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Jura The idiot · Jul 19, 2018

Feb 27, 2018

Jura said:
Saturday at 8:39 PM
now Trump, Boeing reach handshake agreement to cap Air Force One program at $3.9B
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while now Boeing gets Air Force One contract — and next-gen Air Force Ones to get a new paint job
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The Air Force on Tuesday awarded a $3.9 billion contract to Boeing for
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.
Trump himself tweeted that
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in December 2016, when he called for it to be canceled if programs did not come down. Experts and Air Force sources at the same said that figure appeared to hue closely to their estimates.

Then in February 2017, he claimed that he had shaved $1 billion from the program — an entire year before the $3.9 billion handshake deal had occurred.

Air Force officials, who are officially responsible for contracting for the new planes under the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program, have affirmed that
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, such as a specification for mid-air refueling that was cut. The service was also able to reduce cost by
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for a now-bankrupt Russian airline that never accepted the planes.

The new Air Force Ones will be two heavily-modified Boeing 747s equipped with a host of sensors, electronic warfare equipment and other defensive measures that turn the jets into uber-protected, flying White Houses. Boeing is expected to begin work on the planes in 2021.

The White House said in a statement that both aircraft will be delivered by 2024.

Though acquisition wonks will likely continue to puzzle over the nature of the Trump-Boeing deal, the president took to CBS News on Tuesday night to talk about a topic of more general interest: Air Force One’s paint scheme.

"Boeing gave us a good deal. And we were able to take that. But I said, 'I wonder if we should use the same baby blue colors?' And we're not,” he said on the show, adding that the new planes will be painted red, white and blue instead of the iconic blue and white scheme chosen by former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1960s.

“It’s going to be the top of the line, the top in the world. And it’s going to be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate,” Trump added.

The fixed-price firm award follows a
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between
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and Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg to cap the program at that figure. A Defense Department contract announcement labels the award a “definitized contracting action” — the label given to contracts where the exact terms have not been specified — and obligates $64 million at this time.

A statement from the White House claims that the deal will save taxpayers more than $1.4 billion from “the initially proposed $5.3 billion cost-plus contract.” However, Defense News and other publications have challenged that figure, which hasn’t been substantiated on any public documentation estimating the cost of the plane.

TerraN_EmpirE · Jul 19, 2018

The modern livery of Airforce one is iconic and first appeared on the Boeing 707 types classified as C137 Stratoliners after JFK and his first lady felt the previous livery used by the USAF, an Orange red and white and grey with standard USAF markings was ugly.
Jacqui was something of a fashion and style guru and was a major factor in a large number of choices for the white house. She convinced her husband to hire Raymond Loewry a French born American citizen and industrial designer. From that point on once the new livery was finalized the only difference between the used scheme and the paint on the 707 was the black nose, due to the navigation radar. In the 1980s the 707 was starting to age and the USAF, secret service and white house wanted a bigger bird this lead to the Boeing 747-200 short we now know as Airforce one. The existing Loewry livery was retained but modified with removal of the black nose. the interior was designed with input from then First lady Nancy Reagan. This gives it a more western feel.
A similar scheme has worked it's way on to other USAF VIP Aircraft like Boeing 757 C32s.
Now before the 707s there were other "Airforce one" a C54 Skymaster dubed the "Sacred Cow" was used by FDR at the end of the second world war. Truman used another named "The Independence" which was notable for a Blue bird head painted over the nose and cockpit.
And Ike used a Lockheed Constellation and Lockheed Super Constellation both were mostly brushed alluminum with military markings.

Before being elected we should remember that President Trump was Executive Trump and had his own private aircraft and unique sense of style. Personally I hope he changes his mind and retains the existing livery. It's an ageless classic and is a virtual symbol of America.
WhateWhatever the outside I know that Trump will likely leave an imprint on the interior. By the time these enter service his term of office will be either over or ending. In either case it will be the next president who has to live with it or try to change it well Donald Trump returns to his Trump Branded 757.

Air Force Brat · Jul 19, 2018

TerraN_EmpirE said:
The modern livery of Airforce one is iconic and first appeared on the Boeing 707 types classified as C137 Stratoliners after JFK and his first lady felt the previous livery used by the USAF, an Orange red and white and grey with standard USAF markings was ugly.
Jacqui was something of a fashion and style guru and was a major factor in a large number of choices for the white house. She convinced her husband to hire Raymond Loewry a French born American citizen and industrial designer. From that point on once the new livery was finalized the only difference between the used scheme and the paint on the 707 was the black nose, due to the navigation radar. In the 1980s the 707 was starting to age and the USAF, secret service and white house wanted a bigger bird this lead to the Boeing 747-200 short we now know as Airforce one. The existing Loewry livery was retained but modified with removal of the black nose. the interior was designed with input from then First lady Nancy Reagan. This gives it a more western feel.
A similar scheme has worked it's way on to other USAF VIP Aircraft like Boeing 757 C32s.
Now before the 707s there were other "Airforce one" a C54 Skymaster dubed the "Sacred Cow" was used by FDR at the end of the second world war. Truman used another named "The Independence" which was notable for a Blue bird head painted over the nose and cockpit.
And Ike used a Lockheed Constellation and Lockheed Super Constellation both were mostly brushed alluminum with military markings.

Before being elected we should remember that President Trump was Executive Trump and had his own private aircraft and unique sense of style. Personally I hope he changes his mind and retains the existing livery. It's an ageless classic and is a virtual symbol of America.
WhateWhatever the outside I know that Trump will likely leave an imprint on the interior. By the time these enter service his term of office will be either over or ending. In either case it will be the next president who has to live with it or try to change it well Donald Trump returns to his Trump Branded 757.

Agree with every word of this, with the exception that Ike's Connies were highly polished aluminum, as were most military aircraft at the time,, there were exceptions, the U-2's and A-12's were likely initially all aluminum but adopted the "black bird" coatings when they began serious work, and as Vietnam ramped up, all those beautiful aluminum birds adopted Camo.

MY DAD was LIVID! those lines of gorgeous C-130s and other beautiful birds were no longer, but in point of fact, as he was assigned to MACVSOG, he would accumulate Combat Airtime in the MC-130E, the first Combat Talon One, dubbed the "Black Bird", it had around 430 lbs of black rubberized coatings, my Dad came home from Vietnam very disgusted with so many aspects, rejoined the "School House" at Sewart AFB, Tn. and then helped with the move of the schoolhouse to its present home at LRAFB. He retired after 22 years when USAF decided that everyone with less than two years until separation, would lose their "flying jobs", that was the bottom line.

TerraN_EmpirE · Jul 19, 2018

Air Force Brat said:
Agree with every word of this, with the exception that Ike's Connies were highly polished aluminum, as were most military aircraft at the time,

I stand corrected I remembered some low quality images, Aluminum no paint and polished to a mirror sheen much like the lower hull of the current Scheme.

Very different from Truman's bird which kinda has some echos in the current Scheme in terms of colors and placement. Although it also comes off as a bit silly.

the VC25B's will be 20 feet longer then the Current VC25A the same height, but about 30 feet wider wingspan. internal cabin will be a little wider to.

Engines on the 747-8I are the GEnx-2B67 compared to the 747-200B's General Electric CF6-80C2B1 turbofans

Jura The idiot · Jul 19, 2018

TerraN_EmpirE said:
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but
Army 3-Star: Potent New Auto Rifle Just for Close-Combat Troops
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The
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wants to start fielding its Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle as early as 2022, but the Cold War-era
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Squad Automatic Weapon could remain in the arsenal for decades to come.

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officials recently
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. It will have to be five pounds lighter than the full-size M249 and fire ammo that's lighter and more potent than the service's current
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.

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But "this is not for every soldier," Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski, principal military deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, told Military.com on Wednesday. "We are looking at it for 100,000 close-combat soldiers."

Right now, the NGSAR program -- a top priority for the Soldier Lethality cross-functional team -- is on target to be ready for initial fielding beginning in late 2022 or early 2023 at the latest, Ostrowski said.

One of the challenges facing manufacturers is the requirement for ammo that's more potent than the M855A1 5.56mm Enhanced Performance round and 20 percent lighter than traditional brass-cased ammunition.

Last year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Congress that the M855A1 will not defeat enemy body armor plates similar to the U.S. military-issued Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI.

"We know that the 5.56mm is not going to be the round of the future because we have issues associated with adversaries' body armor," Ostrowski said.

The solution will likely be a cartridge that uses lighter material than brass for the casing.

Textron has been working for more than a decade on next-generation light machine guns that fire polymer case-telescoped ammunition in its
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.

Other companies have found that standard cartridge designs made completely from polymer are not strong enough and are prone to damage during the extraction process. One solution has been to use brass at the base and polymer for the majority of the case.

"Some will probably come with a polymer case that looks just like a current 5.56mm round except there won't be as much brass; some will come with a polymer case that is of the non-traditional form ... We don't know. We are allowing [companies] to make that decision," Ostrowski said.

"We have given them our priorities and said 'innovate,' and these companies are doing it," he added.

The NGSAR prototypes are scheduled to be delivered by early next summer. From there, Army officials plan to evaluate the designs and refine the service's requirement for the new weapon. Companies will then compete to make the NGSAR for the Army.

Soldiers in non-combat arms units will likely continue to use standard 5.56mm weapons such as the
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and the M249, Ostrowski said.

"Our 5.56mm is going to be in our inventory for a long time," he said.

TerraN_EmpirE · Jul 19, 2018

Jura said:
but
Army 3-Star: Potent New Auto Rifle Just for Close-Combat Troops
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But? But What?

The
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wants to start fielding its Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle as early as 2022, but the Cold War-era
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Squad Automatic Weapon could remain in the arsenal for decades to come.

The Contracts just signed are more of a Demonstrator then the final product. Right now they are more worried about reduced weight

One of the challenges facing manufacturers is the requirement for ammo that's more potent than the M855A1 5.56mm Enhanced Performance round and 20 percent lighter than traditional brass-cased ammunition.

Reduction in weight for the Weapon and ammo

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officials recently
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. It will have to be five pounds lighter than the full-size M249 and fire ammo that's lighter and more potent than the service's current
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.

The 5 contracts are demo machines that will use more or less conventional ammo types but in unconventional cartridges.
to counter the fear of

Last year, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Congress that the M855A1 will not defeat enemy body armor plates similar to the U.S. military-issued Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI.

"We know that the 5.56mm is not going to be the round of the future because we have issues associated with adversaries' body armor," Ostrowski said.

Basically would need a totally new type of ammo.

In the mean time the Army is looking to try and move to a LMG that is more infantry mobile. with follow on systems down the line.

Jeff Head · Jul 20, 2018

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The Aviationist said:
Bell’s
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has flown in level flight with its tiltrotors in the horizontal/cruise mode for the first time this week. The aircraft reached 190 knots (218 MPH) during the flight.

The new
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is a medium, tactical tiltrotor aircraft designed for the U.S. Army Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program. The JMR-TD program is a precursor for the Army’s overall Future Vertical Lift (FVL) co-development and evaluation of possible replacements for existing rotorwing aircraft in five different roles. The V-280 Valor is a proposed candidate for a new JMR-Medium utility and attack helicopter to potentially replace the
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utility helicopter and the
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attack helicopter.

The Bell V-280 is reportedly capable of a maximum speed of 280 knots or 322 MPH, hence the name “V-280”. That is significantly faster than the U.S. Army’s existing UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters’ maximum speed of 192 knots or 222 MPH and nearly as fast as the
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aircraft with a top speed at sea level of 305 knots or 351 MPH according to Bell Boeing.
The V-280 Valor is intended to carry up to 14 troops in a tactical personnel transport configuration with a crew of four including two flight crew and two gunner/loadmasters. It may also be developed with the capability to be an attack helicopter with various weapons onboard as depicted early in the program in a concept video showing an animated assault on a high altitude insurgent camp during hot weather. High altitude/hot weather flight conditions, called “High and Hot”, are challenging for most existing rotor wing aircraft. The V-280 will be optimized for high and hot operations.

While similar in visual configuration to the existing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor in service with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marines, the V-280’s engines remain in a fixed position on the wing while only the tiltrotors change geometry from vertical flight to horizontal flight. One advantage to this system is that both tiltrotors on the V-280 can operate off a single engine. On the V-22 Osprey both of the entire engine nacelles rotate
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Another unique feature of the V-280 Valor is the one-piece carbon fiber composite wing section. The one-piece composite wing uses Large Cell Carbon Core technology, reducing costs by over 30% compared to the construction of the V-22 Osprey wing. The one-piece wing is also integral to the ability of the twin tiltrotors to operate off power from only one engine if needed.

The Bell V-280 Valor competes with the
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aircraft in the JMR-TD program. The SB-1 Defiant uses two contra-rotating rotors and a “pusher” style tail rotor in a more traditional helicopter configuration as compared to the Bell V-280 tiltrotor design.

As the V-280 program advances through flight testing the aircraft has now flown 27 hours with approximately 90 hours of time turning the rotors in ground and flight tests. The aircraft has demonstrated its ground taxi and hover capability as well as low-altitude maneuvers including 360-degree pedal turns and forward/aft/lateral repositions along with 60 knot roll-on landings.

The next phase of flight operations for the V-280 will include maximum speed flights scheduled for some time within the next 90 days according to Bell. “During the summer, we plan on reaching most of the required performance parameters that were part of the test program,” said Jeffrey Schloesser, Bell’s executive vice president of strategic pursuits, during an interview last month with Aviation Week.

Air Force Brat · Jul 20, 2018

Jura said:
but
Army 3-Star: Potent New Auto Rifle Just for Close-Combat Troops
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I'll keep my 5.56, it will do the do if you're up close and personal, probably does need the heaviest bullet possible for better penetration,,, the AR is a very handy sweet little package, if you've ever hauled a Springfield Armory M1A1 around, that my friend is a big pain in the "main drain"! it is big, and it is heavy, and it will slow you down....

Now having said that,,,, we still need an accurate 30 Cal, we really do, there are things the 5.56 won't do!

Air Force Brat · Jul 20, 2018

TerraN_EmpirE said:
I stand corrected I remembered some low quality images, Aluminum no paint and polished to a mirror sheen much like the lower hull of the current Scheme.
View attachment 47954
Very different from Truman's bird which kinda has some echos in the current Scheme in terms of colors and placement. Although it also comes off as a bit silly.

the VC25B's will be 20 feet longer then the Current VC25A the same height, but about 30 feet wider wingspan. internal cabin will be a little wider to.

Engines on the 747-8I are the GEnx-2B67 compared to the 747-200B's General Electric CF6-80C2B1 turbofans

Heh! Heh! Heh!, no TerraN, Trumans bird is pure SEX buddy, I mean those Connie's are sexy too, but my first flying was to Okie, NOK, NOK on a DC-6, and I came home on a DC-7, Trumans C-54 was a very pretty airplane, Red Bull has a beautiful, very similar bird.....

as much as I love turbines, and I do love to hear a turbine start,,,, I gave my dearly departed friend a cart start about every other night the six month's prior to his death at Chicago Midway,,, flying N271MikeAlpha,,, I had about 15 hours right seat in that bird....

But, I plugged in my battery cart about 8 feet behind that port 715 shaft horsepower Garret, the Garret is a geared turbine, with a gear box on the front of engine, turning a 4 bladed propeller with a beautiful all ALLUMINUM,,, (yes, it was very SEXY too), so as that Garret would spool up the prop would begin to turn and you could hear that gear box making a low moaning growl, as it spoiled up, those Garrets would "SCREAM!" yeah, I loved standing behind that damned thing, listening, watching, soaking it in, feeling it in my bones!!!

but, having said all that, NOTHING is sexier, than a big Recip Radial starting,,, superchargers are awesome as well, but not necessary for that sexy sound,,, check out You Tube for Rare Bare, or the little Red Bull bird,,, WOW!!

I don't know though, those Connie's are gorgeous, make the current AF-1 look a little dowdy, and it sure doesn't sound like those Connie's when they take off?? LOL

TerraN_EmpirE · Jul 20, 2018

Air Force Brat said:
I'll keep my 5.56, it will do the do if you're up close and personal, probably does need the heaviest bullet possible for better penetration,,, the AR is a very handy sweet little package, if you've ever hauled a Springfield Armory M1A1 around, that my friend is a big pain in the "main drain"! it is big, and it is heavy, and it will slow you down....

That is the reason for the current part of the program brat. Because the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon is heavier than your M1A1 (which is just a commercial M14) the M249 is 17 pounds empty! What the army wants from these prototypes is a 5.56mm system with reduced weight of the weapon (under the weight of an M14) and reduced weight ammo.

Now having said that,,,, we still need an accurate 30 Cal, we really do, there are things the 5.56 won't do!

There is one coming the M110A1 DMR.

US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jura The idiot

General

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

Air Force Brat

Brigadier

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

Jura The idiot

General

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King

Jeff Head

General

Air Force Brat

Brigadier

Air Force Brat

Brigadier

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King