Category: Aviation

India Putting Tejas Light Fighter on Fast Track

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It appears that the Indian defense establishment has noticed that something is wrong when a small, relatively austere fighter program enters its 25th year without any fielded aircraft. (Paid Subscription Required)

Development started in 1983 for a very unambitious program, as compared to the 1981 for the F-22 with a formal entry into service in 2004, and India still needs to use a foreign engine, the F-404, to power the the aircraft, because the indigenous engine the Kaveri, is still not ready for prime time.

It’s somewhat reassuring to see a procurement process more screwed up than that of the good old USA.

Eurofighter and Dassault Tell the Dutch to Pound Sand

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Both companies have refused to provide the Dutch updated technical information because they believe that the game is fixed, and the JSF will be selected.

Let’s look at the rundown:

  • The Dutch have been full partners in JSF development since the late 1990s.
  • They have already dumped something in excess of €500 into the JSF.
  • The “independent” evaluation will be conducted by, from Dutch defense research institute TNO Defense, Security and Safety; the country’s National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR); and RAND Europe,” but both TNO and NLR are already hip deep in JSF development work.

The only reason that SAAB is taking the competition seriously is because their numbers are so much better than those of the JSF (or the Typhoon or Rafale) that they have a chance of winning, or getting some orders in a high-low procurement.

Dutch to consider Gripen NG for F-16 replacement

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Well, the Kabuki dance that is the Dutch F-16 replacement selection has added a few new steps, with them adding the Gripen NG into the mix and deselecting the Super-Hornet and Raptor for being too large and to expensive respectively.

Honestly, if I were working for Eurofighter, Dassault, or SAAB, I wouldn’t bother.

The Dutch have already sunk around €550 million into the F-35 JSF, and I think that pretty much locks them into two alternatives, the JSF, and upgrading its existing F-16s.

Of course, I was wrong on the tanker deal, so YMMV.

USAF Wanted to Deploy F-22 to Iraq

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But SecDef Bob Gates shot the idea down.*

Gates was right. The F-22 would be as useful in Iraq as tits on a bull.

There is no sophisticated air defense system, no opposing air power, and the aircraft need to get as low as possible in order to minimize collateral damage.

My guess is that the USAF wanted to deploy some Raptors in order to pitch them to Congress as “combat proben”, and Gates was having none of that.

When you also consider the fact that Iran would undoubtedly consider the F-22 being in theater as a prelude to a sneak attack, it would further destabilize the region.

*Pun completely intended.

How the F-35 Will Go Together

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Stephen Trimble, of Flight International, got an approved for public release Powerpoint snap shot of the manufacturing process for the F-35.

It was too large to post, but I managed to work around Microflaccid’s image export utility without editing the registry (the trick is that you change the page size to ginormus), and so you can look at the full chart as a gif (994K) by clicking on the image.

As the good Mr. Trimble notes, this process is how thousands of JSFs are supposed to be manufactured over the next few years.

Sweden Tying Procurement of Gripen to Aggressive Export Program

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Sweden is planning to transition from its earlier model Gripens to the more capable E/F models, (Paid Subscription Required) with improved payload and range capabilities.

The idea is that SAAB will find it easier to sell the aircraft abroad if the line is already for the Swedish military.

I still think that this aircraft is a winner simply because it so much cheaper to own and operate than its competition.

By mid next year, they should be testing the AESA radar, improved avionics, and the ability to carry larger external tanks.

More Allegations that Dutch JSF Competition is a Fig Leaf

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‘Besluit voor JSF is allang genomen’, or you can read the English translation here.*

While the dutch have attempted to get Eurofighter, Dassault, and SAAB to bid in competition, the problem has always been that they are currently throwing a lot of money at the F-35 JSF that won’t be coming back to them if they buy another aircraft.

They’ve sunk $800 million into this, and unless costs spiral completely out of control, I’d put that at 45%, they are stuck with the plane.

*I don’t speak a word of Dutch. I read a synopsis and used Google to translate the original.

This Ties into My Ballistic “Carrier Killer” Post

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Basically, we have an enthusiastiac endorsement of an unmanned combat air vehicle launched from carrier decks:

Imagine a Navy strike plane launching off the catapult as its carrier begins steaming out of its San Diego naval base. The jet refuels over Hawaii, then again over Guam; it gets updated targeting data from its mother ship 6,000 miles away and launches its strike on an enemy nuclear missile silo in East Asia — all in one sortie.

Sound impossible?

And, oh, it could turn around and land on another carrier in the Red Sea after taking some surveillance photos of a suspected terrorist training camp in Pakistan and beaming them down to commanders in Bagram.

That’s just the half of what a naval unmanned combat drone could potentially do, says a new report from a respected Washington, D.C.-based defense think tank. Why land on the carrier in the Red Sea? Why not tank over the Med, fly up to the Arctic and beam back radio transmissions from an ongoing Russian war game, then fly back to its mother carrier now a few hundred miles from its home port?

Given the increasing effectiveness of conventional submarines and anti-ship missiles, this is one way to ensure that a carrier is able to provide support from relative safety.

Of course, you could do the same thing if you launched that drown from an airfield in San Diego, and it could do the same thing, and not buy the carrier at all.

USAF Acquisition Officials Believe Tanker Purchase Can Go Forward Without Rebid

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It appears that people in the USAF who have seen the whole GAO report do not believe that it will require a complete rebid of the contract.

I’m not sure if this means that the errors are small, or if the Airbus bid was that much better, or that they need the tanker right now, or some combination of all of the above:

“Their finding is that the full document is quite different from the summary,” issued last Wednesday, said a source familiar with the issue. The source said Air Force leaders believe much of what was challenged is “procedural” and can be resolved without rebidding the deal.

We should know in the next week.

Airbus A400M Rollout Yesterday

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I agree with Bill Sweetman’s assesment (see also here), that this is a sweetspot for tactical airlift.

Looking at the picture’s, it’s clear that the aircraft is about twice the size of a C-130, and half the size of a C-17, and it’s got a lot of tire, which translates to good rough field performance.

The only real competitor out there is the AN-70 (picture below), which carries about 10 more tons, but has somewhat shorter ranges at a similar load out, but the Russians and the Ukrainians need to fund it past the one remaining prototype (see bottom picture).

Comparison:

A400M

An-70

Empty Weight (kg)

70,000

66,230

Max Gross Weight(kg)

145,000

141,000

Speed (km/h)

780

780

Max Payload (kg)

37,000

47,000

Range w/20 t Payload

6,600

3,300

Ferry Range (km)

8,000

9,300

I would note that with its contra-rotating props, the An-70 is a lot louder, and would therefore likely be unacceptable for the partners in EADS, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

Also, there are provisions for aerial refueling the An-70 in the pictures that I’ve seen.

On the minus side for the A400M is that it’s engines are behind schedule, and so it will be a while before it flies and ships.

A400M

A400M

AN-70

CFM Proceeds With Accellerated Development of Open Rotor Engine

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They are looking to have a model in test this year, and a decision on if/how to proceed in the 2009-2010 time frame.

Seeing as how the open rotor, it’s a lot like an advanced turboprop, would give something like a 25% improvement in fuel economy, the advantages are clear. The question is whether or not the related issues, particularly mounting and noise, can be resolved in an advantageous manner.