AVWK: USAF not ready to retire U-2s.

AVIATION WEEK: USAF not ready to retire U-2s.


Amy Butler and David A. Fulghum


The U.S. Air Force is considering – once again – delaying the retirement date for its workhorse intelligence collector, the U-2 Dragon Lady, as developers work out issues with integrating a signals intelligence payload onto the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to service officials.

The current plan calls for the completion of U-2 retirement in the third quarter of fiscal 2012. But the Pentagon is considering delaying the retirement to fiscal 2014 or possibly later, depending on the maturity of the Global Hawk. And retiring a mainstay intelligence collector like the U-2 during wars that require massive amounts of sensor data is also unlikely, according to one USAF official.

The USAF has wrangled for years with various dates for U-2 retirement. Earlier plans called for the retirement to start as soon as FY ’07. But the date has continually slipped. Regional commanders such as in the Pacific realm rely heavily on the U-2. Key advantages of the aircraft over the Global Hawk include higher altitude (above 70,000 feet) and more available onboard power to run a larger selection of intelligence-gathering sensors.

The U-2 can collect data from all seven of its available bands (versus the Global Hawk’s five) simultaneously. They include green, red, near infrared (visible), two shortwave infrared bands and a midwave infrared (which can be tuned to day or night collection). The seventh band is a redundant, midwave thermal infrared channel. The shortwave bands collect images in the invisible reflected solar wavelengths and are most useful in detecting objects in adverse conditions such as haze, fog or smoke.

The latest variants of the decade-old U-2S (part of the U.S. fleet of 33 remaining Dragon Ladies) also carry the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System (ASARS) 2A designed by Raytheon (originally for mapping) that’s so sensitive it can detect disturbed earth in areas where explosive devices and mines have been planted.


Read the rest of the story at aviationnow.com

Anatomy of A Mid-Air Collision

Pilot errors led to the Feb. 20 mid-air collision of two F-15C Eagles over the Gulf of Mexico and the death of one of the pilots, an Air Force accident investigation board concluded in a report issued Monday.

To view computer simulations of the mid-air collision refer to the 2 links under Topical Links.

Lost in the accident was 1st Lt. Ali Jivanjee, 26, of the 58th Fighter Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The other pilot, Capt. Tucker Hamilton of the 58th, safely ejected and was rescued from the gulf. He returned to flying within weeks of the accident. Today he is assigned as an air liaison officer working with the Army.

The two pilots were involved in a mock dog fight about 50 miles off Florida’s northwest coast when they collided, said investigation board president Brig. Gen. Joseph Reynes, an F-16 pilot currently assigned as Air Combat Command’s inspector general.

Rules for the engagement required the pilots to stay at least 1,000 feet from each other, Reynes said. But as they maneuvered for the best position, Hamilton failed to recognize that Jivanjee was on a collision course with his jet. Jivanjee lost sight of Hamilton’s jet for two seconds when his view of jet was blocked by a metal canopy support. When Jivanjee likely spotted Hamilton again, the jets were just two seconds from flying into each other at an altitude of 14,000 feet. The impact killed the lieutenant instantly.

The F-15C fleet was grounded from Nov. 2, 2007 to Jan. 10, 2008, following an Air National Guard mishap over Missouri.

The board ruled that the grounding — and the loss of flying time for Hamilton and Jivanjee that it caused — did not officially contribute to the accident.

But the report acknowledged they might have lost proficiency due to the grounding. “While the [pilots] had regained their currency and qualifications,” the report said, “it is questionable whether they had regained the proficiency held before the stand down of all F-15Cs.”

At the time of the crash, Hamilton was not certified as an instructor pilot, but he was qualified to lead the mission, Reynes said. Hamilton had logged 484 hours in F-15s and was approved as a four-ship flight lead. In 2007, he was the 58th’s company grade officer of the year.

Jivanjee was a new F-15 pilot with just 119 hours in Eagle cockpits but considered an “above average” pilot for an aviator with less than one year of operational flying.

Both pilots had spent most of November and December on the ground as they waited for Air Force leaders to decide if Eagles were safe to fly after a cracked fuselage beam led to the mid-air breakup of an F-15C on Nov. 2.

After the jets were cleared to fly starting Jan. 10, the pilots resumed flight training. In the 30 days prior to the accident, the officers flew more sorties than required by the Air Force’s “ready aircrew program,” the report said.

But the board acknowledged the pilots had not reached the skill level they had prior to the grounding. Their squadron commander, Lt. Col. Todd Jaax, told investigators that the unit’s pilots had lost proficiency and were more apt to make mistakes.

Jivanjee made such a mistake the day before the fatal mission while practicing fighter maneuvers. He flew his F-15C within 300 feet of another Eagle, a violation of training rules, the report said. While the first lieutenant discussed the lapse with his instructor for that mission, the violation was not serious enough to be briefed to Hamilton or the squadron’s leadership.

Reynes said Jivanjee’s mistake was the first serious error noted by the lieutenant’s commanders since he arrived at the 58th. “It was the only time we could find in his training that he had a close pass,” Reynes said.

As part of its investigation, the Air Force created computer animations showing what each pilot may have seen in the 50 seconds leading up to the accident, based on information from the jets’ flight data recorders. The videos also show each jet’s altitude, speed, angle of attack and G-force on the plane. The information for Hamilton’s plane is displayed as AXLE-41, his flight call sign. Jivanjee’s data is shown as AXLE-42.

Top USAF brass to meet, decide on major issues

Air Force Times:
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer

The Air Force’s senior leaders will convene Wednesday to discuss and make decisions about urgent Air Force issues that will shape the future of the service.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and acting Secretary Michael Donley are holding the meeting at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., an Air Force official said.

In attendance will be the Air Force’s four-star generals, commanders of the major commands and the heads of the Air Staff directorates, the official said.

The issues to be discussed include:

* End strength. With the drawdown ended, how can the service achieve the right mix of personnel for a force of 330,000?

* Uniforms. Will Schwartz push for a lighter ABU? Will he ditch the new service dress or the green suede boots?

* Maintenance reorganization. Should maintainers be in flying units or maintenance units?

* Battlefield training. How can the Air Force best train airmen going outside the wire in war zones?

* Cyber Command. The much-touted command has been put on hold while the new leaders figure out the best way to move forward.

* War-zone intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The Air Force needs to get more ISR assets into the war zone, and fast.

Decisions on some of these issues could be made immediately, the official said, but most will be announced in the coming months.

“Our intention is to announce any decisions as soon as possible after the [meeting],” the official said. “There are some topics on the agenda which should result in final decisions. But in most cases, issues will be discussed and the way ahead planned so that at a future date, such as the upcoming Corona [leadership summit], decisions can be made.”

The meeting comes after the Air Staff has spent the past few weeks working on “taskers” Schwartz and Donley assigned to inform their decisions on these and other issues.

Most major decisions have been put on hold since Donley and Schwartz took over in late June and early August, respectively.

Sudanese Plane Hijacked.

CNN) -- A Sudanese plane that was hijacked shortly after taking off from Nyala in the country's Darfur region, presumably by rebels, has landed in Kufra, Libya, Sudan's ambassador to the United States said.

"I believe since it started in the sovereign state of Darfur ... it is more likely something to do with the rebels in that area," John Ukec said.

The hijacker or hijackers at first wanted to land the plane in Egypt, but the Egyptian government refused them permission, Ukec said.

About 87 passengers and 10 crew members are thought to be on board, Ukec said. It was unclear how many hijackers were on board.

A reporter from Al-Shuruq, a Dubai-based Sudanese network funded by Sudan's government, said passengers on the plane include some officials from the interim government of Darfur, Sudan's war-torn region.

Libya's state-run Jamahirya television, citing civil aviation sources, reported the hijacked plane landed in Kufra, in eastern Libya.

"We are in contact with Libyan officials because of this dangerous event," Murtada Hassam Jumaa, an official with Sun Air airlines, told Al-Shuruq. "We want to resolve this situation as soon as we can in a way where we can guarantee the safety of all our passengers."

Asked whether the airline received any threat before the flight took off, he said, "There were no signs of any terrorist or criminal activity on the plane. We checked the plane like we do with all other planes. We followed the regular security checkup. We still don't have any information on what type of weapons were used."

Jumaa also said 87 passengers were on board the plane.

Brits Spy Drone Sets Endurance Record

DailyTech reports that defense firm QinetQ has set the unofficial world record for the longest continuous unmanned flight with the Zephyr, a British-built spy plane.

The Zephyr stayed in the air for 82 hours and 37 minutes, besting the previous record of 30 hours and 24 minutes held by Northrup Grumman’s Global Hawk.

The plane, which can be launched by hand, has a carbon fiber skeleton that weighs under 70 lbs and an 18m wingspan covered with silicon solar cells. It is powered by a lithium sulfur rechargeable battery that is twice as efficient as any other battery in the world.

Despite the Zephyr’s record-smashing speed, it will not set any official world records. According to the World Air Sports Federation, the plane’s flight did not fulfill the requirements of a world record attempt since it was performed to test the Zephyr’s ability to relay ground radio messages.

But that doesn’t mean the test flight was for naught. The Zephyr’s designers believe that the plane could potentially fly continuously for weeks or months, and the technology has countless military uses. Even more exciting, the Zephyr’s exhibition of solar energy used in flight opens up the possibility of manned solar-powered planes—a development that would revolutionize the aircraft industry.