Wednesday’s video (below) marks the service’s first reveal of the aircraft’s flight operations.

• READ MORE: B-21 Flight Testing, Production ‘Continues to Make Progress,’ Air Force Says

“A B-21 Raider conducts flight testing, which includes ground testing, taxiing, and flying operations in California,” the Air Force said in a statement accompanying the video. “Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force (CTF) to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners.

“The B-21 will be the backbone of the service’s future bomber force, and will possess the range, access, and payload to penetrate the most highly contested threat environments and hold any target around the globe at risk,” the service said.

The stealth strike bomber was unveiled in December 2022 and officially moved into low-rate production earlier this year. In January, Northrop Grumman said six B-21 bombers are in various stages of final assembly and testing at its facility in Palmdale, California.

• READ MORE: B-21 Raider Takes First Flight

The Air Force has said it intends to purchase at least 100 of the aircraft. Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), South Dakota, has been designated as the first main operating facility for the B-21 and its formal training unit. The bomber is expected to arrive at Ellsworth by the mid-2020s.

Friday, the Air Force announced that the service’s newest bomber would also be based at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Dyess AFB, Texas.

“We continue to achieve B-21 production milestones,” General Thomas Bussiere, Air Force Global Strike Command commander, said in a statement. “Through digital engineering and open architecture design, we are getting an agile strategic deterrent that delivers a decisive response as required.” 

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Graduates of T-38 training usually go on to fighters or bombers, but the acute shortage means that there aren’t enough pilots available for the other duty tracks.

According to a memo, the Air Force reported that the service is short by 1,848 pilots, with “1,142 of those being fighter pilots.”

Still, the memo identified a “significant but necessary policy change” opening up other career paths for T-38 graduates.

“While we would prefer to send every qualified T-38 graduate to a fighter [formal training unit], circumstances dictate that we utilize available capacity to maximize pilot production,” the memo said. “In the near term, in addition to traditional fighter/bomber assignments, T-38 graduates will be matched to additional T-6 First Assignment Instructor Pilot assignments and opted for non-fighter/bomber aircraft.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The equipment used by the Canadian Airborne Sensor for Search and Rescue (CASSAR) system detects the cell tower interrogation signals emitted by cell phones. The system has been installed in CC-130H aircraft that are dedicated to search and rescue response.

According to a summary released by Canada’s Department of National Defense, the system “essentially mimics a cell phone tower to capture location and other information from an operating cell phone.” Conversations cannot be monitored. Phones have to be on, with a live battery and not on airplane mode, and once detected it’s easy to home in and find the phone.

The gear has been available for several years, but the department did an exhaustive analysis of the privacy concerns that naturally arise from this kind of surveillance ability. Any operating cell phone can be tracked by the system from the air and that prompted a Privacy Impact Assessment under the country’s Privacy Act.

“Based on the results of the PIA, privacy risks arising from the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information using the CASSAR system are expected to be low,” the report said.

In exchange, the system will save lives, say military commanders.

“With such a vast area [as Canada], an enabling technology like the CASSAR system augments the existing search and rescue capability, reduces search time, and improves outcomes, a positive addition to search and rescue operations,” said Lieutenant-General Steve Boivin of Canadian Joint Operations Command.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The Egyptian Armed Forces announced the purchase of the stretch variant of the C-130J that boasts an additional 15 feet of cargo space at the Egypt International Airshow. The purchase makes Egypt the 23rd country to operate the tactical airlifter.

The acquisitions will add to the country’s C-130H fleet, which is among the largest in the world, according to the aircraft manufacturer. 

• READ MORE: Georgia ANG Takes Delivery of First C-130J-30 Super Hercules

“Egypt is a distinguished C-130 operator, flying its Hercules fleet to support some of the most challenging mission requirements,” Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s air mobility and maritime missions line of business, said in a statement. “With these new C-130J-30s, the Egyptian Air Force’s tactical airlift presence will deliver unmatched capabilities and aligned force amplification to serve Egypt, North Africa and the world.”

More than 545 C-130J Super Hercules airlifters have been delivered to operators around the world, Lockheed Martin said.

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According to Salt Lake City’s KUTV, which got a copy of the report, the pilot was a colonel, and he had just 35 minutes of sim time in the Apache before he took off on an orientation flight with a master warrant officer who was qualified in the type.

The investigation found that on the colonel’s fourth attempt to hover and land the Apache at the army facility at South Valley Regional Airport (U42) in West Jordan, Utah, he lost control.

“In a moment of panic and due to his great unfamiliarity with the … helicopter flight controls,” an investigator wrote, “the [colonel] reverted to his fixed-wing…training and applied downward movement…This motion…was not the proper input in a [rotor-wing] aircraft.”

The investigation also found fault with the master warrant officer, saying “overconfidence…led to inadequate aircraft flight control management and inadequate altitude selection with an unqualified person on the helicopter’s flight controls.”

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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According to the Journal, earlier this month, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the arrival of the first of 80 F-16s in the country. While the Ukrainian Air Force didn’t specify the number of aircraft received, a U.S. official confirmed a total of six had arrived with six Ukrainian pilots trained to operate them.

• READ MORE: Ukraine to Use First F-16s Cautiously

The cause of Monday’s crash remains unclear amid conflicting reports. The Journal suggested the crash was likely due to pilot error, as initial reports indicated the jet was not brought down by enemy fire. However, a Ukrainian military source told CNN that the Ukrainian Defense Forces do not believe pilot error was the cause.

• READ MORE: Ukraine Looking for Retired F-16 Pilots

CNN further reported that pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as “Moonfish,” was killed in the crash while defending against what was described as Russia’s largest aerial assault on Ukraine. Mes was one of the few pilots trained to fly the F-16.

According to the source, Ukrainian pilots began their training in the U.S. last fall, and while the standard training period is one year, Mes and the others completed it in just six months.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The development program that led to the helicopter’s entry into service has been plagued by two decades of delays in replacing the previous Vietnam-era helicopters assigned to the presidential mission.

Plans to update the Sikorsky VH-3D and VH-60N rotorcraft previously assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) for presidential transport started after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 during the George W. Bush administration but were interrupted by President Barack Obama due to cost overruns and delays.

A new program, dubbed “Patriot,” launched during the Obama administration and met challenges from issues with secure communications systems and problems with the VH-92’s exhaust system scorching the grass of the White House South Lawn landing area.

A modified version of Sikorsky’s combination civil/military S-92, the VH-92A is built and modified at Sikorsky’s Coatesville, Pennsylvania, factory. It is powered by a pair of GE CT7-8A turboshaft engines. It received initial FAA certification in 2004.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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According to Military.com, a military investigation found “pilot error and complacency” to be the cause of the accident, which killed three Marines, including both pilots and a corporal who died trying to save them.

• READ MORE: Investigation Underway after MV-22 Crashes with 23 Marines on Board

Corporal Steven Collart went into the burning flight deck to try to bring out Major Tobin Lewis and Captain Eleanor LeBeau.

The crash punctuated a chaotic multinational military exercise called Exercise Predator’s Run near Darwin in northern Australia. The aircraft crashed after taking evasive maneuvers when it came too close to another Osprey it was trailing.

But much of the report focused on a pervasive attitude of lax maintenance and discipline in the unit, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363. The report recommended administrative action against unit commander Colonel Joe Whitfield for “permitting a culture that disregarded safety of flight and aviation maintenance procedures.”

Whitfield has since resigned. The report also recommended charges against the head of maintenance for the unit, who was not named.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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A DOJ news release alleges Nader was arrested Tuesday in California for exporting the parts, including components used on military aircraft, to Iran in violation of U.S. economic sanctions and other federal laws. 

The indictment alleges that, beginning in 2023, Nader and other associates conspired to purchase and illegally export four types of aircraft components totaling nearly three dozen individual pieces from the U.S. to Iran. The release states that some of these components are used on military aircraft operated by Iran’s armed forces, including the F-4 fighter jet.

After allegedly receiving purchase orders from customers in Iran, the indictment claims Nader coordinated to buy the parts with business associates in Iran. Nader and his Iran-based associates would allegedly reach out to U.S.-based suppliers of these parts. 

The release states in several instances that Nader falsely identified himself and his company, California-based Pro Aero Capital, to the U.S.-based suppliers as the end user of the items. No additional information could be found regarding Pro Aero Capital, though a search of Nader’s LinkedIn profile shows his association with “Pro Aero Parts Inc.” The business’ Long Beach, California, location is listed as “permanently closed” on Google Maps.

After obtaining the parts, the indictment alleges he attempted to export the items on several occasions to the United Arab Emirates. The items were then to be shipped to the ultimate customer in Iran. These items, however, were detained by a special agent with the Department of Commerce, and none were successfully exported from the U.S.

“This action demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to keeping military-grade equipment out of the hands of the Iranian regime,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “We will aggressively investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable criminal networks that supply sensitive technology to hostile and repressive governments in contravention of U.S. sanctions.” 

DOJ said the FBI Washington Field Office and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is investigating the case, with assistance provided by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Wasserman for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. 

The release stated that this prosecution is being coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement unit co-led by the departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nations.

“Iran has no business using U.S.-manufactured parts and components to keep their planes and drones in the sky,” said Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, said in the statement. “Stopping these items before they get to our adversaries—like we did here—reflects the real-world impact we’re having through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force.”

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Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) said this week that ex-Viper pilots can likely get a combat job if they want one.

“If you’re a retired F-16 pilot and you’re looking to fight for freedom, they will hire you here,” Graham told reporters after a meeting with Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. “They’re going to look throughout NATO nations for willing fighter pilots who retired to come help them until they can get their pilots trained. So we’re going to get these jets in the air sooner rather than later.”

Ukraine received its first few F-16s in late July, and there should be about 20 ready for combat by the end of the year, but training pilots is a slow process.

Only about 20 Ukrainian Air Force pilots will be qualified by the end of the year, and that’s about half the number needed for the available aircraft. The Vipers are expected to act as a deterrence to long-range attacks from the Russian side of the line by forcing it to release weapons from a greater distance.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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