XBradTC

Iron Dome is optimized to intercept short range rocket fire, but is still simply a surface to air missile system. Given that the Palestinians have been known recently to operate UAVs, verifying the Iron Dome capability against this is simply good planning.

The best job I’ve ever had was cleaning deep fryers at McDonald’s at 4:30 in the morning. By “best,” I don’t mean most pleasant. Each morning, I would take a filtration device (basically a heavy bucket with a filter, on wheels) up to each deep fryer, empty the fryer’s oil into it and, while it churned away, I would scrub the sides and bottom of the fryer. After the filter was done working, I would pump the filtered oil back into the fryer and turn on the heating element to prepare it for that day’s cooking.

By the end of this process, which took about an hour, I smelled like a combination of old French fries and fish filets, and I had at least one new burn per week. After finishing this job, I was expected to start up the grills and prep for breakfast service.

It was greasy, hot, and deeply unpleasant work, but in a very important way it was the best job I’ve ever had because those mornings are what I thought about in future jobs when things seemed bad. Scrubbing deep fryers will always remind me to keep a healthy perspective about work. Now, as a stay-at-home dad, even my worst day is better than cleaning those fryers, because that job was terrible.

via What Americans Lose When We Refuse Crap Jobs.

I think I was about 10 when my folks started sending me out to mow the neighbor’s yards.* I was about 12 when I got my paper route, and maybe 14 the first time I started working on a farm, be it picking strawberries, or bucking hay, or worst of all, cleaning out silage.

And of course, the entry level job of 11B isn’t exactly all skittles and beer.

What was your worst job, and what did you learn from it?

Earlier this month, the United States Air Force–in conjunction with the National Nuclear Security Agency–dropped an inert B61-12 nuclear bomb over the Tonopah Test Range as part of an ongoing Life Extension Program (LEP).

Designed and fielded in the 1960s as a tactical nuclear weapon, the B61 measures 11 ft 8 inches long, has a diameter of 13 inches, and weighs approximately 700 pounds. The casing of the bomb is streamlined, optimized for exterior carriage aboard aircraft capable of supersonic flight.

via U.S. Air Force Drops Upgraded Nuclear Bomb | Fighter Sweep.

One wonders if this was a “shape” test, with a ballisticaly identical weapon, lacking any weapon components, or if it was an all up round, minus the physics package.

The B-61 has been the primary air dropped nuclear bomb for decades now. There was a time, not so long ago, where virtually every pilot that flew attack jets spent a not inconsiderable amount of his time becoming certified to fly nuclear strike missions. Not to mention being enrolled in the Personal Reliability Program, which was something like a continuous background check for a Top Secret clearance.

If any operational F-15E squadrons still train for a nuclear mission, I haven’t heard it.

Living in a desert isn’t normally too bad. I hug my air conditioner, and endeavor to stay out of the direct sunlight for 6 months out of the year.

It does have its annoyances from time to time, however.

Even on a relatively cool day like today (104F), simple tasks like leaf blowing the front courtyard, sweeping the garage, and a trip to Costco result in being drenched in sweat. So far, I’ve had two showers, and I’m on my third change of clothes.

The Navy’s first carrier-based Electronic Warfare aircraft was the Eastern TBM-3Q Avenger, whose requirement was based on lessons learned through World War II in the Pacific Theater. During 1944-45 a small number of TBM-3s had been field-modified to carry low-power jammers, simple receivers and chaff dispensers to deal with Japanese radars. Notable among these efforts was Air Group (Night)-90 working off Enterprise (CV 6) with specially configured TBM-3Ds. Their (and others’) success led to the Navy introducing the “Q for Radar Countermeasures” suffix to Naval Aviation in November 1945 with the TBM-3Q being the first aircraft so designated. It was quickly followed by the SNB-3Q crew trainer and anticipated “Q” variants of new Douglas AD and Martin AM carrier attack aircraft.

via TBM-3Q AVENGER – Rick Morgan Books.

With the recent sundown the the Grumman EA-6B Prowler from Navy service,* Rick Morgan takes us back to where it began, the jamming variant of the TBM.

The Navy and Marines have a long, long history of being at the forefront of tactical airborne electronic warfare. That legacy lives on with the E/A-18G Growler in the Navy’s Electronic Attack squadrons today.

What’s interesting is the template of signals analysis and tunable jammers was set so early, and continues to this day.

*It will serve with the Marines a few more years.

Ultra-long haul air travel has become standard in recent years. Extremely lengthy routes such as Los Angeles to Dubai, or Dallas to Sydney, or Atlanta to Johannesburg, and many more are flown every single day–with few eyes batted. It’s an amazing feat of the advances in aeronautical engineering, and possibly an even more amazing testament to the human will, to sit in close quarters with a couple hundred of strangers your best friends as you are transported halfway around the world by air.

You wouldn’t imagine Bossier City, Louisiana would be an ideal location for long-haul service, but the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base recently put all the other long-haul flights to shame: a jaw-dropping 44-hour mission involving a pair of B-52s flying nonstop from Barksdale to Australia…and back. What did you do for the past two days? I can guarantee it doesn’t involve a quick dash down to Australia and back!

via B-52 Crews Conduct 44-Hour Mission | Fighter Sweep.

Yoinks!

That’s a long haul flight. Setting up the staging for the tankers and coordinating it all must have been some challenge. And as the article notes, what fun is it to go to Australia and not even get a chance to stretch your legs and grab a beer?