AMI Near Miss Over the Med
G2 Solutions @ February 28, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Two AMI F-16s (37° Stormo, Trapani) involved in a near miss with an Airbus on Dec 13, 2006. Rome & Marseille Centers and AdA E-3F implicated as well.
Gates: NATO faces budget crisis due to underfunding from EU partners
G2 Solutions @ February 28, 2010 # No Comment Yet
After underfunding NATO for more than a decade, the Western security bloc now faces a budget crisis by an order of hundreds of millions of euros, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today.
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Going a step further, Gates said the shortfall, with a vast majority of alliance members [...]
AF Magazine: The Light Attack Aircraft
G2 Solutions @ February 26, 2010 # No Comment Yet
In the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, jet-powered fighters have been a constant presence, striking critical targets and carrying out other missions. Soon, however, the thunderous roar of the jet engine could well be competing with the high-pitched wail of the turboprop.
Continue Reading….
A Sky Full of Bats
G2 Solutions @ February 25, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Informative piece here from Ares on defense, with a few images of a bigger Bat UAV from Northrop Grumman. Coincidence that these are made public just days after Army announces upcoming competitions for RQ-7 and RQ-11? Perhaps. From the looks of it, it appears that the bigger Bat fits within the current launch and arrest [...]
Tanker: Now the Wait
G2 Solutions @ February 24, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Reactions have been swift about the new tanker RFP, we will further analyze this document once our team is back in Seattle from DC.
-Dicks Cries ‘Allelujah” If NG Drops KC-X
-Tanker RFP Brief
Army’s Shadow to be Reshaped
G2 Solutions @ February 23, 2010 # No Comment Yet
An announcement long anticipated has been made public. This story from Defense News, albeit brief, in essence waves a green flag on the race to racapitalize or replace the current RQ-7 fleet. A G2 Solutions conservative RQ-7 replacement acquisition estimate totals more than $600 million from 2015-2025. Look for more information on this research report [...]
Avenger Finds First Home
G2 Solutions @ February 23, 2010 # No Comment Yet
A good one here from Flight with news that General Atomics’ Predator C/Avenger has a launch customer. The internally-funded UAV follows General Atomics ASI form in having a flying product the company feels will meet evolving customer needs. Expect fierce competition for the U.S. Air Force’s MQ-X program, and look for General Atomics to offer [...]
U.S. Navy Clarifies Plans for UCAS
G2 Solutions @ February 19, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Bill Sweetman’s article here from DoD Buzz chronicles emerging Navy plans recently announced by Rear Admiral William Shannon. Aside from a new timetable for a Request for Information (RFI), the article illustrates the ongoing conceptual differences between the Navy and the U.S. Air Force.
Basing, threats, budget and mission profiles will all play pivotal roles as [...]
Kaman’s K-MAX Cuts Teeth at Dugway Proving Grounds
G2 Solutions @ February 17, 2010 # No Comment Yet
With a growing emphasis on the last leg of Afghanistan combat resupply, Kaman’s ongoing efforts to convert its K-MAX system to military unmanned resupply looks stronger. This story from DoD Buzz outlines what the Corps is asking K-MAX to accomplish during testing, which is likely a good indicator of resupply in theater. Afghanistan’s infrastructure is [...]
A Leaner Corps Adjusts to Increased Afghan Focus
G2 Solutions @ February 16, 2010 # No Comment Yet
A good piece here from DoD Buzz. For the better part of a decade the U.S. Army has worked to be more expeditionary, while the Marines (many would argue) have been getting “heavier.” In this case, transportability requirements, protection and vehicle speed would all seem to be tradeoffs, but at some point the Corps had [...]
Ares: Beast Sighted In Korea
G2 Solutions @ February 16, 2010 # No Comment Yet
The Beast of Kandahar gets around. The hitherto-classified Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel unmanned air vehicle (UAV), its existence disclosed after our enquiries in December, has been sighted outside Afghanistan.
Flight: Airborne Laser shoots down 1st ballistic target
G2 Solutions @ February 12, 2010 # No Comment Yet
The Boeing Airborne Laser Testbed successfully shot down a Scud missile-like target at 2044 PST off the California coast, a landmark achievement in the $6 billion programme’s 16-year history.
King 5 News Seattle: Murtha, Dicks, Tanker and PNAA Conference
G2 Solutions @ February 12, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Bloomberg: Boeing’s Biggest 747 Begins Flight Testing Program
G2 Solutions @ February 8, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Beautiful day for first flight here in Seattle:
Boeing Co.’s 747-8, the biggest jumbo jet it’s ever built, flew for the first time today, joining the composite-plastic 787 Dreamliner in delayed flight-test programs the company now aims to complete by the end of the year.
The 747-8’s first takeoff comes just a day short of the [...]
Bloomberg: Murtha, Backer of Troops, Earmarks in Congress, Dies
G2 Solutions @ February 8, 2010 # No Comment Yet
John Murtha, a former Marine drill instructor turned congressman who unapologetically wielded his power to benefit his Pennsylvania district, died today. He was 77. Murtha, a Democrat, died at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia, of complications after undergoing gallbladder surgery in late January at another hospital.
During 36 years in the House, the Vietnam [...]