Vermont Air Guard being considered for the new F-35 fighter jet

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Fighter Country

With the Vermont Air National Guard among the contenders to receive new fighter jets, Raymonde Perron of Winooski asked the pilots whether they could keep the noise down when they fly overhead. Perron and LaMothe attended an open house Monday at the O’Brien Community Center

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Flies in United Kingdom

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Fighter Country

PATUXENT RIVER, Md., Jan. 27 — A Royal Air Force officer on Tuesday became the first active-duty service pilot from the United Kingdom to take to the skies in a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). RAF Squadron Leader Steve Long piloted BF-2, the second short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B, over Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., logging the aircraft’s 18th mission. Long departed at 9:55 a.m. EST and flew the aircraft to 20,000 feet, before landing 1.3 hours later. Both the RAF and the Royal Navy plan to operate the F-35B. “Flying the F-35 was exactly like the simulators that…

Luke’s Future Is Training F-35 Fighter Pilots

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Fighter Country

Lt General John F. Regni, USAF (retired)

Our United States Air Force provides to our sovereign nation military effects and power across three domains: air, space and cyber. Cyber is the Air Force’s newest mission and it entails defensive and offensive measures to protect vital computer networks, communication systems and links so the military would never be blinded by potential enemies and adversaries. Space missions include the Global Positioning Systems (for example, your navigators in your car, golf cart or cell phones use the constellation of Air Force GPS satellites to determine your location and route), early warning, weather, and reconnaissance satellites, and more. Air missions include air dominance and air superiority, global reach, global power including close air support to soldiers on the ground, ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and more. The Air Force has six distinctive capabilities it brings to the joint service fight: Air and Space Superiority, Global Attack, Rapid Global Mobility, Precision Engagement, Information Superiority and Agile Combat Support.

Today, Luke AFB (including its Goldwater Range, Gila Bend and Auxiliary 1 fields) trains fighter pilots and maintenance personnel, and does so from the largest fighter wing in the USAF. Luke AFB directly supports the capabilities of Global Attack, Precision Engagement and Agile Combat Support and to some degree Air Superiority.

How would Luke fit for other active duty mission areas and capabilities?

F-35 To Dominate Future Fighter Market

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Fighter Country

During the past decade, world fighter production totaled only around 2,500 units, but over the next 10 years, annual deliveries are set to rise. Unlike the 1970s and 1980s, when large numbers of dedicated ground-attack aircraft were produced in addition to fighters, the modern market for combat aircraft is focused almost exclusively on multirole fighters that can handle both the air superiority and attack missions. The U.S. Air Force recently proposed building a new bomber, but this program is not expected to deliver an aircraft until the 2020s.

Marana Town Council announces its support for F-35 training in Tucson

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Fighter Country

By Dave Perry, The Explorer Published: January-27-2010 The Marana Town Council has proclaimed its support of the efforts to bring the F-35 Lightning II to the 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport. Tucson is on the “short list,” with Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix and others, to become a training site for pilots on the F-35. “We’re not in competition,” said Col. Gregory N. Stroud of the Air National Guard. “We believe the F-35 and Tucson are a perfect fit.” The F-35 is the successor fighter aircraft to the F-16, and is “critical to the future defense of…

F35 JSF for Operational Testing – Britain Aquiring 3rd STOVL Model

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Fighter Country

The Joint Strike Fighter program has got a boost with Britain recently announcing to buy its third F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft for operational testing. The combat aircraft is being developed by the US defense major Lockheed Martin in partnership with eight other countries. Britain will acquire the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for operational test and evaluation. Its decision comes at a time when other partner countries in the project, including Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy and the US, committing to procure the aircraft under production. Britain has invested the highest amount – $2 billion – for…