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.

FMI: www.aero-news.net