Out fucking standing!

I bet the asshats doing all that laughing in the background shit themselves!

Too awesome!

The American Jackal...courtesy Supacat and LM!

Looks like Supacat and Lockheed Martin are teaming up to bring the Jackal Fast Attack Vehicle to US shores.  I personally will not be surprised to see it in a Special Ops compound in the near future.  Awesome vehicle.

First F-35C catapult launch at NAS Patuxent River

Wow. The US has an even more advanced stealth helicopter!

Read this article from Sean Meade at Aviation Week here, but this caught my attention...

initially planned to use Ghost Hawks, highly classified helicopters nicknamed "Jedi rides" that emit zero electromagnetic radiation and are invisible to radar.

However they were replaced with older Stealth Hawks after the White House abandoned plans to have F-18 "hornet" jets fly patrols over the helicopters and it was deemed too much of a risk that the Ghost technology would fall into enemy hands.

Wow.

So much for the lack of progress in US helicopter development.  Something tells me that all we're seeing is a whole bunch of old tech flying over the battlefields.  Time to take a trip to Ft. Campbell with my night vision devices to see whats really flying.

Williams Foundation supports F-35B's for Australia's LHD's!

Thanks Phil!

Awesome article and I don't know how I missed it but suffice it to say that some in Australia (in positions of influence) are already aiming toward converting some of those F-35's that the Aussies are about to buy into F-35B's for their LHD's.

Great move.  Smart move.  A no brains move.  Read it for yourself below.

Big Ships Big Challenge Oct 2011

Red Arrows pilot dies in ground mishap.

A terrible tragedy. 

Via SkyNews...

A Red Arrows pilot has become the second team member to die in a matter of weeks after he was ejected from his aircraft while it was on the ground.

Pictures from the scene at RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, shows part of the canopy of the Hawk T1 jet is missing.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said an investigation was under way and confirmed the plane was not airborne when the tragedy happened at 11am on Tuesday.
The pilot was airlifted to Lincoln County Hospital, but his injuries were so severe he could not be saved. His family have been informed and he is due to be named on Wednesday.

Read it all here.

Modest Proposal...C-27 as the next carrier on board delivery plane!

My modest proposal.

Lets consider the C-27 as the next carrier on board delivery plane.  Radical you say?  I say why not!  We've conducted tests with the C-130 on board carriers and unless NAVAIR has destroyed those test results then we already know the issues facing us when it comes to making this work.

Consider this.
1.  The C-27 is supposedly rated for rough field landings.  Modification to make it carrier capable shouldn't be too challenging.
2.  Its heavy, but with heavier aircraft arriving on board our carriers everyday, the added capacity that the C-27 brings over the current airplane become readily apparent.  We need an airplane that can carry F-35 engines and the current airplane is having difficulty. 
3.  Its already in the supply chain due to the work that the USAF and Army have done.  Just like the X-47B, all we have to do is pick up on the work that others have done and carry it across the goal line.

Yeah, it might seem radical but we've done it before but with much bigger. 

Pic of the day. Nov. 8, 2011.

An RAF Regiment Gunner provides force protection to Army colleagues during a casualty evacuation, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The RAF Regiment Sqn formed a four man unit as part of the Medical Emergency Response Team.

This image was a winner in the Royal Air Force Photographic Competition 2011.

Photographer: Sgt Martin Downs (RAF)