Since the old thread has been locked...


Langley Officials Fight to Keep F-22s from Being Damaged

(Source: US Air Force; issued April 9, 2008)
*no link available*


LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --- The Air Force's newest and most technologically advanced fighter, the F-22 Raptor, is under attack here.

Free-falling clams dropped by in-flight birds are regular air threats to the F-22 as gulls drop fist-sized mollusks on the Langley Air Force Base runway to break open the shell-fish appetizer.

The birds' shelling device just happens to be a convenient launch pad for the F-22. Although the gulls remove half their mess -- slurping up tender meat from the runway -- they leave behind hard, brittle sea shells for an F-22 to suck up through its engine intake that can cause severe damage.

Although the Air Force is wildlife-friendly, Lt. Col. Lawrence Spinetta, the 1st Fighter Wing Safety Office chief, isn't willing to let a $10.2 million jet engine go to the birds -- or the clams.

Langley AFB officials run an aggressive flight-safety program to mitigate the Bird and Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard, also called BASH.

"BASH is particularly important for Raptors because they are so expensive," Colonel Spinetta said. "If we lose one aircraft, it costs the Air Force and taxpayers $135 million.

Most wildlife threats to aircraft are birds, although deer, coyotes, turtles and even clams are also foreign-object-debris threats, said Tom Olexa, a wildlife biologist from the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Langley AFB.

"A key component of BASH is to ensure the safety for our pilots and aircraft," Mr. Olexa said. "But we also want to protect (wildlife) from being struck by our aircraft. There's a conservation here that we're all responsible for."

All people, not just Air Force officials, are obligated stewards of the environment, he said. But "aircraft conservation" is a priority for Air Combat Command officials, because Air Force "birds" belong to taxpayers, Colonel Spinetta said.

"A little sparrow may not seem like it's a threat to a 60,000-pound aircraft, but it is, particularly if it gets sucked down the intake," he said. Even if a bird strike doesn't cause a crash, damages soar into the millions.

Federal Aviation Administration officials claimed birds cost the civil aviation industry about $600 million per year. Air Force officials coughed up approximately $16 million in 2007 from bird-strike damages. Only a few types of birds account for the majority of the damage. Certain species in particular do more than peck at the Air Force wallet.

For example, the turkey vulture alone accounts for nearly 800 strikes and more than $51 million in Air Force flying history, said Dan Sullivan, the Air Force BASH deputy chief and wildlife scientist. It ranks No. 1 in Air Force bird strikes.

However, the most expensive bird is the American white pelican. In only 18 strikes, this bird accounts for more than $257 million in damages. Mr. Sullivan said this cost is attributed to the size and weight of the bird -- a whopping 20 pounds -- compared to an average 5 pounds for the turkey vulture.

"The black vulture and turkey vulture are the greatest threat to Air Force aircraft overall because they are somewhat large and soar at high altitudes -- about 3,000 feet," Mr. Sullivan said. "During the day as the air warms up, they ride a rising thermal draft. Their high altitude makes them hard to detect from the ground." These vultures, among other avian species, are increasing in population because of U.S. conservation efforts, he said.

Other threatening birds at high altitudes include all raptor species. Mr. Sullivan said these birds are also increasing in numbers because the U.S. stopped using dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, a pesticide known as DDT. The cessation of DDT use was necessary, he said, because it threatened the once-endangered bald eagle. But an offshoot of this action means the Air Force shares more of its airspace.

And sharing airspace with birds is a moderate concern to Air Force pilots. "I think it would be a life-changing event to have a 5-pound Canadian Goose smash through your windshield at 400 knots," said Colonel Spinetta, who is also an F-15 Eagle pilot.

No pilot wants to share the cockpit with fowl, but avoiding birds in midair isn't an option. "It's very difficult (to dodge a bird) at the speeds we're going, (350 to 400 mph at low altitude)," said Capt. Ray Thaler, an F-22 pilot and chief of flight safety. "(With) birds being very small, you never usually see them until the last half-second."

The problem is, he said, a single bird can take out an entire engine, could break through a canopy and hit you in the cockpit. This becomes more serious in single-engine aircraft like the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Although there is no pilot training for bird strikes as a specific hazard, Captain Thaler said they train for many procedures, including low-altitude engine loss, which would apply to bird strikes.

Almost nothing can be done, short term, to avoid high-altitude strikes. But the Langley AFB BASH team is heading up a project to track the migration of the osprey, the fifth most-dangerous bird species to aircraft, Colonel Spinetta said. There are more than 72 osprey nests within a 20-mile radius of Langley AFB.

To mitigate the growing threat, officials from the 1st FW, NASA and USDA came up with a unique way to track the osprey.

"Captured birds were fitted with Global Positioning Systems-capable transmitters ... (that) transmit the altitude, speed and direction of travel of each bird every two hours," Colonel Spinetta said in an editorial for the Flight Safety Magazine. "As a result, Langley AFB has been able to pinpoint nests and focus its reduction, suppression and prevention efforts to eliminate many osprey hazards."

The nests are usually relocated to safer areas by USDA members.

Other more traditional techniques for eliminating hazards involve harassing birds on the airfield, Mr. Olexa said. The most common tool is simply a combination of pyrotechnics and artificial bird distress calls, called bioacoustics. This, he said, is especially useful for birds like gulls that drop their food on the runway. Other long-term techniques take a bit more forethought, called habitat manipulation.

"The trick is to make the airfield less attractive to wildlife," Mr. Sullivan said. One way is by planting certain grass species that cause an upset stomach to geese. Another example is to avoid planting fruit/nut producing trees.

The Langley AFB BASH team also covered tall airfield objects with spiny metal strips, or cone shaped devices, to deny perching to birds.

One technique, which is considered a last resort, is called depredation, or lethal action. But Mr. Sullivan said the purpose of lethal action is to remind other birds there's an actual threat, not to terminate the flock.

"Most of what the Air Force does in its BASH program is non-lethal," he said. "We move the birds away from the threat of aircraft."

The lethal action Air Force officials take is a response to birds becoming accustomed to non-lethal methods. Lethal action on a few birds prevents the majority from settling in an area where they would be more endangered from aircraft strikes. Birds are smart; they begin to understand when there's a real threat, or just harassment, Mr. Sullivan said.

The techniques used by USDA and BASH teams have earned credibility with Air Force commanders. From 1995 to 2000, Langley AFB officials spent more than $1.6 million in aircraft damage from wildlife strikes. Since they employed the services of USDA in 2001, there was a 98 percent reduction in cost. From 2001 to 2006 wildlife strikes accounted for a mere $31,000.

"Pocket change," Colonel Spinetta said, compared to the previous five years' cost. This kind of savings is exactly what BASH teams are designed to accomplish.

"We're flying multimillion dollar aircraft that belong to our taxpayers," Mr. Sullivan said. "It's our responsibility to mitigate loss of life and equipment."

But the effort goes much further than a dollar figure. Human life and wildlife are on the line, he said. And that's why BASH and USDA Wildlife services are partnered up to save aircraft, pilots, birds and maybe even a few clams.

-ends-

Source link: http://www.acc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123090515

...Thank goodness for duel-jet engine aircraft!

Maybe they're Islamofascist trained gulls.

F-22 Sensor Data Down-linked to Ground Station

(Source: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company; issued May 2, 2008)

MARIETTA, Ga. --- Two Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors successfully sent classified sensor data to ground stations in the U.S. Air Force's Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008 (JEFX 08) conducted April 15-25 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

JEFX is an Air Force Chief of Staff-sponsored experiment that combines real-world air and ground forces, simulation, and technology insertions into a warfighting environment. The experiment is an annual venue for innovative command and control (C2) and targeting technologies. Numerous Army, Navy, and Air Force aircraft as well as ground forces participated in JEFX 08.

During this two-week experiment, two specially configured F-22s transmitted real-time sensor information to ground stations at Nellis AFB, Nev. and Langley AFB, Va. using an experimental version of the Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) waveform developed by Rockwell Collins. An F-22 data link test configuration flew in realistic scenarios that highlighted the Raptor's significant non-traditional intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR) capabilities.

"Lockheed Martin was excited about the Air Force's decision to demonstrate the value of sharing F-22 ISR data with other fighters and back to the Combined Air Operations Center," said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company executive vice president and F-22 general program manager. "This is the first time in history that F-22 sensor data was down-linked to the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) using a tactical network."

The combined partnership of Lockheed Martin and the Air Force tackled the enormous security challenges to bring highly-desired F-22 sensor data to ground-based users.

"This was a team effort all the way around, from Headquarters Air Combat Command to the F-22 Program Office to the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB," Lawson said.

Not only did the F-22s share sensor data with ground-based users, the aircraft were also tactical network members among other air and ground platforms.

"Our F-22s took a huge first step toward becoming net-enabled in JEFX08. The pilots were sending and receiving information such as command and control messaging, imagery, airspace updates, and free text messages using a cockpit touch-screen color display," said Mark Jefferson, director of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Horizontal Integration. "They stayed pretty busy conducting offensive counter air and destruction of enemy air defenses air dominance missions as well as dynamic targeting attacks with F-16s and non-traditional ISR collection events during the exercise, while also simultaneously piping classified sensor data to the CAOC."

A modified Lockheed Martin F-16 also conducted numerous close air support and interdiction missions, sharing tactical information with other JEFX08 Initiatives, including the US Navy's Maritime Ops Center, the Army's Future Combat System.

"This was a cost-effective opportunity to explore numerous areas of future interest while leveraging Lockheed Martin's extensive independent research and development efforts," said Lawson. These areas include F-22 networking requirements, assessment of Internet Protocol (IP) based waveforms on 5th generation aircraft, IP-based network application development and multi-level security issues.

The F-22 Raptor, the world's most advanced fighter, is built by Lockheed Martin teamed with Boeing and Pratt & Whitney. Parts and subsystems are provided by approximately 1,000 suppliers in 44 U.S. states. F-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Marietta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas; Palmdale, Calif.; and Meridian, Miss., as well as at Boeing's plant in Seattle, Wash. Final assembly, initial flight testing and delivery of the Raptor occurs at Marietta.

Raptors are currently assigned to five U.S. bases. Flight testing takes place at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. Operational tactics development and Weapons School training is ongoing at Nellis AFB, Nev. Pilot and crew chief training takes place at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Operational Raptors are assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., (27th and 94th Fighter Squadrons) and now the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. Raptors will also be based at Holloman AFB, N.M., and Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

F-22 Makes Air Show Debut Outside North America

(Source: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company; issued July 11, 2008)

RAF FAIRFORD, United Kingdom --- The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter made its international air show debut outside North America today at the Royal International Air Tattoo held at RAF Fairford. The U.S. Air Force F-22 Aerial Demonstration Team put the aircraft through its paces, demonstrating its capability.

"The F-22 continues to compile an impressive record of performance and reliability since reaching full operational capability with the U.S. Air Force in 2007," said Larry Lawson, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics executive vice president and F-22 program general manager. "The U.S. Air Force's F-22 Demonstration Team gave the audience a small taste of the 5th generation capability this aircraft delivers by showcasing its aerodynamic properties. When combined with the mission systems, stealth properties and speed -- the Raptor is tough to engage in the air or on the ground."

The F-22 demonstrated superior performance recently during its second Red Flag and Northern Edge force-on-force exercises.

A total of 183 Raptors are on contract, and 122 have been delivered. The F-22 is produced in partnership with Boeing and Pratt & Whitney with parts and subsystems provided by approximately 1,000 suppliers in 44 U.S. states. F-22 production takes place at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics facilities in Marietta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas; Palmdale, Calif.; and Meridian, Miss., as well as at Boeing's plant in Seattle, Wash. Final assembly and initial flight testing of the Raptor occurs in Marietta.

Raptors are currently assigned to six bases across the United States. Flight testing takes place at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif. Operational tactics development is ongoing at Nellis AFB, Nev. Pilot and crew chief training takes place at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Operational Raptors are assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska and the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB, N.M. Raptors will also be based at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

quote:

"If we lose one aircraft, it costs the Air Force and taxpayers $135 million.

Wow! I remember back in 1976 when an F15 cost 15.5 millon. I am old.

Hey, I worked on a few that cost 14 bucks!

Ironic that we see an OPED by someone claiming the numbers are being fudged on the F-22, after the crash at Edwards. Though the flyaway cost will eventually balance out the expenditures necessary for R&D and ramp-up costs, he chooses to nickle and dime the project to death, as not being a viable platform for the Air Force. Several F-22 pilots will argue that point with him, esp. Maj. "Max" Moga, who is a senior pilot in the airframe.
They will never get to a flyaway cost that shows the intrinsic value of the aircraft, but it's performance, reduced maintenance, and manhours necessary to keep it at operational capacity will more than make up for the expenditures of the program.
Incidentally, that particular bird wasn't even a production model. It was strictly a testbed Edwards uses to bring new equipment on active line.

House Panel Votes to Keep the F-22 Jet Fighter Alive

NYTimes .com - June 17, 2009

WASHINGTON — Led by Republicans, the House Armed Services Committee voted 31 to 30 on Wednesday to keep the Pentagon’s advanced F-22 fighter jet alive.

The committee chairman, Representative Ike Skelton, Democrat of Missouri, and the chairman of the air and land forces subcommittee, Representative Neil Abercrombie, Democrat of Hawaii, both voted against the measure, which would set aside $369 million to buy parts to build 12 more of the fighters.

The Obama administration has said it wants to quit building the plane, and House aides said its supporters would face a struggle to win approval for the money in the rest of the House and the Senate.

The vote came as the plane’s supporters have also been talking up the idea of selling the fighter to Japan and other allies.

The Japanese government recently expressed interest in buying as many as 40 F-22s, which are built by Lockheed Martin. But Pentagon officials have said there are substantial obstacles to any such sales.

Given the plane’s crucial stealth technologies, Congress would have to overturn a law that bans any exports. And if the ban were removed, Japan might have to pay $1 billion to $2 billion to cover removing some of the highly classified technology.

Many Republicans have opposed the administration’s plan to halt construction at 187 planes, saying that more are needed as insurance against potential conflicts with major powers.

But critics have described the planes, which cost $200 million each and have not been used in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, as cold war relics that are no longer affordable.

The House committee’s vote for the $369 million in advanced procurement spending came on an amendment, proposed by Representative Rob Bishop, Republican of Utah, to a broader spending bill. It shifted the funds for cleaning up environmental hazards on military bases.

Gates: F-22 Add "A Big Problem"

DoD Buzz - June 18, 2009

“It’s a big problem,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said about Wednesday’s move by the House Armed Services Committee to continue production of the F-22 beyond the 187 fighters the Obama administration wants. In a late night vote, led by Republicans on the committee, the HASC voted 31 to 30 to add $369 million to the 2010 budget for advanced procurement of 12 additional F-22s.

When Gates laid out his 2010 budget back in April, he said there was “no military requirement” for more than 187 F-22s and the administration planned to shut down the production line after that number was reached. The money added by the HASC, although certainly not enough to buy 12 more F-22s at a reported cost of $200 million a copy, would keep the production line open indefinitely.

“Frankly, to be blunt about it, the notion that not buying 60 more F-22s imperils the national security of the United States, I find completely nonsense,” Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing today. That comment may have come in response to a story yesterday on Congressional Quarterly’s site that Gen. John Corley, chief of Air Combat Command at Langley, Va., wrote a letter to Senator Saxby Chambliss, R- Ga., that said buying only 187 F-22s jeopardizes U.S. national security. Corley reportedly said 381 F-22s would be the ideal number but that a fleet of 250 fighters would be tolerable.

WH to Veto DoD Budget Over F-22 Money

June 25, 2009
Associated Press
LINK

WASHINGTON - Preparing for a possible showdown with Congress, the White House on Wednesday threatened to veto legislation authorizing a $680 billion military budget if it contains money for jet fighters the Pentagon doesn't want.

In a statement, the White House Office of Management and Budget said the $369 million that a House committee added to the bill as a downpayment for 12 additional F-22 fighters runs counter to the "collective judgment" of the military's top leaders.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to end production of the radar-evading F-22 after 187 aircraft have been built. Last week, in a preview of the White House's veto threat, Gates called the funding boost a "big problem."

Gates has pointed to the F-22, which has not been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, as an example of a Cold War-era weapon that doesn't fit well into 21st century warfare against terrorist groups and other elusive threats.

But the F-22, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., has broad support on Capitol Hill. The primary manufacturing plant is in Georgia, but key parts of the plane are also made in Texas and California. Lawmakers have pointed to the instability around the world as a reason for keeping the jet program alive. Continued production also means jobs in areas hit hard by a weak economy.

The F-22 is a twin-engine jet the Air Force would use for air-to-air combat missions. Service officials say the aircraft can dominate wide swaths of airspace, a critical capability in areas that ground forces can't quickly get to. Each aircraft costs about $140 million.

The White House statement came as the House was scheduled to begin debating the 2010 defense authorization bill approved by its Armed Services Committee. The legislation includes $130 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a 3.4 percent pay raise for service members.

Another provision in the House bill the White House strongly objects to adds $603 million for a back-up engine intended for another fighter jet in development called the F-35. The committee says the alternative engine is needed in the event the primary propulsion system has problems that might ground the aircraft.

But the White House says the extra engine isn't needed and will slow the fielding of the F-35, a single-engine aircraft to be used by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

The House legislation, which sets the Pentagon's budget for the 2010 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, also provides $9.3 billion to protect the U.S. and its armed forces overseas from ballistic missile attack.

Republicans are pushing to increase the missile defense money by $1.2 billion. The Obama administration and congressional Democrats have shortchanged the account at a time when North Korea poses a serious threat, the GOP argues.

The 2010 defense authorization bill would prohibit the Obama administration from moving terrorist suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the U.S. until 120 days after it delivers to Congress a plan outlining the risks of doing so.

quote:

They will never get to a flyaway cost that shows the intrinsic value of the aircraft, but it's performance, reduced maintenance, and manhours necessary to keep it at operational capacity will more than make up for the expenditures of the program.

ALL
Rep. Murtha currently is looking to INCREASE the F22 budget to get to some 250 birds. Unbelieveable that the Penn. Rep would want this, seeing how he acts negatively toward the DOD most of the time. Seems LM has production vendors aplenty in his state.
The F22 Oversight and Budget committee with Sen. McCain on brd is seeking to DECREASE the F22 budget to stop at 187 or so birds. All in the vein of budget cutting. DOD, Gates, Anti F22 USAF folks, are all standing in line to get these cuts.
Meanwhile, the F22 is running around the Pacific, doing great in all kinds of environments. From Alaska to Guam, to the PI. and North to Japan, Okinawa, and points west.
IF and When the Chinese decide to once again take on Formosa, or aid the NKs in thier Nuke/missle launches, the only fwrd aircraft capable of meeting this threat will be the F22. We don't have any F15s that can match or deploy like the F22. Carriers continue to be the on site folks, for sure, but For a Force Multiplier, one cannot beat the F22.
end
Semper Fi

Obama Admin Crushes F-22 Supporters