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Restructuring the Military: 2009 Edition

BySteeljawscribe

… (T)his budget represents an opportunity; one of those rare chances to match virtue to necessity, to critically and ruthlessly separate appetites from real requirements, those things that are desirable in a perfect world from those things that are truly needed in light of the threats America faces and the missions we are likely to…

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China to Sell 4th Gen. Fighters to Iran

BySteeljawscribe

    Interesting development noted below in light of discussions about calling out China (or not) in context of new Maritime Strategy Iran buys (sic) Israeli fighter jets   Iran has signed a contract with China for the delivery of two squadrons of J-10 fighter planes. The design was developed by Israel for its Air Force…

Reflections on the E-2 Hawkeye’s 50th Anniversary
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Reflections on the E-2 Hawkeye’s 50th Anniversary

BySteeljawscribe

This Thursday, 21 October 2010, marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the first purpose built AEW aircraft, the E-2 Hawkeye (actually, it was the YW2F-1).  Designed around the radar, rather than adapting an existing airframe, the Hawkeye symbolized function over form – from the 24ft “rotodome” prominently perched over the fuselage, to…

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The E-2 Hawkeye At Fifty

BySteeljawscribe

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the E-2 Hawkeye’s entry into Fleet operations.  Over the course of those fifty-years the aircraft has radically changed and grown in capabilities and mission focus, while visually remaining much the same as the first E-2A .  From Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq,  it has been a part…

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Красная звезда среда – Red Star Wednesday

BySteeljawscribe

Several items on the docket today: If at first you don’t succeed… From Ria Novosti comes word the much troubled Bulava SLBM will be tested five times in the coming year: Despite five failures in 10 trials, Russia’s Defense Ministry is planning to complete a series of Bulava tests and put the ICBM into service by…

Flightdeck Friday: Of Oxcarts and Old School Ways
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Flightdeck Friday: Of Oxcarts and Old School Ways

BySteeljawscribe

Sometime in April 1958, Lockheed first undertook the study of a replacement for the U-2.  Unlike the U-2, this would be an aircraft able to cruise at Mach 3, with a range of over 4,000 nm at altitudes exceeding 90,000 ft.  It would also have an RCS (radar cross section) smaller than the U-2 and…