Plane Pr0n and Morale

Nice shot of a Bone on its way out from Ellsworth (as captioned in today's AFA Daily Report):

Air Frame: A B-1B Lancer launches from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., to bomb targets in Libya as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn, March 27, 2011. (Air Force photo by SSgt. Marc I. Lane)

―:☺:―

And then there's this...

Prioritizing Quality of Life: The continuing resolution—and corresponding lack of an enacted defense appropriations bill for Fiscal 2011—is the No. 1 issue on airmen's minds today, CMSAF James Roy told House lawmakers Wednesday. "Our men and women are deployed to foxholes around the world, yet we are dangling this [CR] in front of them, saying we may or may not be able to pay you," Roy told the House Appropriations Committee's military construction and veterans affairs panel. From a policy perspective, the top three quality-of-life issues that have captured senior leaders' attention are building a culture of resiliency among airmen and their families, continuous support for those that deploy, and upgrading the Air Force's exceptional family member program, Roy said. "The quality of life of airmen and their families is an overwhelming factor in how long they will serve," he said.

CMSAF Roy's testimony is exactly on point about payin' the troops and I hope the congress takes his words to heart.  It would be no trouble at all for Congress to craft a CR for DoD and continue to play games with the rest of the budget.  One word of caution though.  I wouldn't get too sanctimonious about Air Force "quality of life" issues if I were the Chief.  There's already too much of this shit floating around:

We have a good thing goin' here, Chief.  Don't fuck it up.

Be Afraid

From today's AFA Daily Report:

A-10 Attacks Libyan Ships: The A-10, known for its prowess as an attack platform against enemy land forces, took on a different role this week in supporting coalition operations against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's forces. An A-10 engaged two small Libyan watercraft in the Libyan port of Misurata, US Africa Command officials announced Tuesday. The Libyan craft, operating with a Libyan coast guard vessel, were indiscriminately firing upon merchant vessels in the port on Monday, prompting coalition response. A Navy P-3C maritime patrol aircraft engaged the coast guard vessel with AGM-65F Maverick missiles, rendering it ineffective and forcing the Libyans to beach it. Meanwhile, the A-10 fired upon the two small craft with its 30mm Gatling gun, destroying one and forcing the Libyans to abandon the other, according to AFRICOM. The A-10 is one of the most recent aircraft additions to the coalition's quiver in Operation Odyssey Dawn. (AFRICOM release)

Well, if you happened to be a Libyan coastie the LAST thing you'd wanna see would be this...

Coz it really would be the last thing you ever saw.  Better vid:

The Warthog can kill bad guys in many different ways, but it's that gun that truly terrifies 'em.

 

Hell, that scares ME, and it's on my side!

Plane Pr0n and No Protest

The Air Force Association's Daily Report newsletter recently introduced a new feature called "Air Frame" which showcases the work of USAF photographers (and others, I presume).  Here's another offering in the occasional series:

Air Frame: Two F-15E Strike Eagles sit on the flight line at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Dec. 6, 2010. (Air Force photo by SrA. Debbie Lockhart) (click for larger)

―:☺:―

In other USAF news... this is a good thing:

No Tanker Protest: EADS North America has announced that it won't protest the Air Force's award of the KC-X tanker contract to Boeing. The Air Force ran an "extremely professional" and "scrupulous" competition, Ralph Crosby, EADS North America chairman, told reporters during a press conference March 4 in Washington, D.C., to discuss the company's decision. USAF officials did "everything they said they would" during the source-selection process," leaving "nothing to hang a protest on," he said. "The Air Force looks forward to the long-awaited recapitalization of its air refueling fleet," service spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said in a statement released following the company's announcement. Boeing's tanker spokesman Bill Barksdale, in a statement issued after EADS' event, said: "We understand the importance of this effort to our customer and the country and stand ready, along with our nationwide team of suppliers, to go to work on the new KC-46A program." Continue to Cleared for Takeoff. (See also our initial coverage)

I'm surprised EADS isn't filing a protest, given the long and tortuous ten-year history of the tanker war.  I'm SO very glad they aren't gonna go down that road.

Long-time readers know I obtain a huge amount of blog-fodder  from the AFA's Daily Report.  If you find this sorta stuff interesting there's a link to the Daily Report in my sidebar... clicking that link takes you directly to the current report (published Monday-Friday) and an extensive archive of past reports.  It's good stuff for us ol' blue-suiters and aviation folks in general.

Plane Pr0n

Via a link from Lex... whose post you should check out for some REAL (and organic) aerobatics... here's a pretty cool LockMart vid of the F-35B, the STOVL variant of the F-35:

A commenter at Lex's place wonders how well all those moving parts will work once they've seen some wear and tear or exposure to a hostile environment (read as: sand).  Or shrapnel.  That's a fair question, methinks.

Vegas, Baby!

Air Force F-16 fighters sit on the flightline at Nellis AFB, Nev. against the backdrop of the Las Vegas skyline prior to the start of a Red Flag training exercise.  Jan. 22, 2011. (click for larger). 

Air Force photo by SSgt. Benjamin Wilson

From AFA's Daily Report, 02/17/2011.