F-35 readies to ferry...

F-35A AF-3 comes in for a landing after its eighth flight on 9 December 2010 with Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti at the controls. The aircraft is the first fully low-observable compliant F-35. The 2.5-hour flight at NAS Fort Worth JRB was an endurance flight in preparation for a ferry flight from Fort Worth to Edwards AFB, California.

(thanks B. Olsoy!)

MineWolf.

StrategyPage has an interesting article on this bit of machinery that to be honest I had never heard of.  The MineWolf seems to have a rather strong following in the Middle East and I'm interested to see how it performs in the war zone.

Bill Sweetman's Rant against the Marine Corps.

via Defense Technology International...
 

Bill is quick to point out the costs of Marine Corps weapon systems...but this critic of the Corps fails to recognize the failings of his beloved Air Force....

These figures are copied directly from Wikipedia...

F-22...
US$150 million (flyaway cost for FY2009)
B-2....
$737 million (1997 cost for each aircraft only, $1.01 billion today)
F-15E....
[F-15E: US$31.1 million (flyaway cost, 1998)^[2]
F-15K: US$100 million (2006]

But if that's not enough then lets look at the growth in the weight of vehicles...

M-113
12.3 tonnes (13.6 ST; 12.1 LT)
Bradley IFV
27.6  tonnes (30.4  short tons)
Stryker ICV
ICV: 16.47 t (18.12 sh tn)
MGS: 18.77 t (20.65 sh tn)
GCV
up to 60 tons

In short Bill is simply taking aim at the Marine Corps because it serves his purpose but his argument is flawed beyond belief.

Its been a slam the Marine Corps month at Ares and now in DTI.

That's a shame.

Commercial Spacecraft kick NASA to the curb...

via ASD News.  Read it all here.

WASHINGTON - NASA and SpaceX chiefs shook their heads with disbelief and joy Wednesday after a perfect launch into orbit and back of the company's Dragon capsule, a historic first for the future of space travel.

Never before has a private enterprise attempted to launch its own spacecraft to orbit the Earth and splash back down intact, and SpaceX pulled off the operation perfectly, NASA and company officials said.

The demonstration launch invigorated the US space agency and boosted confidence in the prospect of using commercial vendors to carry astronauts into space and to supply the International Space Station.

"I am sort of in semi-shock. I wish I could be more articulate at moments like this," said SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

"It blows my mind. It is hard to be articulate with a blown mind," Musk told a NASA press conference.

"This has really been better than I expected," he added. "If there had been people sitting in the Dragon capsule today, they would have had a very nice ride."

The Dragon spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida atop the massive Falcon 9 rocket at 1543 GMT.

I slammed the Air Force on ARES Blog recently (hey, posters were coming after the Marines so I struck back in an appropriate manner) but truth be told...THANK GOD FOR THE BOYS IN BLUE!

The idea that our future in space will be in the hands of a private corporation instead of a dedicated US government agency is....stunning.  I wonder what Niel Armstrong would say about this?  Anyway --- good job Space X --- you resurrected the Large Apollo Concept to perfection ---- NASA ---- you suck ---- how about a little less Muslim outreach and a lot more space exploration ---- and the administration ---- get a clue guys ---- China is going to beat us to the high ground unless you get it in gear.

Read about SPACE X here...

Dragonlab Datasheet

F-35 (AF3) another new pic....

F-35A AF-3 taxis to the runway at NAS JRB Fort Worth for its seventh flight on 2 December 2010. Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti is at the controls for the mission, which was the first for the aircraft with fully compliant low-observable coatings.

Company (2) of the week. AVX.

This is a repeat of sorts but I'm really cheering for these guys and hope that their concept gets a fair hearing.  I seriously doubt it with all the success of the Piasecki Speed Hawk and it struggling for financing but the AVX OH-58D is just a great looking bit of kit.

If anyone knows where they're at in the conversion process, please send an e-mail or note my way...

Sikorsky Frontlines spotlights the S-97 Raider.

Frontlines_Q4_2010_issue22

Weep and Whine Haters...the F-35B lives!

This via Bloomberg (read the entire article here)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates will recommend giving the Marine Corps as much as two additional years to develop its version of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter to correct technical and manufacturing glitches that have delayed testing, according to two defense officials.
Gates told General James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, of the decision in a Dec. 3 meeting on the fiscal 2012 budget, according to the officials, who asked not to be identified because the session wasn’t public.

We won't get our birds in 2012 but the Harrier will do until then...good news...now we just have to save the EFV and all is well in procurement.

F-35A (AF3) takes off...

F-35A AF-3 takes off on its seventh flight on 2 December 2010 with Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti at the controls. The aircraft is the first fully low-observable compliant F-35.

Harrier GR9 fans...do I have a site for you....

MJAviation.co.uk is a treasure chest of awesome GR9 photos.  Check'em out.