July 11, 2024 | International, Land
September 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace
British F-35s train with US B-2s for the first time
U.S. Air Force B-2s trained with Royal Air Force F-35s Aug. 29, the first time foreign fifth-generation fighter jets have integrated with the U.S. stealth bombers.
Three B-2 bombers from the 509th Bomber Wing out of Whiteman Air Force Base, are part of a U.S. Strategic Command bomber task force and are forward deployed to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, U.K., which is U.S. Air Forces in Europe's forward operating base for bombers. They arrived in theater Aug. 27.
“We're delighted that the USAF and [the] Bomber Task Force are here in the UK and that our F-35 Lightning pilots have the chance to fly alongside and train with the B-2 bomber crews," said Group Capt. Richard Yates, chief of staff at the UK Air Battle Staff, in an RAF news release. "This is the first time that any other country has done this.”
The training aims to improve the interoperability of the strategic bombers with the fifth-generation fighter aircraft of European allies and demonstrate U.S. commitment to deterring adversary aggression on the continent, according to an Air Force news release.
“Our Royal Air Force friends are integral to the 509th Bomb Wing mission," said Lt. Col. Rob Schoeneberg, Bomber Task Force commander, 393rd Expeditionary Squadron, in the Air Force news release. "The beauty of our partnerships is that we get to understand how they see the world.
"Working alongside international fifth-generation aircraft provides unique training opportunities for us, bolsters our integration capabilities and showcases the commitment we have to our NATO alliance.”
Prior to the training in England, a B-2 from the task force flew from RAF Fairford to Keflavik Air Base, Iceland. The Aug. 28 mission involved hot-pit refueling at Keflavik AB. The purpose of the flight was to conduct theater familiarization for aircrew members and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to allies and partners.
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December 5, 2019 | International, Naval
HII awarded $11.5M for further repairs on USS Gerald R. Ford
ByChristen McCurdy Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Hungtington Ingalls of Newport News, Va., was awarded an $11.5 million contract for further repairs on the troubled USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier. The contract, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, funds the advance planning, design, documentation, engineering, procurement, ship checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard work on the first-in-class carrier. Work will be performed at Huntington Ingalls Newport News, Va., site and is expected to be completed by September 2020. The Pentagon has obligated $1 million at the time of the award that will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Ford, intended to replace Nimitz-class carriers, has been plagued by cost overruns and delays, including problems with its 11 electromagnetic elevators -- just seven of which were operational at the end of October. In recent months, the vessel completed a training evolution and sea trials, as well as an independent steaming exercise that included sailing more than 7,000 nautical miles, completing more than 1,000 cycles of the advanced weapons elevators and performed more than 200 advanced arresting gear simulations. The carrier is expected to start compatibility testing early next year, and is now expected to be ready for deployment sometime before 2024. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/12/04/HII-awarded-115M-for-further-repairs-on-USS-Gerald-R-Ford/4431575418593