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American Press
6 hours ago
- Business
- American Press
The Informer: Airport opening ushered in new era of aviation
Inside the $872,000 Lake Charles Municipal Airport terminal building was a rental car company, coffee shop, lounge and restaurant. (American Press Archives) 'Rome wasn't built in a day,' reads the March 23, 1962, Lake Charles American Press. 'And neither was the new Lake Charles Municipal Airport.' It took almost seven years from the time the bond issued to finance the $6 million airport was passed until the airport was operational. Much of the delay was awaiting federal approval required in almost every step of construction. 'And since the federal government was paying approximately half the cost of the new facility, little construction could be taken without prior federal approval,' the newspaper reads. Built by the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury with funds derived from a 1955 bond issue, the new airport boasted 'the ultimate in safety features for aircraft and is well-equipped to handle all the needs of today's modern air traveler.' That included air conditioning — a rarity in 1962. The airport was among the first in the nation to use a high-intensity approach lighting system complete with sequence flashing lights for the field. The system gave pilots an 'invisible highway' down the airport runway, regardless of weather or darkness. A Flight Service Station was another aviation aid built at the airport. The station gave pilots pre-flight briefings, position reports, field conditions and weather reports at the 15- and 45-minute mark each hour. It was manned by a two-person team. The airport's runway required a land acquisition of 1,650 acres at a cost of $1,340,643. Its accompanying control tower was boasted as being the equivalent to a six-story building. Inside the $872,000 terminal building was a check-in station for passengers for the three airlines stationed at the airport — Eastern Airlines, Trans Texas Airways and Trans Airlines. Also in the terminal was a Hertz Rent-A-Car service, coffee shop, the Gaslight Lounge and Seven Nations restaurant. Along the front of the terminal was five airline gates. Also at the airport was a Federal Aviation Agency branch complete with 54 employees. 'A lot of progressive thought went into this airport,' veteran Air Force pilot W.S. Benedict told the American Press. Benedit, who at that point was a pilot with Trans Texas Airways — which scheduled 10 flights out of Lake Charles daily — said the airport was 'outstanding for a city this size.' The airport was dedicated March 25, 1962, and included a gigantic air show in celebration. 'Necks arched skyward and faces being reddened by stiff breezes, some 60,000 people were awed by the precision flying of six Blue Angels of the U.S. Navy,' reads that day's newspaper. Also performing were the U.S. Army Parachute Team and there was a flyover by a B-52. Louisiana State Police estimated 50,000 people were on airport grounds and another 10,000 watched the air show from along roads leading to the facility. Major General John Hester, the former commander of the 806th Air Division at Chennault Air Force Base, was the day's main speaker. 'Increased opportunities here for land, sea and air transportation offer continued promise for the growth and general welfare of Lake Charles and its surrounding area,' Hester said.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
A spectacular airstrike on Iran — and a sobering warning
The U.S. air attacks on Iran last Saturday — dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer — deserve an A+ for performance. It was a spectacular demonstration of what air and space power, when precisely planned and flawlessly executed, can achieve. It reminded the world that no military on Earth can match the reach, precision and lethality of the U.S. Air Force. But behind this extraordinary success lies a sobering truth: We may not be able to do it again. The mission itself was breathtaking in scope and complexity. More than 125 U.S. aircraft were involved. B-2 stealth bombers flew more than 7,000 miles one way — penetrating dense, defended airspace to deliver the first operational drop of GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, 30,000-pound precision-guided weapons designed to destroy deeply buried targets like Iran's Fordo enrichment facility. These bombers had to operate in perfect synchronization with other U.S. assets providing tightly timed suppression of enemy air defenses, all while maintaining near-radio silence. And then they flew 7,000 miles back — nonstop — completing the mission in 37 hours. It was a masterclass in modern air warfare. Our airmen, planners, weapons officers and targeteers made the impossible look effortless. Yet what the American public didn't see was this: That one-day operation maxed out our available long-range stealth strike capability. The U.S. Air Force only fields 19 B-2 bombers, and they are more than 30 years old. Although the B-52 fleet remains a workhorse, it just turned 73 years old. Also, a good percentage of our GBU-57 bunker-buster stockpile was used in a single night. Put simply, we do not have the depth to do this kind of operation repeatedly, or at scale. This must be a wake-up call. Today, the U.S. Air Force is the oldest, the smallest and the least ready in its history. That's not an opinion — it's a fact and a strategic liability. Over 30 years of underinvestment in Air Force modernization and spares has left us dangerously thin in aircraft, munitions and trained crews. The Air Force today has over 2,600 aircraft — two-thirds of its force — made up of 10 different types that had their first flight over 50 years ago. It also has 60 percent fewer combat squadrons than it had in 1991 — the last time we fought a major regional conflict. Deterrence is predicated on the credibility of action — and credibility requires capacity. Today, America faces the greatest set of threats it has ever faced at the same time the Air Force is at its force-structure nadir. This is why Congress must significantly increase funding for Air Force modernization and expanded end-strength if we are serious about preparing for sustained conflict against peer adversaries and countering the other threats we face. President Trump deserves credit for reversing the previous administration's shortsighted cuts to the F-47 program — a vital next-generation capability. But more must follow. We need to accelerate and scale the B-21 Raider program. We need to dramatically grow our F-35 inventory — aircraft that proved pivotal in gaining air superiority over Iran. New types like Collaborative Combat Aircraft will also prove crucial. We need to build munitions stockpiles that can support more than a one-night raid. We need powerful enablers like modern aerial refuelers, and the E-7 command and control sensor aircraft. We need the airmen to fly, fix, connect and protect these aircraft. It comes down to ensuring our airmen have the aircraft and weapons to sustain air dominance and strategic strike — not just execute a flash of brilliance. The president needs options. Airpower gives him those options. No other domain — land, sea, cyber or space — can hold distant targets at risk across the globe on short notice, without putting thousands of troops in harm's way. Only the Air Force delivers global vigilance, global reach and global power with rapid response and scalable effects across the full spectrum of conflict. Operation Midnight Hammer proved what American airmen can do. Now it's time for Congress to prove that it understands what's at stake. America must not let this stunning success become a historical footnote because we failed to prepare for what comes next. August Pfluger represents Texas's 11th Congressional District and serves as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. David Deptula is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
This look inside the B-2 Bomber is so detailed it should be classified
Air Force pilots of the 1980s-era stealthy B-2 Spirit bomber plan to upgrade and fly the aircraft on attack missions against enemy air defenses well into the 2050s, service officials said. 'It is a dream to fly. It is so smooth,' Maj. Kent Mickelson, director of operations for the 394th Combat Training Squadron, said in an interview. In a special interview designed to offer a rare look into the technologies and elements of the B-2, Mickelson explained that the platform has held up and remained very effective, given that it was designed and built during the 80s. Alongside his current role, Mickelson is also a B-2 pilot with experience flying missions and planning stealth bomber attacks, such as the bombing missions over Libya in 2011. 'It is a testament to the engineering team that here we are in 2016 and the B-2 is still able to do its job just as well today as it did in the 80s,' he said. 'While we look forward to modernization, nobody should come away with the thought that the B-2 isn't ready to deal with the threats that are out there today,' he said. 'It is really an awesome bombing platform, and it is just a marvel of technology.' The B-2 is engineered with avionics, radar, and communications technologies designed to identify and destroy enemy targets from high altitudes above hostile territory. 'It is a digital airplane. We are presented with what is commonly referred to as a glass cockpit,' Mickelson said. The glass cockpit includes various digital displays, including one showing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) information, which paints a rendering or picture of the ground below. 'SAR provides the pilots with a realistic display of the ground that they are able to use for targeting,' Mickelson said. The B-2 has a two-man crew with only two ejection seats. Also, the crew is trained to deal with the rigors of a 40-hour mission. 'The B-2 represents a huge leap in technology from our legacy platforms such as the B-52 and the B-1 bomber. This involved taking the best of what is available and giving it to the aircrew,' Mickelson said. The Air Force currently operates 20 B-2 bombers, with the majority of them based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The B-2 can reach altitudes of 50,000 feet and carry 40,000 pounds of payload, including both conventional and nuclear weapons. The aircraft, which entered service in the 1980s, has flown missions over Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. In fact, given its ability to fly as many as 6,000 nautical miles without need to refuel, the B-2 flew from Missouri all the way to an island off the coast of India called Diego Garcia – before launching bombing missions over Afghanistan. 'Taking off from Whiteman and landing at Diego Garcia was one of the longest combat sorties the B-2 has ever taken. The bomber was very successful in Afghanistan and very successful in the early parts of the wars in Iraq and Libya,' Michelson added. The B-2 crew uses what's called a 'long-duration kit,' which includes items such as a cot for sleeping and other essentials deemed necessary for a long flight, Mickelson explained. As a stealth bomber engineered during the height of the Cold War, the B-2 was designed to elude Soviet air defenses and strike enemy targets – without an enemy ever knowing the aircraft was even there. Industry experts refer to this stealthy technological ability as the ability to evade air defenses using both high-frequency 'engagement' radar, which can target planes, and lower-frequency 'surveillance' radar, which can alert enemies to the presence of an aircraft in the vicinity. The B-2 is described as a platform that can operate undetected over enemy territory and, in effect, 'knock down the door' by destroying enemy radar and air defenses, allowing other aircraft to fly through a radar 'corridor' and attack. However, enemy air defenses are increasingly becoming technologically advanced and more sophisticated; some emerging systems are even able to detect stealth aircraft using better networked systems, faster computer processors, and improved detection capabilities at longer distances across a greater number of frequencies. The Air Force plans to operate the B-2 alongside its new, now-in-development bomber called the B-21 Raider, well into the 2050s. As a result, the B-2 fleet is undergoing a series of modernization upgrades to ensure the aircraft can remain at its ultimate effective capability for the next several decades, Mickelson said. One of the key upgrades is called the Defensive Management System, a technology that helps inform the B-2 crew about the location of enemy air defenses. As a result, if there are emerging air defenses equipped with technology sufficient to detect the B-2, the aircraft will have the opportunity to maneuver in such a way as to stay outside of its range. The Defensive Management System is slated to be operational by the mid-2020s, Mickelson added. 'The whole key is to give us better situational awareness so we can make sound decisions in the cockpit about where we need to put the aircraft,' he added. The B-2 is also moving to a highly high-frequency satellite to facilitate better communications with command and control. For instance, the communications upgrade could make it possible for the aircraft crew to receive bombing instructions from the President in the unlikely event of a nuclear detonation. 'This program will help with nuclear and conventional communications. It will provide a significant increase in the bandwidth available for the B-2, resulting in a faster data flow speed. We are excited about this upgrade,' Mickelson explained. The stealth aircraft utilizes a commonly deployed data link called LINK-16, as well as both UHF and VHF data links. Michelson explained that the B-2 is capable of communicating with ground control stations and command and control headquarters, and is also able to receive information from other manned and unmanned assets such as drones. Information from nearby drones, however, would most likely need to be transmitted through a ground control station at the moment. That being said, emerging technology may soon allow platforms like the B-2 to receive real-time video feeds from nearby drones in the air. The B-2 is also being engineered with a new flight management control processor designed to expand and modernize the onboard computers and enable the addition of new software. This involves the re-hosting of the flight management control processors, the brains of the airplane, onto much more capable integrated processing units. This results in the laying-in of some new fiber optic cable as opposed to the mix bus cable being used right now, because the B-2's computers from the 80s are getting maxed out and overloaded with data, Air Force officials told Scout Warrior. The new processor increases the performance of the avionics and onboard computer systems by about 1,000 times, he added. The overall flight management control processor effort, slated for fielding between 2015 and 2016, is expected to cost $542 million. The comprehensive B-2 upgrades also include efforts to outfit the attack aircraft with next-generation digital nuclear weapons, such as the B-61 Mod 12 with a tail kit and the Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) weapon, an air-launched, guided nuclear cruise missile, service officials said. The B-61 Mod 12 is an ongoing modernization program that seeks to integrate the B-61 Mods 3, 4, 7, and 10 into a single variant with a guided tail kit. The B-61 Mod 12 is being engineered to rely on an inertial measurement unit for navigation. In addition to the LRSO, B83 and B-61 Mod 12, the B-2 will also carry the B-61 Mod 11, a nuclear weapon designed with penetration capabilities, Air Force officials said. The LRSO will replace the Air-Launched Cruise Missile, or ALCM, which is currently carried only by the B-52 bomber, officials said. Alongside its nuclear arsenal, the B-2 will carry a wide range of conventional weapons to include precision-guided 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMs, 5,000-pound JDAMs, Joint Standoff Weapons, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles and GBU 28 5,000-pound bunker buster weapons, among others. The platform is also preparing to integrate a long-range conventional air-to-ground standoff weapon called the JASSM-ER, for Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Extended Range. The B-2 can also carry a 30,000-pound conventional bomb known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, Mickelson added. 'This is a GBU-28 (bunker-buster weapon) on steroids. It will go in and take out deeply buried targets,' he said. We Are The Mighty is a celebration of military service, with a mission to entertain, inform, and inspire those who serve and those who support them. We are made by and for current service members, veterans, spouses, family members, and civilians who want to be part of this community. Keep up with the best in military culture and entertainment: subscribe to the We Are The Mighty newsletter. Aviation nerds are mourning Iran's F-14 Tomcats RTX's Raytheon awarded $590 million production contract for Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band The Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb
Time of India
4 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Turkey sandwich, sunflower seeds: Strict diet B-2 bomber pilots undergo before missions
The success of B-2 bombers hinges on the crew as two pilots replace the bigger crew that older bombers required. B-2 bomber pilots go through rigorous preparation for weeks ahead of embarking on a mission and a majority of this training includes sleep studies, retired Lt. Gen. Steve Basham told Reuters. Bhasham flew the B-2 for nine years and retired in 2024 as deputy commander of the US European Command. Basham explained that pilots are trained to be cognizant of foods which speed up their digestion, which slow it, which keep them awake, which make them fall asleep. Because there is a single chemical toilet in the aircraft and they need to take rest as well, during the 36-hour flight. For Basham, his go-to meal during the training was turkey sandwiches on wheat bread with no cheese, as bland is what they are eyeing here. B-2 bombers can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling but most missions require multiple mid-air refuelings and the process is cumbersome. Pilots can't see refueling, they rely on visual cues The Reuters report described the refueling process as 'blind' as pilots can't see the boom extending from a tanker full of gas attaching to the B-2 16 feet behind their heads. They have to rely on visual cues from the tanker's lights and memorized reference points. On moonless flights, it's an inherently dangerous task, Basham said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The process is more tiring when fatigue kicks in. "Adrenaline kept you going before you went into country," Basham said. "The adrenaline goes away. You try to get a little bit of rest and you still got that one last refueling." B-2 is equipped with a refrigerator, a microwave and a small area behind the seats where pilots can lie down in a cot. Sunflower seeds are another food the pilots rely on to stay awake between meals. B-2's shape makes it stealthy but its success largely depends on human performance, as it carries only two persons instead of larger teams that older bombers like the B-1B and B-52 required.
NDTV
4 days ago
- NDTV
Turkey Sandwiches And Stealth: How Pilots Prepare For B-2 Bomber Missions
Washington: Before strapping into the cockpit of the US Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber for missions that can stretch beyond 40 hours, pilots undergo weeks of preparation that focuses not only on flight plans, but what to eat. The B-2, a $2 billion flying wing built by Northrop Grumman, played a key role in delivering strikes on Iran's nuclear sites on Saturday. It demands extraordinary endurance from its two-person crew. That starts with understanding how nutrition affects alertness and digestion during intercontinental flights that can span nearly two full days. "We go through sleep studies, we actually go through nutritional education to be able to teach each one of us: one, what wakes us up and then what helps us go to sleep," said retired Lt. Gen. Steve Basham, who flew the B-2 for nine years and retired in 2024 as deputy commander of US European Command. Pilots are trained to be cognizant of foods and how they slow or speed digestion - critical in an aircraft with a single chemical toilet. Basham's go-to meal: turkey sandwiches on wheat bread, no cheese. "As bland as you possibly can," he said. With a 172-foot (52.4 m) wingspan and stealth profile, the B-2 can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling, but most missions require multiple mid-air refuelings. That process becomes increasingly difficult as fatigue sets in. Refueling is done blind - pilots can't see the boom extending from a tanker full of gas attaching to the B-2 16 feet behind their heads. Instead, they rely on visual cues from the tanker's lights and memorized reference points. At night, especially on moonless flights, the task becomes what Basham called "inherently dangerous." "Adrenaline kept you going before you went into country," he said. "The adrenaline goes away. You try to get a little bit of rest and you still got that one last refueling." The B-2's cockpit includes a small area behind the seats, where pilots can lie down on a cot. Sunflower seeds help some stay alert between meals. Despite its cutting-edge design - features that make it stealthy reduce infrared, radar and acoustic signatures - the B-2's success hinges on human performance. The aircraft's two-person crew replaces the larger teams required for older bombers like the B-1B and B-52, placing more responsibility on each member of the flight crew. The B-2's fly-by-wire system, which relies entirely on computer inputs, has evolved since its 1989 debut. Early software lagged behind pilot commands, complicating refueling, Basham said. Updates have improved responsiveness, but the challenge of flying in tight formation at high altitude remains. During Operation Allied Force in 1999, B-2s flew 31-hour round trips from Missouri to Kosovo, striking 33% of targets in the first eight weeks, according to the Air Force. In Iraq, the aircraft dropped more than 1.5 million pounds of munitions across 49 sorties. The Air Force plans to replace the B-2 and B-1 fleets with at least 100 B-21 Raiders over the coming decades. The B-2 costs about $65,000 per hour to operate, compared to $60,000 for the B-1, Pentagon data shows. "Our pilots make it look easy, but it's far from easy," Basham said. The B-2's complicated missions can't be done "without a massive, massive array of planners on the ground throughout the world and maintainers that make sure you've always got a good aircraft." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
