Jet Blue pilot injured by laser ..

The pilot of a JetBlue flight suffered a minor eye injury Sunday night when a green laser shone through the plane’s windshield, according to the FAA.

JetBlue Flight 657, an Embraer E-190 (N307JB) flying to New York-JFK from Syracuse when the incident occurred near Islip, NY, about 35 miles east of its destination.

The plane went on to land without incident on JFK’s Runway 22L about 10 minutes later. There were no other injuries reported.

An FAA preliminary incident report described the pilot’s injury as minor but did not expound on details. It was not known if the injured pilot was in command of the aircraft at the time.

A JetBlue spokesperson confirmed to NYCAviation that an incident occurred, but did not have any additional details, saying only that it is “currently a matter of investigation.”

In addition to causing temporary vision impairment which, for obvious reasons, is especially dangerous to a person operating an aircraft, lasers can cause permanent damage to sight, including blind spots in their field of vision.

Pointing a laser at an aircraft became a federal crime in 2011, with violators subject to an $11,000 fine. According to FAA statistics analyzed by LaserPointerSafety.com, 1,519 laser vs. aircraft incidents were reported in 2012 through June 28, which would put the nation on pace for a 2.1 percent increase for the year over 2011.

Laser pointers are also subject to state laws in some cases. A Massachusetts man was sentenced to three years in prison in 2011 for shining a green laser at a Massachusetts State Police helicopter in 2007.

India working on stealth UAV

July 16, 2012

Asia-Pacific Staff New Delhi

India's stealthy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) program is taking shape, with the first images surfacing from the design optimization and concept definition phase.

The flying-wing concept, designated the Indian Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle (IUSAV), is a derivative of existing flying-wing UAVs such as the European Neuron and Boeing Phantom Ray. But in fresh indications coming from the Bengaluru-based team developing the platform, the IUSAV, code-named Aura, could see a first prototype flight by 2015-16, with deliveries by the end of the decade. Such timelines are ambitious—especially for a program involving technologies that India has never before attempted—but the Indian air force (IAF) and government decided to accord special funding and other support to keep the IUSAV on schedule. The director of the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), V.K. Saraswat, recently visited Sweden, where he is believed to have had discussions with Saab on India's unmanned efforts, including the IUSAV. Saraswat's presentation at the Aerospace Forum there—where he described the IUSAV as an “unmanned bomber”—also revealed that IUSAV program laboratories were pursuing development of radar-absorbent paint and materials, cool exhaust signatures for infrared suppression, conformal sensors and antennas, data links and flying-wing aerodynamics.

 His presentation also illustrated elaborate threat scenarios involving future combat air systems, which included not just the IUSAV but also an indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, and the Indo-Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft, or PAK FA.

Representatives from Dassault, Saab and BAE Systems say that all three companies are in discussions with the DRDO for possible technology partnerships in the IUSAV project. DRDO sources indicate that teams from the organization have been invited to visit facilities in France and the U.K., respectively, where the Neuron and BAE Taranis are being developed.

With the platform's shape near definite, a cluster of Indian aeronautical agencies has already begun designing and conceptualizing the IUSAV's major components, notably a flight-control system for the autopilot, control laws for autonomous flight, a serpentine air intake for its single turbofan engine—a modified variant of the Indian Kaveri—mechanical and fluidic thrust-vector control and large-eddy simulation of flying-wing configurations with elevons or dragerons. The design images also reveal that the IUSAV is being developed with twin internal weapon bays capable of carrying one Paveway-type precision-guided munition each.

A scientist with the Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Agency claims the program has built-in mechanisms to check costs and delays. “We are aware of the complexities and expectations. We hope to make this program a clean break from the others,” he says.

Air Marshal T.M. Asthana, a retired IAF fighter pilot who was the first chief of India's Strategic Forces Command, says: “I'm not sure manned flight in the Indian context will shift as a paradigm any time soon. However, it is important that India invests in UCAV technologies.”

In fact, the IAF—despite its proclivity for manned aircraft—called for information from the global market two years ago to support the potential purchase of UCAVs; but it received little or no response, prompting it to throw its weight behind the IUSAV project, now deemed classified by the Indian government.

Read the rest if the story at AVWK 

Morroco MV-22 crash due to pilot error.

An April 11 MV-22B Osprey crash in Morocco occurred because the pilot committed a fundamental flying error which investigators have found was rendered irreversible by a tailwind neither he nor a second pilot in the cockpit noticed, AOL Defense has confirmed.

The Defense Department announced June 29 that the Marine Corps had ruled out any "mechanical or material failure" in the accident, in which two Marines were killed and the two pilots were injured.

"This wasn't a tiltrotor accident; it was bad flying," said a government source with detailed knowledge of the findings, which are still being reviewed by Marine Corps leaders.

Two military officers familiar with the findings separately confirmed that the pilot of the mishap aircraft started the sequence of events that culminated in the crash by violating an explicit instruction in the Osprey's flight manual.

Foreign buyers eyeing V-22 Osprey

(Reuters) - Several countries are competing to become the first foreign buyer of the U.S. military's V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft, which flies like a plane but takes off and lands like a helicopter, according to the Marine Corps colonel who runs the program. Colonel Greg Masiello said officials from more than 12 countries, including eight air chiefs, got demonstration flights at the Farnborough International Airshow this week, as well as at the Royal International Air Tattoo, a huge military airshow in England last weekend. "We're ready, and the language that we're hearing from several of the customers is that they're ready and they're vying to be ... the first. That's not a bad position to be in," Masiello told Reuters in an interview as a Marine Corps version of the plane flew overhead. He said a first foreign purchase could be announced within the next year. Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Japan are among countries interested in buying the V-22, or Osprey, built by Boeing Co and Textron Inc's Bell Helicopter unit, Boeing officials told reporters earlier this week. Canada has also been mentioned as a possible buyer. Scott Donnelly, chief executive of Textron, told Reuters on Tuesday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates were the countries most often named as early buyers. Boeing and Bell have been trying to drum up foreign interest in the aircraft for years. But potential buyers have been waiting to see how the plane did in combat, as well as because of its relatively high purchase and use prices -- both of which are dropping. Washington is increasingly looking to foreign military sales to keep the cost of weapons systems from rising as the Pentagon cuts its own orders to strip $487 billion from its planned defense budgets over the next decade. In the case of the V-22 Osprey, Washington hopes foreign orders will keep the production line running past 2018. News of heightened interest in the V-22 comes amid reports of the plane's use in combat as the fleet approaches 150,000 flight hours and continued improvement in its readiness rate, Masiello said. Recent tests also proved the plane could be used on an aircraft carrier and underscored its ability to travel over 2,600 miles round-trip to carry out a simulated rescue. But there are also negatives, including two crashes this year and concerns raised by Japanese officials in Okinawa, who are concerned about the plane's use off their island. Compared with a helicopter, the plane is relatively expensive at about $67 million a copy. But it has far greater payload capabilities and much longer range. Masiello said his office was also pitching the plane for use by the Navy when it completes an analysis on how to replace its current fleet of C-2 aircraft, which are used to ferry supplies to aircraft carriers. The V22 attracted a great deal of interest at the Dubai air show last November and has turned out to be darling of this year's Farnborough air show as well. Masiello said Boeing and Bell would produce 39 V-22s this year and a peak of about 42 next year before tapering off production in subsequent years. That means foreign orders could easily be incorporated into the production plan. "All our indications are that this isn't chatter. There are serious talks and negotiations" with potential foreign buyers, Masiello said, adding that the possible orders would be for eight to 12 planes. Boeing, Bell and the Marines have also begun negotiating a second five-year, multibillion dollar deal for 98 copies of the plane, down from 174 planes in a first, $11 billion order. Masiello said the Pentagon had received the companies' offer. But he declined to give any pricing details, except to say that it included a pledge to ensure at least 10 percent in savings in the multi-year agreement versus a single-year deal. (Additional reporting by Paul Ingrassia; Editing by Dan Grebler)

NORAD scrambles for Russian bombers

The Inquisitor: Earlier this week two Russian strategic nuclear bombers were detected near the West Coast in the Pacific Ocean. The interception of the Russian bombers was the second such occurrence in the past two weeks, according to the Washington Free Beacon. The long range bombers moved into United States air defense zones but did not traverse sovereign airspace. Pentagon representative Capt. John Kirby stated NORAD fighters “visually identified” the Russian bombers, according to information republished in The Blaze. An unnamed U.S. Defense official referred to the latest Russian bomber incident as Putin’s “Fourth of July Bear greeting to Obama.” “It’s becoming very obvious that Putin is testing Obama and his national security team. These long-range aviation excursions are duplicating exercises I experienced during the height of the Cold War when I commanded the Alaska NORAD region,” Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney told the Washington Free Beacon. The first appearance of Russian nuclear bombers near America’s West Coast happened in late June when two Tu-95 Bear H bombers conducted “war games” near Fort Greely, Alaska. The Russian military exercises included simulated air defense attacks on “strategic facilities,” according to a Russian spokesmen interviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. The newspaper also reports that Moscow “appears” to be practicing the targeting capabilities if its long-range air launch cruise missiles to reach Fort Greely and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Earlier this spring Russian General Staffer Nikolai Makarov stated during a conference in Moscow that the county’s missile defense systems are destabilizing and a decision on the “pre-emptive” use of the weapons will be made when the situation “worsens,” according to conference excerpts republished in The Blaze. Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/271327/russian-nuclear-bombers-spotted-near-the-west-coast/#ZgRG1olM23bcCKft.99