News Archive

April 2004


30 April 2004 F/A-22 Raptor begins initial Operational Test & Evaluation Phase
The U.S. Air Force has begun Initial Operational Test & Evaluation (IOT&E) of the F/A-22 Raptor air dominance fighter aircraft, an important phase of the program's overall acquisition. The F/A-22 is built by a Lockheed Martin -led industry team....
29 April 2004 Lockheed Martin receives $32 Million contract for Sniper XR
Lockheed Martin received a $32 million order from the U.S. Air Force for Sniper XR (eXtended Range) advanced targeting pods. The seven-year firm-fixed price contract provides options for the Air Force to procure Sniper XR pods, associated equipment and spares....
29 April 2004 New weapon rack doubles F-16's smart weapon capacity
The "smart weapon" capacity of the Lockheed Martin F16 has been doubled with the certification of the new BRU-57 multiple weapon rack. The BRU-57 has two stations, each with MIL-STD-1760 interfaces for smart weapons so flight and targeting data can be transferred to the weapon immediately prior to release. ...
28 April 2004 First female-pilot to fly the F-16I
Major D. , an IAF MANAT (Flight Test Center) test-engineer flew the F-16I Sufa on Tuesday (27/4/04). It was for the first time that a female-pilot was at the controls of this F-16 variant....
22 April 2004 F-16 fitted with Navy jet's fuselage
Parts from two jets - one Navy and one Air Force - were joined together through the ingenuity of the 649th Combat Logistics Support Squadron and Ogden ALC engineers. The front-end fuselage of a Navy combat trainer F-16C was fitted on to an Air Force F-16C here April 14. ...
21 April 2004 Arizona Governor signs bill to protect Luke airfield
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has signed a bill that protects Luke Air Force Base's Auxiliary Field 1. The airfield, called Aux 1, is located about 15 miles northwest of Luke's main runway. ...
20 April 2004 US F-16s to take part in exercise with IAF
According to an Indian news paper, US Air Force F-16s and AWACS are set to take on the IAF during joint combat aircraft exercises to in Gwalior early next year. ...
19 April 2004 Export JSF less 'stealthy'?
There are conflicting reports that the export version of the F-35 JSF would have less low-observable (stealth) qualities than the ones to be delivered to the U.S. ...
19 April 2004 F-16's first AIM-9X Sidewinder launch
A test team from the Global Power Fighters Combined Test Force fired the newest version of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9X, for the first time from an F-16 Fighting Falcon on April 9th....
17 April 2004 Belgian F-16 crash lands at EL Centro, USA
On April 15th or 16th, a Belgian Air Force F-16 made a crash-landing during a NVG training mission at NAF El Centro. ...
17 April 2004 Cannon wins Colombian Trophy
The 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon AFB, New Mexico, received the 2003 Colombian Trophy for best achievement in safety among all U.S. Air Force fighter and reconnaissance wings/groups....
15 April 2004 Norway considers pulling out of the JSF program
Norway considers to pull out of the JSF project. At issue is Norway's part of the work share, which is one of the most common misunderstandings about the JSF project....
14 April 2004 Texas residents advised of noisy F16 flight tests
People in parts of west Texas may be hearing big booms in the coming weeks because of flight testing of F-16s by Lockheed Martin (based in Fort Worth)....
13 April 2004 F-16s intercept Piper Comanche near Bush ranch
Once again U.S. F-16 fighter jets intercepted a small plane flying near President Bush's ranch in Texas. The two Vipers launched flares and forced the Piper Comanche 400 down at San Marcos Municipal Airport around 2:45 p.m. Friday. ...
13 April 2004 Juvats versus Vikings
USMC F-18D's from VMFA-AW-225, Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, Japan, mix it up with USAF F-16s from the 80th Fighter Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. ...
13 April 2004 USAF Thunderbird 2004 season starts today
Th U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team marks the start of their new season today, by a run down the Las Vegas strip around 15.00h local time. ...
08 April 2004 PAF F-16 squadron gets more pilots
Yesterday, a graduation ceremony of the 23rd F-16 conversion course was held at the Pakistan Air Force Base Mushaf in Sargodha....
07 April 2004 F-16 jets buzzing D.C. shook up residents
The sight of fighter jets flying over Washington, escorting what seemed like a low-flying commercial plane caused concern and speculation among tourists and office workers....
06 April 2004 JSF program cost to rise $45 Billion
Yet another anouncement that the total cost of the Joint Strike Fighter Program will increase. This time it will surge $45 billion, or 22.6 percent, due to rising labor costs and program delays, the Pentagon said on Monday....
06 April 2004 Lockheed may cut jobs in Fort Worth
Hundreds of workers who build F16 fighter jets at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. could lose their jobs this year end as the company trims down after a three-year hiring boom. ...
05 April 2004 Denmark first in Europe to drop GPS-guided GBU-31 JDAM from F-16
Denmark has become the first country in Europe to equip its F-16 Fighting Falcons with GPS guided precision bombing technology and is thus joining an exclusive club of countries with an enhanced all-weather strike capability....
04 April 2004 Illinois guard pilot jettisons fuel tank
Members of the 183rd Fighter Wing based at Capital Airport Springfield, IL,searched unsuccessfully Saturday for a 300-gallon fuel tank that was dropped from an F-16C on Saturday morning....
02 April 2004 NATO cancels F-16 flight over Baltic states
According to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass, the NATO has cancelled the flight of two Belgian F-16 fighter jets in the skies of Vilnius, Tallinn and Riga on Friday....
01 April 2004 Will JSF of the future burn fuel based on coal?
The JSF program has many unique technology ideas associated with it. One idea is looking at new fuels to power jet engines. ...