Military Aviation News and Discussion

[ngatimozart]

I've started this thread so that military aviation news can be posted and discussed. this is more about the equipment in general rather than placing it in one another air force's and / or navy's thread. This way it isn't repeated or lost. This is not an aircraft vs another aircraft argument thread - see the guidance.

 

[ngatimozart]

SAAB have found a way to add an extra 40 degrees of AESA scanning to either side of the Gripen E's nose. They are calling this the repositioner and it allows the pilot to retain situation awareness even when they are beaming into the enemies radar notch. This ability creates tactical advantages. This will also give the Gripen an advantage over its competitors and one advantage the Gripen already has is that most, if not all, of the new technology and improvements of the E (aka., Gripen NG) are able to be retrofitted to previous variants of the aircraft.

The Lockheed F16V has flown for the first time. This brings the fighter into the modern world and will allow it to operate until the 2040s at least. Some of the technology on this can be retrofitted into existing aircraft. There is still life in the old warhorse

 

[Ranger25]

USAF refitting mothballed B52G/H back to fleet

Amazing there are people who would argue the need for the LRS-B giving the age of the fleet



A B-52H bomber named "Ghost Rider" is back from the dead.

The bomber was sitting in the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, when it was selected to replace another B-52 that was damaged in a fire, said Maj. Phillip Ventura, spokesman for the 2nd Bomb Wing.

On Jan. 28, 2014, two airmen suffered minor injuries when an oxygen leak caused a fire on a B-52H, which was undergoing routine maintenance, Ventura said in an email Thursday to Air Force Times. Although the plane was not destroyed, repairing the damage was deemed to be too costly.

Global Strike Command decided the most cost effective option was to replace the damaged bomber with another B-52H in storage at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly known as the 'boneyard' at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ventura said.

In addition to being a storage site for planes, one of the boneyard's missions is to restore aircraft in storage to flying status, he said.

"The 309th AMRG currently houses nearly 4,000 aircraft (including 12 B-52s,) 7,000 engines and five aerospace vehicles from the Air Force, Navy-Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard and several federal agencies including NASA," Ventura said.

 

[ngatimozart]

The 279th and last C17A has flown out of the Boeing plant at Long Beach into temporary storage before going to Qatar early next year. An era has ended in more ways than one. Not only has manufacture of a fine aircraft ended, but 74 years of aircraft manufacturing at that plant starting with Douglas and their ubiquitous C47 / DC3 through to the C17 after Boeing acquired Douglas has ceased.

 

[John Fedup]

The 279th and last C17A has flown out of the Boeing plant at Long Beach into temporary storage before going to Qatar early next year. An era has ended in more ways than one. Not only has manufacture of a fine aircraft ended, but 74 years of aircraft manufacturing at that plant starting with Douglas and their ubiquitous C47 / DC3 through to the C17 after Boeing acquired Douglas has ceased.

A real shame. Given the economic stresses the US will face in the coming years, designing a new heavy lifter is going to be difficult. Some of the proposed enhancements (C-17B) should have been considered by both the US govt and Boeing. Given the problems with the A400M, there should have been further opportunities for the C-17 (especially if a "B" version improved tactical performance).

 

[Ananda]

I admit, I haven't following C-17A much..so will the facility for manufacturing C-17 in long beach be mothballed or completely closed down and dissamblled altogether..

 

[ngatimozart]

I admit, I haven't following C-17A much..so will the facility for manufacturing C-17 in long beach be mothballed or completely closed down and dissamblled altogether..

I believe that the tools, dies, moulds, drawings etc., are being kept with the Pentagon fronting up with the money to preserve these in case of future need. Apart from that all else has been closed down with no further aircraft manufacture planned for the plant.

 

[John Fedup]

I admit, I haven't following C-17A much..so will the facility for manufacturing C-17 in long beach be mothballed or completely closed down and dissamblled altogether..

The Long Beach facility is closed. Some necessary tooling will be kept for awhile but other equipment for manufacturing this jet has been auctioned off. It will likely be a couple of decades at least before any replacement occurs.

 

[ngatimozart]

Antonov have been looking at westernising their AN 124 Ruslan. This has been something that they have been looking at over the years, however it has never really progressed. Next year they are planning to modify one aircraft during a heavy maintenance cycle with western avionics, tyres and brakes. This will be the prototype aircraft.

Eventually Antonov will have to address the issue of building a new variant from scratch with western avionics, engines etc. I think that they would find a market for such an aircraft from militaries and commercial entities.

 

[ngatimozart]

The South Korean Air Force are now using 3D printing to manufacture engine parts for its F15 aircraft. This is an example of how this technology is becoming more common place in aviation maintenance and manufacturing. In this case the printed part was 1/13th cost of a traditionally sourced part and procured in 1/3rd of the time. This technology will have a large impact upon maintenance costs.

 

[John Fedup]

Antonov have been looking at westernising their AN 124 Ruslan. This has been something that they have been looking at over the years, however it has never really progressed. Next year they are planning to modify one aircraft during a heavy maintenance cycle with western avionics, tyres and brakes. This will be the prototype aircraft.

Eventually Antonov will have to address the issue of building a new variant from scratch with western avionics, engines etc. I think that they would find a market for such an aircraft from militaries and commercial entities.

I saw the AW article and I agree there is a market for a westernized AN 124. This aircraft has been doing a lot extra heavy lift for NATO lately. Even though our Leopards could have been brought to Afghanistan by our C-17s, it was faster to use AN 124s (not only because of capacity as the AN 124s were closer to the pick up point, Germany).

The US has upgraded the Galaxy fleet to the C-5M version (only the C-5Bs). Others in NATO have to rely on AN-124s for super heavy lift so knowing this capability will be upgraded is a good thing. It is also necessary for Antonov given Ukraine's issues with Russia.

 

[ngatimozart]

Imagery of new IFR tasking.

 

[Ranger25]

I believe that the tools, dies, moulds, drawings etc., are being kept with the Pentagon fronting up with the money to preserve these in case of future need. Apart from that all else has been closed down with no further aircraft manufacture planned for the plant.

Correct, Same was done with the F22 line, stored in connexs and temp controlled. But almost a bridge too far to actually restart. I would assume similar for the C17 line

 

[ngatimozart]

Airbus Defence and Space has been developing new adaptions of the C295 for new missions, such as: AEW (airborne early warning), firefighting; ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) including radar ground surveillance and SIGINT (signals intelligence); air-to-air refueling; electronic warfare; and VIP transport using roll-on roll-off kits. They have claimed that they have 75% of the market.

 

[ngatimozart]

The KC390 has returned to flight testing after a halt due to government funding problems. Brazil has 28 on order with a further confirmed 32 international orders.

At the recent Singapore Airshow SAAB launched its Swordfish MPA available on the Bombardier G6000. The G6000 has a range of 6000 nautical miles and in its MPA variant has four hardpoints for torpedoes and ASuW missiles. At the same time they also launched GlobalEye also based on the G6000 airframe. GlobalEye offers a range of surveillance and intel options.

This is over a year old, but it is a quick and concise explanation of the US Army Future Vertical Lift Program . Worth a quick read. A RFI was issued on 22/2/2016 by the US Army.

NHI have successfully finished trials of a self protection suite for the Norwegian Navy NH90s (NFH?).

The Italian Air Force has put its first CSAR variant of the AW101 Merlin into operation. The Italians have designated the aircraft HH101A Caesar. There will be 15 of the HH101A Ceasars in operation with the Italians.

Piece on Sikorsky's next rotary wing (fling wing ) challenge. An interesting read. Sikorsky have also wrapped up the design for the SB1 Defiant which they are designing and building in conjunction with Boeing.

 

[Milne Bay]

The KC390 has returned to flight testing after a halt due to government funding problems. Brazil has 28 on order with a further confirmed 32 international orders.

I can't help thinking that the KC-390 will become the aircraft of choice for those looking for similar or better performance than the C-130J in a more modern and efficient airframe. One to watch for sure
MB

 

[John Fedup]

I can't help thinking that the KC-390 will become the aircraft of choice for those looking for similar or better performance than the C-130J in a more modern and efficient airframe. One to watch for sure
MB

Embraer bid their KC-390 for the Canadian FWSAR program whereas LM declined to bid their C-130J. Although it has to be considered a real underdog at this stage, it would be a real prize for Embraer's marketing efforts.

 

[John Fedup]

The attached link is somewhat dated but never-the-less is an interesting discussion about EW with regards to Prowlers and Growlers along with some other stuff.

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/confessions-of-a-us-navy-ea-18g-growler-electronic-warf-1694954599

 

[RobWilliams]

Embraer bid their KC-390 for the Canadian FWSAR program whereas LM declined to bid their C-130J. Although it has to be considered a real underdog at this stage, it would be a real prize for Embraer's marketing efforts.

I have pretty high hopes for Embraer, I see them as becoming one of the first ports-of-call for LatAm and a serious supplier in SEA/ME due to the lack of political interference in the future.

 

[John Fedup]

I have pretty high hopes for Embraer, I see them as becoming one of the first ports-of-call for LatAm and a serious supplier in SEA/ME due to the lack of political interference in the future.

Perhaps if Canada's DND and Bombardier along with some political backing had chosen to develop a twin jet military transport along the lines of the KC-390 instead of the C-Series, Bombardier's situation might be better. Then again the family mismanagement likely would have doomed such a project as well.

Based on specifications and price the KC-390 seems like an attractive choice but given political BS with Bombardier this choice will extremely difficult. The C-27J is DND previous preference.