions will be much cheaper than a from the ground up solution.
The Russians have been the only people doing these size helicopters for 40 years.
The White House and the genocidal ethnic cleansers Iraqi government have released a statement of principles that amounts to an agreement to have US troops in Iraq FOREVER.
Chris Dodd has released a statement vehemently disagreeing with this:
Frankly, it’s hard to believe that the Administration is just beginning to figure out what the future bilateral relationship with Iraq should look like after more than four years of military occupation. But, this declaration of principles is more notable for what it doesn’t say than what it does. It does not require Iraqi leaders to make substantive progress on their political benchmarks nor does it end US military involvement in Iraq. Indeed, Senator Dodd is fearful that the lack of clarity on the long-term presence will be used as a justification by this Administration for a permanent military presence in Iraq, at precisely the time when we should be declaring the opposite. In a Dodd Adminsitration, there will be no permanent bases in Iraq.
Update:
Obama and Clinton have now declared themselves to be members of the “No Permanent Bases” caucus too.
Maimed vets, people who will be crippled for life, are getting demand letters for their signing bonuses, because they were unable to complete their tours because of their injuries.
Evil….
They have held the award winning photographer for more than 19 months, and now they are finally charging him in a process that his employer, the AP calls a sham. The AP claims, and I’m inclined to agree that these charges are because he got pictures that the military did not want:
Tomlin said the AP has faced chronic difficulties in meeting Hussein at the Camp Cropper detention facility in Baghdad and its own intensive investigations of the case—conducted by a former federal prosecutor, Paul Gardephe—have found no support for allegations that he was anything other than a working journalist in a war zone.
This is just disgraceful.
This was a relatively small (1/2 the size of a C-130) cargo aircraft, with the C-27J Spartan winning the competition.
The conflict was that TheHill.com – Army poised to win fight over cargo aircraft
They got it because the USAF is cutting everything in an effort to get more bling like F-22s and C-17s.
The Army and Air Force National Guard are slated to fly the C-27J, the aircraft selected for the JCA program.
Had the Army lost responsibility for the program, more Air National Guard units would have flown the C-27J in support of homeland defense missions. But Army supporters argued that the Air Force did not have the necessary staffing or processes in place to take over the program in a timely manner. Had that takeover occurred, the Army argued, it could have wound up delaying the program by at least a year.
And then there is the US Army experience with what happens when the USAF takes over small STOL cargo aircraft. They have restrictions that greatly reduce the utility of the aircraft to the ground troops.
The 238+ page document, “Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures”, dated March 2003, was leaked and the whole document (pdf) is now at available at wikileaks.org.
Among the revelations:
Nice gulag you have there, Bushie.
There recently has been an F-15 crash following what appears to be a structural failure in an F-15. The USAF has responded with a service wide, and extensively publicised grounding of the aircraft across all deployments, including Afghanistan and Iraq.
While a grounding following this sort of crash is not uncommon, the breadth, and deliberate and massive press offensive associated with it is clearly part of the service’s strategy to get the F-22 production line extended.
When juxtaposed with the Air Force’s decision to cut 40,000 personnel, over 10% of active duty personnel, to free up money for continued F-22 production, it’s clear that the the priorities of of an independent air force as a service are likely to run counter to the defense needs of the nation.
The USAF is creating artificial crises and sacrificing its human capital for some not particularly useful bling in the form of the Raptor. It does not benefit the national defense, the country, or, in the long run, the United States Air Force.
The Raison d’etre of the independent USAF was strategic bombing with nuclear weapons, which has been obsolete since the late 1960s, and folding the service back into the US army would be of benefit to everyone, particularly the taxpayer, which does not need another 20 F-22s at $220 million each, literally worth its (empty) weight in gold.
A US Navy Carrier Battle Group was conducting exercises between Japan and Taiwan, and a Chinese Song class submarine surfaced within visual range of the carrier, the proverbial turd in the punch bowl.
Not only was there a full balttle group out there, but also two American SSNs, and the sub got past them all.
I gotta take the Submariners side on this one….(refer to post title)
It’s not much of a surprise that the lower house of the Duma has voted to leave the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty.
No surprise. What is a surprise, at least to me, is that the Duma voted 418 to 0 to do so.
While the Duma is weak, and largely populated by Putin lapdogs, the unanimity shows something: That the Russians believe, accurately in my opinion, that the missile defense installations are directed at them.
I agree. Bush and His Evil Minions™ wanted to show Russia who was boss, out of the same sort of dick swinging that got us into Iraq.
Bad move.
I have commented earlier about the difference between Naval and Army officers. In the Navy, it is expected that one would have made professional enemies before becoming captain, where in the army, there is more of an Eddie Haskell ethos.
Now that Admiral Michael Mullen is chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff, we are seeing an honesty that was previously lacking:
Seems the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael Mullen, has banned the use of the phrase “Global War on Terror” (GWOT) and has prohibited using it “in any future correspondence,” according to a Sept. 27 e-mail from a Mullen aide.
Personally, I’ve been using Total War Against Terrorism for some time.
The SSN Hampton was transferred from the East Coast to the West Coast, and upon arriving, a few weeks ago, there was some sort of investigation with a heavy clampdown on information.
Well, now the veil has been lifted a bit, and it appears that there was some signification violations of safety regulations, along with forged log books.
This is a very serious matter. One of the likely causes of the loss of the USS Scorpion in the 1960s was that they were trying out an austere maintenance program.
However, this is less severe thatn what I when I first heard about the lockdown, I was concerned that it involved another nuke had been mishandled.
Disciplinary actions have been taken against over 50 military personnel as a result of the nuclear warheads flying to Barksdale from Minot.
I still find it hard to believe that this was not intentional, perhaps a bit of patriotic insubordination from someone who saw that the nukes were being pre positioned to launch a nuclear strike on Iran.
SAAB just scored a major export coup, Thailand has selected Sweden the Gripen fighter and the Erieye airborne early warning aircraft in a $1.1 billion dollar contract.
Considering that Thailand already operates the F-16, it’s rather a surprise, though there may have been US export issues related to the recent Thai coup.
Particularly in light of the upgrades planned, the Gripen, the smallest, lightest, and cheapest of the 4.5 generation fighters (also Typhoon and Rafale) may be the Mirage III of the next decade.