Friday, June 30, 2006
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Variants (Picture)
Flight International has put up a large diagram of Lockheed Martin's
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Variants.
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Oceana to host Langley Raptors, airmen during repairs
Twelve
F-22As will arrive at Oceana today for a month's stay while runway repairs are being carried out at Langley Air Force Base.
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The new flying Phrog: safer, lighter, more payload
The USN CH-46E Sea Knight program office, PMA 226, is working to reduce the aircraft's weight by 700 lbs over the next three years.
New lightweight armor, new pilot/co-pilot crashworthy seats and various hydraulic, avionics and structural improvements will be made.
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Aegis warship to monitor North
Japan recalled its Aegis-equipped destroyer Kirishima back from exercises in Hawaii amid concerns that North Korea would launch a missile.
The ship recently took part in a U.S. sea-based missile defense system interceptor test.
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TPS back in Navy hands
The U.S. Naval
Test Pilot School is now back in charge of the Navy. Capt. Thomas "Huffer" Huff relieved Army Lt. Col. Steven "Pistol" Kihara on Jun. 16.
Related Article
Army takes TPS command
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Crash pilots 'inexperienced pair'
An inquiry into the crash of a British Army Gazelle helicopter in 2003 found that the squadron may have paired inexperienced pilots together for the flight.
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Turkey & Pak to sign joint production deal for UAV
Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Pakistan and Turkey plan to sign a deal next month for the joint production of six to seven tactical UAVs.
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Pratt & Whitney Delivers Second Flight Test F135 Engine for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
Pratt & Whitney has delivered the second F135 flight test engine on schedule to Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth facility.
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"Canada First" Defence Procurement - New Strategic & Tactical Airlift Fleets
Well the Indians could learn a thing or two from Canadians. When you say you are going to buy something, you do it. You don't go to the press every now and then and tell them you are buying something. Anyway, Canadians have released their requirements for four strategic and seventeen tactical lift aircraft.
While no supplier was identified for the strategic lift aircraft, Airbus identified Boeing as Canada's preferred supplier. Airbus said in a statement that it was "disappointed" by the decision to buy C-17s.
Sources
"Canada First" Defence Procurement - New Strategic & Tactical Airlift Fleets
"Canada First" Defence Procurement - Strategic Airlift
"Canada First" Defence Procurement - Tactical Airlift
Canada Plans to Spend C$5 Bln to Buy Transport Planes
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Boeing warns of more than $1bn charges
Delays in Boeing's 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control program will cost the company between $300m-$500m.
Boeing's chief executive, James McNerney, refused to comment on whether the delay could affect the company's chances in South Korea's competition.
Sources
Boeing warns of more than $1bn charges
Boeing to Take Charges in Second Quarter for Airborne Surveillance Program and Previously Disclosed Tentative Legal Settlement
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Thursday, June 29, 2006
Israeli Planes Buzz Home of Syria Leader
Four IAF F-16s buzzed the country home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Ladekye on Wednesday. He was there at that time according to Israeli television.
State-run Syrian television said two Israeli planes flew near Syria's Mediterranean coast early Wednesday and its air defense system fired and chased the aircraft away.
Sources
IAF Fighter Pilots Buzz Syrian President's Palace
Syrian air defenses fire on Israeli jets
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UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES : 'Victory for North Dakota'
Grand Forks Air Force Base could become a UAV hub in future for the USAF to test and develop new technologies including the next generation of unmanned bombers.
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Hawk pilot's body and jet parts found (Picture)
A picture showing the recovery operation of the RMAF Hawk 208 that crashed last month off the coast of Rompin.
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Cruise missile BrahMos to be inducted into services: PM
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday toured the BrahMos Aerospeace complex and praised the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos.
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Sen. Warner: North Korea Not Ready to Test Long-Range Missile
The chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said North Korea is not ready to launch a long-range missile yet after attending a closed-door briefing from officials of the Missile Defense Agency.
Senator John W. Warner said certain steps that needs to be taken before missile launch has not happen yet.
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Ecuador get festive welcome home
Two Ecuador Mirage F-1s escorted the airliner carrying its World Cup team returning home after its defeat by England to a warm welcome.
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Wright-Pat helping with flexible wing technology
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working with FlexSys Inc. to test a flexible wing at its subsonic wind tunnel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
After the wind tunnel tests, AFRL plans to fly the wing section in August by mounting it under the White Knight.
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Bell upbeat on Indian Army chopper order
Bell is highly confident that its Bell-407 will be selected by the Indian Army for an order for 197 multi-role helicopters and is willing to assist HAL to develop an attack helicopter as well.
Both the Bell-407 and the Eurocopter AS550 recently underwent trails in the Siachen Glacier and the deserts of Rajasthan, where they will primarily be deployed.
Labels: Indian Army Light Helicopter
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HMM-266 tilts toward future
USMC's HMM-266 cased their colors and stood down during a ceremony Jun. 16. It marks the transition from the CH-46E to MV-22.
It will be renamed VMM-266 and will stand back up next year as the third operational Osprey squadron in the Marine Corps.
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"Canada First" Defence Procurement - Medium-to Heavy-Lift Helicopters
The Canadian government on Wednesday announced an estimated $4.7 billion project to acquire a fleet of 16 medium-to heavy-lift helicopters.
The requirements are to carry 30 soldiers with full combat equipment or a lightweight field howitzer and associated equipment at a range of 100km.
Aircraft expected to compete are the Chinook, the S-92 and the NH90.
Sources
"Canada First" Defence Procurement - Medium-to Heavy-Lift Helicopters
"Canada First" Defence Procurement - Medium-to Heavy-Lift Helicopters
Canada launches C$4.7 billion helicopter tender
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Chile Making Way for New Fighter Jets
The Chilean Air Force plans to sell 18 used Mirage Elkan jets by the end of 2007 to make way for 10 new and 16 second hand F-16s.
Four F-16 Blk 50s arrived Tuesday at the Los Cóndores Air Base in Iquique to join two other jets that arrived in January.
The Dutch F-16s will be based at Antofagasta.
Sources
Chile Making Way for New Fighter Jets
Chile aquires four new F-16 fighter jets
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Navy Super Hornets Get Revolutionary Radar
The U.S. Navy is deploying its first APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with VFA-213.
Raytheon will back fit new radars to as many as 135 Super Hornets and will install its 415th and last APG-79 in a Super Hornet in 2013.
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Australian defense minister criticizes Boeing over delay in surveillance plane
Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson is unhappy with Boeing over delays in Project Wedgetail.
"We are very disappointed with Boeing's performance on this project," a terse Nelson told a joint news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Delivery of the first two aircraft has been pushed to 2008.
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Navy identifies Marine pilot killed in Hornet collision
The pilot who was killed when his F/A-18 collied with another Hornet on Monday was a Marine Corps pilot.
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Wing Commander George Unwin
Wing Commander George Unwin, who rose from being an RAF clerk to one of the most successful Battle of Britain aces, passed away Jun. 28.
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Pilot in Su-25 jet crash felt unwell before fatal plunge
A Russian Su-25 crashed in southwest Russia near the border with Ukraine on Wednesday. The pilot reported feeling unwell before the accident.
He was the flight leader of a pair of Frogfoots and he requested to descend about twenty minutes before the crash because he was feeling unwell.
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Selfridge museum lands F-14 fighter jet
Selfridge Military Air Museum has put up is F-14 Tomcat for permanent display. The jet is from VF-41.
It arrived at Selfridge Air National Guard base seven years ago for training by naval reservists.
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Boeing Awarded B-52H Weapons Integration Contract
Boeing has received a U.S. Air Force contract worth up to $150 million to support new weapons integration efforts on the B-52H bomber.
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Fighter aircraft arrive for Combat Archer
Twenty-eight fighters from Mountain Home Luke and Shaw have arrived in Tyndall Air Force Base for exercise Combat Archer.
Combat Archer is an air-to-air exercise where each pilot has the opportunity to shoot live-fire missiles at sub-scale and full-scale drones.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Buy F-22 Raptors or face air gap: Beazley
Australia's opposition leader, Kim Beazley, has called for the government to buy the F-22A instead of the F-35.
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DoD cost estimate questions could cause trouble for F-22 fighter
Questions on how the USAF generate its cost estimates could raise trouble with its attempt to buy F-22As under a multi-year contract.
The service claims that it can save $250 million over three years if it buys the planes in a single bulk contract.
But a recent Pentagon Inspector General's report found that it could not justify estimates for what it would cost to cancel the C-130J contract.
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Upgrade to improve Argus
Sweden will upgrade two of its S100B Argus AEW aircraft to support international operations.
It will have three onboard operator stations, IFF systems, Link 16 datalinks and Have Quick digital radios.
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French airforce adds home-grown fighter plane to its arsenal
The French airforce took delivery of its first batch Rafales yesterday. The ceremony was attended by French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.
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Australian defense minister visits Lockheed plant to view plane
Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson toured the Lockheed-Martin Corp. plant where the F-35 is being assembled.
He toured the plant for four hours and saw AA-1 undergoing testing before its first flight this fall.
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Defense Minister: Iran self-sufficient in new generation of missiles
Iran's Defense Minister claims that his country is now capable of producing a new generation of anti-tank missiles.
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U.S. approves $111 mln missile sale to South Korea
The Bush administration has approved the sale of 48 SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missiles to South Korea.
The missiles will be used as the primary defensive system aboard South Korea's new KDX-III Aegis destroyers for anti-missile ship protection.
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Hawk Pilot Killed In Crash, Confirms Najib
The pilot of the RMAF Hawk 208 that crash has been found in the cockpit at the seabed on Tuesday evening.
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RAF pilots use US rules for secret missions
RAF airmen operating Predator drones within a USAF squadron are operating under American rules of engagement.
Related Article
In Las Vegas a pilot pulls the trigger. In Iraq a Predator fires its missile
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183rd jets come home
The U.S. Air National Guard's 183rd Fighter Wing has returned back home. Speculation abound that the wing was involved in the air strike that bomb Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
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Boeing Awarded Contract to Build Avengers for Egypt
Boeing has signed a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement with the U.S. Army to deliver Avenger short-range air defense fire units to Egypt.
The Avenger is the U.S. Army's mobile, shoot-on-the-move, short-range air defense system armed with Stinger missiles and a 50-caliber machine gun.
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Thales keen on upgrading Mirage 2000
Thales will discuss a proposal to upgrade Mirage 2000 fighters of the Indian Air Force to the -5 standard on Jul. 14.
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Fisherman finds wreckage of jet
A fisherman has found parts which are believed to be from the RMAF Hawk 208 that crashed last month.
Rescuers have so far recovered the aircraft's external fuel tank, inboard pylon and drag chute and a large piece of the wing.
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120 SQN Transforms into Apache Attack Squadron
RSAF's oldest helicopter squadron has been transformed from a utility to an attack squadron with the inauguration of the AH-64D. Poor quality (aka piece of shit) photo from Ministry of Defense.
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Raytheon Receives $9.3 Million Award for Manufacture of ALR-69A(V) Radar Warning Receivers
Raytheon will supply 10 10 ALR-69A(V) radar warning receiver systems for the USAF.
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Iraqi ex-pilot lives in fear in Dubai
A former Iraqi fighter pilot tells this story of how he escaped an attack by eight armed men in February and now lives and work in a bare, one-room office in Dubai.
The former commander of the Iraqi F-1 squadron was not so lucky to escape.
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Recent accidents in Japan
Asagiri sent in two incidents that happened in Japan recently. On May 22, a U.S. Navy C-2 lost its emergency escape hatch while in flight near Hiratsuka City.
On Jun. 23, a JGSDF OH-6D made an emergency landing in a pasture between national highway #4 and Okunakayama Plateau ski site.
Sources
嘉手納基地飛来のＣ２、厚木Ｃ２事故機の「尻拭い」
陸自八戸ヘリが一戸に緊急着陸 乗員4人無事
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Russia’s new fighter will use interim engine
Russia's fifth-generation fighter prototype will use an upgrade to an existing engine as an interim solution till a new engine is developed.
Labels: Russian 5th-generation fighter
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New Gripen variants studied by Saab
Gripen International will unveil a carrierborne strike variant of the JAS-39 at the Farnborough air show. Model of an enlarged F414 engined Gripen will be shown as well.
The variant is aimed at a Indian navy maritime strike requirement.
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Su-30MK jets to debut at Lima ‘07
Malaysia's Su-30MKM will make its public debut at LIMA 07 on Dec. 4 next year.
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New pilot evaluation test debuts August 14
The USAF will replace its 13-year old Basic Attributes Test with the Test of Basic Aviation Skills for pilot selection.
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Galileo Avionica plans carrier UAV
Italy’s Galileo Avionica has unveiled plans for a carrier or large-deck warship-launched and recovered version of its Falco tactical unmanned air vehicle.
The Falco, with its 60m take-off and landing run, would carry a dual sensor infrared and electro-optical turret and an X-band multimode lightweight maritime radar.
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Air Force failing to screen guards
The USAF has failed to screen half of its civilian security guards at entry stations, Pentagon inspectors found.
One quarter failed to complete their training before starting work and about one out of six were not weapons qualified.
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US seeks to lift export sales ban on F-22A
Jane's Defense Weekly reported that U.S. lawmakers will lift the export ban for the F-22A soon.
Potential customers are Japan and South Korea.
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Canada to confirm C-17 order as Boeing seeks more sales
Flight International says Canada is expected to purchase four C-17s at $220 million a piece. 17 C-130Js will be bought as well.
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Another RAAF plane faces delays
RAAF's Wedgetail AEW&C is facing a delay of at least 18 months after suffering testing problems with radar and sensor computer systems.
The software integration problems emerged during flight testing of the plane's advanced radar and sensors before delivery at end of the year.
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Senators Side With Industry, Approve Multiyear Raptor
U.S. Senators approved the F-22A multi-year acquisition contract on Jun. 22 with a 70-28 vote.
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Israeli Spike snares Tiger
According to Flight International, a French pilot went to Israel last may and launched three Spike-ERs from an Israeli air force Bell AH-1 Cobra.
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Report: Japan to Get U.S. PAC-3 Missiles
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday that United States plan to deploy PAC-3 missiles at its Kadena Air Base or its ammunition storage area on Okinawa by the end of the year.
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