F-35B BF-13 First Flight

Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti flew F-35B BF-12 (Navy Bureau Number 168309), on its inaugural flight on 12 March 2012 from NAS Fort Worth JRB.

Aviation Week might not like it...two stories that Sean is linking to tout program failure??? Really Sean?  Really?

The British Government might be confused about which version to buy.

The Canadian's might be under pressure to delay it...

But one thing can't be denied.

The F-35B is rapidly heading toward the start of training by the end of this year.  Despite the critics, things are looking up for the F-35 program...

BAE's Brimstone, Hellfire, Maverick and maybe gunship killer.

APKWS is the biggest threat to the dedicated helicopter gunship in a generation.  Precision missiles can now be launched off utility aircraft.

Multi-role aircraft can now enter the rotary world.

A UH-1Y can go back to the future.  When the Huey was first deployed it operated as a troop transport, ambulance, command and control platform and gunship.

Now the Marine Corps can do it again.

Let's not even talk about what Navy MH-60's can do know that they're sporting the US Army's stub wing arrangement on their aircraft.

More targets can be hit at a reduced payload penalty meaning better performance.

I like it.

Shayetet 13

Soldiers of the IDF's elite naval commando unit 'Shayetet 13' are getting ready for a training exercise on a Sa'ar 5-class Corvette of the Israeli Navy.

The Nanny Commandant strikes again.

Ya know the time is rapidly coming when assigning a Marine to walk point or to be placed on a work detail is going to be called hazing.

And we're going to have the Nanny Commandant to blame for it.  Check out this misery from Military.com.

SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan -- In an effort to stamp out the “cancer” that is hazing, the Marine Corps has updated its hazing policy to include more officer accountability as well as information and instruction for those affected, Marine officials said this week.
Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, ordered an update to the 1997 policy in an attempt to bring the Marine Corps in line with Navy guidance and to rein in what he called a “leadership issue” following several high-profile cases of hazing in the ranks.
Military leaders were on Capitol Hill on Thursday to discuss hazing with members of the House Armed Services Committee on Military Personnel. At that hearing, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., pleaded for an end to the culture of hazing.
The new Marine Corps policy now defines hazing as “any conduct whereby a military member or members, regardless of service or rank, without proper authority causes another military member or members to suffer or be exposed to any activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning or harmful.”

The current policy works.

This is overkill.

We are rapidly approaching a point where every leader will spend more time second guessing themselves.  

Many will worry more about the potential for punishment from action rather than be concerned about the consequences of INACTION.

Things are bad bat fans.

Amos is making them worse.

Cdr. Salamander's awesome scuttlebutt...

Long story short?

Cdr Salamander is stating that he's heard rumors that the Navy is considering bringing back the S-3 as a pure tanker. 

Read about it here.

That would be too awesome to believe.  What would make it even better?  If they brought the S-3 back along with the ES-3!

A dedicated tanker along with a dedicated mini E-8 for naval forces?

If NavAir could make that happen then things would definitely be looking up for carrier aviation.

17 counts of murder.

Thanks Joe for sending me this article.

via Yahoo.

Pentagon officials said Thursday that they expect Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 38, to be charged on Friday on 17 counts of murder, among other lesser charges.

The charges "are expected tomorrow," a U.S. official told Yahoo News Thursday night on condition of anonymity.

Hmmm.

This is gonna be a tough case to prove.  I wonder who's leading the investigation.  Army CID or has the FBI rode in and claimed jurisdiction.

Either way, the crime scene has been tampered with, the SSGT is claiming a lack of knowledge and his prior traumatic brain injury is going to be a factor in determining guilt.

Don't get me wrong, if he did it (and by all appearances he did) then he should be punished.  But if there were ever a case of mitigating circumstances then this case has it written all over it.

My opinion.  Your mileage may vary.

SAS members talk about the Falklands...

via the Telegraph...

Out over the South Atlantic, two C130 Hercules transports of 47 Squadron Royal Air Force battle through the night. Buffeted by strong headwinds, they skim the waves at 50 feet to evade detection. The co-pilots peer through night‑vision goggles, guiding the pilots towards the coast, one lapse enough to cause disaster. Night vision is in its infancy, the devices a secret gift from the Americans. Tension mounts as landfall over Argentina approaches, the conclusion of a 13‑hour flight from Ascension Island involving two mid-air rendezvous with Victor tankers.

Behind the crews, in the cavernous holds of the Hercules, some 60 men of B Squadron, 22nd SAS Regiment, ready their weapons and vehicles, Land Rovers bristling with machine guns. This is a one‑way mission, the best outcomes being escape to neutral Chile, or capture. The worst outcome is all too obvious.

Minutes later, the C130s slam down on the runway at Rio Grande. The rear doors are already open, the lowered ramps scraping the ground. In an instant, the Land Rovers are charging straight for the apron where four French-built Super Etendard fighters of the Argentine navy stand. Some of the SAS fling charges into the engine intakes while others search for the Etendard pilots, who are to be shot on sight. Another group search for the weapon that above all others threatens Britain with defeat in the South Atlantic: the Exocet. Moments later, the first charges explode. Gunfire erupts. The world dissolves into chaos.

That's just a snippet, but the best thing about this entire article is that it confirms a couple things that were speculated and more importantly it gives the perspective of the guys involved.

A nice historical article....about a time when Great Britain had its full groove on.