HyperTunnel’s Post

Today, a big milestone as #AFLCMC works toward #reoptimization for Great Power Competition (GPC). Our Mobility and Training Directorate has officially separated, forming the Mobility Directorate and Training Directorate. Also today, we officially stand-up our Combat Readiness Directorate. It replaces our Agile Combat Support Directorate and Rapid Sustainment Office by merging parts of both into one. AFLCMC Commander Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton will serve as PEO of Combat Readiness. We are intentional in everything we do. Reasons why these elements make up the Combat Readiness insignia: Globe: Signifies our worldwide reach with capabilities that have no geographic limitations. Swords & Arrow: The crossed swords represent our combat focus, while the vertical arrow represents our constant state of readiness. Together, they form Combat Readiness. Outstretched Wings: Depict a detailed and elevated approach to flight preparedness. Five Stars: Honor the five founding divisions that comprise Combat Readiness. Integrated Gear: Highlights our interconnected proficiency with an exceptional attention to detail.

⚡️Electronic Warfare Sustainment Awakened 💥 Ending a productive week at Textron Systems in Baltimore overviewing the DoD’s state of airborne EW capability. Gone are the days of men in caves, conducting warfare with recreational-use walkie talkies. Warfare has drastically changed over the past decade. Are we confident we’re ready for modern day conflict? Some shrug their shoulders… Better late than never, we’ve awakened from a 20 year EW slumber and have reignited a key aspect in achieving battlefield advantage. To get there, we must have rapid and adaptable sustainment contracts in place for our aging aviation support equipment. Our fleet of EW-centric testers are old, worn, and have been forgotten about; exampled by the lapse in repair contract for our most important troubleshooting and fault isolation tool, the AN/USM-670(A) JSECST. We (USG) must do better in prioritizing aircrew survivability via proactive contract actions. To fellow military leaders in aviation departments - a collective call to action discuss the importance of equipment and system readiness and reliability. We cannot afford to be an underdog in the invisible spectrum. Special thanks to Michael Paturzo, Zach Ashe, PMP, Tyler Hepler, and Will Verdecchia, MBA, PMP for level setting discussions. Bright futures ahead… GP

⛺️🛩️ Cornerstone Research Group has secured a $1 million contract to extend maintainer-fabricated enclosure kit development for the United States Air Force. MFEKs are walk-in enclosures similar to pop-up tents used by sustainment teams when repairing parked fighter jets. Cornerstone Project Lead Joshua Adkinssetty highlighted the importance of MFEK when working on the F-35 Lightning II and its weapon systems, which the Air Force describes as a “challenging aircraft to maintain.” “If it’s cold outside… maintainers have to pull it into the hangar [to maintain it], and that might mean needing to play musical aircraft, because at any given time they have all of these other aircraft that they know need worked on,” he explained. “So, how do you manage all of that? This piece of gear [the DB-6090] kind of takes that out of the equation. I can go set this thing up on the flight line, throw a heater on it, control my environment, and perform the work that I need to, and it reduces the mean downtime between flights.” #military #techology #militarytechnology #militarytech #innovation #defense #defence #defenseindustry #defenceindustry #usairforce #aviation #militaryaviation

F-35 sustainment costs soar even as flight hours get cut, says GAO. A GAO report has found that the F-35 programme sustainment costs have increased by 44%, while flight hours have fallen by 21% to reduce costs.

Cool video of an A10 training with a moving target. For the pilots, how hard is transitioning between the air-to-air and the ground attack role? Infrastructure Masons Compass Datacenters United States Air Force #veterans #veteransupport #veteranshelpingveterans

Autonomous logistics will be essential across the Joint Force. Variants of #COTS #aircraft are one way to achieve that in an affordable way that enables low-risk fielding and sustainment. #military #logistics

Fifty years ago, the YF-16 took flight at Edwards AFB (on 21 January 1974, to be precise). That first flight was unintended; during a high-speed taxi test, roll-axis oscillations led test pilot Phil Oestricher to take off instead of catastrophically impacting the ground. Its official first flight was on 2 February 1974. The YF-16 used a combination of a cropped delta wing with leading edge strakes for vortex lift and relaxed static stability with fly-by-wire controls to achieve its high agility. It was the first aircraft to have a side stick that didn’t move (it responded to forces only), thus increasing the possibility of over control until pilots got used to it and the flight control system was tuned. The aircraft was General Dynamics’ entry into the USAF’s Lightweight Fighter Program, competing against Northrop’s YF-17. On 13 January 1975, the USAF announced that the YF-16 had won the competition, eventually leading to the F-16 program; the YF-17 evolved into the Navy’s F-18. Originally intended to be lightweight and cheap air superiority fighters, they both eventually became sophisticated and capable fighter-bombers. The USAF has over 860 F-16s in service of the 4,500+ that have been built. #fbw    #prototypes     #lwf     #fcs     #staticstability              #introtoaero    #vortexlift https://lnkd.in/eaWeqUb2 https://lnkd.in/e9bBj9jU https://lnkd.in/e8aWXHnH

I was in Army #avaiation for over 2 decades. In that time I was over #maintenance operations for various airframes. Huey, Cobra, OH-58, OH-6, Blackhawk and Apache. It is a major undertaking to maintain the readiness of aircraft that in a moments notice may be launched into a real life scenario of combat or rescue. The recent rash of maintenance issues in the aviation community to include the various #boeing matter leads me to the conclusion that there are some serious culture issues that need addressed in aviation maintence, especially at Boeing. #cultureofcare is a real thing in todays business. CEO’s and other executives would do well to have a culture review completed on their organization. It can and will save lives!!

Boeing’s Plan For Modernized AH-64 Apaches Serving Into The 2060s The AH-64 is more critical than ever to the Army after the cancellation of FARA, but the relevance of attack helicopters is also increasingly being questioned. #PhoenixDelivers #apache #usarmy https://lnkd.in/eQfrtreK