Air Force spending $1B on surveillance planes

By DONNA BORAK - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 26, 2009 18:39:56 EST

WASHINGTON — The Air Force soon will fly commercial planes outfitted with surveillance technologies that can help troops in Iraq or Afghanistan detect mines, explosives and other enemy efforts, a senior service official said Friday.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Blair Hansen detailed previously classified plans to reconfigure used and new Hawker Beechcraft Corp. aircraft under a nearly $1 billion contract to support surveillance and reconnaissance operations in both U.S.-led wars and beyond. The first two King Air 350 planes are slated to begin flights by April.

“We always need to know more because of the nature of insurgency ... (and have) more information faster,” Hansen, the service’s director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, told reporters at a Pentagon news briefing.

The Air Force said it will buy a total of 37 of the modified MC-12 aircraft, which will carry a crew of four, plus two operators, under the so-called “Project Liberty” program. United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney is building the engines for the nearly 47-foot long aircraft.

The planes can carry up to 539 gallons of fuel and reach a maximum speed of roughly 370 miles per hour.

John Pike, a defense analyst and director of GlobalSecurity.org, said it’s possible part of the reason the Air Force went public with the program is because some inside the Pentagon may oppose it.

A program in the public eye is “harder to kill” than one that no one knows about, said Pike.

It’s still unclear how the Air Force will use the modified planes with unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predators and Reapers, Hansen said, but the service is working to address that issue.

Congress has approved funding to buy 31 of Hawker Beechcraft aircraft. The remaining six planes are expected to be funded as part of the Defense Department’s supplemental budget for the global war on terror, which is still working its way through Congress.

The medium-altitude manned aircraft will be equipped with a full motion video and other radar capabilities to provide ground forces with streaming, real-time data to help detect explosive devices, mines and other insurgency efforts.

While such information would be invaluable to ground forces, the aircraft’s ability to fly at low altitudes increases the risk of them being shot down over the hills of Afghanistan, Pike said.

Last April, Defense Secretary Robert Gates established a service-wide task force to identify solutions that could provide soldiers in the battlefield with additional surveillance capabilities.

After receiving approval by senior Pentagon officials, the Air Force awarded the deal to Wichita, Kan.-based Hawker Beechcraft in August without holding a competition. Privately held Hawker Beechcraft earlier this week warned its workers to prepare for job cuts that could touch all areas and levels of the company.

Unlike other programs that have been jump-started for efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hansen said “Project Liberty” would “not just be an add-on that they will return.” There will be much broader use of the aircraft beyond Iraq and Afghanistan when it comes to defeating terrorism, Hansen said, noting areas like Africa and Latin America.






This is from today's Air Force Association Daily Report and gives some information on what the recalled guys going to the MC-12 will be doing.

Curtain Goes Up on Project Liberty:

The Air Force plans to have the first of its newly acquired MC-12W intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft deployed to Southwest Asia by April, Brig. Gen. Blair Hansen, director of ISR capabilities on the Air Staff, told reporters in the Pentagon Friday.

The concept for these manned, medium-altitude platforms—which are known as Liberty Project Aircraft—came out of the Office of the Secretary of Defense ISR task force last year as a means to quickly bolster the overhead ISR assets already in Afghanistan and Iraq and, in particular, to relieve the heavy burden being placed upon on MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in the war theater.

LPA will specifically address the warfighter's demand for greater full-motion-video and signals intelligence coverage.

Planned is a fleet of 37 aircraft. The first seven are based on the King Air 350 model, and the remaining 30 airframes on the King Air 350 Extended Range variant. All 37 aircraft are expected to be in the Air Force's hands by year's end, Hansen said. There will be two operational squadrons of 15 aircraft each and seven assets used stateside for training.

The first eight LPA are used airframes undergoing modification. The remainder will be new airframes.



USAF voluntary officer recall (including retirees)
From the AFPC website:
The Air Force has implemented a voluntary Retired Rated Officer Recall
Program and a voluntary Rated Officer Limited Period Recall Program.
These programs are open to Rated Lt Colonels and below; therefore not
everyone who expressed interest will be eligible to apply.

Officers recalled under these programs will be used in a myriad of
positions to include: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
(UAS/RC-12); rated staff; and other rated requirements. Officers will
be recalled for periods between 24 and 48 months depending upon the
requirement. Officers recalled under these programs will not be
eligible to receive Aviator Continuation Pay (ACP) and by volunteering
for recall will be eligible for deployment. Application period for
these programs is through 31 Dec 09.

The following guidelines apply to the Retired Rated Officer Recall
Program specifically: Retired Regular and Reserve officers in the
grades of Lt Col and below are eligible to apply. Applicants must be
under age 60 to apply. Officers retired via a Selective Early
Retirement Board (SERB) are eligible to apply. Officers permanently
retired for physical disability are ineligible.

The following guidelines apply to the Limited Period Recall Program
specifically: Applicants must be Air Reserve Component (ARC) rated
officers in the grades of Lt Col and below. ARC officers who separated
from active duty with any branch of service for strength reduction and
for non selection for promotion are eligible to apply.

Detailed information, to include application requirements and
procedures, can be found on the AFPC ASK website
(AFPC - Air Force Personnel Center) by entering either Retired Rated
Recall Program or Limited Period Recall Program in the search tool on
the website. Interested individuals can also contact the Air Force
Customer Service Center at 1-800-616-3775 (after 22 Feb 09, number
changes to 1-800-525-0102), commercial 210-565-5000 or DSN 665-5000
(please ensure to choose the active duty menu options provided) or
e-mail [email protected] for information.

Very Respectfully,
The Voluntary Officer Recall to Active Duty Section

lots of stuff like this going on that nobody hears about

More like surveilling US Citizens when they Patriot Act us

All of this including UAV's were designed to be used on US citzens one day. They used some on drug cartels to listen in on there cell hone conversations. Will be used to spy on US citzens someday...

More like using COTS tech and one of the world's most common airplanes to meet a need.

[sarcasm]AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!  The AF is going to start SPYING on American CITIZENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/sarcasm]  

We have better shit to do.  Stop being afraid of the wrong people.  There are plenty of us that have read and understand the Constitution.

Time to buy stock in Alcoa.  

JSTARS- Light

Just because we have read and understand it doesn't mean the kenyan has

That shit has been going on... Not breaking news.