Military Aviation News and Discussion

[Terran]

Because FLRAA is the Army program. And the Army is only setting a set of base requirements that both match. What the Oped is doing is trying to set a new set of requirements inside the established ones. If the Army picks Defiant X it’s not necessarily the end of Valor as the USMC has the independent AURA program then the USN and USAF can come in and say Defiant or Valor. Creating a secondary line.
But generally the view is that V280 is farther along with less risk. The Defiant has not exactly impressed with its flight demonstration program.
Now Yes the LCS seems to have been a split buy by the Navy who made the choice likely in part to maintain the two yards. But now with the end of LCS the USN stopped buying one of the classes and is moving with a new Frigate class from one yard and the other is moving to try and open production of that. However that doesn’t seem like a need here. Primarily as Sikorsky and Bell the two builders have bids for the FARA. Potential for bids in other projects along the line and civil aviation meaning that it’s not likely to result in a loosing Bell or Sikorsky ending up shuttered.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

The Egyptian Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the deal for 30 more Rafales on 4 May, noting that the €3,8 billion ($4,6 billion) procurement will be financed via a 10-year loan. These 30 come on top of the 24 Rafale already delivered to the Egypt Air Force which were ordered in 2015.

Egypt signs for 30 more Rafales from France

Egypt has signed for a further 30 Dassault Rafale combat aircraft to add to the 24 already received.

www.janes.com

Egypt bumps up its Rafale fleet by 30 new planes

The new acquisition complements the first Egyptian purchase of 24 Rafales six years ago and will up the Rafale fleet in the Egyptian Air Force to 54, making it the second-largest in the world after France.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

| " “The U.S. Government reviewed copies of the 71 drawings and determined that exports to and retransfers in the PRC [People’s Republic of China] of drawings for certain parts and components for the engine platforms for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, B-1B Lancer Long-Range Strategic Bomber, and the F-22 Fighter Aircraft harmed U.S. national security,” the charging document read." |

I just wonder what makes Honeywell doing this?
These are not some drawings of APUs found in civilian airliners for example.

Honeywell gets hit with $13M fine for defense export violations

The U.S. State Department has reached a $13 million settlement with Honeywell over allegations it exported technical drawings of parts for the F-35 fighter jet and other weapons platforms to China, among other foreign countries.

www.defensenews.com

 

[kato]

I just wonder what makes Honeywell doing this?
These are not some drawings of APUs found in civilian airliners for example.

From the official charge (google for "Honeywell DDTC Miller"):

I. Respondent’s Unauthorized Exports and Retransfers from July 2011 to October 2015 to Multiple Countries
Honeywell Aerospace’s Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) organization sent Request for Quotations (RFQs) to U.S. and foreign suppliers that contained drawings of parts for which suppliers were asked to provide price quotations. ISC personnel generally transfer drawings to suppliers through a file exchange platform called DEXcenter. In December 2015, Honeywell initially disclosed to the Department that it had identified multiple ITAR-controlled drawings that ISC personnel had exported without authorization via DEXcenter to Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in July 2015.
[...]
Some of the drawings contained technical data designated as SME. As defined in ITAR § 120.7, SME means articles for which special export controls are warranted because of their capacity for substantial military utility or capability. Pursuant to ITAR § 121.1(a)(2), technical data directly related to the manufacture or production of a defense article designated as SME is also designated as SME.

Relevant points for causation underlined.

In other words they were trying to find someone who builds these parts for them, and didn't quite observe ITAR in a market exploration among Chinese candidate companies, as well as when involving their Chinese subsidiary to negotiate for them.

The exact item to have been attempted to source from those suppliers abroad was apparently a number of parts, possibly electronics, that are primarily part of the LHTEC T800 turboshaft engine (codevelopment by Honeywell and Rolls-Royce in the 80s),with some of these parts derived from the Lycoming T55 (50s (!) design now owned by Honeywell) and with some of these parts a bit problematically currently used in other Honeywell gas turbines used in a variety of current platforms.

Note that despite the seemingly large number (71) it is each case of transfer that counts - not each individual image. Factually for that 2011-2015 charge It appears that it may have been a set of three drawings provided as a data package to 17 prospective supplier companies in China, as well as apparently Honeywell's Chinese subsidiary providing two drawings to 8 prospective suppliers, and a minor number of employees (1-2 each) in subsidiaries in various countries having also seen these drawings - which counts as well.

 

[John Fedup]

Perhaps one test of the Brexit decision will be the the performance of the Tempest program versus the EU’s FACS. Based on this report the FACS progress seems lame versus the perceived image of Tempest moving along nicely. I’m betting on Tempest.

Germany goes Hail Mary on funding Europe’s next-gen fighter

German defense leaders admit they have no firm financing plan for the Future Combat Air System, but they still hope to submit the project to lawmakers for approval soon.

www.defensenews.com

 

[kato]

Based on this report the FACS progress seems lame

Nah, this particular instance is about something else entirely.

Basically a couple months back the MoD and other parties got together to draw up a list of projects that can not be funded from the defense budget due to announcements that the defence budget would be cut severely over the coming years to accomodate funding efforts for the pandemic. Explicitly excluded from this list were pretty much all international cooperation projects (FCAS, MGCS, U212CD...) plus a couple other projects seen as strategically important. Of course by keeping such big-ticket projects off the list it cuts more severely into other projects of the MoD.

The MoD is now attempting to turn this around by shoving a separate list at the budget committee of parliament of projects with a tagline "sign off on this, we don't have money, but we want this" - and that includes projects that were left off the first list. She even topped that by marking every project currently unfunded as "to be paid from federal budget". As in not her budget.

Items marked such are mostly Air Force and Navy, for the Air Force these are exactly:

• FCAS development with France and Spain ("Demonstrator Phase 1B")
• PEGASUS development (specifically integration of Eurohawk ISIS sensor package into already funded three Global 6000 aircraft).
• HADR successor with TBMD capability (four units for westernmost radar stations in Germany).
• modular air-transportable Air Traffic Control System.
• modular air-transportable image processing station for Tornado Recce.

The political problem about how the MoD proceeds here is that this is not how you get projects passed. Step 1: Get the funding in your budget. Step 2: Have the parliament (budget committee) okay the procurement itself if it's over 25 million Euro.

Perhaps one test of the Brexit decision will be the the performance of the Tempest program versus the EU’s FACS.

Brexit is irrelevant to military procurement. There is no difference whether you're "in" or "out".

 

[swerve]

Perhaps one test of the Brexit decision will be the the performance of the Tempest program versus the EU’s FACS. Based on this report the FACS progress seems lame versus the perceived image of Tempest moving along nicely. I’m betting on Tempest.

Germany goes Hail Mary on funding Europe’s next-gen fighter

German defense leaders admit they have no firm financing plan for the Future Combat Air System, but they still hope to submit the project to lawmakers for approval soon.

www.defensenews.com

FACS is not an EU project. It is a project of countries which are in the EU. There are also EU countries involved in Tempest, & the British government would welcome more.

 

[John Fedup]

Nah, this particular instance is about something else entirely.

Basically a couple months back the MoD and other parties got together to draw up a list of projects that can not be funded from the defense budget due to announcements that the defence budget would be cut severely over the coming years to accomodate funding efforts for the pandemic. Explicitly excluded from this list were pretty much all international cooperation projects (FCAS, MGCS, U212CD...) plus a couple other projects seen as strategically important. Of course by keeping such big-ticket projects off the list it cuts more severely into other projects of the MoD.

The MoD is now attempting to turn this around by shoving a separate list at the budget committee of parliament of projects with a tagline "sign off on this, we don't have money, but we want this" - and that includes projects that were left off the first list. She even topped that by marking every project currently unfunded as "to be paid from federal budget". As in not her budget.

Items marked such are mostly Air Force and Navy, for the Air Force these are exactly:

• FCAS development with France and Spain ("Demonstrator Phase 1B")
• PEGASUS development (specifically integration of Eurohawk ISIS sensor package into already funded three Global 6000 aircraft).
• HADR successor with TBMD capability (four units for westernmost radar stations in Germany).
• modular air-transportable Air Traffic Control System.
• modular air-transportable image processing station for Tornado Recce.

The political problem about how the MoD proceeds here is that this is not how you get projects passed. Step 1: Get the funding in your budget. Step 2: Have the parliament (budget committee) okay the procurement itself if it's over 25 million Euro.


Brexit is irrelevant to military procurement. There is no difference whether you're "in" or "out".

Really, UK supply subcontractors would be on the same playing field as EU subcontractors and viscera? If this is the case, what’s the fuss over Brexit?

 

[kato]

There are also EU countries involved in Tempest, & the British government would welcome more.

Sweden and Italy, to be exact. Everyone else in the EU with an aerospace industry is involved in FCAS. British invitation initiatives for Tempest run more outside Europe.

With regard to timeline, since it was mentioned, we shouldn't forget that the roadmap for Tempest foresees a production aircraft in 2035 instead of 2040 for FCAS, hence any progress on this considerably diminished timeframe being far more important for Tempest.

Really, UK supply subcontractors would be on the same playing field as EU subcontractors and viscera?

Military procurement at this level of ambition (and in this kind of field) is factually not open to EU-wide tenders anyway, but restricted to selected suppliers due to industrial and strategic concerns. This includes subcontracting. And is not limited to the EU. As such, yes, UK subcontractors are on the same playing field.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

According to several sources Tunisia seems to be very interested in Kuwaits' used F-18s. How serious is this news (i havent seen this in other defence websites), in what stages are the negotiations and does Tunisia wants to pay for this or do they expected some donations?

Tunisia, Kuwait and F/A-18 Hornet deal - News Break

Tunisian President Kais Saied received last Wednesday (5/5/21) Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah at the Carthage Palace in Tunisia. During the meeting, Ahmad Nasser conveyed a message and an invitation to President Saied from Kuwaiti Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad...

www.newsbreak.com

Tunisia in Talks To Purchase Kuwaiti Hornets - Malaysian Defence

SHAH ALAM: Tunisia is reportedly in talks with Kuwait to purchase its Hornet fleet, an African based blog is reporting. Military Africa on its Twitter handle stated: Tunisia in talks with Kuwait for the purchase of the Kuwaiti F-18 Hornets. The F-18 Hornets will likely be modernized in the...

www.malaysiandefence.com

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Two pilots are successfully ejected from their F-15QA.
It is unclear yet what the reason is of the ejection, when it happened (before take-off, during take-off or after landing) and if the pilots are McDonnell-Douglas pilots or Qatar Air Force pilots.

Both pilots are in good condition, and also the F-15QA looks usable again after the necessary inspections.

Pilots Eject From F-15QA At MidAmerica St. Louis Airport

Images show a Boeing F-15QA on the ground after the crew members ejected. A Boeing F-15 was involved in a ground ejection incident at MidAmerica St. Louis

theaviationist.com

 

[the concerned]

Just a question regarding deploying hypersonic missiles on fighter aircraft. It seems to me that all the missiles being developed and deployed are extremely large and heavy munitions. Surely bringing these back into land must be putting a serious strain on the airframes. That's why there better on bomber aircraft. Wasn't that a reason why the F14 seldom carried the full complement of phoenix. Can someone shed some light on this.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Just a question regarding deploying hypersonic missiles on fighter aircraft. It seems to me that all the missiles being developed and deployed are extremely large and heavy munitions. Surely bringing these back into land must be putting a serious strain on the airframes. That's why there better on bomber aircraft. Wasn't that a reason why the F14 seldom carried the full complement of phoenix. Can someone shed some light on this.

Most modern fighters can handle 8000 kg or more of ordnance, so carrying one or two hypersonic missiles shouldn't be a problem during landing on normal runways.
But of course arming an aircraft carrier fighter like the F-14 every time with 6 × 470 kg AIM-54 missiles, will give an unnecessary amount of stress.

I am not a defence specialist, but i have the feeling that combat aircraft are rarely fully armed.

 

[Terran]

Most fighters don’t fly with full weapon load. It’s very draggy and eats fuel load. Stealth types don’t as it also has the Radar cross section penalty. This said land based fighters have a runway often with more than enough length to allow the fighter to stop. As such Landing with large payload bring back is often little issue. But carrier and SVTOL types have strict bring back rules. This is why the British Fleet Air arm when it got F35B developed a rolling landing technique so they don’t have to ditch as much ordinance on return.

 

[the concerned]

Still think these missiles will be better deployed on larger aircraft maybe even the P8 posiedon. Same with the Russians would have thought the Backfire would have been the better option rather than the mig-31

 

[Terran]

Still think these missiles will be better deployed on larger aircraft maybe even the P8 posiedon. Same with the Russians would have thought the Backfire would have been the better option rather than the mig-31

True and we have seen B52 hauling such. B-52 Simulated A Hypersonic Weapon Strike During Massive Alaskan War Games
But those are specialized mother ships, with declining numbers. Farther super sonic fixed wing can act as a first stage increasing range. Now yes the US and Russia have super sonic bombers but B1 is dwindling, TU22M is a relic, Tu160 is just serviceable. Transport planes and civilian derived military types tend to like bombers be limited in numbers vs fighters at least for the big national Air forces. They also tend to have established jobs that keep them busy. I mean P8 is probably better sent hunting enemy subs than launching strikes. For the smaller nations most are lucky if they have an Airforce at all.

of course this hasn’t touched the Naval side. Where due to mission needs if a Carrier force was to launch a hypersonic strike it would either be off a DDG or SSGN, failing that it goes to a fighter. Carrier Bombers haven’t been a thing since the Advent of the Polaris missile submarine. Though I think a stealth Strike bomber could be added to the Carrier air wing and should. That would still be a far smaller platform.
What this really boils down to is weapons classes. A Hypersonic anti ship missile off a F/A18 would be a tactical weapon. Its meant to serve at the task force command level it’s tactical.
A Missile off a B52 is probably flying at a far higher command level possibly even the highest making it a strategic weapon. In some cases that class may even be nuclear tipped.
The fighter launched type has a smaller circle of resources and prep and planning. It’s primarily focused on effects on effects. Softening up targets for farther action, like destroying known air defense nodes or eliminating enemy shipping.
The smaller numbers and higher resources involved in the larger type mean more planing and preparation. The strikes made and targets are to set the field. Effects on aspects.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Nigeria inducts JF-17 fighters

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) formally inducted its three JF-17 Thunder multirole fighters into service during a 20 May ceremony at Makurdi Air Base that also marked its...

www.janes.com

It is still unknown if the JF-17s delivered to Nigeria are from Block 2 or Block 3.

But:
|“The aircraft is quite suitable for [counterinsurgency operations], as it carries a wide variety of weapons, including several with considerable stand-off ranges,” he said. “The electro-optical pod is also available for pinpoint attacks round the clock. The aircraft is likely to prove a gamechanger, and Boko Haram is going to be on the run.”|

So the JF-17 seems to be that advanced that just three of these "one of the most advanced jetfighters in the world" will solve directly the Boko Haram problem.

Pakistan delivers JF-17 fighters to Nigerian Air Force

This marks the latest development in the Pakistan Air Force’s involvement in the Nigerian Air Force’s modernization program.

www.defensenews.com

 

[kato]

The MoD is now attempting to turn this around by shoving a separate list at the budget committee of parliament of projects with a tagline "sign off on this, we don't have money, but we want this" - and that includes projects that were left off the first list. She even topped that by marking every project currently unfunded as "to be paid from federal budget". As in not her budget.

MoD got a reply from the spokesmen for defense and finance from both parliamentary factions of the government. It's probably one she won't like.

In typical German legalese t basically reads "We gave you money for a couple of the projects on that list already. What did you do with that?"

And it's Followed by: "If you want parliament to look at this before the summer break you will provide us with a detailed item-by-item explanation of the financial situation of every project in the R&D and procurement chapters of your budget - based on the classified version, not the public one, and with the February list of projects in mind. You have until this friday."

So yeah, bit of powerplay there right now.

Phase 1B for FCAS is about 4 billion Euro total, likely equally shared between Germany and France. The Spanish financial contribution to the overall project - and how it affects the German and French shares - is a bit murky to me.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Hellas/Greece had ordered 18 Rafales in January, 12 second hands and 6 new for €2,4 billion.

And now Croatia has ordered 12 used Rafale F3-R for €999 million. The first Rafales will be delivered in 2024, and the remaining six Rafales will be supplied the following year.

With this order the Rafale will be in production until at least 2025.

Croatia to drop €1 billion on used Rafale fighter jets

Croatia’s government has made a decision to buy 12 second-hand Rafale F3-R fighter jets from France for the country’s Air Force, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said.

www.defensenews.com

 

[John Fedup]

With no future heavy lift alternative to the Chinook, this article makes a good case for a block 2 Chinook. Let’s face it, Chinook is the vertical version of a Hercules.

Improve, Don’t Replace, Proven Chinook Capabilities

A commonsense lesson inherent to farmers is that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. That’s not to say we don’t upgrade tried-and-true equipment and practices as technology advan

www.realcleardefense.com