USAF rejects Pentagon price estimate for the F-35.

More bad news for the anti F-35 goons!  Via Defense News.

The U.S. Air Force's top acquisition official said June 18 that the service is not using the Pentagon's latest cost estimates as its baseline price in its negotiations for the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter."There is no vectoring by the [F-35] negotiating team" based on estimates by the Pentagon's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office released this month predicting that the overall costs of the airplanes could reach as high as $92 million each, David Van Buren, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, said during a briefing. "We're focused on the instant contract proposal at hand."
The Pentagon's top weapon buyer, Ashton Carter, "holds us accountable not to accept a will cost [estimate] but to drive for the lowest cost across the board," added Van Buren.
This means that Air Force negotiators are pushing aggressively for what "we believe is the appropriate cost" for the jets, Van Buren said. He did not elaborate on those numbers.

Read the whole thing here...but to sum it up, the F-35 will meet the original costs estimates.  The news of the F-35's demise has been exaggerated.

380th Air Expeditionary Wing Unit Poster.

"The mission is and 18-year-old with a rifle. All else is support" is a sentiment expressed by wing leadership at the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing which is home to 1,900 personnel supporting one of the most diverse combat wings in the Air Force. The wing's mission is to provide high-altitude all-weather intelligence, surveillance, reconaissance, airborne command and control and air refueling for Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa. To accomplish its mission the wing is equipped with four diverse weapons systems which are shown as silhouttes. From top to bottom, The RQ-4 Global Hawk, E-3 Sentry, U-2 Dragon Lady and the KC-10 Extender. They are a unique combination of aircraft which act as the "eyes and ears" serving as guardians of the sky for troops on the ground and providing greater range and endurance for coalition aircraft over the battlefield.
Photo by Captain Cathleen Snow.

F-15E's and the Space Shuttle.

This is why the Military Social Networking attempt is failing so badly.  Either you subscribe to every blasted command or you miss out!

Anyway, the boys at Discovery.com found this gem of a pic.  Click on it to see it in its enlarged glory.

AFSOC Para-rescue Vehicle.

Its been months since an undisclosed (well I won't give his name without permission) sent me the Request For Information regarding a new Para-rescue vehicle for the AFSOC.  Well, I found another vehicle--besides Force Protection's Jamma---that fits the bill.



Wired.com ran a story back in 2007 that covers the vehicle in the video above.  Follow the link for the story from back then but this part of it stands out...

The CERV incorporates the latest technology to improve weight trade off and battery capability, both in materials and in software management, to further increase performance and range. The hybrid vehicle will be compatible with current and future renewable recharging methods and can be modified to add a generator/fuel cell technology to remotely recharge in the event that commercial power is not available. The CERV will also meet size requirements to be air-transported on AFSOC’s CV-22. Vehicle will carry up to 4 personnel.

That my friends is the exact requirements of the vehicle that para-rescue is searching for today.   What's even more surprising is that the USAF actually expended research and development dollars to get this vehicle ready.

But don't despair if you're worried that the money's been wasted...it hasn't.  A refined version was on display recently.

US Air Force. Fighters refueling.

USAF official photos.  Staff Sergeant Brian Ferguson.

Arrogant Journalist.

I am becoming more than a bit irritated and VERY annoyed at the arrogance I see coming from Journalist these days.  I present to you exhibit number 74.  This via ABC News.  Read the whole thing and try your best not to throw up when she compares herself to actual warriors.

I am now an official "combat aviator" with 5½ hours in the back seat of an F-15E Strike Eagle, flying two separate combat missions over Afghanistan.

Why the USAF would allow this is beyond me.  They effectively took an airplane out of the fight by allowing this publicity stunt.

What's even more annoying is how she raises her own profile and in my opinion questions the urgency of the men on the ground receiving fire, requesting air support.

Courageous restraint?  Not on your life Female.  Not when you're at 20,000 feet in the back seat of an F-15E.  Now don't shoot back when they're lobbing RPG's at ya and then you have my vote for the NATO (mythical) medal...but not for what was done on this mission.

Stories like this make me want to punch walls.  What's the name of the Commanding Officer that signed off on this cluster????

The Myth of Air Power.

Ares has another post singing the praises of Air-Sea Battle.  Air-Sea Battle, just like the "Revolution in Military Affairs" before it is the hope for a painless war.  Think tanks have been trying to solve the issue of fighting a painless, neat and technological war.

It won't happen.  People are involved.

We're barbaric.

We're easily broken.  Easily killed.

Wars are tragedies...Tragedies are never neat.  Never clean.  Never painless.

But forget what I have to say on the issue.  I recommend that you read the attached .pdf.  Gulf War 1 was the closest that air power advocates have come to realizing the dream.  Even there they failed.

Myth of Air Power