Navy, Boeing Tout Block III Super Hornet As Partner For F-35
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Once touted by President Trump himself as an alternative to the F-35, the souped-up Super Hornet is now firmly established as its partner.
Streamlined MV-22 Maintenance: From 70 Osprey Types Down to 5
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UPDATED with timeline WASHINGTON: If you’re a pilot or mechanic working on the Marine Corps’ prized V-22 Osprey, you probably spend a lot of time reinventing the wheel. That’s because the 129 MV-22Bs in service come in more than 70 different configurations, identical to the untrained eye but all subtly different — for example, in the… Keep reading →
New Problems Hit T-45; Navy Tightens Flight Limits
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Days after the Navy’s T-45 Goshawk trainers returned to flight under strict safety restrictions because of problems with their air supply, the service felt compelled to make them even stricter. An aircrew’s report of “minor headaches” prompted the tighter limits, a Navy spokesperson told Breaking Defense. Only one flight out of 92 over 48 hours reported such… Keep reading →
Magic Carpet Ride: Navy Software Eases Carrier Landings
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NAVAL AIR STATION PATUXENT RIVER: So easy, a journalist can do it. That could be the slogan for the Navy’s new Magic Carpet software, which simplifies the most stressful task in aviation: landing on deck of an aircraft carrier. I’d never pretend I could fly a real plane. But in a simulator, with Navy engineer Buddy… Keep reading →
First Osprey Flight With Critical 3D Printed Part
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It’s one small part for an aircraft engine, one giant leap for 3D printing. The Navy has announced a Marine MV-22 made the sea services’ first successful flight with a “flight critical” component built by additive manufacturing. Specifically, in the test at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, the Osprey’s engine nacelle contained a 3D printed titanium link, small… Keep reading →
AFSOC Ospreys Armor Up After Painful Lessons Learned In South Sudan
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When three CV-22s were riddled with 119 rounds of AK-47 and .50 caliber fire as they tried to land at Bor, South Sudan, 18 months ago to evacuate U.S. citizens from a civil war, four Navy SEALs in the lead Osprey were wounded. Now a Florida company is providing the program office at Naval Air Systems Command… Keep reading →
X-47B Drone & Manned F-18 Take Off & Land Together In Historic Test
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[UPDATED: Key test goal met] Robots may be the future of war, but for now they’re going to have to share the battlefield with humans and human-operated vehicles. That’s especially tricky in the tight confines of a Navy carrier’s flight deck, where one miscalculation could drive a drone into a manned aircraft, the bridge island, a… Keep reading →
Kendall ID’s F-35 Fire Cause: ‘Not Systemic’
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LONDON: The head of Pentagon acquisition told reporters here today that “we do not see at this point what I call a systemic problem” resulting from the F-35A fire that led to the grounding of the fleet. “We understand to a degree what happened here. The question is why did it happen,” according to reporting by… Keep reading →
No Decisions Yet On F-35B UK Flights; Tomorrow Looms
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WASHINGTON: The F-35Bs have not left Patuxent River Naval Air Station to make their way across the Atlantic Ocean. After an all–hands meeting this morning to discuss the issue of securing a waiver or permission to fly from NAVAIR, Naval Air Systems Command — who must decide if the Marine Corps planes are airworthy —… Keep reading →
New Jersey’s Frelinghuysen Wins HAC-D Chair; Picatinny Must Be Happy
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CAPITOL HILL: The recent death of Bill Young, longtime power on the House Appropriations Committee, opened the door to a new chairman of the defense subcommittee. Today New Jersey’s Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen stepped through that door. Frelinghuysen has served on the defense subcommittee since 1999. He was its vice-chairman. The most likely winner from the veteran… Keep reading →