(Reuters) - Two U.S. Army helicopters crashed on Monday during training exercises at a Washington state military base, killing four aviators on board, the base said in a statement.
Brendalyn Carpenter, a spokeswoman for Joint Base Lewis-McChord, confirmed that "there was an accident" in the evening and that military police and emergency personnel were en route to the accident scene at the base near Tacoma.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones of the soldiers involved in this tragic accident," said Major General Lloyd Miles, acting senior Army commander at the base.
"We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident, and we will do everything in our power to support the families of the brave soldiers who died this evening," he added.
The base identified the aircraft involved in the crash as a pair of OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopters. Local television station KIRO 7 reported that the helicopters had crashed in Thurston County in a wooded training area, and that there were no survivors.
Temperatures at the base were around the mid-20 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday evening, and local media reported a likelihood of fog in the woods where the crash was said to have occurred.
(Reporting by Laura L. Myers, Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $4 billion contract to produce 30 more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, the Pentagon announced Friday.
The fixed-price-incentive contract provides for 21 F-35A conventional take off and landing Lightning IIs for the Air Force, three F-35B short-take off and vertical landing aircraft for the Marines, and six F-35C carrier variants for the Navy.
All the aircraft are being procured under low-rate initial production Lot V.
Broken down by service, two-thirds of the value of the contract — $2.65 billion — is for the Air Force; $937 million, or 23 percent, for the Navy; and $426 million, or nearly 11 percent, for the Marine Corps.
The contract also provides for “associated ancillary mission equipment and flight test instrumentation” for the planes, and flight test instrumentation for the United Kingdom.
The contract was awarded through the Naval Air Systems Command.
The F-35C test aircraft launched from it’s new New Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) recently, demonstrating early integration of the joint strike fighter.
The F-35C is set to be the newest aircraft to reach flight decks on Navy aircraft carriers. So what makes this aircraft so unique? Click here to learn more:
The belly of the beast known as the B-2 bomber is about to cradle a new creation. And what a thing it is: two basketball rims high, heavier than six Ford F-150s and with a name only a janitor could love.
The belly of the beast known as the B-2 bomber is about to cradle a new creation.
And what a thing it is: two basketball rims high, heavier than six Ford F-150s and with a name only a janitor could love.
The freshly tested Massive Ordnance Penetrator is built to rip deeper into underground, hardened targets than anything ever devised. The bomb has 10 times the explosive power of the last model of bunker buster, the BLU-109.
Years in the works, it's now officially a big scary piece in the tense political-military chess being played around the Iranian nuclear program. News of the MOP's readiness came soon after a United Nations agency warning of Iran's secret work toward nuclear weaponry, hidden in steel and concrete complexes, some tunneled into mountains.
"It's named for 'mopping up Iran,'" suggested John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a website for military policy research. "I can't imagine what else they'd being using it for or pointing it at.
"They've been thinking about building such a thing for some time. Once they were able to come up with a design, it was just a matter of time before they built it," he said. A good part of the 20-foot weapon is the 2.5 tons of high explosive, but "the nose is just a solid piece of steel. It has a fuse, but that's not in the nose."
The Army’s next-generation attack helicopter, the AH-64D Apache Longbow Block III (AB3), makes its professional debut today in Mesa, Ariz., and received a special blessing with some unique fanfare.
The White Mountain Apache Tribe joined the celebration by conducting a solemn ceremony at dawn that honored Apache ancestors and bestowed Indian blessing for strength and endurance on the newest evolution of this Apache helicopter.
Nov.02., MESA, Ariz - Inside a hangar against a backdrop of lights, fog, and looking as intimidating as ever, the first AH-64D Longbow Apache Block III (AB3) was revealed to the public for the first time during a Roll Out ceremony Nov. 2 at the Boeing Apache production plant in Mesa, Ariz.
Prior to the ceremony, a sacred blessing of the aircraft was performed by the White Mountain Apache Tribe led by Chairman Ronnie Lupe who is also a Korean War veteran, assisted by his executive officer Jerry Gloshay, Jr. and spiritual leader Ramon Riley. The blessing was steep in Apache tradition that included a prayer, a ‘smudging’ of the aircraft, the singing of two songs and a final blessing. The semi-private ceremony was held on Boeing’s flight line at dawn with approximately 30 attendees.
Apache Chairman Ronnie Lupe (middle) gives the traditional Apache sacred blessing to the first Apache Block III aircraft on the tarmac of the Boeing Apache factory in Mesa, Arizona. The blessing occurred at dawn just prior to the Apache Block III rollout ceremony.
Army Aviation’s leading general officers – MG Tim Crosby, PEO Aviation, and MG Anthony Crutchfield, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence – were on-hand to personally welcome this aircraft to the Army fleet.
So what makes the Apache Block 3 stand-out? Let’s look at some hard facts:
Faster: Combat speed around 164 knots, about 20 knots faster than those currently in service
Higher: Ability to operate at 6,000 feet and 95 degrees at an out-of-ground effect hover with a full mission payload
Efficient: Re-manufacture program, that upgrades and furbishes existing Apaches with AB3 specific capability insertions
Essentially, the new Apaches will be stronger, faster and less constrained in extreme combat conditions.
Why is all of this important? It’s critical that the Army continues to modernize the force by maintaining technical superiority over enemy forces as to ensure we retrain our fighting edge.
In need of more justification, look no further than the clip below that visually illustrates what capabilities AB3 will bring to the battlefield.
The first destination for the AB3’s will be at Fort Riley, Kan. – home of the 1st Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Shortly thereafter, the fleet will held to Fort Campbell, Ky., as part of the Army’s first full-spectrum 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.
Now how does this aircraft support full-spectrum operations? The AB3 will have Level IV functioning, which means the pilot can now control the flight path, weapons systems AND sensors on an Unmanned Aerial System.
All of these capabilities will once again demonstrate Army Aviation’s influence in the battlefield as a major combat multiplayer as it plays a critical role in future mission successes.
Maj. Craig Morash is greeted home by his daughter, Adeline, Oct. 11, 2011, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., after returning from a deployment. Morash was part of a six-month deployment to Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, where he supported Operation Enduring Freedom. He is an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot assigned to the 74th Fighter Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)
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