January 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Kyle Rempfer
The Air Force, like the other services, suffered a string of fatal aviation mishaps in 2018.
A Military Times in-depth review of 5,500 aviation accidents that have occurred since 2013 found that accidents among the nation's manned fighters, bombers, tankers, tilt-rotor and helicopter aircraft has increased 39 percent.
In the Air Force, the most serious Class A mishaps have declined, but the number of non-fatal Class C mishaps is increasing, causing some experts to warn that future problems could be on the horizon if the issue is not dealt with.
To address concerns among the aviation community, Congress created an eight-person independent commission to review the mishap spike in the 2019 defense bill.
For its part, the Air Force conducted a wave of one-day safety stand-downs of flying and maintenance wings over the summer.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein ordered the stand-down in May, after several high-profile mishaps, including the May 2 crash of a WC-130 Hercules and the March 15 loss of an HH-60G Pave Hawk in western Iraq, both of which killed all on board.
In a September news release, the Air Force said their review of the data identified six potential risks to aviation safety: stress caused by high operations tempos; a lack of time to properly focus on flying basics, mission activities and training; pressure to accept risk; a culture that pushes airmen to always execute the mission; decreased availability of aircraft; and the potential for airmen to become complacent when carrying out routine tasks.
“The review proved tremendously helpful as we continue to seek both high levels of safety with intense and realistic training," Goldfein said in the release.
The full report summary, provided at Air Force Times' request, also raised concerns about the increasing requirements on maintainers, and low experience among some maintenance personnel.
The service has distributed those findings to the field, according to the release. The findings will help flying and maintenance leaders guide their decisions.
“We're taking necessary steps to ensure our airmen operate as safely as possible in an inherently dangerous business,” Goldfein said. “I want to train hard and I want commanders to push themselves and their airmen to achieve high levels of readiness. Sometimes the right answer is knock it off ... sometimes it is push it up. Confidence in the air, safety on the ground and in the air, it's a commander's business.”
The summary also cites the aging fleet of Air Force aircraft as a problem contributing to increased maintenance requirements and decreased aircraft availability.
The Air Force has already started putting plans into place to address airmen's concerns, including adding more support back to squadrons, reducing additional duties, “enhancing information processes for aircrew mission planning” and cutting staff requirements, according to the release.
April 19, 2023 | International, Land
The German government is exercising two options contained in the contract for retrofitting original Puma infantry fighting vehicles to the new S1 design status.
October 1, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Kyle Rempfer If China goes forward with plans to establish another Air Defense Identification Zone in the region, the U.S. could be forced to change its military posture in Asia, a senior national security official said this week. “We oppose China's establishment of an ADIZ in other areas, including the South China Sea,” Evan Medeiros, the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, said in an interview with Japan Times. “We have been very clear with the Chinese that we would see that [setting of another ADIZ] as a provocative and destabilizing development that would result in changes in our presence and military posture in the region." An ADIZ is airspace over land or water in which the identification, location and control of aircraft is jointly performed by civilian air traffic control and military authorities in the interest of a country's national security. China set up one ADIZ over the East China Sea in 2013, which many viewed as an attempt to try and bolster its claims over disputed territories, like the uninhabited Senkaku islands. China began to elevate its claims to the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the 1970s after studies indicated there may be vast oil reserves in the surrounding sea bed, according to Japan Times. The United States is obligated to defend aggression against territories under Japanese administration under Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirmed in 2017 that the defense obligation extends to the Senkakus. “I made clear that our longstanding policy on the Senkaku Islands stands,” Mattis said, according to a Pentagon transcript. “The United States will continue to recognize Japanese administration of the islands.” U.S. officials have also criticized China for setting up an ADIZ that overlaps with similar zones operated by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan without prior consultation. The Chinese have labeled recent missions by nuclear-capable U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers over the South China Sea as “provocative." Two separate B-52s also flew over the East China Sea this week. The Pentagon called all of these flights routine. “If it was 20 years ago and had they not militarized those features there, it would have been just another bomber on its way to [Naval Support Facility] Diego Garcia or wherever,” Mattis told the press, according to a Pentagon transcript. “So there's nothing out of the ordinary about it." China has also been accused of militarizing the South China Sea — which includes important shipping routes, fisheries and hydrocarbons. The Chinese military has built islands on existing reefs and placed airstrips, radars, missiles and other military equipment on them. Multiple other countries in the region, to include Vietnam and the Philippines, claim portions of the South China Sea as well. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2018/09/28/us-military-posture-in-asia-could-change-if-china-declares-another-air-defense-identification-zone
June 13, 2018 | International, Naval
The US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded Lockheed Martin a five-year follow-on contract option on 12 June worth about USD65 million to support the Navy's intermediate-level maintenance activities for MK48 torpedoes at the Pearl Harbor Heavyweight Torpedo Intermediate Maintenance Activity (IMA). The initial contract was awarded in March 2018. The Lockheed Martin MK48 Torpedo IMA Program focuses on ensuring availability and reliability of the torpedoes, Richard Dunn, programme manager for Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, said in a statement, while reducing total programme life cycle costs for the US Navy's torpedo programme. Lockheed Martin has provided specialised maintenance for the MK48 torpedoes since 2007. http://www.janes.com/article/80934/us-navy-awards-lockheed-martin-mk48-maintenance-contract