Robosaurus breathing fire among C-17 and C-5 cargo planes at March Air Reserve Base May 26, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Bizarre.Tags: 452d Air Mobility Wing, March Joint Air Reserve Base, Robosaurus, Robot, transformer, US Air Force
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Modeled after Trasformers toys, Robosaurus is a transforming dinosaur robot, with the driver (or “pilot”) sitting in the head of the ‘bot, with the ability to transform from a 48-foot semi trailer into a futuristic Tyrannosayrus Rex.
It was created by inventor Doug Malewicki in 1989 and is currently owned and operated by Monster Robots, Inc. It is used at motorsport events and air shows to eat and burn vehicles with a flame shooting out of its nostrils.
On May 20, Robosaurus performed at March Air Reserve Base, California, home of the 452d Air Mobility Wing (452 AMW), during the 2-day March Field AirFest 2012 air show.
Here are some of the most interesting images of the robot as it shoots fire out for the crowd.
Image credit: DoD, U.S. Air Force
Another chapter of the “USAF Hangar Foam Party” saga. May 16, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation.Tags: 457th Fighter Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, Eglin Air Force Base, Fire protection, Fire suppression system, Foam, Hangar, United States Airforce, US Air Force
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After the F-15, F-16 and A-10 submerged by foam at Eglin AFB, Florida in 2009, and the C-17 at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, last year, here below you can find some pictures of another Air Force’s fire suppression system filling a hangar with foam I received from a member of the 457th Fighter Squadron “Spads”.
They were taken when the 457th FS AFRC (Air Force Reserve Command), from NAS Forth Worth JRB, Texas, was on a TDY (Temporary Deployment) to Portland ANGB, Oregon, in August of 2008 for DACT (Dissimilar Air Combat Training) with the local based 123rd FS of the OR ANG. It was their last day there, they were all packed up and all of a sudden the foam suppression system for the hangar they were operating out of went off.
“Spare parts, computers, and other materials got covered. Our Vipers were out on the flightline. It was a mess, but allowed for us to get a good game of flag football in while the fire folks cleaned it up” the 457th FS’s airman says.
Image courtesy of 457th FS member
It looks like this kind of incident is rather frequent, therefore, what about an in-depth check of all the fire suppression systems before a new “foam party” takes place in one of those hangars sheltering some costly stealth planes?
A test at Ellsworth AFB in August 2005 lasted more than expected (for a human error?) and a B-1 hangar that had to be covered by one meter of foam within four minutes or less was almost filled by the fire suppression system that was allowed to generate foam for the full four minutes.
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Another foam party! This time at Charleston AFB. Maybe USAF should check its fire suppression systems May 15, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation.Tags: Charleston Air Force Base, Eglin Air Force Base, Fire protection, Fire suppression system, Foam, Hangar, United States Airforce, US Air Force
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When I published the picture about the F-15, F-16 and A-10 submerged by foam at Eglin AFB, Florida, I thought that this kind of incident was quite rare.
I was wrong.
First of all, a visitor recounted that something like that happened with a C-135 VIP transport at Hickam AFB many years ago. They put it into the fuel cell hangar, and left the cockpit windows open. It rained that night, the roof leaked, and the fire suppression system went off. They found the cockpit filled with halon.
Then, a pilot sent me the following picture taken in 2011 at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, when a fire suppression system went off inside a huge C-17 hangar.
Obviously, the size of both the hangar and the C-17 is such, that the U.S. airlifter was far from being submerged by foam.
Courtesy image
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Foam party! Hangar fire suppression system submerges F-15, F-16 and A-10 in foam at Eglin Air Force Base May 14, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation.Tags: Eglin Air Force Base, Fire protection, Fire suppression system, Foam, Hangar, United States Airforce, US Air Force
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According to “youmustvotenato”, the user who posted it to Reddit, the following picture was taken after the fire suppression system base went off because of a spark from a welder set.
Clearly visible in the image an F-15 belonging to the 85th TES (Test and Evaluation Squadron), an F-16 of the 40 FLTS (Flight Test Squadron), and an A-10 (most probably belonging too to the 46th Test Wing): based on the the tail codes, the hangar must have been one used by the 46th TW at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Image credit: via youmustvotenato / Reddit
The foam generators suspended from the ceiling released suppressant similar to soap that submerged the planes in the hangar. It takes two minutes to fill a 90,000 square-foot hangar with more than three feet of two percent high-expansion biodegradable foam.
Here’s a video showing how fire suppression systems work.
Thanks to @Menzo2003 for the heads-up
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“Operation Delawor”: when an entire U.S. Army airborne brigade, two F-100 squadrons deployed to Iran for an exercise May 14, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran, Military History.Tags: 101st Airborne Division, F-100, Iran, Iranian Imperial Air Force, U.S. Army, US Air Force, USAF
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“Operation Delawor” is an episode of The Big Picture, a series of films produced by the U.S. Army and ran on the ABC-TV from 1951 to 1964. The television program featured exercises, battles, weaponry and famous soldiers’ biographies.
Filmed in April 1964, “Operation Delawor” (from a Persian word meaning “courageous”) recounts of a 3-day exercise during which an entire U.S. Army airborne brigate was airlifted to Iran with all its heavy equipment to train with the local Imperial Armed Forces.
Along with 2,300 troops and 550 tons of material of the 101st Airborne Division from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, even two F-100 squadrons from Cannon AFB, were deployed to Iran with the support of KC-135 tankers and C-130 cargos.
The exercise featured a combined air drop, an amphibious attack on Kharg Island involving also a U.S. dock landing ship, two destroyers and eight helicopters, and Close Air Support by the F-100s operating from Vahdati AFB with air cover provided by the Imperial Iranian Air Force F-86s.
Min. 23.00 has some interesting air-to-air and activity with Forward Air Controller footage.
In 1964, the U.S. and Iranian military “learned how to work together as a combined joint team involved in a common enterprise”. About 50 years (and a captured stealth drone) later, they could be called to fight each other any time.
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Piper 28 intercepted by F-16s in Air Force One airspace violation: a couple of lessons to be learned May 13, 2012
Posted by Richard Clements in Military Aviation.Tags: Air Force One, F-16, Piper 28, US Air Force
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The Los Angeles Times has run a report that two F-16s were scrambled after a Piper 28 aircraft violated airspace restrictions which were in place due to President Obama being due to leave LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) on board Air Force One on May 11.
NORAD said in a statement: “The fighters responded to a temporary flight restriction violation by a piper 28 aircraft, after intercepting the aircraft, the F-16s followed it until it landed without incident, at approximately 9.50am local time where the plane was met by local law enforcement”.
It comes only a couple of months after a similar incident where an aircraft violated airspace restrictions in place due to the President’s presence in the area. On that occasion 10kg of marijuana were found on board the Cessna 182.
First things: pilots should read NOTAMs
Second: if you have marijuana or you are smuggling other illegal stuff, violating a restricted airspace interested by world’s most important plane might not be a very good idea.
Some interesting details about the F-15E Strike Eagle crashed in UAE (while en route to Afghanistan) May 3, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Aviation Safety, Military Aviation.Tags: Al Dhafra, McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Persian Gulf, Strike Eagle, United States Airforce, US Air Force, Weapon Systems Officer
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On May 3, 2012, a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft crashed in the United Arab Emirates.
Fortunately, both the pilot and the WSO (Weapon Systems Officer) ejected safely and were later rescued with minor injuries.
Although the first news agencies reported that the combat plane crahsed during a “training mission”, according to our sources, the aircraft belonged to a “section” of Strike Eagles of the 366th FW from Mountain Home Air Force Base, in Idaho, flying as “Cube flight” to Bagram, the airfield that has recently hosted Obama’s Air Force One on a “surprise visit” to Afghanistan.
Indeed, even if the aircraft crashed in UAE, where six U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft are currently deployed, the 366th FW is not involved in any anti-Iran military build up in the Persian Gulf region: along with the other Strike Eagles, the doomed F-15E was on its way from CONUS to Afghanistan via Moron, Spain (where they landed on May 1) and Al Dhafra air base, UAE.
At Bagram, the 366th FW’s F-15Es will replace the 335FS ones from Seymour Johnson AFB.
About a year ago, an F-15E was also the only U.S. Air Force loss in Libya.
Image credit: U.S. Air Force
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- It was not a useless “show of force”: this video shows that the nearly 70 F-15Es took off after Elephant Walk (theaviationist.com)
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The most interesting, dramatic (recent) helicopter pictures from all around the world April 25, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Helicopters.Tags: Air National Guard, Barack Obama, Black Hawk, Boeing CH-47 Chinook, helicopter, Helicopters, Marine One, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk, United States Army, US Air Force
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In the image below, a pair of Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters (in an interesting configuration including snow pads) prepare to land at the Alaska Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility in Nome, Alaska, on Apr. 17, after supporting exercise Arctic Care 2012 operations in Brevig Mission, Alaska. Arctic Care is a recurring joint military medical readiness and logistics training exercise, providing medical care to underserved populations in remote areas of Alaska.
DoD photo by Maj. Guy Hayes, U.S. Air Force/Released
Marine One with U.S. President Barack Obama on board lands into the South Lawn of the White House on Apr. 18 at the end of a day trip to Ohio and Michigan.
Image credit: Getty Images
Taken in a remote jungle region in southern Peru, Cuzco, on Apr. 17, the following picture shows the helicopter wreckage of police officer Nancy Flores, killed during an armed encounter with Shining Path rebels. The group is responsible for the kidnapping of 36 gas pipeline workers who were released on April 14 and has participated in the killings of four police and military officers during the rescue missions of the hostages in the remote jungle region around the Ene and Apurimac valleys (VRAE) in southeastern Peru.
Image credit: Reuters
Below, Soldiers from The Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 SCOTS) carried by a Chinook helicopter during the 16 Air Assault Brigade Exercise Joint Warrior at West Freugh Airfield, Stranraer, Scotland on Apr. 16. The Airborne Task Force (ABTF) used a combination of parachute, air assault and Tactical Air Landings (C130 Hercules) to seize and secure the airfield at West Freugh during the JW exercise that was supported by RAF tactical planes, Joint Helicopter Force’s Apache, Chinook, and RN Sea King as well as several US, French aircraft.
Image credit: PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images
Below, a Colombian police chopper overflies Cartagena, Colombia, prior to the arrival of President Barack Obama and Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos for a land titling event for Afro-Colombian communities on Apr. 15.
Image credit: AP Photo/Fernando Llano
The caption of the following image reads: “An Indian firefighter looks on near a Schweizer helicopter that made an emergency landing on the rooftop of a residential building in Bangalore on April 12, 2012. A trainee helicopter pilot made an emergency landing on the rooftop of an apartment building in a busy residential district in southern India on Thursday after developing engine trouble.”
Image credit: STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images
A view from inside a helicopter performing armed overwatch of Cartagena, Colombia, on Apr. 12 for the sixth Summit of the Americas.
Image credit: AP Photo/Fernando Vergara
An Irish Coast Guard helicopter reaches Titanic Memorial Cruise ship MS Balmoral, in the Atlantic Ocean off Ireland on Apr 10, to perform a the medical evacuation of a man suffering from a heart ailment. The ship headed back 20 nautical miles towards Ireland in order to be in range for a helicopter tasked with evacuating a man with a non life threatening heart condition.
Image credit: REUTERS/Chris Helgren
Barely visible on the upper part of the picture, a firefighting helicopter drops water to extinguish fire atop the Europe’s tallest-to-be tower under-construction which burns in central Moscow, late on Apr. 2. Located some 2 km west of the Kremlin, when completed, the tower will be 360 meters (1150 feet) tall.
Image credit: LEV MASLOV/AFP/Getty Images
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Have you ever seen a picture of a fighter plane towing a radar decoy? Here it is April 16, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation.Tags: ALE-50, Eurofighter, Eurofighter Typhoon, MALD, MALD Jammer, Towed Radar Decoy, Typhoon, US Air Force
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Towed decoy systems are used to protect military aircraft from radar-guided missiles. These countermeasures are towed behind the host aircraft protecting it against both surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. They provide a radiowave reflecting baid that attracts the RF-guided missiles away from the intended target.
Unlike the miniature air launch decoys (MALD) and decoy jammers (MALD Jammers) being tested by the U.S. Air Force for B-52H bombers and F-16 Fighting Falcons to deceive ground radars and anti-aircraft systems, such decoys have a defensive purpose.
Many aircraft are equipped with such towed decoys. The U.S. F-18s and B-1s are equipped with the ALE-50 system, while the Eurofighter Typhoon is equipped with a Towed Radar Decoy carried in the starboad side wingtip pod.
Image credit: Raytheon
According to the information released by Eurofighter, the TRD is attached to the pod using a Fibre Optic link used to send commands to the decoy radio frequency emitter to produce jamming signals required to lure the missile away from the “parent aircraft”.
Even if the Eurofighter website contains several diagrams showing the Typhoon’s towed decoy, no image can be found of the decoy being towed by a plane, except the following ones taken by Gian Luca Onnis (during an unclassified test – image released).
Image credit: Gian Luca Onnis (image released for use)
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“Fox 1 away”: four F-15s firing live air-to-air missiles. At the same time. April 9, 2012
Posted by David Cenciotti in Military Aviation.Tags: AIM-7 Sparrow, air-to-air missile, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Oregon Air National Guard, United States Air Force, US Air Force, WESP
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I find the below image extremely interesting.
It was taken a couple of years ago (most probably in 2010) and I’ve found it because it was recently selected by the 173d FW as their Facebook page cover picture.
It depicts four F-15 Eagles from the 173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon Air National Guard, live-firing AIM-7 Sparrow medium range air-to-air missiles during a WSEP (Weapons Systems Evaluation Program) at Tyndall AFB, Florida.
Known also as “Combat Archer”, the WESP is an air-to-air exercise hosted by the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to improve air-to-air tactics and practice weapons systems employment: fighter pilots rarely get a chance to fire live missiles, WESP exercises are almost always the first and only opportunity to use live air-to-air weapons and validate their shots.
Missiles used in Combat Archer tests don’t carry a warhead, replaced by telemetry packages, and are shot over the Gulf of Mexico at various types of drone targets (including the MQM-107D Streaker and the unmanned QF-4 Phantom aerial targets).
The F-15s in the image below are firing their AIM-7s at the same time, aiming at the same drone: in real combat operations, firing four missiles against the same target would be a nonsense unless the target is so important that you can’t afford to miss it (to such an extent you “waste” two or three missiles against it).
Image credit: U.S. Air Force
The following video, shows some F-15s involved in live firing exercises with AIM-7, AIM-9 shoot at QF-4 drones over the Gulf of Mexico during training sorties out of Tyndall.
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