How The Air War Era Began In 1911

Photo: Giulio Gavotti at the controls of a Farman biplane, Rome 1910

Libya 1911: How An Italian Pilot Began The Air War Era -- BBC

Italy recently said it was ready to join in Nato's air attacks on targets in Libya - and with the announcement came a sense of history repeating itself.

It was in Libya, almost exactly a century ago, that a young Italian pilot carried out the first ever air raid.

During fighting in November 1911 between Italy and forces loyal to the Turkish, Ottoman Empire, Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti wrote in a letter to his father: "Today I have decided to try to throw bombs from the aeroplane.

"It is the first time that we will try this and if I succeed, I will be really pleased to be the first person to do it."

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My Comment: We have certainly gone a long way since 1911.

How New Tech Is Making Old Fighter Jets More Lethal

Giving Sight Back To An F-15C Golden Eagle -- Popular Mechanics

Precision is something that 30-year-old warplanes lack. But they can be retrofit. Here’s how the Air Force made the F-15C lethal once again.

The Air Force this year deployed F-15C Golden Eagle warplanes with new active electronically scanned arrays (AESA) that can track more targets with precision and can guide several missiles at once. AESA’s digital beams, which replace radar that turns mechanically, are agile enough to spot cruise missiles and enable the F-15C to shoot them down with air-to-air missiles.

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My Comment: In an age of budget cuts and tight money .... I am sure some bean counters are looking at these cost savings.

Wanna Know What U.S. Warplanes You’ll Tangle With In The Future? Visit An Aerospace Model Shop.

At Northrop Grumman’s model shop in El Segundo, California, Gary Miley applies gel to form a mold he will use to create a model blank. (Chad Slattery)

From Air And Space Smithsonian:

Shortly after 9 p.m. on a rainy February night in Los Angeles, Tony Chong switched on his home computer, logged into eBay, and began his nightly aircraft hunt. For more than two decades, Chong had been making exquisite aircraft models at Northrop Grumman’s display model shop—and collecting the rare desktop models his company and other U.S. airplane makers distributed to promote their programs. Often the listings on eBay were for castoffs, but that night in 2005 one model gave him a jolt: Painted in mottled camouflage and balanced on a familiar pentagon base, it was an 18-inch-long concept model of a Northrop Grumman FB-23 advanced bomber.

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My Comment: This is a fascinating read on the future of military aviation .... read it all.

Warplanes Of The Future?

WK1 lands back at Mojave after first post-storage test flight
(all photos Tom Norris/Chris Ravelo)

“Eve” Mother-Ship Could Form Basis of Future Warplanes -- War Is Boring

On Monday Secretary of Defense Robert Gates toured the Texas factory where defense firm L3 adds sensors and other electronics to Beechcraft King Air passenger planes. The resulting $17-million MC-12W spy plane, with 37 on order, is one of the new “fast, inexpensive, simple and tiny” weapons that is fueling the evolution of the U.S. military from an 20th-century industrial force, to a faster, more adaptive, modern institution. “The best solution isn’t always the fanciest or the most expensive,” Gates said. Responsiveness, affordability and sheer numbers represent a sophistication all their own.

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My Comment: This was all science fiction 10 years ago .... and today .... it is reality.