Hamas military warns international airlines of more airstrikes

The Hamas military warned of further rocket attacks on Israel's strategic interests, including Ben Gurion airport east of Tel Aviv, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding that an Israeli airstrike in Gaza had failed to kill its commander, Mohammed Deif.

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas' military wing, cautioned international airlines against flying into Israel starting Thursday, suggesting hostilities may continue. Earlier in the conflict, airlines suspended their flights into Israel after a rocket landed in a town near Israel's main international airport.

Israel has not formally commented on the strike but local media quoted an anonymous official as saying it was meant to hit Deif.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, told the group's TV station Al-Aqsa that Deif "wasn't even in the location when they bombed it."

Twenty-one people were wounded in a separate airstrike that hit the building that houses Al-Aqsa TV, said al-Kidra, of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Air raid sirens wailed in southern Israeli cities Wednesday morning warning of incoming rockets from Gaza. There were no reports of injuries, though a piece of a rocket that was intercepted near Tel Aviv fell on a busy road on Tuesday night.

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The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is still going strong at 60

The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules reaches another major milestone on August 23 marking the 60th anniversary of its first flight at Burbank, California, in 1954.

The company has issued this statement:

To honor this historic C-130 anniversary, Lockheed Martin invites members of the worldwide Hercules community to share their C-130 memories, experiences, photos and videos. From Aug. 18 through Sept. 30, stories can be shared through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube. Stories will be collected on a Lockheed Martin-sponsored website and shared with page viewers. To ensure stories are included on this site, the hashtag “#herc60″ must be included within each post. Submissions also can be emailed to c-130-communications.gr-aero@lmco.com and they will be manually posted on the anniversary site.

In addition, special videos, photos and features saluting the C-130 will be posted daily to Lockheed Martin’s corporate webpage, Code One Magazine, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube accounts throughout the week of Aug. 18-23.

Since its debut, the C-130 Hercules has exhibited a combination of rugged tenacity, unmatched flexibility and continuous innovation that continue to make it the global airlifter choice. The C-130 has the longest, continuous military aircraft production run in history and is one of the top three longest, continuous aircraft production lines of any type.

The aircraft is widely considered as the world’s most proven workhorse. To date, more than 2,500 C-130s have been ordered and/or delivered to 63 nations. The C-130 operates out of 70 countries and has been produced in more than 70 variants. All of the C-130’s production models have been built at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Marietta facility.

“In its first six decades, the C-130 shaped aviation history, redefined industry standards and exhibited flexibility that other aircraft have yet to match,” said George Shultz, Lockheed Martin vice president and general manager, C-130 Programs. “The C-130 remains the world’s most proven airlifter because of its ability to adapt, remain relevant and deliver results no matter the mission. As we celebrate the Hercules, we want to thank the people who designed, and now build, deliver, fly, maintain and sustain it. It’s their contributions that have kept the global C-130 fleet flying and will continue to do so for decades to come.”

The Hercules has been everywhere and is known for its ability to tackle any mission, anywhere, at any time. Aircrews have flown it to both poles, landed or airdropped military supplies to combat hot spots and performed countless relief operations around the globe. From the highest air strips in the Himalayas to landing on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, the C-130 regularly – and proudly – defies expectations.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 113,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2013 were $45.4 billion.

The C-130 is mainly a military transport aircraft. However several airlines have operated the civilian version. Of course the civilian version, the current Lockheed 382G (L-100-30), remains a viable and tough airline transport to this day in many remote parts of the world. Even passenger carriers like Delta Air Lines have operated the Hercules on dedicated cargo routes. An earlier model, the pictured Lockheed 382E-6C Hercules (L-100-20) N9259R (msn 4176), is seen at the Atlanta base on October 3, 1969. This aircraft was delivered on October 14, 1966. Delta replaced its Curtiss C-46 freighters with this newer turboprop freighter. The dedicated freighter service was short-lived.

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C-130 Airlifter: The Most Successful Military Aircraft Ever

Later this year, the U.S. Air Force will do something unprecedented. It will sign a contract to purchase more tactical airlifters from a program that first began turning out planes 60 years ago. The latest version of the plane is called the C-130J Super Hercules, and if you measure success in the military aircraft business by how many users a plane has, how many missions it performs, or how long it has been in continuous production, then Hercules is hands down the most successful military aircraft ever. This month marks the 60th anniversary of the plane’s first flight on August 23, 1954.

How long ago was that? Most of the music being sold in the U.S. back then consisted of 78 R.P.M. records. A majority of residential phones were on “party lines,” meaning your neighbor could listen in on your calls. There were only three television networks that mattered, and they broadcast exclusively in black-and-white. Microwave ovens cost thousands of dollars — tens of thousands in today’s dollars — and you couldn’t get a deal on one at WalMart because WalMart didn’t exist. The Worldwide Web would not appear for another 40 years.

The idea that an Air Force contract awarded during the Truman Administration — on July 2, 1951 — could lead to a plane that not only is still in production today, but in high demand around the world, is simply incredible. But it’s true: there are 2,000 C-130s of various vintages and configurations currently in use, and prime-contractor Lockheed Martin LMT +0.7% keeps finding new uses for the plane (the latest versions are for maritime patrol and commercial operations). All of the U.S. armed forces including the Coast Guard depend on Hercules, as do the vast majority of militaries in the Western Hemisphere, Southeast Asia, Western Europe and Arabia.

Two things have made Hercules unique. First, it was conceived as a rugged, versatile airlifter that could meet the transport needs of diverse users by landing almost anywhere with 20 tons of cargo. Second, the Air Force and Lockheed continuously invested in new technology to improve the plane’s performance for six straight decades. So over time it became more than just a mover of people and things — it became an aerial refueler for the Marine Corps, a covert insertion/extraction asset for Air Force special operators, a search-and-rescue plane for the Coast Guard (as featured in The Perfect Storm), a gunship for supporting soldiers on the ground, and a hurricane hunter for the Weather Service.

Seriously, the plane seems capable of doing almost anything. It resupplies bases in Antarctica using skis as landing gear. It conducts harrowing medical evacuations in the hot and dusty climate of Afghanistan. It flies at treetop level to drop flame retardants on forest fires in national parks. It has even been used to deliver “shock and awe” munitions against the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein — weapons so big that they wouldn’t fit on the planes in the U.S. bomber fleet. All of these missions have been accomplished while sustaining one of the lowest accident rates of any U.S. military aircraft.

The latest version of the C-130, the Super Hercules or “J” variant, is emblematic of the continuous improvement philosophy that has made the airframe so successful. With a cruising speed of 400 miles per hour and an unrefueled reach sufficient to fly from New York to San Francisco, Super Hercules provides a 40% gain in range over previous variants, a 20% gain in maximum speed, and needs only 60% of the runway distance to get airborne. It climbs faster and flies higher — even though superficially it looks very much like those earlier planes. The most obvious external difference is the use of new Allison engines with six all-composite blades per engine, a key factor in enhancing the plane’s performance and fuel efficiency.

Super Hercules also is equipped with integrated defensive countermeasures, the latest navigational aids, state-of-the-art displays, and a host of other technological upgrades. But therein lies an important management question for the Air Force. Most of the 400+ C-130s in its fleet lack the sophistication of the Super Hercules, and even with the 71 additional “J” variants the service plans to procure over the period 2015-2020, it will be a long time before the fleet is fully recapitalized. So what should the service do to keep its aging Hercules fleet airworthy as flight standards for civil air space become more demanding? In general, the oldest planes are the ones most likely to be operating in U.S. skies, because they belong to Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units that have been assigned domestic missions such as disaster relief.

The service had planned to upgrade on-board electronic systems with a “C-130 Avionics Modernization Program” when the new millennium dawned, but as often happens when old aircraft are torn open, that proved to be harder than expected. So now it wants to fund a less costly effort that will just keep the legacy fleet safe to fly until it can be replaced by the newer Super Hercules. Some members of Congress don’t like that idea, because they fear foregoing the existing upgrade program will endanger reserve units in or near their districts. However, the oldest planes in those units are becoming too decrepit to fly, and the C-130 AMP program doesn’t address any of the top-ten drivers of maintenance costs in the legacy fleet.

In fact, some studies indicate that the current upgrade program would only improve mission readiness by a paltry 1% — at a cost of over $10 million per plane. So given budget constraints, the Air Force has concluded it needs to scale back the upgrades and forge ahead with buying replacement aircraft. Studies by the Institute for Defense Analysis and Government Accountability Office — federally funded think tanks — have confirmed the Air Force’s view that cheaper solutions to the electronic needs of the legacy fleet are available. That doesn’t seem to have fazed some legislators, though, who seem more concerned about jobs in their districts than the military utility of the planes. There is a legislative proposal pending to block changes in the AMP effort.

This seems to be a typical example of how narrow-gauge political agendas interfere with military modernization and readiness. The C-130 didn’t become the most successful military aircraft in history as a result of congressional micro-management. It remained relevant over six decades because the Air Force had the resources and discretion to keep its tactical airlift fleet current. Spending billions of dollars to patch up aging aircraft when a low-cost, more capable replacement is readily available makes no operational sense — especially at a time when defense spending is capped by law. If Congress wants to lift the caps, that’s another matter; but if it limits both the availability of funds and the efficiency with which funds can be spent, it will undermine the value of a legendary aircraft.

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400 Military Drone Crashes Since 2001

More than 400 large U.S. military drones have crashed in major accidents around the world since 2001, a record of calamity that exposes the potential dangers of throwing open American skies to drone traffic, according to a year-long Washington Post investigation. Since the outbreak of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, military drones have malfunctioned in myriad ways, plummeting from the sky because of mechanical breakdowns, human error, bad weather and other reasons, according to more than 50,000 pages of accident investigation reports and other records obtained by The Post under the Freedom of Information Act.

Defense Department officials said they are confident in the reliability of their drones. Most of the crashes occurred in war, they emphasized, under harsh conditions unlikely to be replicated in the United States. Military statistics show the vast majority of flights go smoothly and that mishap rates have steadily declined over the past decade. Officials acknowledge, however, that drones will never be as safe as commercial jetliners. The Post’s analysis of accident records shows that the military and drone manufacturers have yet to overcome some fundamental safety hurdles: 

1) A limited ability to detect and avoid trouble. Cameras and high-tech sensors on a drone cannot fully replace a pilot’s eyes and ears and nose in the cockpit. 

2) Pilot error. Despite popular peception, flying a drone is trickier than playing a video game. 

3) Persistent mechanical defects. Some drones were designed without backup safety features and rushed to war without extensive testing. 

4) Unreliable communications links. Drones are dependent on wireless connections that can be fragile. Records show that links were disrupted or lost in more than a quarter of the worst crashes.

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Two Military Jets Down, Pilots Safe

This week has seen two seen two military jet crashes, fortunately with no serious injuries. The first, a Marine AV-8B Harrier, impacted in a residential neighborhood in Imperial, California, at 4:20 PDT on Wednesday, destroying three homes and leading to the evacuation of eight others. The pilot ejected safely and was hospitalized for evaluation. The ejection may have been made at low altitude as at least one person reported watching the pilot exit the aircraft. In the second accident, a Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet went down Wednesday at about 10:00 pm PDT during approach for landing on the carrier Carl Vinson during predeployment training off the coast of southern California. The pilot ejected and was rescued from the water. The jet was part of Strike Fighter Squadron 81, based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

Investigations into both crashes are underway. The Harrier, a part of the Third Marine Air Wing, was based in Yuma, Arizona and was the second non-fatal crash of a Harrier from the base in a month.CNN reports that a witness to the Harrier crash in Imperial, Shaun Penniman, said, “I heard a pop and a whistle. And right when I looked up is when I saw the pilot eject.”

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Retired military pilots did Indy 500 flyover

I am writing in response to the letter, “Indy 500 flyover jet was inappropriate choice”.

For those who have wondered about the jet team that did the flyover, wondered why the military didn’t do it, or even thought that the team was “not American,” here are some facts:

I am the logistics coordinator for the Black Diamond Jet Team and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force (retired after 22 years of service), and I can assure you that we are a privately owned, American jet demonstration team based in Florida. The pilot leading the flight is a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who flew F-15s and F-4s. The slot position was flown by a retired Navy captain who held command at different times of every F-14 squadron within the Navy, and just happens to have the most flying hours in an F-14 Tomcat than any person alive.

The military can’t support everything, especially when supporting air shows and other events around the country during this time of the year. Would you rather the U.S. military spend tens of thousands of dollars to support a flyover for a race, or disperse that money where it is truly needed?

Carl Falcione

Lakeland, Fla.

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Boeing-Built Fighter Jets Could Launch US Military Satellites Into Space

And you thought space launches couldn't get any cooler: The next generation of small satellites may blast into orbit from the belly of a fighter jet.

The United States military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) gave Boeing a $30.6 million contract last month to develop a 24-foot (7.3-meter) launch vehicle that would attach to the bottom of an F-15E Strike Eagle.  

The concept calls for the jet to drop this vehicle when it reaches an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), at which point the craft's rocket engines would kick on, carrying onboard satellites into orbit.

This launch system could slash the cost of launching small satellites — those weighing up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) — by 66 percent if all goes well, Boeing officials said.

The fighter-jet system would not only be a cheaper approach than the usual throwaway rocket stages, officials added, but also would be a quicker way to send satellites into orbit. The United States military would not need to wait around for a launch vehicle to be available or a launch window to open.

"We developed a cost-effective design by moving the engines forward on the launch vehicle," Steve Johnston, Boeing's director of advanced space exploration, said in a statement. "With our design, the first and second stages are powered by the same engines, reducing weight and complexity."

DARPA also wants to reduce the cost of access to space for much bigger payloads. The agency's Experimental Spaceplane project, or XS-1, aims to develop a vehicle capable of launching 3,000- to 5,000-lb (1,361 to 2,268 kg) payloads to orbit for less than $5 million per flight.

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