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| USAF Plans To Massively Increase Red Air Contracts |
| 2017-03-18 |
| [Feral Jundi] Wow, this is cool. A big thanks to one of my readers for sending me this. The reason I wanted to post this here on the blog is because we are now going to see private companies, competing in the skies with the US Air Force for Top Gun style aggressor support training. So private pilots will be flying in company owned ’fighter jets’, simulating air to air combat against the most advanced military air force on the planet. That is significant. For one, it is just crazy to see the kinds of aircraft that these companies will be flying. Most are a mix of eastern bloc stuff, that is cost effective. But there is some other stuff that is pretty advanced. Did you know that DA Defense is actually gearing up to buy F 16’s? lol I believe out of all the companies listed below, Draken International has the most privately owned jet aircraft. They were also the ones that were a part of the initial test at Nellis AFB for this concept. With this coming contract, I expect to see the numbers of aircraft increase for all of these companies. I did not see how much this contract would be worth, but I expect it to be pretty sizable. We will see how it goes and I will make the edit when I hear of more info on this. Claire Lee Chennault’s ghost is looking on with profound interest and envy. ‐Matt Draken International website here. Discovery Air Defence Service website here. Airborne Tactical Advantage Company website here. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #6 I know a guy who can get you a couple of M-29s or a Sukhoi or two in pretty good shape with spare engines pretty cheap. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2017-03-18 19:36 |
| #5 In addition, as the US converts to 5th gen aircraft, finding enough older aircraft in the US inventory will become increasingly difficult. This is the real money line here. The USAF and USN simply will not be able to afford to keep single-point logistics open forever for their Red Air units flying F-16s. (The F-5s held on as long as they did because so much of the rest of the world flew them that parts and support were reasonably cheap) There will almost certainly be a small F-35 Aggressor flight at Nellis, and it is my understanding that F-22 units have already quietly started flying as aggressors on a TDY basis both at Nellis and...other places. But the days of the Aggressors as a permanent unit are numbered. At least though they won't go out because of petty politics (see also Merill McPeak). Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2017-03-18 08:56 |
| #4 Still cheaper than having USAF fly Red Air. The contract pilots are flying 3rd and soon 4th gen aircraft (including foreign) that are cheaper to operate. In addition, as the US converts to 5th gen aircraft, finding enough older aircraft in the US inventory will become increasingly difficult. |
| Posted by: Gomez Wholuth7254 2017-03-18 08:47 |
| #3 The contract costs must be absolutely unimaginable. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-03-18 08:41 |
| #2 Wait for it ... H-1B visas for Chinese pilots. |
| Posted by: Gomez Wholuth7254 2017-03-18 08:39 |
| #1 So who is the actual training audience, the USAF or the contractors ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-03-18 08:15 |