Page 2 - Aerotech News and Review June 17, 2016_Neat

Briefs

Military veterans housed together in Arkan- As part of the agreement, the two companies two pilots survived a midair collision in Georgia. How to contact
sas jail will jointly pursue affordability initiatives through Flying was temporarily halted after two F-16 Aerotech News and Review
2019. • Mail: 456 E. Ave. K-4,
A program that houses military veterans to- jets from the South Carolina Air National Guard Suite 8, Lancaster CA 93535
gether in an area of the Garland County jail in “We are Raytheon’s partner on some of the crashed June 7 at a rural bombing rage in Lou- • E-Mail: editor@aerotechnews.com
Hot Springs, Ark., is winning praise from criminal most important propulsion systems for our na- isville, Ga. The pilots were in good shape after • Phone: (661) 945-5634
justice officials, jail officials and the veterans who tion’s warfighters and national defense programs,” the crash at the Bulldog Military Operations Area • Fax: (661) 723-7757
are inmates. said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Ei- while on a training mission.
leen Drake. “This agreement expands our long- Advertising
The program began about five months ago to term relationship with Raytheon and is a direct Col. Nicholas Gentile is commander of the Corporate Headquarters:
test the idea that the chance of rehabilitation is result of our commitment to deliver quality prod- 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National
better by housing veterans together in the same ucts on schedule, while remaining firmly focused Guard Base. He said in a news release June 11 (877) 247-9288
way other treatment groups are housed. on affordability.” that the wing’s pilots and maintenance crews will Subscriber Services
resume training for an upcoming deployment to Subscriptions to Aerotech News
The veterans are housed separately from other In 2015, Raytheon presented Aerojet Rocket- the Pacific Area Forces area of responsibility. and Review are $59 for six months
inmates and given access to specialized programs dyne with an Award for Excellence in Affordabil- or $89 for one year. For more in-
and treatment. ity during a supplier conference in Boston, Mass. A U.S. Air Force Safety Investigation Board is formation, contact the subscription
convening to determine the cause of the crash. AP department at:
Inmate Jeffrey Estright — jailed for proba- United Arab Emirates says military helicop- 456 E. Ave. K-4, #8, Lancaster CA
tion violation — told the Arkansas Democrat- ter crash kills 2 Pilot of elite Russian aerobatic squadron 93535
Gazette that the program allowed him to enroll in killed in crash Story ideas, letters, editorials
a technical college aviation repair program. And The United Arab Emirates says a military he- Please address all letters and edi-
inmate Patrick McElroy — jailed for shooting and licopter crash has killed the pilot and co-pilot A pilot of the Russian air force’s elite aerobatic torials to Stuart A. Ibberson, editor,
wounding a former co-worker — said he’s in an onboard. squadron died June 9 when his fighter jet crashed 456 E. Ave. K-4, Suite 8, Lancaster
anger management program. AP near Moscow. CA 93535
The UAE military said in a statement June 12
Raytheon, Aerojet Rocketdyne sign new the crash happened “during a routine flight over The Russian Defense Ministry said the Su- Web Site
strategic sourcing agreement international waters.” The statement did not elab- 27 fighter jet went down while returning from a Access the Aerotech News web site
orate, nor did it offer any details on the type of training mission. It said, according to preliminary at www.aerotechnews.com
Raytheon and Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsid- helicopter involved. information, the crash had been caused by a tech- Submissions for upcoming events,
iary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. have nical malfunction, but wouldn’t elaborate pending air shows and museums should be ad-
entered into a new Strategic Sourcing Agreement. The UAE, one of the best-equipped militaries an official probe. dressed to Web Updates, 456 E. Ave.
in the region, is part of a Saudi-led coalition now K-4, Suite 8, Lancaster CA 93535
Under the SSA, Aerojet Rocketdyne will act battling Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their The Russian Knights aerobatic squadron identi- For questions concerning the web site,
as a principal and long-term supplier of its legacy allies in Yemen. It is also part of the U.S.-led co- fied the pilot on its Facebook page as Maj. Sergei contact the webmaster at webmaster@
portfolio of propulsion systems and energetics alition fighting the Islamic State group in Syria Yeremenko. aerotechnews.com.
products for key weapons programs. and Iraq.
Russian TV stations broadcast images of the Where you can get
“This landmark agreement is an important In May, the UAE said another military air crash wreckage scattered around a forest and a plume Aerotech News and Review
step forward in collaboration between industry over water killed two on board during a training of black smoke rising over the trees. For information on Aerotech dis-
partners and the U.S. government to achieve the exercise. AP tribution, call Chris Ramos, Circula-
objectives of Better Buying Power 3.0,” said Ray- According to news reports, the plane crashed tion Manager, at (661) 949-7293 or
theon Missile Systems President Dr. Taylor W. South Carolina Air National Guard resumes while returning to its base in Kubinka, west of e-mail delivery@aerotechnews.com.
Lawrence. “To realize the benefits of this agree- flying Moscow, after a group demonstration flight mark-
ment, industry and the U.S. Government must al- ing the opening of a monument to airmen near Aerotech News and Review is published
ter their historic way of doing business – that will The South Carolina Air National Guard has Moscow. The Interfax news agency said the plane every Friday serving the aerospace and
result in significant taxpayer savings.” resumed flight operations less than a week after defense industry of Southern Califor-
See BRIEFS, Page 4 nia, Nevada and Arizona. News and ad
Viewpoint copy deadline is noon on the Tuesday
prior to publication. The publisher as-
Why we need an A-10 / F-35 fly-off sumes no responsibility for error in ads
by U.S. Representative Martha McSally in the House to fully fund the remaining A-10s and prohibit any funds to be other than space used.
House Committee on Armed Services used to retire or plan to retire the current fleet.
Your comments are welcomed and
The saying “putting the cart before the horse” surely pre-dates the inven- In addition, in this year’s defense authorization bill, I successfully advo- encouraged. Write to the address below.
tion of flight, yet it couldn’t be more accurate to describe the Air Force’s cated for inclusion of a provision mandating a fly-off between the F-35 and
shifting and flawed arguments for retiring the A-10 well ahead of schedule, A-10 before one more A-10 can be retired. This legislation, which included • Publisher .........................Paul Kinison
and before we have a proven, tested replacement. my provision, passed the House Armed Services Committee on a 60-2 vote, • Business Manager.............Lisa Kinison
and passed the House with strong bipartisan support. I also worked with • Editor..............................Stuart Ibberson
As an airman, I am concerned about our ability to ensure air superiority senators to ensure that the Senate version of the bill included similar fly-off • National Advertising
as threats increase globally and our capability and numerical advantages language.
steadily recede. Manager ..........................Paul Kinison
In the House’s version of the defense bill, we specifically outline what
We desperately need a fifth-generation fighter like the F-35 to provide air capabilities the Air Force must test in an A-10/F-35 fly-off. For example, Aerotech News and Review
superiority and guarantee access to targets anywhere in the world. However, the testing must demonstrate how the two aircraft can perform missions
the Pentagon’s backward plan to replace the A-10 and its critical missions in realistic combat settings, such as when pilots are required to visually 456 E. Ave. K-4, Suite 8
with the F-35 — before we even know if the F-35 can perform them — risks identify enemy and friendly forces in close proximity, both during the day Lancaster, CA 93535
losing these vital capabilities permanently and puts the lives of American and at night. It must include armored targets, scenarios requiring continuous
troops in danger. weapons delivery, comparisons of extended time over target, survivability e-mail: editor@aerotechnews.com
from simulated direct hits, and low-altitude employment, including “shows Visit our web site at www.aerotechnews.com
The A-10 is uniquely designed for life-saving missions such as close-air of force” and strafe.
support and combat search and rescue. The former protects troops in harm’s June 17, 2016
way while the latter involves rescuing downed pilots or other isolated per- In addition, CSAR missions specifically need to test the critical rescue
sonnel from enemy territory before they become prisoners of war. mission commander role that A-10s fill today, which includes locating and
protecting the isolated personnel while coordinating all aspects of a poten-
The Pentagon’s confusing and inconsistent statements about the future tially complex CSAR mission.
of CAS and CSAR raise questions about how serious leadership is about
preserving these missions. The Defense Department budget, released in Feb- The language requires the fly-off to happen as part of the operational
ruary, begins replacing the A-10 with the F-35 on a squadron by squadron testing and evaluation of the F-35A. After the test results are delivered to
basis starting in fiscal 2018, just a little more than a year from now. Yet, in Congress, the secretary of the Air Force must report on the risks of replacing
contradiction to that plan, Gen. Mark Welsh, Air Force chief of staff, said the A-10 CAS and CSAR missions with the F-35 before any moves can be
March 3 that the mission capability of the A-10 would not be replaced by the made to mothball another Warthog.
F-35, but with the F-16 and F-15E. All of this becomes moot when consider-
ing that the Pentagon plans to eventually replace all our remaining legacy Right now, the A-10 is deployed to four theaters — in the fight against
air-to-ground fighter planes — the A-10, F-16 and F-15E — with the F-35. ISIS, in Europe as a response to Russian aggression, along the Demilitarized
Zone in South Korea, and in the Philippines — showing the high demand
Before we send a crucial mission capability to the boneyard, we must for its abilities.
ensure we can replace it. That’s why I’ve fought to make the A-10’s retire-
ment condition-based, not time-based. With American lives at stake, we don’t have room for error. We must base
our decisions about critical life-saving missions on assessments of capabili-
Four A-10 squadrons have been mothballed in the past four years, and the ties and risks, not speculation.
nine remaining warfighting squadrons, of which only four are active duty,
have less aircraft than before. Over the previous two years, I led the fight Editor’s note: This editorial first appeared in Air Force Times.

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