News Archive

April 2007


30 April 2007 13th FS prepares for tour in Iraq
Being second has its benefits. As Misawa's 13th Fighter Squadron heads into its final weeks of training before deploying to Iraq, its pilots are tailoring their flying drills to lessons learned from the squadron that went first....
27 April 2007 U.S. to lift ban on F-22 exports to Japan, Korea and Israel?
The U.S. government recently hinted that it may sell F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Japan. It would be the first overseas sale of the fifthation stealth fighter aircraft. ...
27 April 2007 Edwards readies for Joint Strike Fighter testing
All systems are moving toward "go" at Edwards AFB as officials prepare for upcoming tests on the next-generation strike fighter, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. ...
27 April 2007 ACC approves F-22 Raptor demonstration
Maj. Paul "Max" Moga and the world's only fifth-generation fighter aircraft may be appearing at an airshow near you this season....
26 April 2007 Hill's 388th and 419th Fighter Wings share F-16s
A historic agreement was signed into place April 16, finalizing the association between the 388th Fighter Wing and 419th Fighter Wing....
26 April 2007 Elbit Systems develop HMDS for the F-35
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter currently in development will receive an important boost as Israel's Elbit Systems is developing the Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS)....
26 April 2007 Initial workload on F-22 complete
Almost a year after the first F-22 arrived for maintenance at Hill AFB with much fanfare, the final aircraft in the initial contract workload was quietly completed and flown back to Langley AFB, Va., on April 2....
25 April 2007 Eight Belgian 2W F-16s deploy to Cambrai for night flight training
Eight 2nd Wing F-16 fighters deploy for three weeks (between April 18th and May 4th) to the Épinoy Air Base, Cambrai in France to perform night training flights....
25 April 2007 P&W F100 engine line opens at Egypt Air Force's Helwan Depot
Pratt & Whitney, in partnership with the United States Air Force and the Egyptian Air Force, announced today the opening of the F100 engine line at the Helwan Depot located at the Helwan Air Base in Egypt....
24 April 2007 L-3 Communications delivers F-16 ATS to Oman
L-3 Communications announced today the delivered F-16 Aircrew Training System for the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) has achieved ready-for-training status. ...
24 April 2007 Multi-year procurement could save $3.7m per F-22
Beginning with Lot 7 production of the F-22 Raptor, the Air Force hopes to enter into a cost-saving, multi-year procurement contract with the aircraft and engine manufacturer. ...
24 April 2007 Japan, U.S. to hold first joint Raptor drills
The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Air Force will hold this week their first joint exercise involving F-22A stealth fighters temporarily deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa....
23 April 2007 Bird strikes Thunderbird F-16 at Barksdale Air Show
An F-16 of the USAF Thunderbirds experienced a birdstrike while performing at the Barksdale Air Force Base air show last Saturday. The aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries....
23 April 2007 Shaw's 20th FW deploys to SW Asia for exercises
More than 100 members of the 20th Fighter Wing from Shaw Air Force base, along with several F-16CJs, are deploying to southwest Asia to participate in exercises. ...
22 April 2007 13th FS Panthers prepare to deploy
Shifting focus and learning a new mission seems to be the preparation theme for the Panthers of the 13th Fighter Squadron as they prepare to replace the 14th Fighter Squadron in Iraq. ...
21 April 2007 First round of funding for F-35 JSF released
The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday it would start buying Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter production models, thus officially putting the $275 billion, multi-nation aircraft program into low-rate production (LRP). ...
21 April 2007 Spyker F8-VII Formula One car races F-16AM
Last friday 20 April there was an exciting encounter between the world of Formula One and military aviation at the Royal Netherlands air force base, Volkel....
20 April 2007 Phase team keeps F-16s flying combat missions
At first glance, it looks like just another day for the maintainers; but take a closer look, and the frenzy of activity around the F-16 Fighting Falcon says otherwise. ...
19 April 2007 124th Fighter Squadron, New Jets and New Tail Art
The 124th Fighter Squadron under the 132nd Fighter Wing has new tail markings to usher in a change in the F-16 which they operate. On March 30, 2007 the 124th Fighter Squadron gave up its last F-16 block 42 for the older model of the F-16, a block 30....
19 April 2007 Israeli TV airs Iraqi nuke plant bombing
Perhaps the most famous operation conducted with F-16 fighters was the "Operation Opera", or as it is known to the world - "The raid on the Iraqi nuclear reactor"....
19 April 2007 F-22s use refueling 'pit stop'
Just like in NASCAR, a good pit crew can make or break a team. When tankers aren't in the sky to refuel fighters, pilots take advantage of a pit....
18 April 2007 Eielson F-16 pilots fly first Aggressor sorties
Eielson Air Force Base F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots took to the sky as aggressors for the first time in Red Flag-Alaska history during the exercise that runs April 5 through 21. ...
18 April 2007 Pratt & Whitney F119 engine achieves 40,000 flight hours
The Pratt & Whitney F119 engine, powering the F-22 Raptor, exceeded 40,000 production flight hours in April, a major milestone for the engine program....
16 April 2007 Hill's 34th FS completes Operation Noble Eagle deployment
Hill AFB's 34th Fighter Squadron's "Rude Rams" recently completed a deployment in direct support of homeland defense, called Operation Noble Eagle....
13 April 2007 New mission control room ready for F-35 flight tests
The newest range mission control room built to test the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter was officially commissioned at Edwards AFB April 11. ...
12 April 2007 Luke team trains for combat at Red Flag-Alaska
Airmen from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., recently deployed as mission ready warfighters to participate in Red Flag-Alaska, a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise....
10 April 2007 Tusas Aerospace Industries advances in upgrade of Jordan F-16s
Turkey has advanced in its upgrade of the F-16 fleet of Jordan. TAI, a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin in this $1.1 billion project, has now completed the upgrade of several of the F-16s....
05 April 2007 VSI's Helmet Mounted Display System flies on F-35
Developed by Vision Systems International (VSI), the Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) was used by Lockheed Martin's chief test pilot Jon Beesley for the first time yesterday, on the 10th test flight of the F-35. ...
03 April 2007 F-35 will bring 5th generation capability to Navy
The United States Navy's first stealth fighter - the F-35 Lightning II - will bring tremendous improvements in combat capability, operational flexibility and overall force efficiency, a Lockheed Martin official and former Naval aviator said on Monday....
02 April 2007 Two exceptional engines for F-35 Lightning II
Chief Test Pilot Jon Beesley summoned the full might of the most powerful fighter engine in history as the F-35, aircraft AA-1, performed its first-ever afterburner takeoff on March 13th....
02 April 2007 Pilot's focus on enemy targets caused death
Air Force officials completed an investigation of the F-16 Fighting Falcon accident 20 miles northwest of Baghdad Nov. 27, which resulted in the death of the F-16's pilot, Maj. Troy Gilbert. ...