Israel, US air force hold first-of-kind aerial drill

Israeli Air Force pilots flew alongside their counterparts from the United States Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) in the first-of-a-kind aerial drill Tuesday.

Dubbed “Desert Eagle,” the drill was led by the IAF’s 133rd Knights of the Twin Tail Squadron flying F-15s along with the USAF’s 494th Squadron. Jets from the 115th Flying Dragon Squadron simulated enemy jets. According to a statement released by the IAF, the “aircrews practiced various operational scenarios in the air, including joint exercises against ground, aerial and combined threats while striking designated targets.”

“The historic cooperation between the Israel Air Force and AFCENT Command is part of the tightening of strategic and long-term cooperation between Israel and the United States,” the statement added.

Israel was moved from EUCOM (European Command that currently focuses on Russia and its threats against Europe and NATO, ) to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility in January.

The move to CENTCOM is believed to not only simplify the cooperation with American troops in the region but can also create potential for a regional coalition with Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel against shared threats posed by Iran.

Both Kohavi and Defense Minister Benny Gantz believe that moderate Sunni states such as the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others who have not yet signed agreements with Israel can deepen their ties, especially in terms of regional security arrangements. CENTCOM Commander Marine Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told Defense News that the move would “put an operational perspective” on the Abraham Accords and will set up “further corridors and opportunities to open up between Israel and Arab countries in the region” on a military-to-military level.

The increased cooperation with CENTCOM and possibly even the Gulf States is expected to give Israel a leg up in terms of dealing with the threat posed by Tehran.

Despite corona affecting the ability to hold in person training, the IAF took part in close to 20 drills in the past year.

Two weeks ago US and Israeli troops held a week-long drill dubbed Juniper Falcon which tested the level of coordination between the two countries in the event of a ballistic missile threat against Israel.

Juniper Falcon “is in accordance with long-standing bilateral agreements between US European Command and the Israel Defense Forces,” EUCOM said in a statement following the drill, adding that it was a “long-planned event” that is “designed to test simulated emergency response procedures, ballistic missile defense and crisis response assistance in the defense of Israel.”

Washington and Israel have signed an agreement which would see the US come to assist Israel with missile defense in times of war and a week before the drill began the IDF released an updated intelligence assessment that said that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group has an arsenal of between 130,000-150,000 rockets and missile and could launch some 3,000 projectiles a day for at least a week should fighting break out.

The exercise was a continuation of a virtual air defense drill that took place in February with IDF troops operating in Israel and American troops in Germany where EUCOM is based.

It’s for taping up Bears of course!!! ;)

Tape: Nascar’s sticky secret

On the very first lap of the recent GoBowling.com 400 at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway, the field was just entering turn No 1 when Nascar Sprint Cup pilot Juan Pablo Montoya sailed into the corner too quickly.

The former Formula 1 driver collected the cars of Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Matt Kenseth in the process. As the three cars headed to pit row for on-the-spot repairs, their teams’ respective crew chiefs surely double-checked for a critical tool in their arsenal: Tape.

Not just any tape, mind. It might be referred to as “200mph tape” or the more common “Bear Bond”. In fact, Bear Bond was the original product’s name, and while that miracle substance now proves difficult to find, the name is still used to describe this specialised product the way “Kleenex” can describe any facial tissue.

These days, the brand commonly found on pit row is X-Flex Racers Tape, sourced from ISC Racers Tape in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. It is massive, it is expensive and it is “really nasty stuff”, says Dan Northrup, a former world champion drag racer whose family owns the company.
X-Flex is 40 mil thick (for comparison, your average super-duty, contractor-quality plastic trash bag is about 2 mil thick), is reinforced with a layer of aluminium and is backed with a “highly aggressive adhesive that will adhere to any clean surface”, in the words of the ISC product catalogue.
This is understatement, Northrup claims. Once it adheres, especially on a hot day or when applied to a hot part of the car such as the hood or front fenders, “you need a blowtorch to get it off”. Race fans may mistake it for super-adhesive duct tape, but, Northrup says, “it’s completely different.” Typically, X-Flex is scrapped along with the parts it is attached to after it has served its use.

X-Flex is an adaptation of a bonding tape originally developed for the housing and roofing market. It is quite similar to emergency roof-repair products such as 35-mil-thick EternaBond. The official ISC “Nascar kit” consists of six sheets of X-Flex, measuring 11in wide and 30in long, which can be ordered in white, blue, yellow and red – but most teams seem to prefer the basic black. Pricing varies per retailer, but large racing suppliers may charge over $100 per box.

X-Flex is used primarily by Nascar teams because the race series is among the few that reward, with money and points, successful attempts to repair a damaged car and keep it on the track. Most open-wheel series like Formula 1 do not incentivise this sort of perseverance. At the polar opposite end of Formula 1, monster trucks like the Gravedigger use X-Flex, as they often perform several times a night – and tend to tip over. A lot.
Endurance racing teams that compete in series such as Grand-Am, American Le Mans Series, DTM and Australian V-8 Supercars have also been bitten by the Bear Bond bug. Surveying competitors toward the end of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, or the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, rare is the car that does not show tape on its wounds.
Ken Davison, shop foreman for Florida-based Alex Job Racing, which has class victories at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona, says that his crews never travel to a race without the tape.

“It’s great,” he says. “At Lime Rock a few years ago, our car was forced off the road and the whole front bumper was torn off. There were no brackets that still lined up, so we just taped the bumper on, and never gave it a second thought. Held the whole rest of the race.”

Bear Bond was developed in 1998 by professional sports car mechanic Ross Jeffery of Michigan, who filed a trademark registration for “Bear Bond Racer’s Aid”, describing it as “adhesive strips for automotive structural repair”. The trademark was listed as abandoned in 2000.

While Bear Bond blazed the trail, X-Flex has broadened it. ISC’s product, Northrup says, is thicker and much stiffer, made to peel and slap onto a car’s body during a 15-second pit stop with little consideration as to how it looks. And it typically looks terrible. Even worse than the aesthetic offense, it frequently covers sponsors’ logos – a cardinal sin in sponsor-obsessed Nascar.

As important as X-Flex is to race teams, Northrup insists it is not among his company’s top-selling products. If teams are lucky, they can race an entire season without using a single strip. “But if you crash a lot,” he says, “there’s really no substitute.”

Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story incorrectly stated the thickess of X-Flex tape. It is 40 mil thick, not 40mm. This has been fixed.

Israeli Air Force to Buy Refueling Aircraft, 25 More F-35 Fighter Jets

Within a few years, the air force will have 75 F-35s. The IDF also plans to purchase another squadron of Boeing’s F-15s

Amos HarelFeb. 16, 2021

The ministerial committee for Israel Defense Forces procurement on Tuesday approved a substantial portion of the plans submitted by the Air Force, to be paid for with the security assistance from the United States. The first stage approved was the purchase of four refueling aircraft and another squadron – Israel’s third – of 25 F-35 fighter planes.

The committee discussion was a continuation of a security cabinet discussion last week, in which a general approval was granted for purchases totaling $9.4 billion from the U.S. military funding, most of it for the air force.

The process of getting approval for the procurement plans was delayed for months because of the lack of a state budget. The IDF itself contributed to the delay because it had difficulty making a decision on how many types of planes and helicopters it needs.

The purchase of the Boeing KC46 refueling aircraft had been deemed urgent. A decision was also made on the force’s mix of aircraft, leading to the decision to acquire another squadron of F-35s, made by Lockheed Martin.

Within a few years, the air force will have 75 F-35s. The IDF also plans to purchase another squadron of Boeing’s F-15s. However, this model is being upgraded by the manufacturer and the army prefers to wait until the improvements are completed.

The ministerial committee also approved the purchase of precise offensive armaments for the air force, and a relatively broad array of interceptor missiles for its defense systems, including the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3, along with an upgrade of these systems’ detection capabilities.

However, no decision has yet been made about which new assault helicopter to buy to replace the veteran Yasur choppers. There are three options: To purchase the newest K model of the Yasur (Sikorsky) helicopter made by Lockheed; the Chinook helicopter made by Boeing, or a small quantity of one of these, along with Boeing’s V-22 Osprey, which combines functions of a helicopter and an airplane. This decision will be made shortly by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, after which it will return to the committee for its approval.

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israeli-air-force-to-buy-refueling-aircraft-25-more-f-35-fighter-jets-1.9544478

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