Jane's Aircraft: Northrop Corporation (1973)

The after taking 25 years to develop the F22 Raptor from conception to operational certification the United States Air Force (USAF) produced the world’s first 5th Generation air superiority fighter. (site) This revolutionary fighter plane leveraged its very low observable stealth (VLO) and thrust-vectoring and digital fly by wire technology, to produce an extremely fast, agile and deadly air to air combatant. (GEO P 2) However, in 2009 Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, (SECDEF) convinced the President (POTUS) and Congress to truncate the F22 program, leaving the USAF with less than 187 operational F22 Raptors, this number was well short of the 381 the USAF estimated they needed to meet their mission requirements. (AWC 1/ site) Gates made his controversial decision based on three factors. This essay will explore these factors and explain how the 2009 U.S strategic environment, the overall cost of the F22 and Secretary Gates’ desire to change the Department of Defense (DOD) all lead to the decision to limit the production of the F22 Raptor at 187 aircraft.

Entering the combat systems market is a difficult task that is capital intensive and requires a unique, game changing solution that can be proven safe, reliable and effective in short order and superior to industry leaders such as GD. Though the steady growth within the industry and the large contract award values entices new entrants to explore entry, most will find that it is ultimately not feasible to compete against such industry leaders.

There would be suitable infrastructure setup for construction, thereafter delivering technical support for their operational lifespan.

It influenced future generations of soldiers and equipment to advance both tactically and technically, greatly increasing the multi-role diversity and capabilities of the Air Defense Artillery systems of today’s United States Army. Compared to the Patriot Launcher Missile system, it showed that Air Defense units could be multifaceted. Like the M42 Duster (SPAAG), the Patriot system demonstrated excellent destruction ratio for aircraft but the system also worked well in defense of TBM’s (Tactical Ballistic

The United States of America, one of the most powerful nations in the world at the time, was completely unprepared for the war that it had joined in Vietnam. The terrain was unlike any we had ever fought in. From mountains to jungles to rice paddies, it was wet, hot, cold, and completely unforgiving. To say that the political situation was tenuous would be a drastic understatement. Not only could officials not make up their minds, neither could the general populace. The media had an influence in this war that was heretofore unseen. All of these factors were a great obstacle in and of themselves and then we put into play the greatest obstacle of all: the enemy. This was an enemy like we had never seen. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Vietcong (VC) were fast, agile, adaptable, and extremely unpredictable. The VC hid among the common populace and fought like demons. The NVA were well supplied, well organized, and did not restrict themselves the way many large armies do. This forced us to have to rapidly adapt and develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) in order to counter all of these obstacles. Due to these needs and the rapidly advancing technology and versatility of helicopters, the Air Cavalry was born. The Air Cav was composed of several types of airframes including transport aircraft, attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. The reconnaissance aircraft were also known as Aeroscouts and were known for their boldness, audacity,

     The name General Carl ‘Tooey’ Andrew Spaatz has become synonymous with the phrase air power and strategist. Air power has come along way since Wilbur and Orville launched the first airplane in 1902 in the city of Kitty Hawk. Famous engineers have taken the Wright-Brothers design and made great improvements to them while slowly integrating these new powerful means of transportation, weaponry and communication aids into the military. Since the onset of World War I there has been a debate on how to most effectively use these new airplanes in the Army’s collection. Most individuals believed that airplanes should be under control of the Army theater commander, while very

Cost Overruns. “The F-35 program has become the single most expensive project in the nation’s history. It has been beset with serious technical problems, major schedule delays, cost overruns, and the F-35’s performance capabilities are seen by many as inferior to the nation’s potential adversaries’ fighter aircraft, if not inferior to the aircraft it is intended to replace.” (Hughes, p. 1, 2015). The F-35 was to have a “fly away” cost of $89-200 million depending on the variant. But this has soared to $208-304 million currently. This stems from the

The fiscal analysis of Northrop Grumman includes the examination of profitability, liquidity, and equity ratios, its 3 year stock price, as well as a general financial overview of the company. This case study exams their fiscal strategy as well as the debt utilization and possible effects of the fiscal crisis on Northrop Grumman. This document compares Northrop Grumman to other companies in the defense sector by comparing their ratios as well profitability. The paper will provide the reader with an understanding of the financial makeup of the company and its current and

UH-1H “Huey,” The Workhorse of Vietnam and the development of Airmobile Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures

Brigadier General “Billy” Mitchell, the chief of the United States Army Air Service, gave naval aviation a boost after conducting several tactics for bombing ships. One of his major beliefs was that air power would one day shadow over the importance of gunships. In 1921 General

Over the years, America has been involved in numerous conflicts. One of the most controversial has been the Vietnam War. Even though the United States Military failed in its efforts in the war against Vietnam, the military has learned valuable lessons about our forces during the conflict. Anti-Aircraft weapons were used during the Vietnam War, and their capabilities have increased over time to become what is now called Air Defense. Air Defense’s equipment, units, and personnel played a critical role especially during the ambush on Route 9 of the Vietnam War.

A few decades ago, the military needed an upgrade on its cargo and troop carrying capabilities. In the 1950’s, the less modern World War II cargo aircraft were the C-190, C-47, and C-46’s. These did not meet the requirements for a continuously modernizing U.S. Military. (Simpson, M. (2011, October 19)). Therefore, in 1951, the U.S. Air Force put out a General Operating Requirement for a new airframe that will meet specifications in the category’s of how many passengers or paratroopers it will hold, as well as size

Towards the end of the War the airplane becomes a practical device of war being able to carry weapons. Anthony Fokker and Louis Bleriot create the most successful of early modern biplanes known as the D-VII and D-VIII. Biplanes are eventually taken over by the monoplane, or one wing. This new design allowed for faster flight and better visibility for the pilot. Air-cooled engines lead the way for commercial aircraft, and Boeing introduces the first modern airliner the 247. Airplanes are effected the greatest by supply and demand of war. New styles of war begun to emerge so did new and improved types of aircraft. The population of the U.S. also begun to grow which leads to the modern most sophisticated commercial airliner the 777. Most aircraft improvements are found in the military and intelligence field. The most high tech aircraft known today for such things as spying are the SR-71 Blackbird, and the U-2 Spy plane. The most complicated and best aircraft performance is still held by the space shuttle and probably always will be. The last 200 years have seen incredible changes in aircraft from the man with wings to heavier than air flying machines that can travel at supersonic speeds.

This position paper will address if the F-35 JSF program is worth the current investment the United States has placed into it. First the pros of the program will be presented followed by the cons. Finally, the paper will discuss why the JSF program is not worth the investment.

This is a case about three different companies dedicated to the manufacturing of aircrafts. Those three major companies are: Boeing, Airbus Industry and McDonnell Douglas; each of one was struggling to produce enough aircraft to satisfy a seemingly unquenchable need for passenger and freight transport around the world, developed in this form many kinds of aircrafts in different models and styles.