Flightdeck Friday – Russian Edition (MAKS 2007)

…or if you prefer – Полетная палуба в пятницу – российский Выпуск  Today’s edition will actually be a couple of installments, all stemming from news out o f MAKS 2007, the Russian Air Show and Trade Fair underway outside of Moscow this week.  First item up – MiG’s UCAV, just revealed yesterday: Video of the…

Reflections: Smuggler’s Blues (VII) – The Squadron CO

(Part V here) Steeljaw 602 – airborne 270 nm East of Curacao “Still tracking XO” The report came from the RO (Radar Operator) who sat to the XO’s right in the back of the E-2C. Normally there would be a full complement of three NFO’s in the CIC compartment and all three would be busily engaged…

Reflections: Smuggler’s Blues (VI) – The Pilot

(Part IV) YV-411, airborne over Venezuela. The sky was growing a deeper shade of blackish-blue as the South American evening crawled slowly along. The shock of having the business end of a 9mm pointed at his head had begun to subside as he went about the business of flying the Beechcraft. Consulting the hand-held GPS that accompanied…

More on the Bear Coming out of Hibernation…

The Kommersant notes: "Several experts note that such moves ricochet the U.S. administration which has concentrated too heavily on al-Qaida and Iran and overlooked “the Russian threat.” This is an opinion of an unnamed former White House staffer, who served Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr. “My great fear is that I wake up one…

Remembering Greyhawks

30 November 2007 Update:  Navy reports finding remains of LT Betton.  LT Ryan K. Betton, USN:  Ryan “Tater” Betton was assigned to VAW-120, following a fleet tour with the Liberty Bells of VAW-115, homeported in Japan and assigned to CVW-15 on the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63).  Ryan, an Ann Arbor, Michigan native and current resident…

Search Called-off for Missing VAW-120 Crew-UPDATED 17 Aug 07

  NORFOLK — The Navy gave up its hunt for three missing aviators this afternoon and declared them deceased after searching the ocean off North Carolina for them since Wednesday night. Navy spokesman Mike Maus said the Navy concluded there was no chance the three had survived the crash of their E-2C Hawkeye aircraft into…