December 10, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Stephen Losey
Nearly two months after Hurricane Michael devastated Tyndall Air Force Base in Northern Florida, the Air Force on Friday said it wants to rebuild the installation — so it can station three squadrons of F-35 fighters there.
But the change in plans, if approved, would mean operational F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron would not return to Tyndall.
The Air Force is asking Congress for supplemental funding to repair Tyndall's damage, the service said in a release. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said the amount of money is still being decided.
A preliminary evaluation showed Tyndall could accommodate up to three F-35 squadrons, the Air Force said. If Congress grants the supplemental repair funds and the F-35 basing is approved, F-35s could be based there beginning in 2023.
The move would mean operational F-22s that were formerly at Tyndall would be permanently moved to squadrons at other bases that are now temporarily housing them: Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. Those F-22 squadrons would grow from 21 to 24 fighters apiece to permanently accommodate the Tyndall aircraft.
“We have recommended that the best path forward to increase readiness and use money wisely is to consolidate the operational F-22s formerly at Tyndall in Alaska, Hawaii and Virginia, and make the decision now to put the next three squadrons of F-35s, beyond those for which we have already made decisions, at Tyndall,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said. “We are talking with congressional leaders about this plan and will need their help with the supplemental funding needed to restore the base."
This decision will allow the Air Force to tailor the new construction at Tyndall to the best fit for F-35s, the Air Force said.
The 325th Fighter Wing, which was comprised of two F-22 squadrons, was located at Tyndall before the Oct. 10 storm. Most Tyndall aircraft evacuated before the storm hit, but 17 Raptors could not be flown and stayed behind, sustaining varying levels of damage that is now being repaired.
Nearly a month after the storm, Wilson said that F-22 training with the 43rd Fighter Squadron would be temporarily moved to nearby Eglin Air Force Base.
The Air Force said it will conduct a formal process to decide what will be the best location for the 43rd and its training mission.
The 95th has 21 F-22s and 36 active-duty airmen, the Air Force said last month, and its associated maintenance units have about 500 airmen.
F-35 basing decisions in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin, which have already been announced, will not be changed.
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After a shoot-off in the New Mexico desert, the Army has made its choice on who will build prototypes for its enduring Indirect Fires Protection Capability.
October 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force halted a delivery of the KC-46 yet again after problems with the electrical system were found on one new tanker slated to make its way to the service. The issue was first disclosed during an Oct. 1 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, when Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that a KC-46 that was supposed to have been delivered Sept. 25 by Boeing to Pease Air National Guard Base had been delayed. “They just learned that that delivery was canceled due to electrical problems with the aircraft,” she said to Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's top acquisition official. In a statement, Boeing said a “minor electrical issue” on a single KC-46 was found by the company during acceptance tests. “In flight, one of the radar warning receivers is indicating a fault through the plane's fault management system,” Boeing spokesman Larry Chambers said. “We think it may be a poor electrical connection that needs to be re-seated. We are currently evaluating a fix. Resolving this has caused a minor delay to delivery of this single airplane. Boeing expects to conclude this activity within the next several days and is working with the Air Force on a new delivery schedule.” The issue is not a design or safety-of-flight issue that would pose risk to the aircrew, he added. But Shaheen, speaking at the hearing, expressed frustration with Boeing over its repeated difficulties designing and building the new tankers, with challenges over the life span of the program that have included wiring issues and problems with the vision system that allows boom operators to safely refuel other planes. “I've spoken to a whole number of officials from Boeing from our military leadership as recently as last week with Gen. [Jacqueline] Van Ovost, who is the head of Air Mobility Command, all of whom have assured me that we've had good conversations between the [Department of Defense] and Boeing, and that the problems are being worked out. We're not going to continue to see these challenges,” Shaheen said. “And yet we've got another aircraft that's not being delivered because of another problem. So how do we fix this? Because it is an ongoing challenge that's affecting our ability to our national security, long term if we don't get these refueling tankers up and running.” Lord responded that KC-46 problems have included design and engineering flaws as well as issues occurring during the manufacturing of the jet. “The KC 46 has been an extremely problematical program. I speak with Leanne Caret, the CEO of the defense side of Boeing, on a regular basis about it,” Lord said. “One issue is frankly the technical solution. That was the original design [and] is now being redesigned, but also we have had a myriad of manufacturing issues with [foreign object debris] and other issues.” However, she said the root cause of the problems is the fixed-price firm contract used for the KC-46 program, which makes Boeing financially responsible for any costs beyond the $4.9 billion ceiling. So far, Boeing has spent more than $4.7 billion in company funds on the KC-46 program — almost equivalent to the Air Force's own investment in the program. The Air Force plans to buy 179 tankers, 38 of which have already been delivered to the service. Seven KC-46s have gone to Pease ANGB. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/10/01/kc-46-deliveries-have-been-halted-due-to-electrical-system-problems/
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