U.S. Air Force Inspecting F-22 Oxygen Systems

The U.S. Air Force is inspecting the emergency oxygen system on its F-22 Raptor air-superiority fighters.

AN F-22 RAPTOR awaits release from a hangar at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., in September. (Senior Airman DeAndre Curtiss / U.S. Air Force)

Colloquially referred to as the "green apple" by pilots, the system is a self-contained supply of liquid oxygen mounted on the jet's ejection seat and is used in case there is a failure of the main life-support system. By necessity, it is separate from the aircraft's main oxygen systems, which have been under investigation for much of the year due to a string of airborne incidents where pilots have experienced symptoms resembling hypoxia.

"The Air Force is implementing an immediate action time compliance technical order (TCTO) on the F-22 backup oxygen system," a Dec. 8 Air Combat Command (ACC) release said. "This system is known as the Emergency Oxygen System (EOS) and is designed to be used on rare occasions when pilots experience indications or physiological symptoms that suggest there may be a problem with their air supply."

Air Force spokesman Scott Knuteson said that since the Raptor fleet returned to the air in September after a four-month grounding, pilots has been using the backup system more often than usual.

"We have adapted procedures to use the EOS as a precautionary measure to further protect pilots when they receive indications that physiological incidents may occur," the release reads.

However, even then the emergency oxygen system has not been used that often since the jets started flying again, Knuteson said. The pilots only use the system if a problem is detected, he said.

"We have used the EOS on less than one percent of the flights since we returned to flying status and experienced performance anomalies on a small number of EOS activations," the ACC statement reads. "These anomalies have been analyzed by technicians, and corrective measures have been validated and verified."

The inspection was ordered "simply as a prudent step to ensure the full functionality of the EOS given increased usage under current operating procedures," the ACC statement reads.

"As of Dec. 7, approximately 85 percent of the F-22s' EOS bottles had been inspected," Knuteson said. "The main focus of the TCTO is inspecting the EOS bottles and returning them to service."

In the meantime, Lockheed Martin is still delivering new Raptors to the Air Force. One of the newest jets was supposed to arrive at Langley on Dec. 8, but was delayed and will now arrive next week, said Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Alison Orne.

The service currently has 175 Raptors. Of the remaining aircraft to be delivered to the service, tail numbers 4186, 4187, 4189, 4191, 4192 and 4194 will be delivered to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., tail 4188 will be delivered to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, while tails 4190, 4193 and 4195 - the last Raptor to be built - will be delivered to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.

India, China Discuss Border Resolution Process

NEW DELHI - India and China have conferred about establishing a mechanism to resolve the decades-old boundary dispute that brought them to war briefly in 1962.

The two countries held the fourth India-China Annual Defence Dialogue here Dec. 9, with Gen. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army's General Staff, representing China and Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma representing India.

Indian Defence Ministry sources said the two discussed setting up a process for resolving the boundary issue during the defense-level talks.

"It was also noted that the strengthening of the institutional mechanism for border discussions, which is expected to be operationalised soon through the establishment of a working-level mechanism, would improve communications on important border-related issues," the ministry said in its official release.

Indian and Chinese officials also discussed defense exchanges, which could be taken up in 2012.

"Both sides agreed that enhancement of defense exchanges between the Armed Forces of India and China would contribute to better understanding and mutual trust and confidence building," according to the release.

American stealth drone Captured by Iranians

DoD Urges Stronger Ties to Stop Chem-Bio Attack

The Pentagon sees stronger allied partnerships as key to preventing chemical and biological attacks, according to a senior U.S. Defense Department official.

Agreements with the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to work together to thwart "the unique threats that are coming our way" are even more critical as defense budgets decline globally, the officials said.

"We recognize, more so than ever, it's our partnerships that's going to enable us to field the best capabilities for our forces, for our nations working together," the official said Dec. 8. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of topic.

The Pentagon is facing a more than $450 billion reduction to planned spending over the next decade. It is unclear how the Pentagon budget reductions will impact the chemical and biological division. However, "there's a shared understanding that the [weapons of mass destruction] threat is very real, very serious and it is still a very high priority."

To that end, Pentagon officials are conducting a "strategic review and analysis" of chemical and biological defense programs, which kicked off in August, the official said. To address the spending reductions, officials realize "we needed to relook the whole" chemical and biological defense enterprise.

In addition, the Pentagon has started participating in a series of exercises with South Korea that are "taking a look at the bio defense problem in that region," the official said. The drill uses a "whole-of-government approach" and includes Seoul's Ministry of Defense, Center for Disease Control, law enforcement and others.

"We're helping our colleagues there go through some of the learning experiences we had in the United States in that interagency environment," the official said. "It's a new challenge for them, but the threat is ever more present on the peninsula today."

Germany Hands Over Anti-Piracy Mission Command

BONN, Germany - Spain is the new lead nation of maritime task force 465 on an anti-piracy mission in the waters around the Horn of Africa. German flotilla Adm. Thomas Jugel handed the command of the European Union's flotilla Atalanta over on Dec. 6 to Spanish Capt. Jorge Manso.

Jugel had been commanding the task force of six ships and eight helicopters from Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and France for the past four months.

In a report issued by the German military, he spoke about the decline in the number of successful pirate raids from 50 in 2010 to 20 so far in 2011. According to the German admiral, more and more ships are passing the area registered and preferably in a convoys. In addition, the EU warships in May were granted a more offensive mandate to tackle the situation.

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, who visited the troops in Djibouti for the occasion, said he regarded the operation so far as a success. However, he warned that the military mission only fights the symptoms. A final solution requires that constitutional structures be established in Somalia, and the pirate masterminds had to be found and their cash flows cut off, he said.

Just a few days before the change in command, the German parliament voted to extend the country's participation in Atalanta for one more year. In the coming month, the German Navy will take part with about 500 troops, one frigate and a P3-C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The upper limit of the mandate is 1,400 troops.

Iran Shows Images of Captured RQ-170

Iran's Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1 television station has shown the first images of what appears to be an intact RQ-170 Sentinel UAV belonging to the U.S. Air Force, according to a report from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

According to the BBC, the footage was captioned "RQ170 - advanced US spy plane."

The images show Iranian military officials inspecting the aircraft, which appears to be largely undamaged, according to the BBC report.

The U.S. Defense Department has confirmed that an unmanned aircraft is missing over western Afghanistan. The Pentagon has so far declined to identify the type of aircraft or under what circumstances the plane was lost.

The Iranians claim to have brought down the stealthy Sentinel using electronic attack methods.

U.S. analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said the aircraft likely malfunctioned.

There is also concern that the RQ-170's stealth technology might be compromised, affording other powers to reverse engineer the planes' design features, said analyst Richard Aboulafia. However, any gains would be temporary, he said; reverse engineering doesn't help a national industry innovate.

The mostly likely beneficiary is China, he said.

Women To Be Allowed on Royal Navy's Subs

Women will now be allowed into Britain's Royal Navy submarine service, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced Dec. 8, ending a ban that has been in place since 1993.

Nearly 10 percent of those serving in the Royal Navy are women.

The first group of women officer volunteers will begin training next year and are expected to arrive onboard one of the four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines in late 2013, the Royal Navy said in a statement.

Female enlisted ratings will be recruited and trained from 2014.

Women also will be assigned to new Astute-class hunter-killer attack submarines beginning in 2016, the service said, following "necessary modifications" to the boats' accommodations.

"Our primary objective in the Royal Navy is maintaining our operational effectiveness both now and in the future," Vice Adm. Charles Montgomery, the Navy's second sea lord and head of personnel and training, said in the statement.

"This carefully considered decision will allow the Submarine Service to draw on the widest range of talent and skills of our people - those in service and those yet to join."

Hammond, in his first address as the new defense secretary, said the move will help the service maintain operational effectiveness.

"The Royal Navy has always been at the forefront of innovation," Hammond said, "and this decision represents another step in its distinguished tradition of recognizing the contribution of its people and making the very best use of the talent from which it can recruit."

The 110-year old submarine service has never allowed women to serve on its undersea craft. Women began serving at sea with the Royal Navy in 1990, but the service decided in 1993 not to allow them on submarines, citing health concerns. At issue were worries that higher levels of carbon dioxide in a submarine's atmosphere threatened women's health.

The Navy statement noted that "recent research by the Institute of Naval Medicine in Gosport showed that these risks were unfounded and that there were no medical reasons for excluding women from service in submarines.

"That research came as part of an 18-month review conducted by the Royal Navy looking at the legal, operational, health, social, technical and financial issues of allowing women to go to sea with the Silent Service."

The U.S. Navy in 2010 reversed a long-standing policy against allowing women on its submarines, and the first group of women is preparing to report this month aboard their first boats. So far, women are being assigned only to large missile submarines, and there are no current plans to allow females to serve aboard smaller attack subs.

No decision on allowing U.S. enlisted women to serve on submarines has been announced.

The objections to women on subs in the U.S. Navy were based more on cultural grounds. In particular, spouses of men serving in subs were often vocal objectors.

Service aboard submarines can be a more grueling experience than on surface ships. The boats are cramped, and passageways, working and living spaces aboard even large submarines are tight. Nuclear submarines can remain submerged for weeks, even months at a time, and submarine sailors are constantly urged to be polite and considerate of their shipmates.