Altus tanker diverts to Amarillo after declaring an emergency.

A KC-135 tanker from Altus AFB declared an in-flight emergency and diverted to Amarillo after its' stabilizer froze up during an aerial refueling mission over the Texas Panhandle.

 Speaking under conditions of anonymity the pilot said "This was the second time today the stabilizer froze. The first time iit was temporary - the second not so much." The stabilizer is the large movable surface on tail the aircraft that steers the plane.

 If for any reason the stabilizer becomes locked, the aircraft can be steered by using wing flaps and engine thrust.

However, steering the large aircraft in this manner is not ideal. Turns have to be wide and very slowly. GASSER 13 declared an in flight emergency and was diverted to Amarillo. The airspace was cleared as the large aerial refueling tanker made wide turns to line up with the long runway 22 at Rick Husband Int Airport. AFD was called out to meet the tanker (which was filled with jet fuel)as a precautionary measure.

 The KC-135 landed safely and without incident will be spending a few days in Amarillo, awaiting a crew from Altus AFB, in southwest Oklahoma, to repair the problem.

Photo (C) Steve Douglass

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IDF deploys Patriots

HAARENTZ: 

A Patriot surface-to-air missile battery was deployed in Haifa on Monday, two days after an unmanned aerial vehicle breached Israeli airspace from the west.

Israel Defense Forces officials said that the deployment was not an emergency measure, and such systems are deployed to the area from time to time.

Moreover, IDF officials refused to comment on the possible connection between the drone, which was intercepted on Saturday, and the Patriot missile system deployed to Haifa.

The Patriot missile system is a part of Israel’s air defense capabilities, and is meant to defend against enemy warplanes, and intercept missiles.

Last April, a Patriot battery was deployed to Haifa, close to the city’s university. Numerous such systems were in place in Haifa during the Second Lebanon War as well.

The deployment of the battery comes shortly before the beginning of a joint comprehensive drill between the IDF and United States Military commands, which has been called AC12. The AC12 drill entails testing the active defense capabilities of the two military organizations.

The last joint-command drill, “Juniper Cobra,” which took place in 2010, included the use of Patriot missile systems. 

Then, ten Patriot missiles were fired at UAVs simulating a breach of Israeli airspace. The Israeli air defense establishment has labeled the AC12 as “a significant factor in improving our combat capabilities” with the United States.

The Israeli Air Force shot down an unidentified aerial vehicle that penetrated Israel's airspace on Saturday. IDF forces shot down the drone over the Negev, south of Mount Hebron.

Read the rest of the story here. 

DARPA: Drones can mid-air refuel

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced that two modified Global Hawk drones have demonstrated they can "safely and autonomously operate under in-flight refueling conditions," but challenges remain. 

The tests actually took place several months ago, and DARPA researchers have been poring over data acquired during those tests to reach their conclusions. Researchers expected low success rates over multiple attempts because Global Hawks are designed for endurance, not refined control authority in formation flight. But DARPA this week said data analysis shows that close formation flights show that "60 percent of the attempts would achieve contact." And that could eventually lead to changes the mission profiles and capabilities of unmanned aerial systems.

The tests flew the aircraft in formations that kept a refueling probe and receiver at distances of 100 feet or less over hours at a time at altitudes above 44,000 feet. They applied different breakaway scenarios and contingencies and found that the aircraft successfully avoided potentially hazardous conditions. 

The latest tests were the ninth in a series that have advanced since 2007. In those tests, DARPA and NASA teamed to show that high-performance aircraft operated with human observer pilots could perform automated refueling from conventional manned tankers. Fitting Global Hawk aerial vehicles with air-to-air refueling capabilities would allow the aircraft to carry heavier payloads at takeoff and prolong mission times. The FAA is currently working to formalize regulations that would dictate the operation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the national airspace.

Israeli jets intercept drone

JERUSALEM — Israel scrambled fighter jets to intercept a drone Saturday that crossed deep into Israeli airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, shooting the aircraft down over the country's southern desert, the military said.

The incident marked the first time in at least six years that a hostile aircraft has penetrated Israel's airspace, and Israeli officials said they were taking the incident seriously, raising the possibility of retaliatory action.

It was not immediately clear who launched the drone, but suspicion quickly fell on the Lebanese Islamic militant group Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed group is known to have sent drones into Israeli airspace on several previous occasions.

Tensions are running high between Iran and Israel over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West believes is cover for the development of atomic weapons. The Islamic Republic denies the allegations, and says its program is for peaceful purposes only. Israel has threatened to carry out a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent Iran from acquiring such weapons.

Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said Israeli ground systems detected the drone, which flew over the Gaza Strip but did not originate there, Saturday morning. They alerted the air force, which scrambled the jets to intercept the aircraft. She said Israel was still trying to determine where the drone took off from. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Leibovich said Israeli jets escorted the drone before deciding to bring it down in the northern Negev area, which is largely uninhabited.

The drone, which was downed near the Yatir Forrest close to the West Bank, had spent about 20 minutes in Israeli air space, an Israeli military official said on condition of anonymity in line with protocol.

Leibovich did not give more details, but Israel media reported that the aircraft was not carrying explosives and could have been a surveillance drone.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement that Israel views "this incident of attempting to enter Israeli airspace very severely and we will consider our response later," while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel "will continue to defend our borders in the sea, on the land and in the air for the security of the citizens of Israel."

It's not the first time that Israel has shot down a drone in its airspace, although such cases are very rare.

Hezbollah sent a few aircraft over Israel over the past decade but without much success. In the 2006 war, the militant group launched an Iranian-made drone capable of carrying explosives into Israel that was shot down. Another drone two years earlier crashed in the Mediterranean.

Last week Israeli authorities indicted an Arab citizen of Israel on charges of spying for Hezbollah, accusing him of gathering intelligence on security for Israel's president and other public officials as well as military installations.