U.S. Taxpayer, Mi-17 helos

While you and I may know it, it is possible that most of the U.S. public doesn’t know it. Note that the country that  makes the Mi-17 isn’t mentioned….

Defense Technology, Inc.*, Huntsville, Ala., is being awarded a $43,460,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of four Mi-17 variant helicopters and related tool kits for the Afghan National Army Air Corps. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, and is expected to be completed in September 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals; four offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-09-C-0089).

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Rafale Carrier Ops

Interesting video. Gives you a good view of how the French do it.

Yet another video with annoying garbage music. You won’t miss anything with the mute button active.

Still on Life Support-The F136 GE/RR

The alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)—the F136 GE Rolls-Royce— is still on life support. For how much longer is anyone’s guess.

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Links of Interest 30 July 2009

Navy Backs Single Engine As F-35C Rolls Out

LockMar Defends JSF Against JET

Lockheed: F-35 budget strategy may add billions to development costs

Heinz Smacks Pratt Over F-135 Costs

Lockheed’s B-roll for F-35C roll-out ceremony

Boeing says 400th Super Hornet delivered is on time, on budget

Hey, Blondie, isn’t that Angel Eyes?

A different take on that theme.

Obama Admin-New ‘Independent’ F-35 Review

Via Inside Defense (Subscription)-

The Obama administration has directed a new review of the Joint Strike Fighter program, directing an “independent” Pentagon team — that last year found the F-35 program needed two additional years of development and more than $15 billion over the next six years — to update its findings in order to support Defense Department leaders preparing the fiscal year 2011 budget request. 

In a previously unreported July 10 memo, Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn tasked the JSF Joint Estimate Team to reexamine the U.S. military’s largest acquisition program and determine whether the stealth fighter — which is being developed for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as eight international partners — requires significantly more time and money, according to sources familiar with the memo.

The full article is a good read. The debtor U.S. government has to harvest some serious cash. Any defense program that is wheezing or even has a sniffly nose is going to get funds pulled.

The word “affordable”—which is on the patch and sometimes shows up in red on briefing slides— is hanging around the F-35 programs neck like an albatross.

“Honesty, Hell, I Like That”

Lots of spin points to be gathered here.

The U.S. Navy’s first aircraft carrier variant of the F-35 known as the F-35C has been rolled out. Just remember many many years ago that when the U.S. Navy gave their initial input into what the Joint Strike Fighter design should be they came up with—2 aircrew, 2 engines and 1000 mile radius.

Scoring that gives us two points for the Super Hornet and zero points for the JSF concept. When they start dumping single engine jets in the drink that cost well over $100 million just remember that the U.S. Navy finally got to a stage where it had the most safe carrier fighter ever, the Super Hornet, and decided to throw carrier specific flight safety on to the roulette wheel.

Out of the whole press release you have one word that implies some kind of honesty. (Bold emphasis mine)

The Lightning II’s operational and support costs are forecast to be lower than those of the fighters it will replace.

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C-17 delivered…

The first C-17 has been delivered to NATO’s Airlift Management Organization’s Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC).

These could have been A400s if the program ever got off the ground in a reasonable time. The A400 program is on a death watch and it doesn’t look good.

Where to go with USAF long range bombers?

Having already covered one tier of long range bombers—the converted airliner, what next?

Diversity in long range platforms.

Build a new long range bomber based on the B-1b concept.

-Swing wing, 4 engines

-Avionics from the F-35 and Super Hornet—just about the whole package, including a E/O built into the nose like the F-35.

“Balanced survivability.” Not stealth but more of a tuned low observable airframe with a defensives system similar to a Super Hornet Block II. This approach would mean low level penetration when needed. This means the 4 motors should be lower-altitude grouping friendly (fuel burn) like the F135 motor for the F-35.

Four crew and ample space for a relief crew. Pilot, Co-pilot, Offensive Systems Operator. Defensive Systems Operator.

Range? Probably about that of the current B-1. Not a great range star but not bad.

Most of the cost in today’s B-1 revolves around an older technology fight control setup, older engine setup, older cockpit setup and so on. This makes the upkeep expensive. A new build, B-1 style of aircraft would be cheaper to operate on all fronts.

Not a next-war-itis jet either. When today’s B-1 shows up for CAS, it can stick around for a while and bomb until the controller on the ground is happy.

Nuke mission? No. This adds more expense. If the “triad” goes away someday, we won’t miss it.

The third tier of long range bombing? That would be the UCAS-N in USAF colors. 50 hours of flight time with refueling, broadband stealth, and when fence-in, uses the same method of targeting and control as a Tomahawk IV. This is: different degrees of network control based on the threat and the presence of network denial. After all, certain targets that are strategic in nature are fixed. Of course if the network is permissive, then the targeting is more versatile. UCAS-N reduces the risk to the Navy by having the USAF get in and use it for conventional airfield ops only.

So then, a possible idea for long range bombing. Diverse. Complementary.

-Converted conventional airliners
-A modernized B-1 concept
-UCAS-N

This could be done and put into effect. It is also much more achievable than the failed 2018 “Great Pumpkin” bomber.

Laundering…

Absent from this story is the fact that the F-35 program may be short as much as $15 billion in development money in the coming years.

Where would one look to find the money to fill this gap? From the U.S. taxpayer of course. The IDF deal for the F-35 could be as much as…wait for it—$15 billion. Money that will be in the form of billions of U.S. foreign military aid to Israel. Some “sale”.