2007 was a study of contrasts for military aviation. The year
saw the continued deployment of the F-22 Raptor, and the V-22
Osprey heading into combat in Iraq -- as well as the grounding of
several storied aircraft in the US arsenal, the P-3 Orion and F-15C
Eagle, over structural concerns.
The Air Force continued to move at a cautious pace in selecting
a new tanker and combat search-and-rescue helicopter, as Iran
started flying its first homegrown fighter aircraft and apparently
ordered China's J-10. And Russia made moves to reassert itself on
the global stage, by condemning US plans to deploy a missile
defense system... and stepping up flights of Tu-95 surveillance
planes near North American and Europe.
January
A National Guard Bell
UH-1 "Huey" transporting US Border Patrol agents crashes on a hillside in a rural area
south of San Diego. Of the nine aboard, five were
taken to area hospitals with light to moderate neck and back
injuries... The US Army announces it signed a deal in December '06
for up to 66 CH-47F Chinook helicopters
from Boeing... Northrop warns the USAF it may withdraw from the KC-X tanker
competition, over concerns about the bidding process
between the service, the Northrop/EADS team and Boeing... The Navy
names what will be the first in a new class of aircraft carriers the USS Gerald R. Ford, after
the nation's 38th President... Russia sells an undisclosed number of Tor-M1
missiles to Iran... The Pentagon confirms hostile fire brought down an Army Black
Hawk near Baghdad, killing 12... The comrades of a
fallen Royal Marine in Afghanistan strap themselves to the weapons-support
wings of two Apache helicopters in a dramatic
recovery, seen on video... The think-tank Center for Defense
Information (CDI) publishes a report condemning the V-22 Osprey,
stating the tiltrotor transport faces operational, aerodynamic and
survivability challenges that will prove insurmountable -- and
lethal -- in combat... The Air Force releases its formal Request For Proposal
(RFP) for the KC-X program.
February
An Oregon Senator calls for a permanent ban on the sale of leftover
F-14 Tomcat parts, over concerns those supplies could
fall into the wrong hands -- namely, Iran... In response to four
helicopter downings in two weeks, all caused by enemy fire, US military leaders in Iraq call for new
tactics for flight operations in the country. Three
more helos are downed in the days following the announcement... The
team behind the F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft are named the winners
of the National Aeronautic Association's 2006
Robert J. Collier Trophy... Speaking of the Raptor, a
flight of 10 F-22s enroute to Japan's Kadena Air Base are forced to
return to Hawaii, after a software issue blanks six aircrafts'
navigation systems and causes flight displays to go
dark... The Naval Air Systems Command grounds a total of 54 Ospreys
-- 46 Marine MV-22 variants, and eight Air Force birds -- due to
the computer problem, which engineers traced back to a faulty
computer chip in the Flight Control Computer... A test flight of
Bell's Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) prototype ends sooner,
and more dramatically, than the company hoped for, when the helo autorotates to an emergency
landing on a Mansfield, TX golf course... The
Government Accounting Office (GAO) recommends the US Air Force reconsider its November 2006
decision to award the Combat Search and Rescue
(CSAR-X) contract to Boeing... The FAA rules an Ohio Air National Guard F-16 pilot
busted regulations when he performed a high-speed
flyby of the Ohio Statehouse in August 2006, with then-Lieutenant
Governor Bruce Johnson onboard.
March
For the second time in as many years, Boeing threatens to shut down production
of the C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft,
announcing it will cease ordering parts from suppliers for new
planes that aren't already under contract, or have firm
commitments... The USAF touts efforts it performs to combat problems within its aging fleet
of B-52s and F-15s -- an eerie foretelling of issues
to come later in the year... In an effort to drum up public support
for the highly capable -- but hugely expensive -- F-22 Raptor
fighter program, the Air Force and Lockheed announce plans
to display Raptors at several air shows... Federal agents confiscate four F-14 Tomcat
fighters in Southern California belonging to private
owners, after investigators determined the jets had not been
sufficiently demilitarized, and may have been improperly sold...
Sailors from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 85 bid farewell
to the Navy’s last H-3 Sea King
helicopter... The first six F-117 Nighthawks based at
New Mexico's Holloman Air Force Base take off for
probably the last time, bound for retirement in Nevada... A British
coroner rules the 2003 death of a British soldier under friendly
fire from US pilots was a criminal act...
President Bush and Congress award the Congressional Gold Medal to the
Tuskegee Airmen, more than 60 years after the 332nd
Fighter Group's World War II achievements.
April
The crew of a C-17
Globemaster III provide a wake-up call to students at
University of Georgia in Athens, as they perform low-level passes
and practice approaches at nearby Ben Epps Field... In a
significant shift in direction from earlier statements, the US Air Force agrees to put the $15
billion CSAR-X contract up for bid once again, in
response to protests from losing bidders and a recommendation from
the GAO... A student pilot and his instructor suffer minor injuries
when the student accidentally ejects from the
stationary Harvard II during a lesson at 15 Wing Moose
Jaw, a Canadian Forces Base in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan... Teams
from Northrop Grumman and Boeing submit their proposals for the KC-X
contract to the Air Force... the US Marine Corps clears the MV-22 Osprey for combat
duty in Iraq... two British Super Puma transport
helicopters collide in midair north of
Baghdad, killing two British soldiers and injuring at
least one other... Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Davis, member of the US Navy
Blue Angels precision aerial demonstration team, is lost when his F/A-18 inexplicably crashes
during a performance in Beaufort, SC... A turf battle of sorts breaks out among
the US armed forces, over whether the Air Force should
take the lead in development of all unmanned aerial vehicles used
above 3,500 feet. What started as a beef between the Air Force and
the Army, has now been joined by the Navy and Marine Corps...
Aerospace workers in Long Beach, CA tasked with assembling Boeing's
C-17 Globemaster III military transport plane overwhelmingly reject a three-year
contract offer, due to proposed staffing cuts.
May
The first Northrop
Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye makes its first public
appearance at rollout ceremonies in St. Augustine,
FL... The US Air Force's first unmanned aircraft systems wing
stands up at Nevada's Creech Air Force Base... Air
Force spokesman Don Manuszewski responds to an ANN story regarding the
CSAR-X helicopter bid -- which stated internal
documents, obtained by Reuters, show the Air Force originally
passed on the Boeing HH-47 as a combat search and rescue helicopter
in early phases of the bid. The USAF will decide later in the month
to submit new RFPs for the contract... A Congressional committee recommends the termination of Bell
Helicopter's armed reconnaissance helicopter
contract... Firefighters battle a 13,500-acre blaze
near Pine Barrens, NJ that was apparently sparked not by lightning,
or a firebug... but by a flare accidentally fired from a
military jet on a training mission near the southern
New Jersey community... The US House of Representatives takes
action to ban the Pentagon from selling leftover
parts from its recently retired fleet of F-14
Tomcats... Canadian Snowbirds Captain Shawn McCaughey is lost when his CT-114 Tutor jet goes down during
a practice session near a Montana air force base... The FAA delays full certification for
Boeing's KC-767 aerial refueling tanker due to a
faulty air valve... Russia announces it has tested a new intercontinental
ballistic missile, that a Kremlin official boasts
could penetrate any defense system -- most notably, those now being
tested by the US... The pilot of an F-15 flying with the 131st
Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard safely ejects when his jet experiences
problems immediately following dogfighting practice --
the first of two such accidents the wing will suffer this year...
a NATO Chinook helicopter is shot down
over Afghanistan, killing all seven onboard.
June
Sikorsky, one of three
bidders for the CSAR-X helicopter contract, says it is "extremely disappointed" with
the Air Force's revised request for proposals, issued
last month... A couple of thieves make off with an Apache helicopter targeting
system, after breaking into a Lockheed Martin facility
in Orlando. The system is later found in nearby bushes... Two US
military jets participating in the Red Flag Alaska
training exercise collide, forcing one pilot to punch
out of his F-15C. The pilot of the second jet was able to return
his stricken F-16C to base safely... San Francisco official Chris
Daly pushes the city to ground a scheduled performance by the
US Navy Blue Angels during the upcoming "Fleet Week,"
citing safety concerns. Other groups decry the recruiting aspects
of the Angels' shows, and noise pollution... Several curious remarks by the pilot of a
small aircraft entering Vance AFB airspace result in
the scrambling of F-16s to intercept the plane... The US Army and
US Air Force select the C-27J Spartan to fulfill its Joint Cargo Aircraft
role... The UH-72A Lakota Light Utility
Helicopter enters operational service... Boeing puts
"some skin the game" by investing its own money to keep the
Long Beach, CA plant that produces the C-17 Globemaster III cargo
plane open until 2010, despite a lack of orders to
keep the plant open past mid-2009... An Oregon ANG F-15 goes down on a training
mission over the Pacific. The sole pilot onboard is
lost, in an accident later attributed to spatial
disorientation.
July
A North Dakota ANG unit flies its first-ever mission utilizing Predator
UAVs... The crew of an OH-58 Kiowa attack helicopteris rescued by an AH-64 Apache
after being shot down by insurgent ground fire south of Baghdad...
The AgustaWestland EH101-based VH-71 Presidential Helicopter test
aircraft makes its first flight... Japan publicly
unveils prototypes of its planned P-X patrol and C-X cargo
aircraft, designed to extend the range of Japan's
military operations and improve its surveillance capabilities... Eurofighter Typhoons enter
operational service over the UK... the Senate calls for a study of the military's airlift
needs, and whether those needs are best met by new
C-17 Globemasters, or revamped C-5 Galaxy transports... In response
to a fatal accident, the Indonesian Air Force grounds its remaining
six OV-10 Bronco light attack aircraft.
August
A report released by
the Canadian Air Force's Directorate of Flight Safety says the
December 2004 mid-air collision of two members of the Snowbirds
demonstration team was caused not by defects with their aging Tutor
jets, but by inadequate training and experience...
Iranian state television reports the country recently began
full-scale production of its first homegrown fighter
jet... Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne
signs off on the use of a synthetic fuel blend in
the USAF's fleet of B-52H bombers... The US Army's
selection of the UH-72A -- a slightly-modified Eurocopter EC-145 --
to fulfill its Light Utility Helicopter requirement draws fire from weapons testers at the
Pentagon, who say the aircraft has several
discrepancies... The preliminary report on May's fatal Canadian
Snowbird accidentsays seatbelt failure was to
blame... A US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter goes
down north of Baghdad, killing the 14 soldiers onboard. Mechanical failure is suspected, not
hostile fire... The crew of a CBP P-3 Orion participates in the successful
capture of four smugglers, and 11 bales of cocaine,
off a semi-submersible boat... Though unlikely to lead to increased
tensions or military confrontation, the Canadian Parliament still
wants to know why a US fighter reportedly violated
Canadian airspace in June... Lockheed Martin seeks
Defense Department approval to reduce the number of personnel, test
aircraft and flight tests for its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
program, because it is overbudget... A C-130 turboprop
transporting four US lawmakers from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan is fired on by insurgent
forces. No one was injured.
September
Upholding protests from
Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin earlier this year, the Government
Accountability Office once again recommends the Air Force allow
revised proposals in its competition for a new combat
search and rescue helicopter... A B-52 crew inadvertently transports six nuclear warheads from North
Dakota to Louisiana, breaching several US Air Force
and international regulations on the transport of such weapons...
Syria reports it opened fire on Israeli airplanes that allegedly violated its
airspace, and may have dropped bombs... Canadian
fighters are scrambled to intercept several Tupolev-95 Bear bombers
flying over the arctic a bit too close to Canadian
airspace -- the latest provocation from an apparently
resurrected Russian air force... A temporary flight restriction set
up for a practice performance by the US Air Force Thunderbirds over
Hawaii is violated not by an errant Cessna, but a
Marine Corps helicopter... The first V-22 Osprey combat squadron
leaves for Iraq... In a surprisingly visible display for the
oppressive Islamic republic, Iran publicly tests two of its
domestically-manufactured fighter jets... The Pentagon
says it no longer needs to hamper signals from the Global Positioning
System network in times of crisis, due to advancements
in those systems... The first KC-30 Tanker aircraft completes
its maiden flight, less than 75 days after initial
assembly began on the competitor for the US Air Force KC-X
contract.
October
NORAD General Gene
Renuart urges Russian military planners to be more open with their
plans to send Tu-95 bombers on patrols near the US and Canada -- by asking them to file flight
plans... The Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors
votes to remove Maj. Gen. Antonio J.
Pineda from his position as CAP national commander,
two months after he was suspended over allegations other CAP
officers took tests for him in 2002 and 2003... The MQ-9 Reaper 'hunter-killer' UAV enters
operational service in Afghanistan... The US
Department of Defense reportedly considers an unmanned aerial
vehicle that could cause a spike in reports of "flying saucers" the
world over -- because it IS a flying
saucer... Aerospace consortium EADS formally announces
delays in another Airbus development program, this time for the A400M turboprop military
transport... A former Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan
bomber returns to the skies, for the first time
in 14 years... 70 Air Force airmen face
punishment for their involvement in an accidental
cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber in
September... In a move aimed at placating some nervous Russian
tempers, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States
may delay activating European sites of its
planned missile defense system... China denies reports
published in Russian and Israeli media stating it agreed to sell its home-designed J-10 fighter plane
to Iran, calling the reports "irresponsible"... No
injuries are reported when a US Navy F/A-18 accidentally drops an inert training
bomb over the resort town of Virginia Beach, VA.
November
For the second time this year, the pilot of a Missouri Air
National Guard F-15C fighter ejects from his plane, shortly before
the aircraft crashes in a rural area about 125 miles south of St.
Louis. Preliminary reports indicate the aircraft
broke apart inflight; the USAF suspends non-mission
critical F-15 flight operations the next day, and extends the grounding to all normal
operations by the end of the week... A US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter goes
down in northern Italy, killing at six men and
injuring five... An internal defense report states a dozen major deficiencies in the repair
and maintenance of the RAF's Nimrod spy planes were
recognized by UK Military Defense officials shortly before one of
the aircraft exploded above Afghanistan in September 2006... The
government of Bosnia-Herzegovina agrees to donate a C-47 Dakota to the
D-Day Museum in Merville-Franceville in Normandy...
Close to 200 lawmakers send a letter to President Bush, questioning a proposed sale by Boeing of
satellite-guided laser bomb kits to Saudi Arabia...
China at first bans, then allows, a US aircraft carrier group to
visit Hong Kong on Thanksgiving -- but the apparent change in heart comes too
late to allow the holiday visit and the ships
continued on to their Japanese base... One week after the US Air
Force lifted its grounding of the oldest F-15 Eagle fighters in its
fleet, the jets are grounded once
again -- due to what officials termed "possible
fleet-wide airworthiness problems."
December
DoD officials announce more Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors will be
produced past 2011, over concerns about airworthiness
issues in the fleet of jets it will ultimately replace... British
Defense Secretary Des Browne tells parliament the mid-air explosion
of a 38-year-old Nimrod MR2 over Afghanistan in September 2006 was most likely caused by a fuel
leak, backing up earlier reports... Inspections by the
US Air Force of some 450 F-15 fighter jets uncover a serious structural flaw on
another plane, resulting in the third grounding in
four weeks of a large segment of the service's F-15 fleet... A Boeing Hummingbird unmanned helicopter
crashes during a test flight at the planemaker's
Advanced Systems test facility in Victorville, CA, burning about
1,600 square feet of ground but causing no injuries... Nearly one-quarter of the Navy's
fleet of P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft are grounded
over concerns about the aging aircrafts' structures... The Air
Force marks the 104th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight,
by completing the first transcontinental
flight of an aircraft using a blend of regular Jet-A and synthetic
fuel... Lockheed Martin unveils its F-35B STOVL Lightning II to
customers from the United States Marine Corps, the United Kingdom's
Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and the Italian Air Force and
Navy... A senior USAF official says the service's decision on KC-X
-- once expected in late 2007 -- may be delayed until March
2008 or even later.