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Anonymous ID: c59b73 Nov. 14, 2020, 10:13 a.m. No.10811   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>0812 >>0847 >>0867

SAM113 USAF C-40B inbound from a Shannon, Ireland ground stop-Ramstein AFB depart earlier

This AC has been used by the State Dept in the past.

AC departed JBA on 1110 and arrived at Ramstein AFB.

It departed Ramstein on 1112 for Baku, Azerbaijan and departed the next day, 1113 and had a ground stop at Sophia, Bulgaria prior to arriving back at Ramstein AFB

Anonymous ID: c59b73 Nov. 14, 2020, 12:09 p.m. No.10837   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>0847 >>0867

DAGGR55 USAF Dornier 328 departing Ted Stevens Int'l Airport after an overnight and an inbound from Adak Island prior

This AC landed at Adak, AK from JADSDF Chitose AB, Japan last night

from 2015

Meet the U.S. Air Force’s Commando Test Plane

The twin-engined Dornier 328–100 — nicknamed the “Cougar” — looks plain on the outside, but is full of sophisticated hardware on the inside.

 

It’s the Air Force’s special commando test aircraft, and it’s where engineers test sensors, weapons and other gear meant for gunships, spy planes and other aircraft.

 

The Cougar is set up to be modular, so almost anything can be inserted into various internal bays and fixed pods, or strapped onto the fuselage using various mounting points. In May 2015, U.S. Air Force Col. Eric Forsyth described the plane’s internal details at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida. Those details include:

  • Two external sponsons (750 lbs max)

  • Modular fuselage antenna bays (1 top / 2 bottom)

  • Ku-Band BLOS [beyond line of sight] satellite data link system

  • Nose available for antenna/sensor mount

  • Two reconfigurable operator workstations

With jacks for power, Ethernet, GPS and other linkages, engineers can easily install all sorts of gear. These systems would potentially be able to run long-range radars, powerful cameras, high-powered radios, laser range finders and more. The Cougar can carry all of these equipment up to an altitude of more than 30,000 feet. The plane itself can fly more than 1,000 miles at a speed of nearly 400 miles per hour. In 2014, the Air Force bought the plane from Nevada-based aerospace contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation. The ultra-secretive 645th Aerospace Systems Group — more commonly known by its nickname Big Safari — currently owns the Cougar.

moar

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/meet-the-u-s-air-force-s-commando-test-plane-ba594f07c48b