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| Lt. Col. Leonard Kearl was at the controls for the 1,000th F-35 flight on 20 June 2011. The 1.8-hour flight, completed in F-35A AF-6, originated from Edwards AFB, California. |
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| NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. -- F-35B test aircraft BF-4 rests the evening of June 21 after a day of testing at the Naval Electromagnetic Radiation Facility. BF-4 is undergoing testing which simulates the shipboard electromagnetic environment to identify any potential issues prior to at sea testing this fall on USS Wasp (LHD 1). The F-35B is the short take-off, vertical landing variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps and international partners and is undergoing test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River prior to delivery to the fleet. |
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| LA(Phot) Luis Holden won the Navy News Award in the 2011 Peregrine Trophy Photographic Competition with this image. A Joint Force Harrier jet is pictured high over RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus shortly before the iconic aircraft was decommissioned. Photographer: LA(Phot)Luis Holden |
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| The Commandant General Royal Marines' Prize in the Peregrine Trophy
2011 competition went to LA(Phot) Si Ethell fora portfolio including
this image. The FSG (Fire Support Group) of Charlie Company 40 Commando Royal Marines, at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Jackson in Afghanistan engaging insurgents following contact at PB (Patrol Base) Paylae. Photographer: LA(Phot) Si Ethell |
Haqqani leader who supported Kabul attack killed in precision airstrikeAnyway you slice it, its pretty darn impressive.
ISAF Joint Command- Afghanistan
2011-06-S-104
For Immediate Release
KABUL, Afghanistan (June 30, 2011) – The International Security Assistance force confirmed today a top Haqqani network leader suspected of providing material support to the Kabul suicide bomb attack June 28, was killed in a precision airstrike in Gardez district, Paktiya province, yesterday.
Ismail Jan was the deputy to the senior Haqqani commander inside Afghanistan, Haji Mali Khan. Jan and several Haqqani fighters were killed in strike.
The Haqqani network, in conjunction with Taliban operatives, was responsible for the Tuesday night attack on the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel which killed 12 people, including a provincial judge.
Jan also served as an insurgent leader in the Khost-Gardez Pass area, along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, and moved into Afghanistan from Pakistan in late 2010. During this time he led approximately 25 to 35 fighters in conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces.
In addition to the hotel attack, the Haqqani network is responsible for several high-profile attacks, including the assassination of a long standing governor, Taj Mohammad Wardak. Wardak was assassinated in a massive explosive-device attack as he left his compound in September 2008.
The security force tracked his location after receiving several intelligence reports from Afghan government officials, Afghan citizens and disenfranchised insurgents. After planning to avoid civilian casualties and mitigate collateral damage, the precision airstrike was conducted, killing Jan and several other insurgents.
Afghan-led security forces have captured or killed more than 80 Haqqani leaders and facilitators since January, primarily in the Paktika, Paktiya and Khost areas. Initial reports indicate no civilians were harmed in the airstrike.
Sol,Wow. So in a nutshell we have our answer. Its an individual decision by certain bloggers.
The photograph in question was taken by a member of the media at apublic location. As such ISAF has no control over how the picture waspublished. Some media outlets chose to blur the faces, others did not.That decision was made by individual editors with no input from ISAF.
As policy ISAF does not comment on Special Ops troops or operations.Additionally, any photos taken by the media while working with themilitary community are always checked before publication to ensureoperational security is not compromised.So long story short. Operational Security/Force Protection is not violated by the posting of these heroes faces on the internet.
Regarding this specific photo, we have nothing further to comment.
Regards,
Tim
TP JAMES - UK AOF-3Press Desk ChiefISAF JOINT COMMANDCOMBINED JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER
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| PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Task Force Currahee, pull security from the top of a mountain in Paktika Province during Operation Surak Basta III on June 23. The operation was to infiltrate near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in order to stop enemy fighters from entering into Afghanistan. (Courtesy Photo) |
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| PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Task Force Currahee, pull security from the top of a mountain in Paktika Province during Operation Surak Basta III on June 23. The operation was to infiltrate near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in order to stop enemy fighters from entering into Afghanistan. (Courtesy Photo) |
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| LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Schumacher, an infantry from Dubuque, Iowa, with Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, leads a group of Soldiers from the town of Gomerai, Afghanistan, back to Combat Outpost Najil June 15 in Laghman Province, Northeastern Afghanistan. It was one of the final patrols of the deployment for Schumacher, who is wrapping up his fourth deployment. (Photo by Capt. Jason Beck, 210th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment) |
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| LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. ArmyPfc. Elisha Bottleman, a machine gunner from Edgewood, Iowa, with Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, leads a group of Co. A Soldiers down a hill in Laghman Province, Northeastern Afghanistan, outside Combat Outpost Najil. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff. Sgt Ryan C. Matson, Task Force Red Bulls Public Affairs Office) |
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| LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army 1st Lt. John Dundee, foreground, a platoon leader from Waterloo, Iowa, with Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, leads a group of his Soldiers up a hill June 15 outside the town of Dumlum, Laghman Province, Northeastern Afghanistan, outside Combat Outpost Najil. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff. Sgt Ryan C. Matson, Task Force Red Bulls Public Affairs Office) |
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| Spanish Piranhas from 9th Mechanized Company, 3rd Mechanized Landing Battalion, line up to conduct a mechanized raid with Easy Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, aboard Sierra Del Retin, Spain, June 25. The training was part of the Spanish Amphibious Bilateral Exercise, a 10-day exercise where Marines from 22nd MEU are training alongside Spanish marines to build relations and increase interoperability with the Spanish. The Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU are currently deployed with Amphibious Squadron 6 aboard the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group serving as a flexible, formidable and potent force who continues to train and improve their capability to operate as a cohesive and effective Marine Air Ground Task Force. The 22nd MEU is a multi-mission, capable force comprised of an Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); a Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; and its Combat Element. |
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A Spanish Piranha, right, from 9th
Mechanized Company, 3rd Mechanized Landing Battalion, passes by an
amphibian assault vehicle, left, with Easy Company, Battalion Landing
Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary
Unit, during a mechanized raid aboard Sierra Del Retin, Spain, June 25.
The training was part of the Spanish Amphibious Bilateral Exercise, a
10-day exercise where Marines from 22nd MEU are training alongside
Spanish marines to build relations and increase interoperability with
the Spanish. The Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU are currently
deployed with Amphibious Squadron 6 aboard the USS Bataan Amphibious
Ready Group serving as a flexible, formidable and potent force who
continues to train and improve their capability to operate as a cohesive
and effective Marine Air Ground Task Force. The 22nd MEU is a
multi-mission, capable force comprised of an Aviation Combat Element,
Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); a Logistics Combat
Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; a Ground Combat Element,
Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; and its
Combat Element.
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| A Spanish Piranha, right, from 9th Mechanized Company, 3rd Mechanized Landing Battalion, passes by an amphibious assault vehicle, left, with Easy Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, during a mechanized raid aboard Sierra Del Retin, Spain, June 25. The training was part of the Spanish Amphibious Bilateral Exercise, a 10-day exercise where Marines from 22nd MEU are training alongside Spanish marines to build relations and increase interoperability with the Spanish. The Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU are currently deployed with Amphibious Squadron 6 aboard the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group serving as a flexible, formidable and potent force who continues to train and improve their capability to operate as a cohesive and effective Marine Air Ground Task Force. The 22nd MEU is a multi-mission, capable force comprised of an Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); a Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; and its Combat Element. |
Turkey plans to buy the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, a stealth multirole fighter jet, to meet most future needs for its Air Force’s next-generation fighter planes. It has voiced willingness to buy around 100 F-35s over the next 15 years, but as the program’s limited production stage begins, it so far has not formally committed to the program. To do so, it needs to submit a purchase order for a first batch of six aircraft before the end of the year.“We will have talks [with the Americans] in the months ahead in an effort to resolve some matters. If we manage to reach an agreement, we expect to order the first six aircraft this year,” Murad Bayar, chief of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, the government’s defense procurement agency, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News. “We expect to reach a deal.”Read the whole thing but for critics of the F-35, the hits just keep coming.
Nothing confirms that the program is going tickety-boo like the second big management shake-up in seven months, bringing in a new deputy with no ties to Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Navair or USAF.Hmm. Rather bitchy on his part but still tame in my world.
Clearly LM has chosen its leaders for this phase of JSF -- and potentially for the future of the company. Not sure it is the job of a journalist to spin this ...Like I said, this is getting good.
One interesting point is to bring in some talent outside Aero may just be what was needed. Keep the sector bathwater drinking low may have been a goal. At any rate, in the past year or so, Dan Crowley is out, Lawson is in and the deputies have shifted. Burbage is still the anchor for the international program. Last year, the criticism was there was no leadership change at LM after Heinz was dismissed -- now the criticism is that there is a leadership change. Seems the spin is fickle at times. Either way -- this blog is intended to simply document the change.
"With the F-14 there were two JBD issues:Long story short.
1. Size. The JBD is much larger due to the launch position of the 14. The smaller JBD's didn't catch the full jet blast. The JBD for the 14 was wider and taller.
2. Heat. The JBD's designed for the F-14 had a greater water flow to them (1000 gpm versus 750) and, had their own dedicated firepump to provide that water rather than just using normal firemain. The retirement of the 14 solved this problem even though the modified JBD's remain in service on ships so fitted.
This was before they got the F110s.
For the F-35:
"One shipalt still in development concerns Flight Deck Jet Blast Deflectors (JBD). The Navy expects aircraft carrier JBDs will require some level of modification to accommodate F-35C heat plume concentration on the JBD. The Navy is currently collecting data from F-35 test aircraft to characterize the heat plume and signature of the JSF F-135 engine. The concentration of F-35C jet exhaust heat and plume differs from that of an FA-18E/F in physical location on the JBD, effects more JBD area, and may have a higher total integrated heat load. The goal of current analysis is to define the heat transfer to the Flight Deck and JBD components, determine the JBD system response, and develop a solution to mitigate the heat imparted by F-35C while retaining compatibility with the FA-18E/F. The solution must also ensure the mission of the JBD to protect the Flight Deck environment. These modifications will be incorporated aboard NIMITZ-class aircraft carriers during previously-scheduled availabilities. Modifications to CVN 78 will be accomplished during construction where possible, after finalization of a JBD system solution.
Several preliminary tests measuring the heat plume characteristics have been completed, funded by the F-35 Joint Program Office. Most recently, an angle plate test was conducted and the test results are being analyzed. Upon completion of this analysis, an F-35C will conduct high-power engine tests against a modified land-based CVN JBD. The cost and schedule to modify the test JBD will be dependent on the results of the ongoing analyses."
Nothing confirms that the program is going tickety-boo like the second big management shake-up in seven months, bringing in a new deputy with no ties to Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Navair or USAF.Oh and if you're like me and have no idea what "tickety-boo" means then have no fear. The definition is here...
Read the entire article but if this doesn't highlight the issues with liberal states and military training then nothing will.The Army is shifting at least some high-altitude helicopter training from Hawaii to Colorado — at a taxpayer cost of up to $11 million — following an additional environmental review imposed by the state.The regulatory process has already delayed training by four months, creating a tight deadline for Wheeler Army Airfield pilots preparing for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan in January.Now Gov. Neil Abercrombie has informed the Army it must conduct a state environmental assessment in addition to a federal environmental assessment to use six existing landing zones high on the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.
