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A STRONG OFFENSE FOR THE WORLD OF DEFENSE

 

November 2, 2023   A report on the controversial close air support-focused flyoff between the A-10C Warthog and F-35A Joint Strike Fighter that took place between 2018 and 2019 has finally emerged. The declassified review, which was only completed last year and has been essentially buried until now, is heavily redacted and raises more questions than it provides answers in many areas. However, it does still offer valuable details that have not previously been made public even as the U.S. Air Force looks to retire the last of the Warthogs no later than the end of the decade. You can read our full analysis of the report in this article.    Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force says an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was "safely terminated" over the Pacific Ocean after an unspecified "anomaly" occurred during a recent, routine test launch. A delegation from South Korea also observed this particular test, in line with a new bilateral strategic cooperation agreement the country signed with the United States earlier this year. There are no clear indications as of yet as to what might have led to the Minuteman III’s failure. However, the potential for failure is one of the central reasons why the Air Force routinely tests the missiles.     Reporting on the conflict between Israel and Hamas can be found daily at The War Zone. We are also continuing our rolling coverage of the conflict in Ukraine as it develops. Make sure to check out highlights of all our coverage from the last week below.    -- Oliver Parken The War Zone

 

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Inadequate U.S. Patriot Missile Force Size Highlighted By Middle East Crisis   There are not enough Patriot batteries to go around, especially if a crisis in the Pacific were to break out.

 

Why Some Israeli AH-64 Apaches Have A Big Belly Bulge   The hard-worked Israeli Air Force AH-64 fleet is unlike any other, with major alterations and enhancements unique to the IAF.

 

B-1B Bombers Just Made Historic Visit To Turkey   As relations between Turkey and Israel reach a new low, a pair of B-1B Lancer bombers touched down in Turkey.

 

Plans For More Destructive B61 Nuclear Bomb Unveiled   The Pentagon says it needs the B61-13 bomb to help hold certain underground hardened targets and large area ones at risk.

 

Does Israel Really Have 'Sponge Bombs' For Sealing Tunnels?   A portable system capable of rapidly sealing up tunnels without blowing them up would be major boon for Israeli forces operating in Gaza.

 

Su-27 Absolutely Dwarfs All Jets Around It At Its New Home   The comparative image taken at the USAF's sprawling museum serves as yet another reminder of just how giant the Su-27 Flanker truly is.

 

Chinese Flanker's “Unsafe” Intercept Seen From B-52’s Sniper Pod   For the Pentagon, the latest incident is part of a worrying pattern of “unprofessional” conduct by Chinese fighter pilots.       From the Archive

 

An Air Cushion Patrol Seaplane Was Once In The Works With The U.S. And Japan   Grumman and Shin Meiwa worked together to propose an aircraft that combined aspects of a jet-powered flying-boat with an air cushion vehicle.       Hot Shots

 

An F/A-18F Super Hornet attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 lands aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) while the ship is underway in the Atlantic Ocean, October 25, 2023.

 

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Michael Melkonyan fires an M240B machine gun while conducting Range 410A at Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, September 12, 2023.

 

U.S. Army Soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, conduct a tactical road march with Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Combined Resolve 24-01 at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) near Hohenfels, Germany, October 22, 2023.

USAF mottar sin første eVTOL for testing - Future Flight

 

Beta Technologies' all-electric Alia prototype landed at Duke Airfield, part of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, on Oct. 26, 2023. (Photo: Beta Technologies)

BETA’S ELECTRIC AIRPLANE LANDS AT AIR FORCE BASE IN FLORIDA

·         HANNEKE WEITERING

·         OCTOBER 26, 2023

·          

Beta Technologies’ Alia prototype has completed a 2,000-mile journey from Vermont to Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle, where the U.S. Air Force’s 413th Squadron will use the electric fixed-wing airplane for hands-on experimentation and training. The delivery comes shortly after Beta’s installation of an electric aircraft charging station at the base. 

The Alia aircraft landed at Duke Field on Eglin Air Force Base at 12:18 p.m. local time on Thursday, October 26, beginning a contracted deployment that is expected to last several months. During that time, Beta’s core flight test team will work with the USAF to experiment with possible use cases for the six-seat electric air taxi in defense operations, such as cargo resupply missions and personnel transport. Beta will also train USAF pilots and technicians on how to operate and maintain the aircraft. 

During its 16-day journey down to Eglin, Beta’s Alia aircraft flew over 12 U.S. states, making about 20 stops along the way to recharge its batteries using several of its own multimodal charging stations. In addition to developing its electric aircraft, Beta is building a network of charging stations across the country. The company has chargers online at 13 locations across the eastern U.S., and work is underway to install them at another 55 locations along the East and Gulf Coasts. 

The electric fixed-wing airplane, which Beta is developing alongside its Alia-250 eVTOL aircraft, is an experimental model that was permitted to fly cross-country under an FAA market survey certificate. Beta originally built the Alia prototype as a precursor to its eVTOL model before it decided to certify both the conventional and eVTOL versions of its aircraft. The Alia prototype has made several cross-country flights over the past couple of years, including a recent trip to Canada. Several Beta pilots—including the company’s founder and CEO, Kyle Clark—took turns piloting the prototype on the way down to Eglin. 

The trek to Florida began on October 10, when the Alia prototype departed from Burlington International Airport (KBTV) in Vermont, where the company has its headquarters, and flew to Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport (KGFL) in Glens Falls, New York. Later that day, it flew to Rome, New York. Over the next couple of weeks, the aircraft made stops in Syracuse, New York; Pittsfield and Marshfield, Massachusetts; Bridgeport, Connecticut; White Plains, New York; Reading, Pennsylvania; Easton and Joint Base Andrews in Maryland; Stafford, Charlottesville, and Danville, Virginia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Camden, South Carolina; Augusta, and Macon, Georgia; and Dothan, Alabama. 

 

The Alia prototype flew over Washington, D.C. on its way to Joint Base Andrews, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Photo: Beta Technologies)

Beta notched several milestones during the trip. The Alia prototype became the first all-electric aircraft to fly in Class B airspace around Boston and New York City, and it was the first to fly in the restricted flight zone over Washington, D.C., when it visited Joint Base Andrews. The company also commissioned the first electric aircraft charger in Massachusetts during its stop in Marshfield, and it broke ground on North Carolina’s first electric aircraft charger at Raleigh Executive Jetport. 

Beta has been working with the USAF since 2020 through its Afwerx Agility Prime program, which aims to foster public-private collaboration on electric aviation technologies for both the commercial and defense markets. Through that program, Beta became the first eVTOL developer to receive military airworthiness approval, and Air Force pilots have already flown Beta's aircraft.

“For the past several years, Afwerx has provided critical input and support to the Beta programs,” Clark said in a statement. “Deploying Alia for experimentation and training at Duke Field is the natural next step in our partnership. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with the U.S. Air Force over the next few months as we...assess how the economic, sustainability, and energy independence benefits of electric aviation can serve our military.

“In addition to the milestone of delivering an asset to our partners, this mission has been an invaluable opportunity to fly our electric aircraft down the East Coast into the communities this technology, and our operators, will ultimately serve,” Clark added.

Beta intends to offer its zero-emissions aircraft for both commercial air taxi and cargo logistics applications. The company plans to have its Alia 250 eVTOL model and the conventional takeoff and landing CX300 version certified and in service by 2026 and 2025, respectively. It has provisional sales commitments from multiple prospective operators, including helicopter group Bristow and express freight distributor UPS.

While the company has said it expects the eVTOL aircraft to have a range of about 250 miles on a single charge, the fixed-wing prototype has already flown as far as 386 miles (336 nm), which according to Beta is the longest flight by any electric aircraft to date.

 

Braathens mottar sin første A320 mens de er under kreditorbeskyttelse - AW&ST

 

Braathens Takes Delivery Of First Airbus A320

Victoria Moores October 31, 2023

 

Credit: Braathens Regional Airlines

Sweden’s Braathens Regional Airlines (BRA), which recently went into administration, has taken delivery of its first Airbus A320 and will be adding two more of the type in November.

Stockholm Bromma-based BRA applied for court-led financial reorganization on Oct. 19, taking seven of BRA’s 13 businesses into bankruptcy protection. BRA CEO Ulrika Matsgård said the airline’s operations will continue as normal throughout the restructuring.

As part of its bid to improve its finances, BRA started performing flights for tour operators in spring 2023. The airline secured a contract with Ving, which began in April, and has just started flying for a second tour operator, Apollo.

This growing tour operator business means BRA has just received its first A320, registered SE-RGG, joining its existing fleet of 14 ATR 72-600s and four A319s. The aircraft, which landed in Malmö on Oct. 27, has been leased from Macquarie Aircraft Leasing.

“This strategic aircraft delivery marks an important milestone in the company’s continued growth as a charter provider,” Braathens said.

The A320, which has been through an interior refurbishment, will primarily be used for the Apollo contract, flying customers between Scandinavia and Southern Europe. “In the autumn, the fleet will be further strengthened by two more Airbus A320 aircraft in November,” BRA said.

BRA cited a domestic travel slow-down, inflation, the weak Swedish krona, and delayed aircraft deliveries as reasons for its financial reorganization. This will include “several improvement measures,” as well as debt restructuring and contract renegotiations.

A creditors’ meeting has been scheduled for Nov. 8 at Solna District Court and the reorganization is expected to be concluded during the first quarter of 2024.

BRA employs approximately 500 staff, and its shareholders are Braganza, a holding company owned by Braathens founder Per Braathen, and Swedish pension company AMF. The owners have indicated that they are willing to inject new capital and consider the entry of new shareholders.