Fighter jets

Stress Langley's Capacity & Facilities

November 12, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) and Representatives Glenn Nye (D-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Rob Wittman (R-VA) this week requested a Virginia delegation staff briefing on Air Force plans for future basing of the F-22 Raptor aircraft fleet. In a letter to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Virginia lawmakers emphasized that Langley Air Force Base (LAFB) in Hampton is a “world-class installation” with the excess operational capacity to support increased numbers of the F-22.    » read more »

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Nov. 9, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) moves closer to its first international sale of RACR (Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar) following approval for the company to move forward with technical discussions with at least two potential customers.

Both countries are looking to upgrade their F-16 fleets within the next two years in order to keep their force structure at the cutting edge of today's complex battlespace. RACR is designed for all F-16s and is approved for export.

The program is on schedule to fly production hardware on an F-16 during the first half of 2010.    » read more »

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 5, 2009 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that it delivered the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF) third F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet three months ahead of schedule on Sept. 30, after completing production on the multirole fighter at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' St. Louis facility.

Boeing publicly debuted the first of the RAAF's 24 Super Hornets in St. Louis on July 8. Each of the three completed aircraft has been delivered three months ahead of schedule.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) issued the following statement today on learning that Shaw Air Force Base has been selected as a candidate for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

“I was pleased to receive word today from the Secretary of the Air Force that Shaw Air Force Base has been selected as a candidate for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) – the Air Force’s new fifth generation fighter designed to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II.

“In choosing candidates for the F-35, the Air Force evaluated over 200 sites. The process was highly competitive, and Shaw’s selection as a candidate is testament to its strength and value as an Air Force base.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Air force is planning to start deploying its new F-35A fighters at 10 locations around the country starting late next year or early in 2011.

And a new study out today of 205 potential locations names the top 10 spots where the planes could be housed for training and military operations – including two locations in the Sunshine State.

The two Florida spots are Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach in the Panhandle, which would be home initially to 59 of the fighters for pilot training; and, the second location is at Jacksonville International Airport, where 18 of the jets would be housed with the Florida Air National Guard.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- October 29 - Senator Patrick Leahy and the Vermont Congressional Delegation – Leahy (D), Senator Bernie Sanders (I) and Representative Peter Welch (D) -- announced Thursday that the Secretary of the Air Force has selected the Vermont National Guard in Burlington as one of 10 final candidates to base the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The Air Force conducted a system-wide review of more than 200 locations before selecting Burlington and nine other bases as finalists for either the training or primary operations of the F-35.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Mark Begich released the following statement after learning the Department of Defense will not be putting any of the first 250-300 aircraft of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) at any of Alaska's military bases:

"Given Alaska's important geographic and strategic advantages for the overall defense of our country, I am disappointed to learn that none of Alaska's Air Force bases were chosen as one of the preferred locations to base a portion of the Air Force's first 250-300 aircraft in the F-35 JSF. This is particularly disappointing since the Air Force indicated last fall that Eielson was on the "short list."    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – After last week’s victory to reverse the President’s decision to eliminate the C-17, U.S. Senator Kit Bond today renewed efforts to increase funding for the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

“Underfunding the Super Hornet gambles with our ability to project U.S. power from aircraft carriers, damages our security in the long run by eroding our competitive domestic industrial base, and puts more than 110,000 American jobs at risk,” said Bond. “I’m not willing to make this risky bet which is why I’ve joined with Senator Kennedy to restore funding for this critical program.”    » read more »

PARIS, June 17, 2009 – The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] will dedicate funding to further development of the F-15 Silent Eagle program, with the goal of a flight demonstration in the third quarter of 2010. The announcement came at the Paris Air Show following meetings with potential customers and reaffirmed a commitment to the prototype program made by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems President and CEO Jim Albaugh at the air show on June 14.    » read more »

PARIS, June 17, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has started integrating its Munitions Control Unit on the Jaguar fighter aircraft.

The MCU is a plug-and-play system that enables integration of modern weapons on legacy aircraft with minimal modifications to aircraft wiring and no changes to the flight and stores management software.

"Once MCU is integrated on an aircraft, aircrews can employ the Joint Standoff Weapon, Maverick missile, Paveway precision-guided munition and AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missile using the aircraft's existing weapon management system," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Air Warfare Systems. "Warfighters can have this capability for a fraction of what it costs to integrate one weapon by traditional means."    » read more »

PARIS, June 15, 2009 – PPG Industries’ (NYSE:PPG) aerospace transparencies business has begun producing replacement canopy transparencies for F-16 fighter jets with a new-generation coating system and has resumed full production rates.

Paris Air Show visitors can see a canopy transparency with the new coating system for the F-16 jet at PPG Aerospace’s display at Hall 2B, Stand D57. The International Paris Air Show is June 15-21 at Le Bourget Exhibition Centre.

Polycarbonate laminate canopy transparencies with the new coating system passed stringent requirements for bird impact, optical performance and environmental durability, according to Brent Wright, PPG Aerospace platform business manager for military transparencies.    » read more »

Senator Presses Defense Officials on F/A-18 & Next-Generation Bomber

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Upholding his promise at a recent rally in St. Louis to fight until his last day in the U.S. Senate for Missouri workers, Senator Kit Bond today pressed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to increase funding for the F/A-18 Super Hornet and reverse the cancellation of the Next Generation Bomber during an appropriations subcommittee hearing on defense issues.    » read more »

ST. LOUIS, June 9, 2009 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] and teammate L-3 have delivered four Block II F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Tactical Operation Flight Trainers (TOFT) to the U.S. Navy and declared them “Ready for Training.” Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Va., has two of the trainers, and two are located at NAS Lemoore, Calif.

“These are the first Block II TOFTs, the new generation of trainers,” said Steven Dent, F/A-18 Training Systems manager for Boeing. “The Boeing/L-3 team is able to offer a high level of aircraft concurrency with these new devices.”    » read more »

Chicago, June 2, 2009 -- J. Michael Luttig, executive vice president and general counsel of The Boeing Company [NYSE:BA], today directed that an immediate appeal be made following a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision upholding the government’s position in the long-running A-12 case.

“Today's decision, which awards no amount of damages to either the contractors or the government, is but the next step in this regrettable litigation that is now in its eighteenth year. The decision is fatally flawed under what has been the law governing this case from the outset. It creates out of whole cloth a new law that essentially requires the case to be tried anew from the beginning,” Luttig said.    » read more »

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 26, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $54 million U.S. Navy contract to retrofit Super Hornet block II aircraft with APG-79 active electronically scanned array radars.

The award by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., calls for APG-79 AESA radars to be retrofitted into lots 26 to 29 of the F/A-18E/F aircraft. The units will replace the APG-73 radars currently installed in the aircraft, ensuring that pilots and aircrews are equipped with the most advanced technology available.    » read more »