New Army Chief Praises Air Force, Navy, Guard At AUSA
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AUSA: The Association of the US Army’s annual meeting is a massive gathering of the US Army faithful. But in his first address to AUSA as the service’s Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley made sure to avoid preaching only to the choir. After the obligatory thank-yous and jokes, Milley’s first substantive statements were in… Keep reading →
Marines Explore ‘Augmented Reality’
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Think of it as Google Glass goes to war — only less nerd and more Marine. Budget cuts and readiness shortfalls have the US military looking at virtual reality as a partial replacement for expensive field exercises. But VR has real limits. So this month, young Marines at the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico tested a… Keep reading →
Show And Tell: F-35 Test Fires GAU-22 Gun
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PALMDALE, CALIF: Close Air Support enthusiasts and those who still hope for a gun-to-gun dogfight take heart: the F-35 test fired its gatling gun today. Remember that the Marines are writing the CAS portion of the F-35 CONOPS manual so they’ll be looking closely at the test results, especially since they are flying the first… Keep reading →
Dunford Mulls F-35B IOC Decision; 4 Bs Take Out 9 Attackers
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UPDATED with Frank Kendall’s vote of confidence WASHINGTON: During the Marine’s recent operational readiness test of the F-35B, four of the Marine aircraft went up against nine enemy aircraft. “It went very poorly for the bad guys,” Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, deputy commandant for aviation, told me this afternoon. Davis provided few details, saying they… Keep reading →
Textron’s Scorpion Heads To UK For RAF, Royal Navy Trials
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UPDATED: Adds Details On UK Demos; QinetiQ’s PIlots Will Fly PARIS AIR SHOW: When Textron unveiled the Scorpion I will admit I was a serious sceptic. Where was the market? Who were the likely customers? Why did they spend their own money on such a venture? The first crack in my skepticism occurred when Gen. Hawk… Keep reading →
The Joint Strike Fighter Really Is Joint; Fire Caused $50M In Damage
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WASHINGTON: Here’s today’s news: the rotor failure that ripped apart an F-35A June 23 last year caused $50 million in damage to the aircraft, the Air Force’s Accident Investigation Board said today. Here’s the official version of what happened to the Air Force’s Joint Strike Fighter. “The engine failed when the third stage forward integral… Keep reading →
Close Air Support Summit Sparks Nod To Textron’s Scorpion
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PENTAGON: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford. National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Frank Grass. Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Force Air Combat Command. That’s a lot of stars and command authority gathered in one place and they all came together at… Keep reading →
Gen. Welsh Defends F-35 For Close Air Support; Hopes Summit Will ‘Reset’
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UPDATED: Sen. McCain SASC Spox Rejects Air Force Rationale For Retiring A-10 ORLANDO: Sequestration. Base closures. Readiness. Modernization. ISIL. Russia. The list of challenges faced by Air Force leaders is long. But none may be more intractable or politically difficult than retiring the A-10 “Warthog” close air support fleet. The Air Force has never really wanted to… Keep reading →
Air Force To Hold Close Air Support Summit; May Need New Weapon
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ORLANDO: The Air Force, under heavy pressure from Congress to keep the A-10 Warthog in the air, will hold a mini-summit with the Army, Navy and Marines to figure out the best ways to do Close Air Support, the politically sensitive mission of aircraft protecting troops on the ground. Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Combat… Keep reading →
Ghostrider’s Big Gun: AC-130J Gets 105 ASAP; Laser Later
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WASHINGTON: Sometimes smart bombs aren’t the smart choice. Sometimes you just need a big bad flying gun. That’s why the aging AC-130 gunship is still revered by ground troops for its ability to fire a 105mm cannon — a weapon normally mounted on light tanks. That’s why the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt.… Keep reading →