Nato Aircraft Transponders Off

Nato Aircraft Transponders Off - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Moscow offered to fly its jets over the Baltic region with their transponders engaged, an apparent concession to NATO powers who accuse Russia's air force of endangering aviation by turning off the devices that allow them to be detected by ground radar.

The proposal comes after two years of several near misses between Western planes, both civilian and military, and Russian jets in the skies above the Baltics that NATO has patrolled since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Nato Aircraft Transponders Off

They did it all at once a couple of hours before the announcement. The fact that some of them are back up now doesn't cancel the message they sent. NATO knew the announcement about mobilization was coming and sent a pretty clear message by doing this.

They have been further strained by a dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which is opposed by the US. Mr. Blinken has warned that any companies involved in the project risk US sanctions.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called last week for Russia to resume dialogue in the form of the Nato-Russia Council, which has not met since 2019. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Nato was unable to get rid of the habit of seeing Russia as

a "threat from the East". Jens Stoltenberg's call last week was backed up by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, when he proposed a "relationship with Russia that is at least predictable and stable".

Putin agreed to Wednesday's meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, only the second since mid-2014, while also recently allowing a U.N. resolution authorizing the EU to intercept arms shipments to Libya in the Mediterranean. Putin has spoken by telephone U.S.

President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland in recent days. According to Nato, while the Russian military aircraft never entered its member states' airspace, they did not transmit transponder codes, thus posing a potential risk to civilian flights.

The alliance said the interceptions involved six groups of Russian planes: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the proposal but said that all jets under NATO command already flew with their transponders on. "Transponders are important, but they are only one element of a broader picture related to air safety.

The basic thing is safe behavior, to fly in a safe and professional way," Stoltenberg said. Meanwhile, a 2020 ceasefire in Ukraine, which is not a member of Nato, has come under strain with both sides blaming each other for the rise in violence.

Ukraine's commander in chief, Ruslan Khomchak, has accused Russia of pursuing an "aggressive policy" and sending Russian troops close to Ukrainian borders. The transponders plan, which was raised by Putin during a visit to Finland this month, was put to NATO ambassadors both by Russia's envoy and generals at the meeting at NATO headquarters.

Diplomats said there was no detailed discussion. In a sign of the continued tensions between Russia and the West, Grushko reiterated Moscow's position that NATO's biggest modernization since the end of the Cold War is putting Europe's security at risk.

NATO denies that, saying its military build-up is a proportionate response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. It also comes after several gestures by Russian President Vladimir Putin that seem to aim at defusing East-West tensions despite NATO's summit last weekend in Warsaw.

There, the alliance agreed to deploy a multinational force to the Baltics and Poland and to take over a U.S.-built missile shield that Russia sees as hostile. "The message was very clear. There is no reason for NATO to do what it is doing ... The direction in which NATO is moving in military terms is very worrisome," Grushko said.

"It takes us back to the Cold War," he said.

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Nighthawk Aircraft

Nighthawk Aircraft - Streamlined management by Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, combined breakthrough stealth technology with concurrent development and production to rapidly field the aircraft. The F-117A program has demonstrated that a stealth aircraft can be designed for reliability and maintainability.

The aircraft maintenance statistics are comparable to other tactical fighters of similar complexity. Logistically supported by Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, Calif., the F-117A is kept at the forefront of technology through a planned weapon system improvement program located

Nighthawk Aircraft

at USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale, Calif. The Air Force thinking today is that it will phase out the Nighthawks after 2018. IRSTs are totally passive sensors and an aircraft's ability to negate radar detection through stealth technology has zero effect on them.

F-A Nighthawk

You can read all about advanced IRSTs from the best source around in this past feature of ours. Although stealthy aircraft, including the F-22, F-117, and F-35, all have measures built into their designs to help reduce their infrared signature, this is a very tough proposition with high-performance fighters, especially when it comes to

hiding from increasingly advanced IRSTs that are fully integrated into an aircraft's combat system and networked with other aircraft. The images of the mirror-finished F-117 come to us from a photographer who was lucky enough to stumble upon a pair of the stealth attack jets in mid-January as they were flying near Eureka Dunes in the Saline Military Operating Area (MOA)

, which lies on the California side of the border with Nevada. The mirrored jet had a standard black-painted wingman and they made multiple passes overhead and the black jet did some low-level work through the area.

The F-35, on the other hand, has never been seen in such a scheme. The fact that the aircraft in question is an F-35C from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (VX-9), one of the Navy's major test units out of Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, means this coating program is in

some ways a joint operation, or at least both services are testing it independently. This would make sense as we first saw this treatment on a Model 401 'Son of Ares' test jet flying over NAWS China Lake.

Still, considering that we have not seen a real foreign adversary aircraft wearing a similar finish, along with the statement from the USAF and the fact that so many types of aircraft are wearing it now in the test environment, points to the real possibility that this

is being developed for fielding on operational U.S. aircraft. The caveat here is that there may be a program an adversary has underway for a similar coating and testing is occurring to see how to counter it and possibly how to adopt it ourselves.

In December 2001, TRW and Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Company completed a series of successful F-117 flight tests evaluating the ability for commercial off the shelf (COTS) technology combined with COTS emulation technology to execute the existing F-117 Operational

Flight Plan (OFP). TRW's Reconfigurable Processor for Legacy Applications Code Execution (RePLACE) emulates legacy hardware on more modern hardware, allowing that modern hardware to run legacy applications without changes. This technology offers the potential for low-cost, low-risk, incremental upgrades to aircraft processing

power. In the F-117 demonstrations, the technology performed flawlessly, requiring no updates, generating no anomalies, and surprising the evaluators. The stealth fighter attacked the most heavily fortified targets during Desert Storm (January-February 1991), and it was the only one

coalition jet allowed to strike targets inside Baghdad's city limits. The F-117A, which normally packs a payload of two 2,000-pounds GBU-27 laser-guided bombs, destroyed and crippled Iraqi electrical power stations, military headquarters, communications sites, air defense operation centers, airfields, ammo bunkers, and chemical,

biological and nuclear weapons plants. The USAF and Navy are just now in the process of fielding their first advanced IRSTs in years, initiatives that have, and continue to, require a lot of testing and tactics development work.

This includes flying all types of aircraft against the sensor in many conditions. The Air Force is even looking to procure an IRST-like capability for the F-22, which lacks any type of long-range infrared sensor. We have speculated as to this treatment's purpose before and the Air Force actually gave us a direct comment on it, although it was extremely vague.

But by most accounts, this material is thought to reduce the infrared signature of the aircraft from the frontal and side hemispheres. This would reduce the effectiveness of infrared search and track (IRST) systems, of which advanced types are proliferating around the globe and are present on most of the fighter aircraft peer adversaries are flying today.

Until this testing, the potential time-critical combat capabilities of the F-117 had not been explored. The target data technology works by allowing the aircraft to receive and transmit tactical information on targets or pop-up threats via satellite communication.

The fighter's ability to send and receive text and images enhances its combat flexibility yet does not compromise its stealth configuration. Although only 36 stealth fighters were deployed in Desert Storm and accounted for 2.5 percent of the total force of 1,900 fighters and

bombers, they flew more than a third of the bombing runs on the first day of the war. In all during Desert Storm, the stealth fighter conducted more than 1,250 sorties, dropped more than 2,000 tons of

bombs, and flew more than 6,900 hours. More than 3,000 antiaircraft guns and 60 surface-to-air missile batteries protected the city, but despite this seemingly impenetrable shield, the Nighthawks owned the skies over the city and, for that matter, the country.

The stealth fighter, which is coated with a secret, radar-absorbent material, operated over Iraq and Kuwait with impunity, and was unscathed by enemy guns. These shots were taken along the Sidewinder low-level route in Sequoia National Park in California.

After about 45 minutes of a very steep hike to get above the jets, and hours of waiting for a jet to fly through, this silver/chrome painted F-35C Lightning II assigned to the VX-9 "Vampires" greeted us with a pristine

low pass. My pops (who is also fascinated by aviation) and I were sitting on the mountain completely shocked as we knew we had seen something extremely new and rare. F-117 fighters deployed to the Gulf several times during the late

1990's to support U.S. attacks against Iraq designed to deprive Saddam Hussein of his Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programs and to force his compliance with the UN monitoring regime. F-117 fighters deployed to the Gulf during Operation Desert Fox to upgrade the strike force's

ability to attack high-value targets. But the 18 hour flight from the F-117s' home base to Kuwait meant that the operation was over before the F-117 aircraft arrived in the Gulf. The stealth fighter emerged from the classified world while

stationed at Tonapah Airfield with an announcement by the Pentagon in November 1988 and was first shown publicly at Nellis in April 1990. The 4450th TG was deactivated in October 1989, and was reactivated as the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Like the F-22, the F-35's radar-absorbent material coating plays a very important role in the aircraft's ability to drastically reduce the range at which radars — especially those associated with fire control — can detect and track them.

When we broke the Nellis-based 'mirrored Raptor' story, we noted that the finish is clearly quite unique, made up of a mosaic of small custom-fitted tiles in some places and large sheet-like areas in others, that act more as

a coating than a cladding. Recent work being done to test a mysterious metallic-looking coating on stealthy aircraft has expanded to the F-117 Nighthawk and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. New images of both types show examples wearing the exotic skin coating that can go from appearing mirror-like to a matte-like depending on the angle at which it is viewed.

In an effort to improve the combat effectiveness of the stealth fighter, test experts from the F-117 Combined Test Force at the Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., is working to expand what it brings to

the fight. On April 2 2002, developmental test experts in Palmdale teamed up with their operational counterparts from the Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., to complete the second phase of a demonstration project designed to provide the F-117 and its pilots with the ability to

receive and transmit mission and target data in real-time from the air. Phase one tests, completed in October of 1998, allowed a pilot to receive live-threat information and manually replan a mission from the cockpit. The second phase completed the test cycle by demonstrating

the transmission of real-time mission and target data out of the cockpit and into the hands of command and control forces on the ground. It's also important to note that IRSTs will play a major role in the services' unmanned air combat future, with multiple drones carrying IRSTs while linked together via datalink providing targeting information for manned and unmanned assets.

There is a secretive program underway that appears to focus on producing a stealthy drone for this role specifically and General Atomics' Avenger drones have been proving the concept during real exercises. The F-117A Nighthawk is the

world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. The unique design of the single-seat F-117A provides exceptional combat capabilities. About the size of an F-15 Eagle, the twin-engine aircraft is powered by two General Electric

F404 turbofan engines and has quadruple redundant fly-by-wire flight controls. Air refuelable, it supports worldwide commitments and additions to the deterrent strength of the U.S. military forces. The first F-117A was delivered in 1982, and the last delivery was

in the summer of 1990. The F-117A production decision was made in 1978 with a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, the "Skunk Works," in Burbank, Calif. The first flight was in 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision.

Lockheed-Martin delivered 59 stealth fighters to the Air Force between August 1982 and July 1990. Five additional test aircraft belong to the company. You can see in the photos above and the one below how the roundel marking on the wing literally disappears as the aircraft passes perpendicularly then reappears again.

It is actually transitioning from looking dark to light, almost becoming a negative of itself. Also, the nose markings are fully visible as is the VX-9 logo on the tail. Another photo we have examined from another photographer of this jet on the same day also shows this, with the entire aircraft looking polished from the quartering head-on aspect, but the logos showing through as dark outlines.

It's also possible that the logos were applied as part of this coating and act similar to it as a result. As you can see, the F-117 has its leading edges and upper fuselage and tails covered in a mirror-like coating very similar to the one seen on the F-22 that has been flying out of Nellis.

This is not the first time the F-117 has worn a similar exotic mirror-like skin. As we wrote in December, back in the early 1990s, a mirror-like metallic finish was tested on an F-117 under the SENIOR SPUD program.

That program looked at ways to significantly reduce the Nighthawk's infrared signature and was likely a progenitor of what we are seeing today. Now, nearly 30 years later, the 'Black Jet' is back in a silver skin again.

The general layout of the metallic coating on this F-35C is almost identical to what we have seen on the F-22, including the scalloped edges mid-way across the wing. These new images do show one thing new — that the coating appears to be translucent, allowing the markings on the jet to show through below the coating, but only from certain angles.

This makes sense considering how the coating goes from polished to matte to somewhat shiny looking depending on the aspect you are viewing it from. The FY2003 budget continues to fund the Single Configuration Fleet (SCF) effort to develop a single, optimized low observable

configuration for the F-117 fleet. Previously, the F117A fleet had two major radar absorbing material (RAM) coating configurations, costly and labor intensive panel access technology, and five leading edge configurations. The configuration developed for SCF features new

leading edge technologies, spray-on coatings, new sheet RAMs, and new panel access technologies. Standardizing the configuration will preserve radar cross-section performance, reduce maintenance requirements, and eliminate the separate procedures for each aircraft previously required. The SCF development contract was awarded in June

1996, and all development and flight testing completed March 1999. Conversion began late 1999, with first delivery early 2000. Conversion will run through FY 2006. While the U.S. The Air Force officially retired the F-117 nearly a decade and a half ago, examples continue to fly developmental and test missions, as well as fulfilling a stealthy adversary role.

The testing of new coatings has long been part of the Nighthawk's post-retirement activities. Now, after an F-22 began flying with a mirror-like coating out of Nellis Air Force Base last November, and Scaled Composites 'Son Of Ares' demonstrator aircraft also donned the metallic finish a year and a half prior, we can say for

certain that the F-117s have joined the metallic coating testing fray. The F-35, on the other hand, like the F-22, is a front-line platform. The fact that the Pentagon's other 5th generation fighter, and one from the Navy no less, is also wearing this treatment points to some interesting possibilities.

The coating could also be used to test new IRST or other sensor systems going into service. This alone made a lot of sense until the F-35 showed up with it on. Having both 5th generation fighters wear it, along with the F-117 and Son Of Ares, just to test sensors doesn't make all that much sense.

That is unless both are supporting IRST development for each service independently. We know the Navy and USAF IRST programs are largely compartmentalized even though they use the same base sensor technology, so this is a possibility.

Air Combat Command's only F-117A unit, the 4450th Tactical Group, achieved operational capability in October 1983. Since the F-117�s first Air Force flight in 1982, the aircraft has flown under different unit designations, including the 4450th Tactical Group and the 37th

Tactical Fighter Wing at Tonapah Test Range, NV; the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing, Nellis AFB, NV; the 410th Flight Test Squadron/410th Test Squadron, Palmdale, CA; and Detachment 1, Test Evaluation Group, also at Holloman, which falls under the 53rd Wing, Eglin AFB, FL.

F-117, also called Nighthawk, single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter-bomber built by the Lockheed Corporation (now part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation) for the U.S. Air Force. It was the first stealth aircraft—i.e., an aircraft designed entirely around the concept of evading detection by radar and other sensors.

After a difficult development period, during which several prototypes crashed during testing, the first operational craft was secretly delivered to the Air Force in 1982. The existence of the aircraft was officially acknowledged in 1988, and production ended in 1990 with the 59th plane.

There was only one operational variant, known as the F-117A. F-117s saw extensive combat use, from the incursion into Panama in 1989 through the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91 to the Iraq War of 2003–11. The only combat loss took place in 1999, during the Kosovo conflict.

The F-117 was retired in stages between 2006 and 2008. On January 22, 1997 Lockheed Martin delivered the first F-117A with the "RNIP-Plus"-navigation system from Honeywell after it had been overhauled in Palmdale (California). The F-117A now operates with

laser gyroscopes and a GPS receiver, giving the aircraft a much higher precision than the inertial platforms did, which were previously used and which could show deviations of several hundred meters during a flight. Apart from this, the old system was more expensive

maintain. It's also possible that the fact that 4th generation fighters without stealth technology, or in which it was not a primary driver of their design, are already readily detectable by radar, so reducing their infrared signature is not as much of a priority.

The F-117A first saw action in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause in Panama. Two F-117A fighters targeted the field outside the Panamanian Defense Forces barracks at Rio Hato with BLU-109 2,000 lb. bombs to stun and disorient the troops quartered in those barracks

in preparation for an assault by US Army Rangers. Technical failures and communications mixups caused the pilots to miss their targets, dropping the bombs farther away from the barracks than intended. The shots below that show the VX-9 F-35C in the treatment were taken by aviation photographer Elijah Delgadillo, who goes by @eli_aviation on Instagram, on January 20, 2022. Here is a little from the photographer about how and where he snapped

the dramatic images: The F-117A can employ a variety of weapons and is equipped with sophisticated navigation and attack systems integrated into a state-of-the-art digital avionics suite that increases mission effectiveness and reduces pilot workload. Detailed planning for

missions into highly defended target areas is accomplished by an automated mission planning system developed, specifically, to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the F-117A. Regardless, this stealthy metallic coating program is clearly growing in scope, and the fact that it now includes the Air Force and the Navy aircraft means we will probably be seeing a lot more of it soon, at least if it is deemed effective.

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Navy E6 Aircraft

Navy E6 Aircraft - E-6 aircrew training is accomplished by Contract Flight Crew Training System (CFCTS) and is accomplished at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. CFCTS provides program management, flight crew instruction, system operation and maintenance, and engineering services in support of the Naval Training Support Unit (NTSU).

CFCTS equipment consists of two Operational Flight Trainers (OFTs), Academic Training System (ATS) and two In Flight Trainer (IFT) TC-18F aircraft. Provisions for the two trailing wire antennas, one extending from below the mid-fuselage and the other from the tail cone, are among the obvious

Navy E6 Aircraft

changes. Enlarged wing tip pods for special electronic equipment are also available fitted. Not obvious are the structural changes required to carry the heavy communications systems in the aft fuselage and the increased level of electromagnetic

Command Post Modification

pulse and nuclear blast hardening over that already incorporated in the E-3s. The UHF C3 Radio Subsystem adds three UHF transceivers that support 1,000 watt full-duplex transmissions using amplitude modulation (AM) or frequency modulation. It provides: UHF frequency division multiplex (FDM) (3 full-duplex groups of 15 channels each), ALCS, conventional UHF AM line of sight (3 half-duplex channels), and/or Fleet satellite communication (SATCOM) phase shift keying

(1 receive-only channel). The speculation was that the two nuclear command centers took to the skies over both coasts early Friday morning after learning that the President had contracted the virus. The chat on Twitter was that the airborne command posts were deployed to warn America's adversaries after news broke about President Trump contracting COVID-19.

In the TACAMO role, the E-6 flies independent random operations from various deployed sites for approximately 15 day intervals. Each deployed crew will be self-supporting except for fuel and perishables. The mission requires a 24-hour commitment of resources (alert posture) in the Atlantic and Pacific regions.

CFCTS provides ground training to pilots, navigators and flight engineers for initial qualification, refresher, instructor basic and upgrade, instrument ground school and basic flight engineer, utilizing instructor-based training, computer-based training and the OFTs. Flight training of the pilots (transition and in flight refueling) is accomplished in the TC-18F IFTs utilizing Navy instructor pilots and Navy and contractor instructor flight engineers.

Orbit Improvement Program

The United States Navy has a fleet of 16 E-6s and typically has at least one of them in the air at all times. It is also not uncommon to see two or three in the air at the same time.

However, what was strange this time was that they had their transponders turned on to let people know they were out there rather than wanting to remain dark. Subsequent to a year of in-depth analysis under Navy tasking, Raytheon E-Systems (RESY) is designing the E-6B Command Post Modification that will provide performance improvements and avionics enhancements for the E-6A Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) aircraft

. The E-6B program has been established to upgrade TACAMO operational capabilities and cross-deck a subset of the Strategic Command's (STRATCOM's) EC-135 Airborne Command Post (ABNCP) equipment to the E-6A aircraft. The modified aircraft (E-6B) will be capable of performing both the TACAMO and ABNCP missions.

The E-6B Command Post Modification will enable STRATCOM to perform current and projected TACAMO and ABNCP operational tasking, using the dual mission E-6B, effectively and reliably through the twenty-first century. RESY will perform integration and installation of several systems into the E-

E- Mercury Tacamo

6 aircraft: Following Boeing's prototype four-jet transport, widely publicized as the first of the 707 series, the Air Force ordered the first production models as KC-135 tanker transports. Much modified and adapted, these still served the Air Force, and two were transferred to the Navy in the late 1970s

for use in the electronics support role. Similar in appearance, but considerably redesigned, the first 707-120 airline transports rolled off Boeing's production lines in 1957. By the time these were in service, the larger 707-320 series

was following, designed for long range transoceanic service. Both models soon received turbofan engines in place of their original jets. The Navy's E-6A is the final derivative of the 707-320 series to be added to the production

line, joining its better known E-3A Sentry AWACS (airborne warning and control system) predecessor. The E-6 is derived from the Boeing 707-320 commercial airliner. The E-6B's modified design incorporates a battle staff area and new flight deck systems including a 737 next generation cockpit.

About The Boeing E- Mercury

The wing features a dog-tooth leading edge and trilateral tips. It is equipped with a very low frequency communication system consisting of dual trailing wire antennas. East Coast Alert * Patuxent River, MD The Time/Frequency Standards Distribution System replaces the existing TACAMO time standard, providing retrieval and distribution of the accurate universal coordinated time from the global positioning system.

Time of day, one-pulse-per-second, and precision 5 megahertz reference signals are distributed to very low frequency (VLF) and UHF communications equipment to provide accurate reference timing. The first 707-320 series to join the military took on the duties of

the presidential aircraft as "Air Force One" in 1962, two joining several earlier 707-120s in the VC-137 series. Ten years later, the two prototypes for what would become the E-3 were also designated in this series.

In addition to the large radome mounted on struts above the aft fuselage, similar to that on the prototypes, many detail modifications were made to the 707-320B airframe for the subsequent production E-3As. Particular attention was paid to harden the airframe against the effect of electromagnetic

The E- Mercury Is A Control And Command Center

radiation and nuclear blasts. Updated E-3s serve the Air Force, NATO, and other countries, and are still being produced today. The maintenance concept is "O" to "D" for most components, with Contractor Logistic Support (CLS) from Boeing, Seattle.

There is limited "I" level support for mission equipment, and is expected to go away with the introduction of new mission avionics. Under the Integrated Maintenance Concept, as much as possible, airframe work done in the field;

CLS for airframe and flight deck avionics and Navy support for mission avionics. West Coast alert * Travis AFB, CA Journalist - Mark is an experienced travel journalist having published work in the industry for more than seven years.

His enthusiasm for aviation news and wealth of experience lends itself to some excellent insight, with his work cited in Forbes among other publications. Based in Alicante, Spain. The airborne command post was modified by Raytheon E-Systems.

The E-6 is equipped with advanced communications and command and control systems. The ALCS uses ultra-high-frequency command and control (C3) radios to determine missile status and change missile assignments. The on-board UHF C3 radio subsystem includes three UHF transceivers.

Depot level maintenance is performed in squadron spaces during routine O-level maintenance. No change of custody, reduced disassembly duplication (if an area is opened for O-level maintenance it is not re-opened by D-level), D-level artisan assists and trains O-level technician, spacing of D-level opportunities is

months, not years. Up front investment is large because maintainers must anticipate available parts prior to induction. The process results in 365 days additional operating time every 5 years. Cost analysis showed that not transferring custody of aircraft to depot saves $78 million over the life of the program.

This program gives greater visibility of the health of the airframe and, due to frequent access, provides opportunities to prevent high cost problems from developing. Based on the study results, the TACAMO replacement program got under

way; the first two of a planned purchase of 16 were ordered in 1984. Unusual was the concept that major components of the communications systems in squadron EC-130s would be removed and reinstalled in the E-6As as they were completed.

Many features of the E-3 airframe were retained, including the in-flight refueling receptacle for the flying boom refueling system located at the top of the fuselage aft of the cockpit. A forward cargo door, as on commercial

air freight transports, was installed for purposes of transporting major spare components to remote sites. The aircraft is deployed in TACAMO missions. TACAMO connects the National Command Authority with naval ballistic missile forces during emergency operations.

The E-6 provides uninterrupted airborne alert coverage of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The E-6A had its beginnings in studies at the Naval Air Development Center, Warminster, Pa., looking for an expanded capability airframe for the TACAMO role.

Among several turbofan-powered jet transports, the basic Boeing 707-320B was particularly attractive because of the availability of the hardened E-3A airframe in production. Higher bypass ratio, more fuel Efficient GE-SNECMA CFM 56 engines were being retrofitted to various first-generation,

four-jet commercial transports and would enhance the performance of a TACAMO version. Space and weight-carrying capability would accommodate the various communications systems of the EC-130 TACAMO aircraft, including the long trailing very low frequency antenna and its extension/retraction system.

The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command post and communications relay aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the US Navy. The aircraft relays communications for ballistic missile submarine forces and provides airborne command and control for strategic forces.

The Navy introduced the E-6 to replace its EC-130Q aircraft The High Power Transmit Set replaces the existing 200 kilowatt VLF High Power Amplifier and Dual Trailing Wire Assembly, providing increased capabilities (including low frequency transmission spectrum) with significant reliability and operability improvements.

Emphasis in the design and operation of most of today's new Navy aircraft is on multimission capability. One exception, by designation and intended role, might seem to be the Boeing E-6A. Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadrons (VQs) 3 and 4 operate E-6As in the same manner as their EC-130s - as TACAMO

(take charge and move out) communications platforms serving as command links to the fleet ballistic missile submarine force. NTSU provides Airborne Communications Officer (ACO) and Aircrew (TACAMO Operator, Inflight Technician, Reel Operator) ground training. NTSU also provides squadron personnel Organizational ("O") level maintenance training on the E-6 aircraft and all subsystems and "O" and Intermediate ("I") level training on the Mission Avionics System (MAS) equipment.

The Military Strategic Tactical And Relay (MILSTAR) airborne terminal system along with the MILSTAR satellite system provides high frequency/super high-frequency/ultra high-frequency communication links. The mission computer system handles and processes information. The TACAMO airplanes support the Navy's ballistic missile submarine force, providing a vital link to the force from national command authorities.

The TACAMO E-6B airplanes are equipped with dual trailing wires that serve as transmitter and antenna, transmitting in the very low frequency spectrum. Boeing rolled out the E-6A in December 1986. It completed its maiden flight in February 1987 and was accepted by the Navy in August 1989. The E-6B, a modified version of the E-6A, came into service in December 1997.

It was deployed in a dual operational mission in October 1998. The existing E-6 fleet was modified to the E-6B configuration in 2003 and delivered in December 2006. Problems arose with Standard Level Depot Maintenance (SDLM) cycle due to too many aircraft out of service at one time for modification over the 60 month initial estimated Operating Service Period.

SDLM requires 8 to 18 months out of service time. APML issued challenges in Jan 1992 to evaluate alternatives, minimize down time. This increased on site maintenance, send depot field teams out, mandatory depot only tasks.

The option selected was combination of SDLM tasks performed in conjunction with phase maintenance with depot field team augmentation of squadron phase crew: With the Navy order for TACAMO versions of the 707-320B airframe, the E-6A designation was assigned for these airframes, to be built on the E-3A

line. At the same time, C-18 series and E-8A designations were assigned to ex-airline 707-320Bs purchased and modified as test aircraft, both for airborne range instrumentation duties and the JSTARS (joint surveillance target attack radar) program.

The former, as EC-18Bs, feature a bulbous nose radome, while the latter carries an elongated under-fuselage radome for a multimode side-looking radar. The new flight profiles and structural characteristics that the E-6A introduced to the 707-320 airframe did result in some unanticipated development

challenges. Their resolution will provide the necessary survivable strategic command link to the submarine-launched leg of the strategic nuclear triad well into the future. Besides the command link to the ballistic missile submarines, the E-6A TACAMO aircraft is involved in a joint mission, to

provide the vital communication link from the National Command Authority (NCA) to all strategic forces. By 1998, after completion of extensive modifications, it will also provide an Airborne Command Post for United States Command in Chief for Strategic Forces (USINCSTRAT) and theater CINCs.

Specifications Primary Function Airborne command post for fleet ballistic missile submarines Contractor Boeing Unit Cost $141.7 million Propulsion Four CFM-56-2A-2 High bypass turbofans Length 150 feet, 4 inches (45.8 meters) Wingspan 148 feet, 4 inches (45.2 meters)

Height 42 feet 5 inches (12.9 meters) Weight Max gross, take-off: 341,000 pounds (153,900 kg) Ceiling Above 40,000 feet Speed ​​522 knots, 600 miles (960 km) per hour Crew 14 Range 6,600 nautical miles (7,590 statute miles, 12,144 km) with 6 hours loiter time

Armament None Looking into it more in-depth, we can see that the Navy's E6s fly all the time and often with their transponders turned on. This means that the Strategic Command told the truth and that the two planes were on regular training missions.

It is easy to see why people would jump to conclusions, and I am sure the United States has a backup plan should the President become very ill. As a part of Operation Looking Glass, which is today called "Airborne Command Post" (ABNCP) - the aircraft are used to provide instructions to America's nuclear forces should ground-based operations or command centers be destroyed or inoperable.

The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) operates through the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Communications, Command and Control (C3) radios, enabling the E-6B to function as an Airborne Launch Control Center. The ALCS system allows determination of missile status in silos, launch, or change in missile assignments.

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North American Aircraft

North American Aircraft - Our Navion was built by North American in Inglewood on January 10, 1947 as a NA-145 model. The Navion was powered by a Continental E185 series engine. It entered the service as soon as it was built and was retired on March 9th, 1956 when it was certified to fly for civilian use.

This plane was flown privately until it was parked in 2006. The Museum acquired the Navion from the owner in 2013 and the plane underwent a restoration. The restoration of the exterior was completed in 2014 with the interior still undergoing restoration.

North American Aircraft

After Saufley, the students moved on to Barin Field to learn gunnery and to qualify aboard the carrier. The lessons learned at Saufley were now put into practice. All of the gunnery flights were flown in formation to and from the firing area.

Carrier practice was conducted individually on a runway marked to resemble a carrier deck. The flight from Barin Field to the carrier was flown in formation. Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cambodia, Chile, China (Nationalist in WWII and the Taiwan Self Defense Force), The Congo, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq , Israel, Italy, Japan (The Imperial Navy prior to WWII and the Japanese Self-Defense Force after WWII), Laos, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Pakistan, Thailand , Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Yugoslavia, and Zaire.

Once past the primary stage, student Naval Aviators were transferred to Saufley Field in Pensacola to learn formation flying. Now instead of hordes of yellow SNJs taking off individually, flights of six aircraft, all flown by students and chased by an instructor, were taking to the air to introduce these young men to the fine arts of formation join-ups, break-ups, and formation flying, including formation acrobatics.

At Saufley, student Naval Aviators acquired the skills in formation flying that would eventually become second nature. Once designated as Naval Aviators and flying tactical aircraft in the Fleet or Fleet Marine Force, almost every mission would be flown in formation.

Upon being introduced to formation flying, students almost invariably were apprehensive about flying so close to other aircraft. Once accustomed to formation flight they would be uncomfortable on those occasions when they had to fly alone.

During this period, primary flight was conducted at Whiting Field in Milton, Florida, with a few primary students based at Corry field in Pensacola. Whiting Field at that time was an impressive sight. Literally hundreds of yellow SNJs were in constant motion taking off and landing, flying to outlying fields to practice the primary training syllabus which included landing and take offs, crosswind landings, emergency landings and procedures, stalls and spins, and acrobatics.

The SNJs in the U. S. Navy not only trained student Naval Aviators to fly from training airfields but also trained them in the demanding techniques of carrier landing and take offs. The SNJ-4C (C for carrier modification) included an arresting hook that enabled student aviators to become carrier qualified.

During the Second World War tens of thousands of young men trained to be U. S. Army pilots and Naval Aviators in the Texan. After advanced training they went on to operational units where they refined their skills before flying in combat in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

Without the Texan, or an aircraft very much like it, it would have been difficult to train the enormous number of pilots required to conduct the extensive aerial campaigns that characterized a vital portion of the war against Germany and Japan.

When the Second World War ended, the services believed that the AT-6/SNJ aircraft were at the end of their useful service life and would soon be replaced by more advanced designs. That conclusion and the fact that the level of pilot training was sharply diminished led to a decision to place thousands of these aircraft in storage, consign them to the Reserves, and to sell as many as feasible.

This decision proved to be a bonanza for arms merchants all over the world and accounts for many of the countries, which appear in the list above. At the conclusion of Basic Training the student Naval Aviator had spent about a year in the Pensacola, Florida area, had learned all the basic skills required of a future Naval Aviator, and had amassed a little over two hundred hours of flight time, all of it in SNJs.

As events developed, the new designs that were anticipated did not materialize and the Korean War broke out. In the early 1950s both the U. S. Air Force and the U. S. Navy were tasked with a major increase in pilot training to meet the needs of the Korean War and later the increased force levels required for the Cold War.

Unfortunately, all the Second World War basic trainers had been sold or scrapped and no manufacturer was equipped to deliver new ones. The only solution was to bring the venerable AT-6/SNJ Texans back into service. The Air Force conducted some basic training in chartered light planes but the Navy did not.

The SNJ became the basic trainer for Naval Aviators. During much of the 1950s, while the level of pilot training was steadily increased, the Naval Air Basic Training Command was equipped entirely with SNJs. NASM's SNJ-4, BuNo 51398 served in the U. S. Naval Basic Training Command from 1943 to 1945, serving as an advanced trainer for the future Naval Aviators who would fly in the Pacific with the Navy and Marine Corps.

After the Second World War, it was transferred to the Reserves at NAS New Orleans. In 1953 it was returned to the Basic Training Command at Whiting Field, where it served until 1955 when it was stricken from the Naval records.

It was added to the collection of the National Air and Space Museum in September 1960. In addition to the training commands, the Air Force, Navy and many foreign air forces operated the AT-6/SNJ for a variety of administrative and liaison missions well into the 1950s including tactical use as a "Target Director" during the Korean War.

To this day, acrobatic teams and individuals are still flying AT-6/SNJ aircraft and having a lot of fun doing it. It is remarkable that an aircraft that was designed in 1935 is still flying in so many places all over the world, after having served as the mainstay pilot trainer, both advanced and basic, for the U. S and many other nations.

The last field was Corry where the students were introduced to instrument flight. This training was done with an instructor in the front seat and the student in the rear seat, which was equipped with a canvas "hood" completely surrounding the student's head and shoulders.

After take-off the instructor would direct the student to "go under the hood". Once that was accomplished the student had no visual reference outside the cockpit and was required to pilot the aircraft entirely by reference to his flight instruments.

After learning how to maneuver the aircraft wile using instruments, he learned radio navigation and was required to locate and fly to various positions on the ground with no visual reference. List of all North American Aviation airplanes and aircraft types, with images, specs, and other information.

These active and retired North American Aviation planes are listed in alphabetical order, but if you're looking for a particular aircraft you can look for it using the "search" bar. The North American Aviation aircraft on this list include all planes, jets, helicopters, and other flying vehicles ever made by North American Aviation.

Unless you're an aviation expert you probably can't think of every aircraft made by North American Aviation, so use this list to find a few popular North American Aviation planes and helicopters that have been used a lot in the course of history.

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Nighthawk Aircraft

Nighthawk Aircraft - Streamlined management by Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, combined breakthrough stealth technology with concurrent development and production to rapidly field the aircraft. The F-117A program has demonstrated that a stealth aircraft can be designed for reliability and maintainability.

The aircraft maintenance statistics are comparable to other tactical fighters of similar complexity. Logistically supported by Sacramento Air Logistics Center, McClellan AFB, Calif., the F-117A is kept at the forefront of technology through a planned weapon system improvement program located

Nighthawk Aircraft

at USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale, Calif. The Air Force thinking today is that it will phase out the Nighthawks after 2018. IRSTs are totally passive sensors and an aircraft's ability to negate radar detection through stealth technology has zero effect on them.

F-A Nighthawk

You can read all about advanced IRSTs from the best source around in this past feature of ours. Although stealthy aircraft, including the F-22, F-117, and F-35, all have measures built into their designs to help reduce their infrared signature, this is a very tough proposition with high-performance fighters, especially when it comes to

hiding from increasingly advanced IRSTs that are fully integrated into an aircraft's combat system and networked with other aircraft. The images of the mirror-finished F-117 come to us from a photographer who was lucky enough to stumble upon a pair of the stealth attack jets in mid-January as they were flying near Eureka Dunes in the Saline Military Operating Area (MOA)

, which lies on the California side of the border with Nevada. The mirrored jet had a standard black-painted wingman and they made multiple passes overhead and the black jet did some low-level work through the area.

The F-35, on the other hand, has never been seen in such a scheme. The fact that the aircraft in question is an F-35C from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Nine (VX-9), one of the Navy's major test units out of Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, means this coating program is in

some ways a joint operation, or at least both services are testing it independently. This would make sense as we first saw this treatment on a Model 401 'Son of Ares' test jet flying over NAWS China Lake.

Still, considering that we have not seen a real foreign adversary aircraft wearing a similar finish, along with the statement from the USAF and the fact that so many types of aircraft are wearing it now in the test environment, points to the real possibility that this

is being developed for fielding on operational U.S. aircraft. The caveat here is that there may be a program an adversary has underway for a similar coating and testing is occurring to see how to counter it and possibly how to adopt it ourselves.

In December 2001, TRW and Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Company completed a series of successful F-117 flight tests evaluating the ability for commercial off the shelf (COTS) technology combined with COTS emulation technology to execute the existing F-117 Operational

Flight Plan (OFP). TRW's Reconfigurable Processor for Legacy Applications Code Execution (RePLACE) emulates legacy hardware on more modern hardware, allowing that modern hardware to run legacy applications without changes. This technology offers the potential for low-cost, low-risk, incremental upgrades to aircraft processing

power. In the F-117 demonstrations, the technology performed flawlessly, requiring no updates, generating no anomalies, and surprising the evaluators. The stealth fighter attacked the most heavily fortified targets during Desert Storm (January-February 1991), and it was the only one

coalition jet allowed to strike targets inside Baghdad's city limits. The F-117A, which normally packs a payload of two 2,000-pounds GBU-27 laser-guided bombs, destroyed and crippled Iraqi electrical power stations, military headquarters, communications sites, air defense operation centers, airfields, ammo bunkers, and chemical,

biological and nuclear weapons plants. The USAF and Navy are just now in the process of fielding their first advanced IRSTs in years, initiatives that have, and continue to, require a lot of testing and tactics development work.

This includes flying all types of aircraft against the sensor in many conditions. The Air Force is even looking to procure an IRST-like capability for the F-22, which lacks any type of long-range infrared sensor. We have speculated as to this treatment's purpose before and the Air Force actually gave us a direct comment on it, although it was extremely vague.

But by most accounts, this material is thought to reduce the infrared signature of the aircraft from the frontal and side hemispheres. This would reduce the effectiveness of infrared search and track (IRST) systems, of which advanced types are proliferating around the globe and are present on most of the fighter aircraft peer adversaries are flying today.

Until this testing, the potential time-critical combat capabilities of the F-117 had not been explored. The target data technology works by allowing the aircraft to receive and transmit tactical information on targets or pop-up threats via satellite communication.

The fighter's ability to send and receive text and images enhances its combat flexibility yet does not compromise its stealth configuration. Although only 36 stealth fighters were deployed in Desert Storm and accounted for 2.5 percent of the total force of 1,900 fighters and

bombers, they flew more than a third of the bombing runs on the first day of the war. In all during Desert Storm, the stealth fighter conducted more than 1,250 sorties, dropped more than 2,000 tons of

bombs, and flew more than 6,900 hours. More than 3,000 antiaircraft guns and 60 surface-to-air missile batteries protected the city, but despite this seemingly impenetrable shield, the Nighthawks owned the skies over the city and, for that matter, the country.

The stealth fighter, which is coated with a secret, radar-absorbent material, operated over Iraq and Kuwait with impunity, and was unscathed by enemy guns. These shots were taken along the Sidewinder low-level route in Sequoia National Park in California.

After about 45 minutes of a very steep hike to get above the jets, and hours of waiting for a jet to fly through, this silver/chrome painted F-35C Lightning II assigned to the VX-9 "Vampires" greeted us with a pristine

low pass. My pops (who is also fascinated by aviation) and I were sitting on the mountain completely shocked as we knew we had seen something extremely new and rare. F-117 fighters deployed to the Gulf several times during the late

1990's to support U.S. attacks against Iraq designed to deprive Saddam Hussein of his Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programs and to force his compliance with the UN monitoring regime. F-117 fighters deployed to the Gulf during Operation Desert Fox to upgrade the strike force's

ability to attack high-value targets. But the 18 hour flight from the F-117s' home base to Kuwait meant that the operation was over before the F-117 aircraft arrived in the Gulf. The stealth fighter emerged from the classified world while

stationed at Tonapah Airfield with an announcement by the Pentagon in November 1988 and was first shown publicly at Nellis in April 1990. The 4450th TG was deactivated in October 1989, and was reactivated as the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Like the F-22, the F-35's radar-absorbent material coating plays a very important role in the aircraft's ability to drastically reduce the range at which radars — especially those associated with fire control — can detect and track them.

When we broke the Nellis-based 'mirrored Raptor' story, we noted that the finish is clearly quite unique, made up of a mosaic of small custom-fitted tiles in some places and large sheet-like areas in others, that act more as

a coating than a cladding. Recent work being done to test a mysterious metallic-looking coating on stealthy aircraft has expanded to the F-117 Nighthawk and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. New images of both types show examples wearing the exotic skin coating that can go from appearing mirror-like to a matte-like depending on the angle at which it is viewed.

In an effort to improve the combat effectiveness of the stealth fighter, test experts from the F-117 Combined Test Force at the Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., is working to expand what it brings to

the fight. On April 2 2002, developmental test experts in Palmdale teamed up with their operational counterparts from the Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., to complete the second phase of a demonstration project designed to provide the F-117 and its pilots with the ability to

receive and transmit mission and target data in real-time from the air. Phase one tests, completed in October of 1998, allowed a pilot to receive live-threat information and manually replan a mission from the cockpit. The second phase completed the test cycle by demonstrating

the transmission of real-time mission and target data out of the cockpit and into the hands of command and control forces on the ground. It's also important to note that IRSTs will play a major role in the services' unmanned air combat future, with multiple drones carrying IRSTs while linked together via datalink providing targeting information for manned and unmanned assets.

There is a secretive program underway that appears to focus on producing a stealthy drone for this role specifically and General Atomics' Avenger drones have been proving the concept during real exercises. The F-117A Nighthawk is the

world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. The unique design of the single-seat F-117A provides exceptional combat capabilities. About the size of an F-15 Eagle, the twin-engine aircraft is powered by two General Electric

F404 turbofan engines and has quadruple redundant fly-by-wire flight controls. Air refuelable, it supports worldwide commitments and additions to the deterrent strength of the U.S. military forces. The first F-117A was delivered in 1982, and the last delivery was

in the summer of 1990. The F-117A production decision was made in 1978 with a contract awarded to Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, the "Skunk Works," in Burbank, Calif. The first flight was in 1981, only 31 months after the full-scale development decision.

Lockheed-Martin delivered 59 stealth fighters to the Air Force between August 1982 and July 1990. Five additional test aircraft belong to the company. You can see in the photos above and the one below how the roundel marking on the wing literally disappears as the aircraft passes perpendicularly then reappears again.

It is actually transitioning from looking dark to light, almost becoming a negative of itself. Also, the nose markings are fully visible as is the VX-9 logo on the tail. Another photo we have examined from another photographer of this jet on the same day also shows this, with the entire aircraft looking polished from the quartering head-on aspect, but the logos showing through as dark outlines.

It's also possible that the logos were applied as part of this coating and act similar to it as a result. As you can see, the F-117 has its leading edges and upper fuselage and tails covered in a mirror-like coating very similar to the one seen on the F-22 that has been flying out of Nellis.

This is not the first time the F-117 has worn a similar exotic mirror-like skin. As we wrote in December, back in the early 1990s, a mirror-like metallic finish was tested on an F-117 under the SENIOR SPUD program.

That program looked at ways to significantly reduce the Nighthawk's infrared signature and was likely a progenitor of what we are seeing today. Now, nearly 30 years later, the 'Black Jet' is back in a silver skin again.

The general layout of the metallic coating on this F-35C is almost identical to what we have seen on the F-22, including the scalloped edges mid-way across the wing. These new images do show one thing new — that the coating appears to be translucent, allowing the markings on the jet to show through below the coating, but only from certain angles.

This makes sense considering how the coating goes from polished to matte to somewhat shiny looking depending on the aspect you are viewing it from. The FY2003 budget continues to fund the Single Configuration Fleet (SCF) effort to develop a single, optimized low observable

configuration for the F-117 fleet. Previously, the F117A fleet had two major radar absorbing material (RAM) coating configurations, costly and labor intensive panel access technology, and five leading edge configurations. The configuration developed for SCF features new

leading edge technologies, spray-on coatings, new sheet RAMs, and new panel access technologies. Standardizing the configuration will preserve radar cross-section performance, reduce maintenance requirements, and eliminate the separate procedures for each aircraft previously required. The SCF development contract was awarded in June

1996, and all development and flight testing completed March 1999. Conversion began late 1999, with first delivery early 2000. Conversion will run through FY 2006. While the U.S. The Air Force officially retired the F-117 nearly a decade and a half ago, examples continue to fly developmental and test missions, as well as fulfilling a stealthy adversary role.

The testing of new coatings has long been part of the Nighthawk's post-retirement activities. Now, after an F-22 began flying with a mirror-like coating out of Nellis Air Force Base last November, and Scaled Composites 'Son Of Ares' demonstrator aircraft also donned the metallic finish a year and a half prior, we can say for

certain that the F-117s have joined the metallic coating testing fray. The F-35, on the other hand, like the F-22, is a front-line platform. The fact that the Pentagon's other 5th generation fighter, and one from the Navy no less, is also wearing this treatment points to some interesting possibilities.

The coating could also be used to test new IRST or other sensor systems going into service. This alone made a lot of sense until the F-35 showed up with it on. Having both 5th generation fighters wear it, along with the F-117 and Son Of Ares, just to test sensors doesn't make all that much sense.

That is unless both are supporting IRST development for each service independently. We know the Navy and USAF IRST programs are largely compartmentalized even though they use the same base sensor technology, so this is a possibility.

Air Combat Command's only F-117A unit, the 4450th Tactical Group, achieved operational capability in October 1983. Since the F-117s first Air Force flight in 1982, the aircraft has flown under different unit designations, including the 4450th Tactical Group and the 37th

Tactical Fighter Wing at Tonapah Test Range, NV; the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing, Nellis AFB, NV; the 410th Flight Test Squadron/410th Test Squadron, Palmdale, CA; and Detachment 1, Test Evaluation Group, also at Holloman, which falls under the 53rd Wing, Eglin AFB, FL.

F-117, also called Nighthawk, single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter-bomber built by the Lockheed Corporation (now part of the Lockheed Martin Corporation) for the U.S. Air Force. It was the first stealth aircraft—i.e., an aircraft designed entirely around the concept of evading detection by radar and other sensors.

After a difficult development period, during which several prototypes crashed during testing, the first operational craft was secretly delivered to the Air Force in 1982. The existence of the aircraft was officially acknowledged in 1988, and production ended in 1990 with the 59th plane.

There was only one operational variant, known as the F-117A. F-117s saw extensive combat use, from the incursion into Panama in 1989 through the Persian Gulf War of 1990–91 to the Iraq War of 2003–11. The only combat loss took place in 1999, during the Kosovo conflict.

The F-117 was retired in stages between 2006 and 2008. On January 22, 1997 Lockheed Martin delivered the first F-117A with the "RNIP-Plus"-navigation system from Honeywell after it had been overhauled in Palmdale (California). The F-117A now operates with

laser gyroscopes and a GPS receiver, giving the aircraft a much higher precision than the inertial platforms did, which were previously used and which could show deviations of several hundred meters during a flight. Apart from this, the old system was more expensive

maintain. It's also possible that the fact that 4th generation fighters without stealth technology, or in which it was not a primary driver of their design, are already readily detectable by radar, so reducing their infrared signature is not as much of a priority.

The F-117A first saw action in December 1989 during Operation Just Cause in Panama. Two F-117A fighters targeted the field outside the Panamanian Defense Forces barracks at Rio Hato with BLU-109 2,000 lb. bombs to stun and disorient the troops quartered in those barracks

in preparation for an assault by US Army Rangers. Technical failures and communications mixups caused the pilots to miss their targets, dropping the bombs farther away from the barracks than intended. The shots below that show the VX-9 F-35C in the treatment were taken by aviation photographer Elijah Delgadillo, who goes by @eli_aviation on Instagram, on January 20, 2022. Here is a little from the photographer about how and where he snapped

the dramatic images: The F-117A can employ a variety of weapons and is equipped with sophisticated navigation and attack systems integrated into a state-of-the-art digital avionics suite that increases mission effectiveness and reduces pilot workload. Detailed planning for

missions into highly defended target areas is accomplished by an automated mission planning system developed, specifically, to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the F-117A. Regardless, this stealthy metallic coating program is clearly growing in scope, and the fact that it now includes the Air Force and the Navy aircraft means we will probably be seeing a lot more of it soon, at least if it is deemed effective.

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Navy E6 Aircraft

Navy E6 Aircraft - E-6 aircrew training is accomplished by Contract Flight Crew Training System (CFCTS) and is accomplished at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. CFCTS provides program management, flight crew instruction, system operation and maintenance, and engineering services in support of the Naval Training Support Unit (NTSU).

CFCTS equipment consists of two Operational Flight Trainers (OFTs), Academic Training System (ATS) and two In Flight Trainer (IFT) TC-18F aircraft. Provisions for the two trailing wire antennas, one extending from below the mid-fuselage and the other from the tail cone, are among the obvious

Navy E6 Aircraft

changes. Enlarged wing tip pods for special electronic equipment are also available fitted. Not obvious are the structural changes required to carry the heavy communications systems in the aft fuselage and the increased level of electromagnetic

Command Post Modification

pulse and nuclear blast hardening over that already incorporated in the E-3s. The UHF C3 Radio Subsystem adds three UHF transceivers that support 1,000 watt full-duplex transmissions using amplitude modulation (AM) or frequency modulation. It provides: UHF frequency division multiplex (FDM) (3 full-duplex groups of 15 channels each), ALCS, conventional UHF AM line of sight (3 half-duplex channels), and/or Fleet satellite communication (SATCOM) phase shift keying

(1 receive-only channel). The speculation was that the two nuclear command centers took to the skies over both coasts early Friday morning after learning that the President had contracted the virus. The chat on Twitter was that the airborne command posts were deployed to warn America's adversaries after news broke about President Trump contracting COVID-19.

In the TACAMO role, the E-6 flies independent random operations from various deployed sites for approximately 15 day intervals. Each deployed crew will be self-supporting except for fuel and perishables. The mission requires a 24-hour commitment of resources (alert posture) in the Atlantic and Pacific regions.

CFCTS provides ground training to pilots, navigators and flight engineers for initial qualification, refresher, instructor basic and upgrade, instrument ground school and basic flight engineer, utilizing instructor-based training, computer-based training and the OFTs. Flight training of the pilots (transition and in flight refueling) is accomplished in the TC-18F IFTs utilizing Navy instructor pilots and Navy and contractor instructor flight engineers.

Orbit Improvement Program

The United States Navy has a fleet of 16 E-6s and typically has at least one of them in the air at all times. It is also not uncommon to see two or three in the air at the same time.

However, what was strange this time was that they had their transponders turned on to let people know they were out there rather than wanting to remain dark. Subsequent to a year of in-depth analysis under Navy tasking, Raytheon E-Systems (RESY) is designing the E-6B Command Post Modification that will provide performance improvements and avionics enhancements for the E-6A Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) aircraft

. The E-6B program has been established to upgrade TACAMO operational capabilities and cross-deck a subset of the Strategic Command's (STRATCOM's) EC-135 Airborne Command Post (ABNCP) equipment to the E-6A aircraft. The modified aircraft (E-6B) will be capable of performing both the TACAMO and ABNCP missions.

The E-6B Command Post Modification will enable STRATCOM to perform current and projected TACAMO and ABNCP operational tasking, using the dual mission E-6B, effectively and reliably through the twenty-first century. RESY will perform integration and installation of several systems into the E-

E- Mercury Tacamo

6 aircraft: Following Boeing's prototype four-jet transport, widely publicized as the first of the 707 series, the Air Force ordered the first production models as KC-135 tanker transports. Much modified and adapted, these still served the Air Force, and two were transferred to the Navy in the late 1970s

for use in the electronics support role. Similar in appearance, but considerably redesigned, the first 707-120 airline transports rolled off Boeing's production lines in 1957. By the time these were in service, the larger 707-320 series

was following, designed for long range transoceanic service. Both models soon received turbofan engines in place of their original jets. The Navy's E-6A is the final derivative of the 707-320 series to be added to the production

line, joining its better known E-3A Sentry AWACS (airborne warning and control system) predecessor. The E-6 is derived from the Boeing 707-320 commercial airliner. The E-6B's modified design incorporates a battle staff area and new flight deck systems including a 737 next generation cockpit.

About The Boeing E- Mercury

The wing features a dog-tooth leading edge and trilateral tips. It is equipped with a very low frequency communication system consisting of dual trailing wire antennas. East Coast Alert * Patuxent River, MD The Time/Frequency Standards Distribution System replaces the existing TACAMO time standard, providing retrieval and distribution of the accurate universal coordinated time from the global positioning system.

Time of day, one-pulse-per-second, and precision 5 megahertz reference signals are distributed to very low frequency (VLF) and UHF communications equipment to provide accurate reference timing. The first 707-320 series to join the military took on the duties of

the presidential aircraft as "Air Force One" in 1962, two joining several earlier 707-120s in the VC-137 series. Ten years later, the two prototypes for what would become the E-3 were also designated in this series.

In addition to the large radome mounted on struts above the aft fuselage, similar to that on the prototypes, many detail modifications were made to the 707-320B airframe for the subsequent production E-3As. Particular attention was paid to harden the airframe against the effect of electromagnetic

The E- Mercury Is A Control And Command Center

radiation and nuclear blasts. Updated E-3s serve the Air Force, NATO, and other countries, and are still being produced today. The maintenance concept is "O" to "D" for most components, with Contractor Logistic Support (CLS) from Boeing, Seattle.

There is limited "I" level support for mission equipment, and is expected to go away with the introduction of new mission avionics. Under the Integrated Maintenance Concept, as much as possible, airframe work done in the field;

CLS for airframe and flight deck avionics and Navy support for mission avionics. West Coast alert * Travis AFB, CA Journalist - Mark is an experienced travel journalist having published work in the industry for more than seven years.

His enthusiasm for aviation news and wealth of experience lends itself to some excellent insight, with his work cited in Forbes among other publications. Based in Alicante, Spain. The airborne command post was modified by Raytheon E-Systems.

The E-6 is equipped with advanced communications and command and control systems. The ALCS uses ultra-high-frequency command and control (C3) radios to determine missile status and change missile assignments. The on-board UHF C3 radio subsystem includes three UHF transceivers.

Depot level maintenance is performed in squadron spaces during routine O-level maintenance. No change of custody, reduced disassembly duplication (if an area is opened for O-level maintenance it is not re-opened by D-level), D-level artisan assists and trains O-level technician, spacing of D-level opportunities is

months, not years. Up front investment is large because maintainers must anticipate available parts prior to induction. The process results in 365 days additional operating time every 5 years. Cost analysis showed that not transferring custody of aircraft to depot saves $78 million over the life of the program.

This program gives greater visibility of the health of the airframe and, due to frequent access, provides opportunities to prevent high cost problems from developing. Based on the study results, the TACAMO replacement program got under

way; the first two of a planned purchase of 16 were ordered in 1984. Unusual was the concept that major components of the communications systems in squadron EC-130s would be removed and reinstalled in the E-6As as they were completed.

Many features of the E-3 airframe were retained, including the in-flight refueling receptacle for the flying boom refueling system located at the top of the fuselage aft of the cockpit. A forward cargo door, as on commercial

air freight transports, was installed for purposes of transporting major spare components to remote sites. The aircraft is deployed in TACAMO missions. TACAMO connects the National Command Authority with naval ballistic missile forces during emergency operations.

The E-6 provides uninterrupted airborne alert coverage of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The E-6A had its beginnings in studies at the Naval Air Development Center, Warminster, Pa., looking for an expanded capability airframe for the TACAMO role.

Among several turbofan-powered jet transports, the basic Boeing 707-320B was particularly attractive because of the availability of the hardened E-3A airframe in production. Higher bypass ratio, more fuel Efficient GE-SNECMA CFM 56 engines were being retrofitted to various first-generation,

four-jet commercial transports and would enhance the performance of a TACAMO version. Space and weight-carrying capability would accommodate the various communications systems of the EC-130 TACAMO aircraft, including the long trailing very low frequency antenna and its extension/retraction system.

The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command post and communications relay aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the US Navy. The aircraft relays communications for ballistic missile submarine forces and provides airborne command and control for strategic forces.

The Navy introduced the E-6 to replace its EC-130Q aircraft The High Power Transmit Set replaces the existing 200 kilowatt VLF High Power Amplifier and Dual Trailing Wire Assembly, providing increased capabilities (including low frequency transmission spectrum) with significant reliability and operability improvements.

Emphasis in the design and operation of most of today's new Navy aircraft is on multimission capability. One exception, by designation and intended role, might seem to be the Boeing E-6A. Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadrons (VQs) 3 and 4 operate E-6As in the same manner as their EC-130s - as TACAMO

(take charge and move out) communications platforms serving as command links to the fleet ballistic missile submarine force. NTSU provides Airborne Communications Officer (ACO) and Aircrew (TACAMO Operator, Inflight Technician, Reel Operator) ground training. NTSU also provides squadron personnel Organizational ("O") level maintenance training on the E-6 aircraft and all subsystems and "O" and Intermediate ("I") level training on the Mission Avionics System (MAS) equipment.

The Military Strategic Tactical And Relay (MILSTAR) airborne terminal system along with the MILSTAR satellite system provides high frequency/super high-frequency/ultra high-frequency communication links. The mission computer system handles and processes information. The TACAMO airplanes support the Navy's ballistic missile submarine force, providing a vital link to the force from national command authorities.

The TACAMO E-6B airplanes are equipped with dual trailing wires that serve as transmitter and antenna, transmitting in the very low frequency spectrum. Boeing rolled out the E-6A in December 1986. It completed its maiden flight in February 1987 and was accepted by the Navy in August 1989. The E-6B, a modified version of the E-6A, came into service in December 1997.

It was deployed in a dual operational mission in October 1998. The existing E-6 fleet was modified to the E-6B configuration in 2003 and delivered in December 2006. Problems arose with Standard Level Depot Maintenance (SDLM) cycle due to too many aircraft out of service at one time for modification over the 60 month initial estimated Operating Service Period.

SDLM requires 8 to 18 months out of service time. APML issued challenges in Jan 1992 to evaluate alternatives, minimize down time. This increased on site maintenance, send depot field teams out, mandatory depot only tasks.

The option selected was combination of SDLM tasks performed in conjunction with phase maintenance with depot field team augmentation of squadron phase crew: With the Navy order for TACAMO versions of the 707-320B airframe, the E-6A designation was assigned for these airframes, to be built on the E-3A

line. At the same time, C-18 series and E-8A designations were assigned to ex-airline 707-320Bs purchased and modified as test aircraft, both for airborne range instrumentation duties and the JSTARS (joint surveillance target attack radar) program.

The former, as EC-18Bs, feature a bulbous nose radome, while the latter carries an elongated under-fuselage radome for a multimode side-looking radar. The new flight profiles and structural characteristics that the E-6A introduced to the 707-320 airframe did result in some unanticipated development

challenges. Their resolution will provide the necessary survivable strategic command link to the submarine-launched leg of the strategic nuclear triad well into the future. Besides the command link to the ballistic missile submarines, the E-6A TACAMO aircraft is involved in a joint mission, to

provide the vital communication link from the National Command Authority (NCA) to all strategic forces. By 1998, after completion of extensive modifications, it will also provide an Airborne Command Post for United States Command in Chief for Strategic Forces (USINCSTRAT) and theater CINCs.

Specifications Primary Function Airborne command post for fleet ballistic missile submarines Contractor Boeing Unit Cost $141.7 million Propulsion Four CFM-56-2A-2 High bypass turbofans Length 150 feet, 4 inches (45.8 meters) Wingspan 148 feet, 4 inches (45.2 meters)

Height 42 feet 5 inches (12.9 meters) Weight Max gross, take-off: 341,000 pounds (153,900 kg) Ceiling Above 40,000 feet Speed ​​522 knots, 600 miles (960 km) per hour Crew 14 Range 6,600 nautical miles (7,590 statute miles, 12,144 km) with 6 hours loiter time

Armament None Looking into it more in-depth, we can see that the Navy's E6s fly all the time and often with their transponders turned on. This means that the Strategic Command told the truth and that the two planes were on regular training missions.

It is easy to see why people would jump to conclusions, and I am sure the United States has a backup plan should the President become very ill. As a part of Operation Looking Glass, which is today called "Airborne Command Post" (ABNCP) - the aircraft are used to provide instructions to America's nuclear forces should ground-based operations or command centers be destroyed or inoperable.

The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) operates through the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Communications, Command and Control (C3) radios, enabling the E-6B to function as an Airborne Launch Control Center. The ALCS system allows determination of missile status in silos, launch, or change in missile assignments.

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