Flying Firsts: Two brothers learn to fly the F-15C in the same Class

This isn't your normal family reunion.

Two brothers arrived at the 173rd Fighter Wing in Kalmath Falls, Oregon, to be trained to fly at the U.S. Air Force's only school for the F-15C aircraft. This is the first time two siblings learn to fly the fighter jet at the same time, and in the same class.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Jasper (left) and 1st Lt. David Arneberg are the first brothers to train as pilots for the F-15C in the same class.

Capt. Jasper and 1st Lt. David Arneberg weren't expecting to find themselves in the same career path. 

In fact, Jasper, 26, wasn't planning to become a pilot when he first attended the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was going into electrical engineering as a cadet, so he could use that skill to work as a commissioned officer. When his younger brother, David, 24, entered the Academy in 2014, he considered there was a 50/50 chance flying would be part of his military career.

While in school, they joined the Academy's Air Force Parachute team, Wings of Blue, and learned tof freefall in formation and land under parachute.

"That really is what sparked my interest in aviation," Jasper said. "The atmosphere of always being in airplanes—taking off in them but not landing—that sparked my interest in pursuing aviation as a career.”

Jasper went to graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for two years before going to undergraduate pilot training at Sheppart AFB, Texas.

David, meanwhile, was in undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin AFB, Texas.

When the time came to find out what plane they would get to fly, David got the F-15C, a track very few pilots get to take in the current environment. Jasper received his assignment for the same base a month later.

“It’s rare to have an F-15C drop in a pilot class at all, so the fact that we both had one drop in our classes and both got it is surprising,” Jasper said.

They say it’s helpful having their brother at their side during training, but that they can also be "brutally competitive".

“We have a strong competitive streak going all the way back to childhood where we’d have football games and we’d always be on opposite teams, playing quarterback," Jasper said.

The brothers have yet to compete in a one-on-one dogfight in the F-15, but it doesn't seem like a prospect that is too far off.

BAE Systems teams up with Elbit Systems on Advanced Army Combat Vehicles

BAE is a leader in the design, integration, production, and support of innovative combat vehicles. BAE Systems partnered with Elbit Systems of America to develop and integrate advanced operational capabilities for combat vehicles. 

Their work will focus on "validating and integrating new technologies on combat vehicle systems to deliver advanced warfighting capabilities", according to the statement.

Photo Courtesy BAE Systems

The two companies will leverage their experience for the evaluation, demonstration and validation of multiple mission payloads and capabilities for the next generation of combat systems. 

This announcement comes on the eve of the Army's second attempt to replace its Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle with an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV). This timing signals BAE's plans to bid on the effort. 

BAE Systems — Bradley’s manufacturer — opted out of the first OMFV competitive effort because the company felt the requirements and timeline to design, develop and field a new vehicle wasn’t realistic. The U.S. Army eventually withdrew its first solicitation in that competition when only General Dynamics Land Systems was able to deliver a physical bid sample within the required timeline.

Now, combat vehicles developer is teaming up with Elbit, a leader in the design and integration of advanced turret solutions to compete with Rheinmetall and Textron Systems, who announced their partnership in the development its Lynx41 vehicle for the OMFV competition.

"BAE Systems and Elbit America are investing in transformational combat vehicle technologies and turret solutions that will greatly enhance the lethality and survivability of next-generation combat vehicles for the U.S. and international militaries,” said Jim Miller, director of business development at BAE Systems. “Our relationship demonstrates a commitment to provide our customers with solutions for future battlefields based on our collective combat vehicle expertise."

The two companies will explore crew automation, vehicle protection systems and other defensive and offensive systems. These defensive/offensive systems will be integrated into turrets of various cannon calibers and supporting weapon systems for combat vehicles.

General Dynamics Land Systems is also expected to compete in the OMFV competition again.

The Army put out a draft solicitation in July and plans to release its request for proposals to industry in December, but it is not requiring a bid sample for the new competition.

Companies Present USAF with MQ-Next Designs to Replace MQ-9 Reaper

The U.S. Air Force relaunched its efforts to replace the MQ-9 Reaper June 3, issuing a request for information on a next-generation unmanned aircraft with strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. It intends to accept delivery on the first systems in 2030 and field them in 2031.

Now, defense companies are stepping up with with new, long-range, stealthy design concepts for a replacement combat drone.

Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin released renderings of their respective proposals for the Air Force’s MQ-Next program Sept. 11, and General Atomics put out a concept drawing on Sept 14, corresponding with the first day of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference.

An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. (Photo Credit Senior Airman Haley Stevens/U.S. Air Force)

The Air Force has primarily used the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper, both made by General Atomics, as its drone for surveillance and strike missions in the Middle East over the last two decades.

The MQ-9 Reaper is larger and carries more payload than the MQ-1 Predator, providing the military with both strike and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection functions. However, the USAF is now pursuing a next-generation replacement system, aptly dubbed the MQ-Next

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“We made the pivot to divest MQ-9s to pivot into high-end warfighting,” said Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, during a press briefing in July.

Now, it's become clear that with more commercial drone makers entering the contract competitions, it may become more economical and effective to operate a family of UAVs, with some build for high end-penetrating strike and reconnaissance missions and others for low-end surveillance from commercial, off-the-shelf manufacturers said Roper, the Air Force's top acquisition official.

"I wanted to give our team time to discuss with industry options that exist on both sides of that divide," Roper said during a Sept. 15 press event. "We’ve got a lot of interesting responses, and I’m in discussions right now with the operational side of the Air Force about what they think the requirement is going to be.”

So what are the options right now?

According to Defense News, Boeing and Kratos each confirmed they responded to the request for information but have not released concept art for their potential offerings. General Atomics, Lockheed and Northrop have started to share information about their respective designs.

Northrup Grumman unveiled this concept art of its SG-2 unmanned aerial system as potential offering for the USAF MQ-Next competition. (Photo Courtesy Northrup Grumman)

Northrup Grumman 's flying-wing design resembles the X-47B aicraft the company designed for the U.S. navy. It includes the same Distributed Autonomy/Responsive Control flight management system, which allows operators to task multiple drones to fly autonomously according to parameters set by the user.

The aircraft in the rendering (shown above) is just one potential concept that Northrop could develop for the MQ-Next family of systems, said Richard Sullivan, the company’s vice president of program management.

A rendering of Lockheed Martin's future UAV concept flying next to an F-35 fighter jet. (Photo Courtesy Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin found in its operational analysis that an optimal-force mix of drones will require high-end aircraft and low-cost expendable systems that can operate in swarms, according to Jacob Johnson, the company’s unmanned aerial systems program manager.

The concept art for its MQ-Next submission features a tailless, stealthy, flying-wing design geared toward the high-end fight. Whether they go for high-end, low-end aircraft or both will depend on the Air Force's final requirements.

Johnson said Lockheed may put forward less exquisite systems if they require something less pricey.

General Atomics MQ-9 successor Drone (Photo Courtesy DefenseWorld.net)

General Atomics' concept departs from its previous turboprop-powered MQ-9 design with a stealthy, long-winged, jet powered air vehicle. 

Dave Alexander, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, told Defense News that the aircraft’s survivability and endurance, which is “significantly longer” than the Reaper, will be defining characteristics for the company’s offering. The company's investments by the company’s aeronautics division and its Electromagnetic Systems Group on advanced propulsion systems will also be advantageous, he said.

"We’re embracing ‘ultra-long endurance’ to keep our next-generation ISR [and strike UAV] in the fight for longer periods than many ever imagined possible," Alexander said. "The proposed aircraft will have the ability to stay engaged in the fight far longer than current-generation [UAVs]."

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