Here’s why the Valkyrie drone couldn’t translate between F-35 and F-22 jets during a recent test December 18, 2020 A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II fly in formation with the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone over Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during a series of tests Dec. 9, 2020. This integrated test follows a series of gatewayONE ground tests that began during the inaugural Air Force on-ramp in December 2019. (Tech. Sgt. James Cason/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force embarked on a hotly anticipated test: Could it use a semiautonomous drone, in this case a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie equipped with a special payload, to stealthily translate and send data between F-35 and F-22 fighter jets?
Here’s why the Valkyrie drone couldn’t translate between F-35 and F-22 jets during a recent test December 18, 2020 A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II fly in formation with the XQ-58A Valkyrie drone over Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during a series of tests Dec. 9, 2020. This integrated test follows a series of gatewayONE ground tests that began during the inaugural Air Force on-ramp in December 2019. (Tech. Sgt. James Cason/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force embarked on a hotly anticipated test: Could it use a semiautonomous drone, in this case a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie equipped with a special payload, to stealthily translate and send data between F-35 and F-22 fighter jets?
US Air Force seeks radar solutions for Saudi air defence
by Carlo Munoz
The US Air Force directorate tasked with overseeing Foreign Military Sales (FMS) is soliciting industry solutions for long-range, elevated air defence radar systems, which will be tapped for future foreign sale to Saudi Arabia.
The request for information (RFI) issued on 11 December by the digital directorate of the FMS division of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center will evaluate potential elevated radar capabilities for use by Saudi Arabian armed forces, or other regional allies and partner nations – focusing on platform capability, exportability, cyber-security capabilities, and estimated cost and delivery schedules. In the end, service officials anticipate that information derived from the RFI will lead to an FMS-driven acquisition strategy for delivery and technical support for 13 advanced elevated radar systems.
An XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle launches at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., Dec. 9, 2020. The acquisition team – comprised of Air Force Research Laboratory and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center personnel working in conjunction with Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.’s 46th Test Squadron – came together to conduct the historic test. (Air Force photograph by Staff Sgt. Joshua King)
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During the test event, an F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, the Air Force’s two fifth-generation fighters formed up off the wings of the smaller Valkyrie as it continued to fly autonomously in formation. This is a major milestone in the service’s efforts to provide low cost force multipliers in relevant operational environments.
B-52 Wise Guy landing at Tinker AFB after a test (Image credit: screenshot from the YT video by REDHOME AVIATION).
B-52H Stratofortress “Wise Guy” has started flying from Tinker Air Force Base after Programmed Depot Maintenance, prepares to return to active service.
“Wise Guy”, the B-52H Stratofortress bomber tail number 60-034, is preparing to return to service with the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The aircraft was filmed flying from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where the aircraft had arrived on Apr. 1, 2020, to undergo programmed depot maintenance at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex. The PDM is the final part of a three-phase process to regenerate the aircraft and make it able to return back to active service as a conventional weapons-only long range heavy bomber.