Sunstroke Project Just Plain Fun

Okay SNL its time to feature Sunstroke Project. Good music good times from Moldova.

My favorite group and I'm old.

What Lays Beneath, The KC-46

The KC-46 is soon to replace the 50-year-old plus KC-135. It's an older 767 looking technology so what's the big deal about another Kerosene and Cargo tanker? New approach lights?

• F-35 like electronics
• Flexible Mission conversions
• Clandestinely Force Multiplication
• Secret Sauces the KC-135 couldn't even imagine
• Battlespace roll playing

These are few items just to mention and not all the subliminal attributes found within the flying gas station. Just think of the KC-46 more than just a highway stop on a back road. It's really a combat player where others only can dream of a fill-up and "go" kind of appendage.

The real reason it took so long to come to operational competency was was its complexity not unlike the F-35 program.  It fuels even flying motorcycles if asked! Its electronics goes from defensive data to offensive management for others to feed off of during a battle. Not to overrate the KC-46, fifty years of warfighting knowledge has been installed into the KC-46 since the 1960's era KC-135. It will take 2-3 years for the military to really get its arms around this beast. The boom operator sits comfortably up front watching a monitor hooked to high tech cameras for refueling connections instead of lying on the air warrior's belly manipulating the fuel nozzle into a flying receptacle under all conditions. That advancement alone makes you want to enlist into the US Air Force refueling mission.

The battlefield continues to change like in a video game when extra situations arise. The mission capability of the KC-46 is a broad stroke of the battlefield paint brush.

Day 1 of Battle:

• Refuel and Land at home base
• Change to medical evac and then pick-up wounded and comeback
• Change to Cargo and drop its load
• Load fighters and drop them into combat
• Detect adversaries and pass information through data links
• Jam incoming weapons
• Operate as an aviation command center when needed

Now you see the value of the KC-46, it's a big player

Secretly it allows all of the airwing to extend its missions simultaneously. It could refuel the F-15 and F-35 at the same time and send some helicopters in for Jet A. Could the KC-135 do that in one pass? No!

There are other things under its skin we can't even imagine and that is why developmental problems keep arising. It isn't just the boom operator station problem needing attention. It goes deeper but the press demands a story and the boom operator screen issues are as good as any while Boeing sorts out its secret sauce.

A tanker or KC-46, in this case, plays a vital roll in the battle space and has become a tool for combat success, not just a flying gas station, but a one-stop shop that continually changes when the battle rages on.

Shanahan Lacks Professional Political Smarts

An "x" Boeing Exec has not learned life's lessons before becoming this nation's "Acting Secretary of Defense" leader. Here is a Military Times Shanahan quote:


Military times Quote:

"Previous news reports indicated that Shanahan has disparaged Lockheed Martin’s fighter, the F-35, and other Lockheed weapons systems in private Pentagon meetings. In January Politico reported that Shanahan called the F-35 “f---ed up” and reportedly said Lockheed “doesn’t know how to run a program.”"

All of this above may be true but an idiot wouldn't go public with these statements to make a point. Now Shanahan is under investigation having a Boeing bias with this type of public banter gainst Lockheed as Acting Secretary of Defense. 

The Shanahan rules of engagement should follow these principles in his new position. Boeing's hallways trained you poorly for this position and verbal rancor is unacceptable. Follow these points and live a little longer as Acting Secretary of defense.

There are many more bullet points not mentioned but these are your basic top seven Shanahan points to follow in politics. Trump is not the role model to aspire to, he is the President!

• Vet your mouth with other professionals before speaking anything.
• Don't disparage publically/privately what you "FEEL".
• Go back to fifth grade and learn how to be smoothly powerful.
• Your five minutes of fame is over!!
• Trust no one!.
• Speaking to a room full of people is a death trap.
• Because of Boeing, you have a new set of rules.

Instead, speak of, the F-35, as a troubled program in many areas, let's address those troubles. The KC-46 program has troubles as well so let's discuss this at a special meeting. and... so forth.

"Truth To Power" is the gold standard when confronting opposing views and cannot be argued against you as a leader.

We Don't Know What's Going On At Boeing Neither Does Boeing

Boeing has a problem. It got too big and it doesn't know what is going on with its Max. It all starts with leadership at the top driving for golden parachutes instead of making sound aircraft. I know some high up exec had nothing to do with the recent 787 Max 8's crashes but somebody's heads have to roll and the long musical chair game of  Golden Parachutes have started. Usually, the most innocent executive goes first.

However, the profit over safety mantra has arisen its ugly head with the Ethiopian Max 8 loss, exposing Boeing's vulnerable flank. It must go back and take off game piece in order to restore corporate order. The Max 8 disasters have pushed Boeing to the corner of the brink and it, unfortunately, it needs to urge a new single-aisle pushing the 797 to the back of the line. Boeing will build a new single-aisle over the urgency of a new dual aisle NMA. It's do-over time for Boeing. It should have a structured path forward with safety as its banner or pleasing profit-minded stock-holders. Boeing did not do due diligence on the Max line of the 737 make-overs.

The Max was to keep its customers in check before having to make a risky venture on a clean sheet innovative single-aisle. Boeing averted risk-taking with the Max line of aircraft but the risk is beating them from the unforeseen mishaps it just encountered. Sloppy steps taken to avert risk has placed them a far riskier position today than six months ago. The death of passengers have paid the ultimate price with their lives but Boeing is going to pay a corporate price with its risky behavior.

Boeing needs to find what it's doing, stat!

Turkey is getting The S-400 The US has the SiAW

Something is better than what Turkey will buy from the Russians but it remains a national US secret in the startup of its production, which it has just received $350 million for its current product development. 

It's called the Stand-in Attack Weapon  It is also important to note is that America for decades or has for years been evolving an anti-radiation missile. The current missile in service is called an AGM-88 HARM thus having a lower capability than the newly accepted AARGM-ER, having a longer stand-off range. The excitement for this platform is specifically available for neutralizing radar positions in contested airspace before the main arriving force enters the battle space. 

The forerunning and advancing 4th generation jets mounting AARGM-ER will clean electronic ground defenses out from a sweep of its defensive airspace electronics.  A fighter bomber may only carry a rack of 3 AARGM-ER on the first flight to the battle space but the up and coming B-21 Raider has room for 12 AARGM-ER missiles.


So little is known of this missile and its high changing battlespace temperament, it will and can adjust its mission mid-flight with great effect to a winning outcome.

The AARGM-ER missile is a safe standoff missile for the fighters  The distanced fired from the objective can be managed by both the fighter pilot of the targeting missile or from a ground/space installation. The targeting missile can change if the target changes or a mission is changed mid-flight.

Stationary Missile defenses, even if they are repositioned by hundreds of feet or are networked by other stations have no shot in its own survival life cycle. 

A "semi-fixed" S-400 defense system, even though it could be moved during an action, an AARGM-ER would safely prevail over a hardened defensive missile with its Bombers and attack jets. 

Throwing A Wet Blanket Over the Max Because They Can

Recently the  Max 8 crashed again! No BIG business stalls on its responsibility, because it can. The once and mighty FAA balks at a conclusion but has relinquished that position with a US grounding proclamation for the Max 8 as pending lawsuits gain momentum over the latest crash. Whose in control of this matter? Money!

The Max wet blanket becomes a one by one airline pronouncement of "ours is Okay, "let's fly!"

A bad sensor, a bad DIY 737 Max 8 manual, and poor maintenance practices contribute to a disaster but money stands-by and watches. One by one the airlines grasp at staying afloat during this latest mess. Somehow a solution emerges after money is protected. The wet blanket is removed and we all get along.

Second Crash Tightens Boeing's Noose

A second 737 Max 8 crash in six months has placed a boot on Boeing's aviation neck for which a noose can slip over. Ethiopian Airways lost 157 today in a Max Crash.

157 dead as second Boeing 737 MAX-8 crashes after take-off

Not recanting details of this current devastation because investigations have just started and all loved ones have not been notified, it indeed places Boeing's 737 endeavors under the microscope. If Boeing is the contributing factor then a reexamination of its recent 737 Max upgrade is indeed the focus and results could possibly change the dynamics of the aviation market place which is not the main concern at this time.

The Lion Air crash last fall of 2018 could be a segway to this crash but so little is known at this time. Boeing cannot let the truth about its product be a dismissive topic. Whether an obvious mishap from other causes is found in the little remaining debris or a Boeing oversight issue remains to be discovered. A tragic day for the passengers and its airline. Another truly black eye for the industry which has many chapters of loss of life following to this point in history.

Airbus Nets -99 Orders By The End Of February 2019

"Oh, my" is an old Dick Enberg exhale in a sporting event when something happens. Well, something did happen at Airbus during February. It took in 4 orders from its upstart Bombardier extension which didn't exist at this time last year for Airbus. It also noted from its own website it had negative net orders of -99 frames suggesting a shrinking order backlog and book. Maybe Boeing will book 100 VietJet Max, 10 Bamboo 787's and 18 777x, thus shrinking the Airbus backlog lead by a block of 128 orders with these three customers mentioned and depending on finalization, that is a Boeing necessity.

Airbus is suffering an order payback slump at the start of 2019.  A slump is a slump and the year is long, but none the less Boeing has loaded the bases with no outs and the clean-up batter at the plate. "It just has to hit it out of the park."

The steady backlog shrinkage gap from 2018 and so far in 2019 promises Boeing could regain the top billing by 2020 if it announces the 797 and will indeed be built as an NMA. It has its production chops going with a pedal to the metal attitude. It will produce its 787 at 14 a month and go long with 55 Max a month during 2019. It has an opportunity that its 767 productions will beat the A330 production of the same genre found in the medium WB class. The 767 is a tanker and freighter model from its prior 767 passenger fame. 

Airbus at the end has an undelivered backlog of 7390 including the recently acquired Bombardier backlog. Boeing's February number is not published but it had at the end of January about a 5,800+ unit backlog or an Airbus 1,600 unit lead which surely is changing in Boeing's favor once its end of February numbers are posted next week. Remembering production crunches out cash and orders establishes a revenue recognition type in accounting. The churning of orders and deliveries is an interesting study. Airbus has a flat spot so far in 2019, which could significantly change at the next big airshow.

Roast Turkey At S-400 Degrees

Turkey and American Technology soon part. Turkey has climbed out of the frying pan and into the oven with the US arms procurement. Russia sold them some S-400 missiles under the US complaining warnings to do that little thing. Now America is making a moral choice of taking the money for 100 F-35's or running to the next buyer who will comply with the terms of ownership.

Mainly not giving away national secrets of the US to Russia as part of the deal. Money does not equate to American freedom. Turkey does not care about America's freedom.  So for a mere $10 billion dollars. America's freedom is not for sale anywhere on this planet and Lockheed needs to explain why selling Airplanes like the F-35 adjacent to Russia is a high-risk venture is the point of the F-35, so investors must take a ten million dollar hit collectively as new buyers for the F-35s are found.

DON't SELL The TURKS The F-35!

My freedom is worth more than a mere hamburger drive-through with the family for $0.03 cents a person. Just think of Russia looking at the patriot missile system under programmers stare. Just think of an S-400 bringing down the F-22, F-35 and a trillion dollars of your Tax dollars in one show of force. What is at stake here is more than pride, it's your life that is on the line. Friday night with your closest friends at the steak house is out when the S-400 nullifies all of our collective sacrifices. Sounds a little drama doesn't it. However, Turkey played its ace already and bet against American freedom. Bad move since America cherishes its freedom more than apple pie itself. The trade is for one aircraft carrier worth of F-35's for twenty years of US secrets in one play. The answer must be a sound NO! A mere 100 F-35 for the Turks is not what the F-35 was built for, it was built for defending our freedom. Turkey has made its S-400 bed now lie in it. 

Maybe The 797 Will Go Double Bubble

An old Boeing concept which Embraer employs on its own aircraft makes Boeing's next 797 a double trouble of borrowing one of its own designs having Embraer engineering behind it. Just saying, the 797 is building passenger space while having enough seats for airlines to make money.  Boeing's recent Embraer acquisition was no fluke and its 797 concepts of toying are not accidental with the Embraer on board with Boeing's design engineers. Something has got to give and it may be double bubble trouble slowing the works a little bit.