FIGHTERS & BOMBERS

AV-8B Harrier II Plus

This aircraft is the one that can land vertically, "hovering" above its landing pad as it descends.

The missiles it carries can destroy targets both in the air and on the ground.

It carries the following weapons systems and technologies:
-- APG-65 radar system
-- A 25mm rapid-fire Gatling gun
-- Air-to-air weapon systems
------ Heat-seeking Sidewinder missiles
----- AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile (a beyond-visual- range missile!)
-- Air-to-surface weapon systems
------ GPS
----- Litening II Targeting Pod system
------ Joint direct attack munition (JDAM)

This aircraft was a collaborative effort between NATO allies, namely the US Marine Corps, and the Spanish and Italian navies, and it is utilized by all three of these entities. Boeing developed it with BAE Systems, as well as Rolls Royce, who made the engines.



B-1B Lancer

This dark and menacing plane was developed by Rockwell International in the 1980s,when 100 of these models were "produced to support a nuclear mission and were stationed at Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases. It was transitioned to a conventional-weapons mission in the 1990s."

From 1985 to 1997, it actually carried an AGM-69A nuclear short-range attack missile (SRAM).

After the end of the Cold War, it was refitted with the following gizmos and gadgets:
-- Hardware and software enhancements to accommodate a broad range of conventional gravity weapons such as 24 Mk84 bombs, 84 Mk82 bombs, or 30 conventional bomb units
-- GPS navigation, joint direct attack munitions (JDAM), anti-jam radios, and the ALE-50 towed decoy countermeasure
-- New mission computers, wind-compensated munitions dispensers (WCMDs), the joint stand-off weapon (JSOW), the joint air-to-surface stand-off missile (JASSM), and an ability to employ multiple types of weapons simultaneously from three weapons bays
-- New digital radios
-- New weapons

The aircraft has been in the following combat operations:
-- Desert Fox (1998 Iraq) - its first use in combat, where it "penetrated Iraqi air defenses to destroy Republican Guard barracks."
-- Allied Force (1999 Kosovo)
-- Enduring Freedom (2001+ Afghanistan)
-- Iraqi Freedom (2003+ Iraq) - where the airplane is in such high demand that it has been sinisterly dubbed the "MVP" (Most Valuable Plane) of the conflict.

According to the website, it has "a very high ratio of precision-guided munitions dropped per combat sortie, from a maximum ratio of 1% of sorties delivering 22% of the guided weapons in Iraqi Freedom (1:22) to a minimum ratio of 5% of sorties delivering 70% of the JDAM weapons in Afghanistan (1:14)."



B-2 Spirit

This stealth bomber is capable of delivering nuclear and conventional munitions, while largely escaping enemy radar-guided air defenses. The B-2's primary mission is "to attack time-critical targets early in a conflict to minimize an enemy's war-making potential."

The B-2 entered the US Air Force operational fleet in 1993, and 21 of these black bombers are assigned to the US Air Force 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, which is in our very state, Missouri! The price tag on this plan ranges between 1.2 and 2 Billion Dollars per plane, depending on the source!



B-52 Stratofortress

This behemoth is, according to Boeing’s website, "a long-range, strategic heavy bomber capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the US inventory."

The latest version (the B-52H) can carry up to 20 air-launched cruise missiles. It is capable of carrying and dropping nuclear weapons.

The B-52 entered military service in 1954. It is currently being used in Operation "Iraqi Freedom," being the longest-serving bomber in US military history.



EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack Aircraft

This aircraft is currently under development for the US Navy. It is to be the cornerstone of the naval airborne electronic attack (AEA) mission, which is apparently a mission of a "jamming" nature. Not in the musical sense, but in the electronic!

It can suppress enemy air defenses by using both "reactive" and "pre-emptive" jamming techniques. While being equipped with such techniques, it is also to achieve "a higher degree of integration with ground operations than has been previously achievable."

Boeing and the US Navy signed a five-year System Development and Demonstration (SDD) contract on 29 December 2003. According to the website, "the SDD contract runs from 2004 through 2009 and encompasses all laboratory, ground, and flight tests from component level testing through full-up EA-18G weapons system performance flight testing."

The aircraft's first flight was in 2006, and it is to go into initial operational capability in 2009.



F-15E Strike Eagle

This aircraft is the world's leading "dual-role fighter, performing air-to-ground and air-to-air missions," with such weapons as the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), the AGM-130, the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), and the AIM-9X in its command.

It can amazingly reach speeds twice the speed of sound, and can even accelerate while in vertical climb.

Each of the more than 1500 F-15s has been built in Boeing's St. Louis facility.

According to the website, the F-15E "will be in the US Air Force inventory well into the 21st century," with plans to fly the F-15E at least through 2030. It is being used by the US Air Force in the "Global War on Terror" and in Operation "Iraqi Freedom" in Iraq.

Other customers:

The government of Singapore "awarded Boeing a contract in December 2005 to produce 12 F-15SG aircraft for the country's next-generation replacement fighter jet, and an option for eight additional aircraft at a future date."

The Republic of Korea began receiving the first of 40 aircraft for its air force in October 2005. As a matter of fact, "the Singaporean and Korean orders extend the F-15 production line into 2009 and provide an opportunity for new and existing customers to purchase additional aircraft."

Other F-15 customers include Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.

According to the website, "the F-15 family of aircraft has a perfect air-combat record of more than 100 victories and zero defeats." The aircraft had downed four MiG-29 fighters during the Balkan conflict and 33 of the 35 fixed-wing aircraft Iraq lost in air combat during Operation Desert Storm. It was the only fighter able to attack ground targets around the clock and in all weather conditions during the Balkan conflict.



F-15K

This aircraft is the newest variant of the aforementioned F-15E. Equipped with the latest technological upgrades, it is, according to the website, "more lethal, survivable, and maintainable than its predecessor. It is the only US-produced fighter capable of long-range precision strike missions without escort, day or night, in any weather."

Some of the more advanced computer, display, protection, radar, and targeting systems in this fighter that weren't found in the original F-15:
-- Honeywell advanced display core processor (ADCP) avionics suite
-- Seven-color liquid-crystal cockpit display, two upfront control panels, joint helmet-mounted cueing system (JHMCS), wide-field-of-view head-up display
-- Lockheed Martin ALR-56C(v)1 early warning receiver (on-board protection system), Northrop Grumman ALQ-135M jammer
-- Raytheon AN/APG-63(v)1 radar
-- Forward-looking infrared (FLIR), and infrared search and track (IRST)



F/A-18 Hornet

The F/A-18 Hornet is similar in makeup to the F-15, but it is charged with fulfilling "the following types of missions:
-- Fighter escort
-- Suppression of enemy air defenses,
-- Reconnaissance,
-- Forward air control
-- Close air support, and
-- Day and night strike missions."

Along with an M61A1 20-mm gun mounted inside the nose of the craft, "the aircraft carries up to 13,700 pounds of external ordnance and has nine weapon stations as follows":
-- Two wingtip stations for Sidewinder missiles
-- Two outboard wing stations for air-to-air or air-to-ground weapons
-- Two inboard wing stations that can be used for fuel tanks, air-to-air weapons, or air-to-ground weapons
-- Two nacelle fuselage stations for AMRAAMs, Sparrows, or sensor pods
-- One centerline station for fuel or for air-to-ground weapons

The aircraft is an internationally popular one, incorporated in the American, Canadian, Australian, Spanish, Kuwaiti, Finnish, Swiss, and Malaysian militaries.



F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

The Super Hornet is essentially the same as the aforementioned Hornet, except that it has upgraded technology.

Current upgrades delivered in the Block Two configuration include:
-- Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar
-- Advanced targeting forward-looking infrared (ATFLIR) system
-- Joint-helmet mounted cueing system (JHMCS)
-- Multifunctional information distribution system (MIDS)
-- Advanced aft crew station
-- Fiber channel switch for increased data processing capability
-- Fully integrated weapons systems and sensors for reduced crew workload and increased capability

The aircraft was built by a team that included Boeing, Northrop Grumman, GE Aircraft Engines, Raytheon, and more than 1800 suppliers in the US and Canada. The first production model was delivered to the US Navy in December 1998, and entered service in November 1999. The US Navy has at least 460 Super Hornets on purchase from Boeing through 2012.



F-22 Raptor

Boeing has teamed up with Lockheed Martin (#1 and 2 largest military contractors in the world!), Pratt & Whitney, and, of course, the US Air Force to develop the F-22 Raptor as a replacement for the F-15. It had already taken over the air superiority role with the Air Combat Command as of late 2005.

The aircraft has "a 67% titanium aft fuselage with electron-beam-welded subassemblies to withstand high-g maneuvers and supersonic speeds for extended periods." Boeing builds the Raptor's wings and aft-fuselage in Seattle, Washington, and is responsible for avionics integration and testing, 70% of mission software, the pilot and maintenance training systems, and the life-support and fire-protection systems.

The first flight of the aircraft was on September 7, 1997. The US Air Force has said that it requires a minimum of 381 F/A-22s to meet air dominance needs for the future.



Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS)

Not an aircraft, but a "multi-role system that enhances pilot situational awareness and provides head-out control of aircraft targeting systems and sensors."

When the JHMCS is combined with the AIM-9X missile, this forms the High-Off-BoreSight (HOBS) system. "HOBS is an airborne weapon-interception system that enables pilots to accurately direct ('cue') onboard weapons against enemy aircraft merely by pointing their heads at the targets to guide the weapons, while performing high-g aircraft maneuvers that may be required to complete the attack ... In all roles, the JHMCS provides the pilot with aircraft performance, targeting, weaponry, and threat warning information, regardless of where the pilot is looking, significantly enhancing pilot situation awareness throughout the mission."

Customers include the US Air Force and Air National Guard, as well as South Korea, which have it in their F-15s. The US Air Force and Air National Guard, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, and Turkey all have it in their F-16s. The US Navy, Australia, Canada, Finland, and Switzerland have it in their F/ A-18s.



T-45 Training System (TS)

The T-45 Training System is "the first totally integrated training system developed for and used by the US Navy."

Boeing is responsible for "the assembly and delivery of the T-45 Goshawk jet and support of fleet maintenance and ground-based training" in its role as prime contractor. The components of the Training System include:
-- The Boeing-built T-45 Goshawk aircraft designed for carrier-based operations (the heart of the training system)
-- A computerized training integration system
-- Advanced flight simulators
-- Computer-assisted instructional programs
-- Contractor logistics support package

The T-45 TS had "added advanced simulators to improve the process for training US Navy and Marine Corps pilots for conversion into the F/A-18A-D Hornet, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the AV-8B Harrier, and the EA-6B Prowler.

Boeing has so far delivered more than 170 T-45 Goshawks to the US Navy. The US Navy's long-term plan calls for the production of 234 Goshawks to "support US Navy and US Marine Corps training beyond 2030."