David Cenciotti

Photo: Is this the first Taliban-made drone, ever? May 19, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Drones.
Tags: Afghanistan, drone, Helmand, ISAF, Taliban, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
1 comment so far

Update May 19, 2012 21.18 GMT

The following pictures, courtesy of the Helmand Governor’s Media Center, show what looks like a small drone that was discovered along with poppy, small arms, ammunitions and other materials used to make improvised explosive devices (IED), by the Afghanistan’s National Department of Security in the Nar-e-Seraj district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 19.

Although the size is very small, the remotely controlled plane could be, if not the first, the most recent attempt by the Taliban to build and operate a minidrone for short range reconnaissance purposes (although, based on the images, it’s not clear where the camera is installed).

I haven’t found other images supposedly showing Taliban drones, but I can’t rule out the possibility that some other primitive robots have been either tested or operated by the insurgents in Afghanistan.

As Royal Aeronautical Society’s Tim Robinson suggests, rather than a new type it could be a recovered/modified/refitted/copied NATO one. In particular, the Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk is almost identical to the one confiscated on May 19. If it’s a NATO UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), whether the drone was airworthy and operative has still to be verified.

If you have more details about the drone showed in these pictures or previous types believed to be operated by the Taliban, please leave a comment or send me an email.

Courtesy image HGMC

Largest U.S. exercise in Middle East furtively taking place in Jordan. Involving 19 countries and 12,000 military May 19, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation, Syria.
Tags: 2011 Syrian uprising, Eager Lion, Middle East, Syria, United States Central Command
add a comment

Almost ignored by some media outlets, a major strategic theater cooperation exercise including 19 countries and more than 12,000 participants is currently taking place in Jordan.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says that the Eager Lion 2012 is “the largest annual exercise in the Central Command area of operations” whose is aim is “to strengthen military-to-military relationships of participating partner nations through a joint, whole-of-government, multinational approach, integrating all instruments of national power to meet current and future complex national security challenges. The exercise scenarios are designed to portray realistic, modern-day security challenges. The scenarios are designed years in advance to fulfill collaborative training goals.”

Although “annual”, this year’s Eager Lion seems to be a bit different from 2011 edition: what does not pass unnoticed is that the drills are no longer bilateral (U.S. – Jordan) but involve the military of 17 different countries.

Participating countries are Australia, Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, France, Italy, Iraq, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Spain, Romania, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Image credit: U.S. Army via CENTCOM

Even if officials strongly denied the drills are aimed at any realistic threats in the region, the fact that the U.S. is amassing forces in Middle East seems to be a sign that Washington (along with several close and less close partners) is preparing to manage a large crisis response operation in that part of the globe.

In fact, there are fears that the Syrian uprising will force thousands refuge into Jordan across Syria’s southern border. And, there is also a specific concern that Assad regime could lose control of some its chemical and biological weapons stocks, that could illicitly smuggled into Jordan, as reported by the CNN.

Eager Lion, headquartered at Kasotc (King Abdullah II Special Operation Training Center), in Amman, focuses on irregular warfare, special operations, counterinsurgency and crisis response.

Little is known about the participating units. Just a few press releases and some images published on Flickr days after the exercise kicked off give an idea of what is currently operating in Jordan whilst there is almost no or little information about the assets and troops brought in by the rest of the coalition partners.

Among the most interesting ones, there are the Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (with the MV-22 Osprey tit rotor aircraft of the VMM-261) and the U.S. Air Force F-15s of the 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard, deployed to Mwaffaq Al Salti Air Base within the 131 EFS (Expeditionary Fighter Squadron).

Image credit: U.S. Air Force via CENTCOM

Infographic: Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Flypast May 19, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation.
Tags: Diamond Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee flypast, Elizabeth II, Queen Flypast, Typhoon, Windsor
add a comment

On Saturday May 19, Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her first 60 years as monarch. Here are the graphics that explain how the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, a flypast of over 80 aircraft (more than those taking part to the previous editions) belonging to the British air arms, will take place.

Source: Royal Air Force

Two Temporary Airspace Restrictions or RA(T)s will be in force from 09:30 to 11:30 hours (UTC) and from 09:50 to 11:50 hours (UTC) on 19 May and affect a broad corridor of airspace from the South Coast to west London, corresponding to the route the formation will fly to reach Windsor, and then to the north and northwest of Windsor to facilitate the dispersal of the aircraft.

You will notice that the Typhoon, UK’s most advanced plane (F-35B aside) is not featured in the main flypast: don’t worry, it’s not being grounded like the RAF E-3s, nor being kept on alert for the Olympic Games.

The flypast will comprise two separate aircraft formations – nine Typhoon fighter jets open the event, followed later by the large mixed formation (including two formations of Tucano and Hawk aircraft, the Red Arrows, and aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Image credit: UK Civil Aviation Authority

Ready for a 9/11-type of attack: RAF Typhoons based in London will shoot down suspect aircraft to protect Olympics (if required) (theaviationist.com)
VIDEO: How to organise a military spectacular (bbc.co.uk)

Apocalypse now-like scene: 10 AH-64 Apache and 6 UH-60 Black Hawk choppers arrive at Joint Base Lewis-McChord May 18, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Helicopters.
Tags: 1st Battalion 229th Aviation Regiment, Boeing AH-64 Apache, Fort Hood, helicopter, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
add a comment

Something you don’t see every day: ten AH-64 Apache and six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters belonging to the 1st Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Hood, Texas, arrive at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, where the unit is relocating, on May 11.

The 1-229th Avn. Regt. is an attack reconnaissance battalion.

The video needs only a different soundtrack: Ride Of The Valkyries (Wagner) as in Apocalypse Now!

Video: AH-64 Apache helicopter crashes in Afghanistan (theaviationist.com)
Stealth Yanshuf: the Israeli top secret radar-evading chopper used to drop spies in Iran (theaviationist.com)
Close call: this is it. What the footage of the AH-64D crash in Afghanistan says. (theaviationist.com)

Stealth Black Hawks! But it’s only another Hangar Foam Party. May 18, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Helicopters, Military Aviation.
Tags: Army National Guard, Fire suppression system, Foam, Hangar, UH-60 Black Hawk, United States Army
2 comments

After publishing the articles about Eglin Air Force Base, Charleston AFB and Portland ANGB with images showing several hangars filled with foam after fire suppression systems accidentally went off at various U.S. bases, a reader of my blog sent me the following photographs.

Thet show the hangar floor and eight helicopters covered with 7 feet of foam at the Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF #2) at the St. Cloud airport. Barely visible (hence “stealthy”…) below the foam are UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters most probably belonging to the local based C Company, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment (Air Ambulance), a Minnesota Army National Guard aeromedical evacuation company.

Although the following images prove that the problem is not only with the hangars at USAF bases, once again it looks a bit weird how frequent this kind of incident is within the U.S. armed forces.

Noteworthy, the doors of the helicopters are open: maybe it’s better to keep them closed, in order to prevent the foam from damaging the aircraft instruments.

Image credit: Minnesota National Guard

Foam party! Hangar fire suppression system submerges F-15, F-16 and A-10 in foam at Eglin Air Force Base (theaviationist.com)
Another chapter of the “USAF Hangar Foam Party” saga. (theaviationist.com)
Stealth Yanshuf: the Israeli top secret radar-evading chopper used to drop spies in Iran (theaviationist.com)
Another foam party! This time at Charleston AFB. Maybe USAF should check its fire suppression systems (theaviationist.com)

“You are cleared to the scrap yard”: Italy’s leased combat-proven F-16s returned to the U.S. to be cockooned again. May 18, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Italian Air Force, Military Aviation.
Tags: Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker, F-16, Italian Air Force, Lajes Field, Libya, Operation Unified Protector, United States
add a comment

Updated May 18, 2012 17.00 GMT

On May 8, eight of the remaining U.S. F-16 fighter jets leased by the Italian Air Force to strengthen Italy’s air defense until the full maturity of the Eurofighter Typhoon made a stopover at Lajes Field, Azores, on their way back to the U.S.

The aircraft had departed from Trapani, in Sicily, and headed towards North America as “Retro 31″, a flight of six “Vipers” (as the F-16 is nicknamed in the fighter pilots community) accompanied by a 22ARW KC-135R tanker and a supporting Italian C-130.

The remaining two planes, used as spares and arriving via Monte Real near Leiria, in the western coast of mainland Portogallo, returned to Trapani where they will remain with the past 8 ones for a few more weeks, until the Italian Air Force officially retires the type on May 25.

Miguel Santos, a retired PoAF Lt.Col. and an aircraft spotter and photographer who lives in Terceira island, Azores, took the following interesting images.

Image credit: Miguel Santos

The Italian Vipers, were returned to the to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, where the aircraft will be kept in storage by the 309^th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at the local “Boneyard”.

Efficient, combat proven planes, once again cocooned, in a scrap yard.

Under Peace Caesar program, the Italian Air Force purchased a total 45,000 flying hours between 2004 and 2010 (then extended to 47,000 until the first half of 2012), with all the necessary logistic support, of a fleet composed by 30 F-16A Block 15 ADF (Air Defense Fighter) upgraded with the “Falcon Up” and “Falcon 2020” modifications, 3 F-16B Block 10 OCU (Operational Capabilities Upgrade) and a single F-16B ADF. Another 4 twin seats airframes would have been delivered to the ItAF to be cannibalized for spare parts.

The first batch of F-16s were returned to the U.S. in 2010.

During the recent air war in Libya, the Italian F-16ADF of the 18° Gruppo flew more than 1,559 flying hours and 348 missions since the early stages of US-coordinated Operation Odyssey Dawn begun on Mar. 19, 2011.

Flying also in a “heavy” configuration, that included two drop tanks, four AMRAAM (Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) and two AIM-9L Sidewinders, the Squadron’s “Vipers” escorted the first Italian SEAD packages inside the Libyan airspace. With the beginning of NATO’s Operation Unified Protector at 06.00GMT on Mar. 31, 2011 and until the end of the air campaign at 23.59 GMT on Oct. 31, 2011, the Italian F-16s, alongside all the other Italian Air Force assets under the Task Group Air “Birgi”, flew air defense and combat air patrol missions required to enforce the No-Fly Zone over Libya and to ensure the air superiority needed to successfully accomplish the assigned mission.

Furthermore, in connection with the Libyan crisis, the 18^th Squadron ensured the Quick Reaction Alert service at an heightened level of readiness with F-16s ready to take off in few minutes in order to intercept and face any suspicious aircraft.

Have you ever seen a picture of a fighter plane towing a radar decoy? Here it is (theaviationist.com)
Piper 28 intercepted by F-16s in Air Force One airspace violation: a couple of lessons to be learned (theaviationist.com)
“Viper Drone”: Boeing QF-16 aerial target for U.S. Air Force makes first flight (theaviationist.com)
There Are Two F-16s Hiding in This Picture [Image Cache] (gizmodo.com)
Exclusive: F-16 gets killed by Typhoon during air combat training in first Eurofighter HUD capture ever. (theaviationist.com)
U.S. Air Force goes East: more than two dozen U.S. F-16s in Bulgaria for a month-long exercise with local Migs (theaviationist.com)
“Yes we can”: KC-767 refueling another KC-767 (theaviationist.com)
Sixty F-16s taxiing at Kunsan air base in one of the greatest show of force ever: that’s a record-breaking Elephant Walk! (theaviationist.com)
Belgian Air Force F-16s refueling from U.S. tanker over Afghanistan. With boom operator’s audio (and some wasted fuel…) (theaviationist.com)
A brand new, combat-proven, next generation tanker: on board Italy’s Boeing KC-767A (theaviationist.com)

Stealth Yanshuf: the Israeli top secret radar-evading chopper used to drop spies in Iran May 17, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Stealth Black Hawk.
Tags: 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Abbottabad, Death of Osama bin Laden, helicopter, Iran, Israel, Israeli Air Force, Osama bin Laden, Osama bin Laden death, Pakistan, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, Stealth Black Hawk, United States Navy SEALs
add a comment

According to F. Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon senior policy analyst the Israeli Air Force is equipped with the same Stealth Black Hawk helicopter used by the U.S. Navy SEALs to kill Osama Bin Laden last year.

Believed to be an exclusive U.S. “black project”, the radar-evading chopper (most probably a quiet one, rather than an actual helicopter invisible to radars), such helos would be used by the IAF to drop Iranian dissidents into Iran to gather intelligence on the Tehran’s nuclear program, according to a report written by Maloof for G2 bulletin, a global intelligence newsletter.

This is the first time someone reports about radar-evading choppers in the hands of Israel.

Even if it’s quite unlikely that the Washington shared the secrets of its most advanced helicopter with Jerusalem, considered that the American Stealth Hawk is probably based on 1978 study freely available on the Internet, we can’t rule out the possibility that the Israeli industry has found a way to modify the IAF Black Hawks (nicknamed “Yanshuf”, English for “Owl”) to make them stealthy.

Provided a Stealth Yanshuf really exists, this is what it would look like in two updated versions of the renderings I conceived with AviationGraphic.com‘s Ugo Crisponi: above, the famous highly modified version with retractable landing gear MH-X (please remember this is not the actual designation), whose shape reminds the one of an S-76; below, the more likely slightly-modified Stealth Black Hawk (described here).

Here’s the (updated) shape of the badass Stealth Black Hawk chopper revealed one year ago by the Osama Bin Laden raid (theaviationist.com)
Analysis: This could be the airfield in Azerbaijan used by the Israeli Air Force to attack Iran (theaviationist.com)
“Operation Delawor”: when an entire U.S. Army airborne brigade, two F-100 squadrons deployed to Iran for an exercise (theaviationist.com)

Video: First flight of China’s second J-20 Mighty Dragon prototype May 17, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in China.
Tags: Chengdu, Chengdu J-20, China, J-20, Maiden flight, Stealth aircraft
add a comment

After the images appeared on the Chinese Internet few hours after the aircraft had landed, a video showing the China’s second J-20 stealth fighter prototype performing its first flight at Chengdu on May 16, 2012 has just been uploaded to Youtube.

Soundtrack aside, the video is enjoyable as it gives the opportunity to see the fifth generation plane during the taxi, (quite short) take off roll and landing phases of its maiden flight.

Photo evidence: Maiden flight for the second China’s J-20 stealth fighter prototype (theaviationist.com)
[Updated] Photo: Second China’s J-20 stealth fighter prototype (almost) makes maiden flight (theaviationist.com)
Second China’s J-20 stealth fighter prototype’s new radome: a sign of an installed AESA radar set? (theaviationist.com)
Here we go again: second China’s J-20 stealth fighter prototype getting ready for first flight (theaviationist.com)
New China’s J-20 fifth generation stealth fighter prototype spotted at Chengdu (theaviationist.com)
China’s 5th generation stealth fighter performing combat maneuver tests over Chengdu (theaviationist.com)

Langley’s F-22 pilot oxygen emergency during Red Flag caught on audio tape May 17, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Aviation Safety, Military Aviation.
Tags: hypoxia, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, Nellis Air Force Base, Red Flag
add a comment

The F-22 Raptor was among the players of the recent Red Flag 12-3 exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

Belonging to the 27th FS from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, the planes did not feature the famous Increment 3.1 that gives the stealthy fighters the capability to use air-to-surface weapons, and could only play the air-to-air role.

Youtube user “pdlgs”, a reader of this blog, has recorded some interesting radio comms of the exercise that he also uploaded on his YT channel for everyone to hear.

Among the several minutes of recorded pilot and controller chats, he has also caught an F-22 pilot using callsign “Rocket 04″ experiencing an in-flight physiological incident during a mission: suffering hypoxia like symptoms, the pilot declares an emergency requesting immediate descent to FL180 (18,000 feet) to face the oxygen deprivation condition.

Click below to hear the formation leader, informing the Nellis Range controller of the emergency.

Pdlgs has also recorded very weak audio file about Rocket 4 leaving the airspace and being escorted home by Rocket 3.

Noteworthy, the Squadron attending the last Red Flag is a unit of the 1st Fighter Wing, and Maj. Jeremy Gordon and Capt. Josh Wilson, the two “whistleblowers” appearing on CBS 60 minutes to explain why they were “uncomfortable” flying the Raptor (before changing idea few days later) belong to the 192th FW of the Virginia ANG, an associate unit of the Air Force’s 1st FW at Langley.

Because of the mysterious problem that is still choking F-22 pilots without a known root cause, the Pentagon has restricted Air Force Raptors to fly near a “proximate landing location” in order to give pilots the possibility to land quickly if their planes’ On Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) fail.

As done by “Rocket 04″.

Video: F-22 Raptor in action during Red Flag 12-3 (theaviationist.com)
Two F-22 pilots make public outing: “not comfortable” flying the Raptor right now (theaviationist.com)
Whistleblower pilots who did not want to fly the F-22 now ready to resume flying the Raptor! (theaviationist.com)
More than 70 combat planes involved twice a day in world’s most realistic training exercise: welcome to the Red Flag 12-3 (theaviationist.com)
“Risk must be balanced with the requirement for the capability” Air Combat Command chief still confident in F-22 says (theaviationist.com)
For the real aviation geek: F-22s, F-15s and B-2s filmed “in action” during Red Flag. From the ground. With audio. (theaviationist.com)

Video: Armed MQ-1 Predator drone quietly flying at low altitude over Elgin, Illinois May 16, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Drones.
Tags: AGM-114 Hellfire, Chicago, Elgin Illinois, General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, NATO, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
23 comments

Filmed in Elgin, Illinois about 40 miles from Chicago, the following video (uploaded to Youtube on May 13) shows what seems to be an MQ-1 Predator drone. Armed with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles.

Noteworthy the drone is flying quite low (maybe to remain in visual contact with the ground below the clouds).

Even if someone believes the video is not genuine, the robot could be involved in a surveillance mission in anticipation of NATO meeting that will be held in Chicago on May 20 – 21.

Although not even comparable with what we have seen in London for next summer’s Olympic Games security, an armed drone over the U.S. territory is at least an uncommon sight.