Night Refueling Over Iraq

Came across this photo I liked and just wanted to share it as it's something you don't typically see. It's an F-16 from Joint Base Balad, Iraq getting refueled from a KC-135 during an Iraqi night sortie back on September 6. Not sure what town they're over in the picture but it's cool nonetheless.

(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon II)

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Laser JDAM Gets First Kill

The two main types of precision guided bombs in the US arsenal today are guided by either GPS or lasers. But what if there was a way to combine the two on one bomb? That's exactly what the USAF did when it developed the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition. The GBU-54 is essentially a 500-lb dummy bomb with a strap-on GPS guided tail and a laser guidance sight mounted to the tip. On August 12th this new munition scored its first kill when an F-16 from the 77th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Balad Air Base destroyed a "moving enemy vehicle in the Diyala province to support a combined Iraqi army and U.S. Marine operation." An urgent operational need for this type of munition was identified in 2007 and took only 17 months of testing and development before it was in theater for deployment. Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, the U.S. Air Forces Central commander and U.S. Central Commands Combined Force Air Component commander said, "The first combat employment of this weapon is the validation of the exacting hard work of an entire team of professionals who developed, tested and fielded this weapon on an extremely short timeline, based on an urgent needs request we established in the combat zone." While a regular GPS JDAM is perfect for hitting stationary targets, the new Laser JDAM allows the Air Force to strike mobile ground targets as well. This is especially crucial in the fight against VBIEDs. The footage from this engagement is allegedly depicted below.

[AF Link]

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PointNiner Olympic Edition: Diver Trades Swim Suit For Flight Suit

In 2004 Justin Dumais was at the Olympic Games in Athens diving from 3 meters into the water. Now he is diving from 20,000 feet while dropping precision weapons onto targets. The former Olympian used to dive with his brother Troy in the men's synchronized three-meter springboard diving event. Troy is competing again in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics, but Justin has left the diving world for the dog-fighting world and flying F-16s for the South Carolina Air National Guard's 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Columbia, S.C. 1st Lt. Dumais is currently attending the Night Systems Training Course at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona while his brother and former partner is participating in an individual diving event in China. While Dumais misses diving and would have loved to compete in the Olympics with his brother again, he is definitely happy with his current gig and believes his diving experiences prepared him for being a Viper driver. "I spent my entire life getting ready for seven seconds of competition," he said. "That is pretty much what we do everyday here flying F-16s. You never know when you will be called to go do your job. Generally, it is in a split second when you need to pickle off a bomb or strafe a target. [Diving] definitely lends itself to what I'm doing now."

I can already envision the next crossover headline: Stripper Trades G-String For G-Suit

[AF Link]

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F-16 Encounter: Redux (now with video & audio)

Remember the PointNiner post from March about two pilots who complained about getting harassed by an F-16? . . . . I'll take that as a no. Well, the FAA has released the audio tapes and the radar playback of that incident as seen from a controllers point of view at Albuquerque Center. To quickly bring you back up to speed, an F-16 from Luke AFB intercepts a Pilatus PC-12 in a Military Operations Area (MOA) in Arizona. When the pilot of the PC-12 complains to the controller, another pilot, in a Beechcraft Premier says he was also intercepted. At one point, the F-16 was allegedly only 10 feet away from the PC-12. The AOPA jumped all over this incident when it happened and was the one who was able to procure the video from the FAA. Pete Lehmann, AOPA manager of air traffic services comments “everyone involved agrees that we must work together to find ways to safely share airspace and prevent similar incidents in the future.” When I first heard about this incident several months ago, I didn't think much of it. Then I watched this video. That F-16 looks like he is deliberately pouncing on that PC-12. I think the Air Force owes those pilots at least a new set of clean underwear.

(via AOPA)

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F-16 EXTREMELY low pass

WARNING: Do not try this at home!

This is what happens when you spend too much time in the desert. Not only low, but quite close to the cameraman and his buddies.

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How to nearly kill yourself in a F-16

Saw this one on Military.com today. Not really sure when this happened, but the video does give you a nice little introduction to the incident and there's a narration by the pilot himself. This is one lucky joystick jockey who probably had to wash out his G-suit after this incident.

Oh yeah, if you actually listen to the background music, you'll find that it's pretty amusing as well.

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F-16 friendly fire incident...in Utah!

This is really the type of story you'd expect to hear about in Iraq or Afghanistan, not Utah. An F-16 from Hill AFB in Utah was involved in a friendly fire incident when the pilot opened fire on an SUV with two Army soldiers in it during a night training mission in the Utah Test and Training Range according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The incident, which occurred on April 8, happened while the F-16 pilot was practicing attacks on ground targets. It is common practice for the Air Force to leave abandoned vehicles and old military equipment on the range for Viper drivers to shoot/fire missiles/drop bombs on. The two Army soldiers received minor injuries during bailout of their Avis rental SUV (which subsequently crashed) while the F-16 strafed it with its 20 mm cannon. An investigation by the 388th Fighter Wing is underway to ascertain whether the soldiers were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or if the pilot fired upon the wrong vehicle. The soldiers are a part of a Joint Terminal Attack Control unit from Fort Lewis, WA who were supposed to be directing aircraft fire to ground targets. The best part of this story is that the two Army soldiers combat duties include working to prevent "friendly fire" mishaps. Whoops.

This F-16 unit has now entered the pool with the Oklahoma ANG F-16 unit, who bombs Tulsa apartment complexes, in the running for the annual FUBAR cluster championship.

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Israeli F-16 pilot's greatest threat not Iranian air defenses, but cancer

The Israeli Air Force has grounded its entire fleet of 62 Lockheed Martin F-16I Sufas after it discovered formaldehyde in the cockpit. Known to cause cancer at certain concentrations, it is unclear as to how the formaldehyde, a by-product of jet exhaust, is entering the cockpit. Lockheed Martin officials are working closely with the IAF and have a suspicion that the chemical may be entering the cockpit through the air conditioning system. The IAF did not ground its fleet of F-16C/Ds and this problem has not been reported by any other operator of the aircraft. It does,however, have many IAF pilots concerned and rightly so.

Oklahoma Air National Guard bombs Tulsa apartment complex

It is easily understandable why Jeremy Isbell of Tulsa, Oklahoma was a little confused as to why a 25 lb Air Force bomb ended up in his apartment last night. After returning home that night from being out with his wife, he discovered that a BDU-33 practice bomb had ended up in his bathroom after falling errantly from an Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16. A spokesman from the 138th Fighter Wing out of the Tulsa Airport Air Guard Station indicated that the inert device was thought to have been released over a test range in Kansas during a routine training mission, but apparently dislodged itself on departure from the airport. The Air National Guard, FBI, and ATF are all investigating this one. I wonder if he gets to keep it. That would be a cool souvenir.