Aviation News Mega-Thread

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easyJet has grounded its entire fleet due to the coronavirus pandemic

The airline says it cannot give a date when it will start flying planes again, but its staff are currently being given a two month leave of absence, meaning the measures will last at least until June.

The Luton-based carrier says the measure "removes significant cost" as the aviation industry struggles to cope with a collapse in demand caused by the outbreak of the virus.

The airline says in a statement: "As a result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the implementation of national lockdowns across many European countries, easyJet has, today, fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft."

"Over recent days easyJet has been helping to repatriate customers, having operated more than 650 rescue flights to date, returning home more than 45,000 customers, with the last of these rescue flights having arrived on Sunday 29 March. We will continue to work with government bodies to operate additional rescue flights as requested."

To deal with the pandemic, easyJet cabin crew will join doctors and nurses in staffing the new Nightingale hospitals built in east London, and soon also in Birmingham (NEC) and Manchester (Central conference centre).

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Guardrails on guard!

Currently, two US Army Beechcraft RC-12X Guardrail Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft are residing at Šiauliai air base (Lithuania).

Having initially arrived at the end of December 2019 as "GREY 11" and "GREY 33", both Guardrails are now conducting Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) flights on a daily basis from Šiauliai towards the Russian Kaliningrad exclave.

The RC-12Xs, serials 93-00701 ("YANK 01") and 92-13120 ("YANK 02"), are assigened to the 204th Military Intelligence Battalion (MI Bn), and normally based at Fort Bliss near El Paso (TX), as part of the US Army Special Electronic Mission Aircraft (SEMA) fleet.

The RC-12X is designated as an Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System and Airborne Reconnaissance. The US Army has 19 aircraft on strength, assigned to:
- the 204th MI Bn and 3rd MI Bn, based at Pyongtaek/Desiderio AAF (South Korea)
- the 305th MIB, based at Fort Huachuca-Sierra Vista/Muni-Libby AAF (AZ).

88-00325, c/n FE-10, 204th MI Bn sep18
89-00273, c/n FE-19, 3rd MI Bn oct19
89-00274, c/n FE-20, 3rd MI Bn oct19
89-00275, c/n FE-21, 305th MI Bn sep17
89-00276, c/n FE-22, 305th MI Bn sep17
91-00516, c/n FE-23, 204th MI Bn may19
91-00517, c/n FE-24, 3rd MI Bn apr17
91-00518, c/n FE-25, 3rd MI Bn feb19
92-13120, c/n FE-26, 204th MI Bn dec20 (ADS-B mar20)
92-13121, c/n FE-27, 305th MI Bn sep18
92-13122, c/n FE-28, 204th MI Bn mar17
92-13123, c/n FE-29, 204th MI Bn mar18
92-13124, c/n FE-30, 3rd MI Bn feb19
92-13125, c/n FE-31, 204th MI Bn mar17
93-00697, c/n FE-32, 3rd MI Bn apr17
93-00698, c/n FE-33, 204th MI Bn sep17
93-00699, c/n FE-34, 3rd MI Bn, sep19
93-00700, c/n FE-35, 204th MI Bn aug18 (unit unconfirmed)
93-00701, c/n FE-36, 204th MI Bn may18 (ADS-B mar20)

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The Broncos are back!

The founder and CEO of Blue Air Close Air Support, James “Chef” Barlow announced that his company will add seven OV-10D+ and OV-10G Broncos to its fleet.

Despite its age (the Bronco prototype made its first flight in 1965) the type is still considered to be one of the best Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training platforms in the air. The aircraft is versatile, reliable and offers a five-hour in theatre endurance.

From May 2015, two OV-10s flew 120 combat missions, both in Iraq and Syria, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in the battle against ISIS (*). They most likely operated there in conjunction with US special operations forces. In Blue Air’s configuration the Bronco is armed with eight bombs, seven rockets, 2,000 rounds, and equipped with Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and a LINK-16 communication suite.

Blue Air Training is a veteran owned company founded in 2011, headquartered in Las Vegas (NV) with operations in Las Vegas, Oklahoma City (OK), Pensacola (FL), and Yuma (AZ). Blue Air offers Close Air Support (CAS) and JTAC training. Up to now Blue Air operated one BAC Jet Provost, six Strikemasters, four IAR 823s and six L-90TP Redigos (locally known as the A-90 Raider (**) and an AH-6 Little Bird.

The company recently bought six Royal Australian Air Force PC-9s too (including former RAAF A23-062 and 67)!

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https://theaviationist.com/2020/03/30/u ... o-covid19/

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https://newatlas.com/aircraft/nasa-imag ... c-x-plane/

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https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/03/ ... -contract/

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https://www.military.com/daily-news/202 ... warns.html

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From Scramble. Some serious money behind this procurement if it comes true.

Latest: Typhoons, Super Hornets and Growlers for Germany

The Germany government is nearing its decision to procure up to 90 Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoons, 30 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets and 15 Boeing EA-18G Growlers. The F/A-18/F is important for the nuclear task as the Frankfurter Allgemeine reports.
The ageing Luftwaffe (German Air Force) Tornados fleet will be replaced from 2025 by the EF2000s as well as the Super Hornet. The latter will be procured as most probably dual seat aircraft only. Some of these, or maybe all will be EA-18Gs. A likewise F/A-18F and EA-18G mix we know from the Royal Australian Air Force.
This information is provided by internal plans of the German Ministry of Defense, which according to the newspaper is already extensively been discussed, at the political level and with industry representatives. The final approval for the plan is expected very soon. The announcement will be given by the German Minister of Defense, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.
German political parties agreed for the dual Eurofighter / Super Hornet prurchase as it protects the European Aviation industry but also prevents that the Luftwaffe loses capabilities. As said in the Parliament: "The military needs of the Luftwaffe must be in the foreground when making the decision. Buying both proven and reliable models gives continuity to the Luftwaffe and its tasks. Both models can be procured on very short notice what saves money in keeping the Tornado alive. This solution would span the time to launch the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).”
The Luftwaffe reported that they currently have 234 combat aircraft, including 141 Eurofighters and 93 Tornado's. The Tornado, which was launched almost forty years ago, is intended for air raids, tactical aerial reconnaissance and electronic warfare - but also for nuclear deterrence. 83 aircraft are in flight operation, and ten more aircraft are used for training on the ground and for technical defense tests. Some aircraft are able to carry the US thermonuclear B61 gravity bombs of which twenty are on the shelves at Büchel air base (Germany).
Germany is already working on the procurement for years, in which the F-35 was already dropped out of the competition. Two facts were very important for the German Parliament: first and second not making massive costs to keep the Tornado in the air and keep Airbus (and the European Aviation Industries) in Manching alive.
Thirty F/A-18s will be used for the nuclear task (the type is already certified for the B61), and fifteen will be bought as Growler. At least 78, but possibly ninety EF2000s will also replace some older EF2000 Tranch 1 aircraft, already in use with the Luftwaffe. These Tranch 1s could be sold to Finland, Switzerland and/or Spain. From 2040, the Super Hornet and Eurofighter fleet will be added with the FCAS that eventually will replace these fighters.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/ ... net-138332

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New air tankers for the 2020 season

The US Forest Service (USFS) announced it contracted three companies to supply five large Exclusive Use (EU) air tankers for the coming fire seasons. Of these companies, Erickson Aero Tanker will account for two MD-87 tankers, Aero Flite will provide two RJ85s. Coulson Aviation - which operates C-130s and Boeing 737s - will bring in one 737 Fireliner: Tanker 137 (N137CG). The estimated value of the contracts are: Erickson Aero Tanker USD 70.5 million, Aero Flite USD 80.4 million and Coulson USD 41.5 million.

These five large EU air tankers will be added to the already existing fleet of thirteen, to bring the total up to eighteen. Additionally there are seventeen large air tankers left on Call When Needed (CWN) contracts that can be activated, but at hourly and daily rates much higher than those on EU. Requests for information for the Next Generation 3.0 air tankers contracts was first posted in November 2018.

The term Next Generation air tankers was first introduced in September 2015. It called for additional capacity to support the - then current - piston engined air tankers (dubbed "legacy air tankers"). Ultimately these were to be replaced by Next Gen turbine or turbofan (jet) powered air tankers. While the number of large air tankers was as high as 40 in the 2000-2002 timeframe, their number dropped to an alarming nine in 2013. Next Gen contracts are usually for a five-year period, with options for five additional years, with at least 160 days of mandatory availability every year. In such a period, a daily rate is paid seven days a week, plus an additional hourly flight rate. During operations the air tankers are only used for six days a week, to avoid the necessary hiring of relief crews on a seventh day.

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https://theaviationist.com/2020/03/31/f ... an-prison/